Getting fit advice

Android07

Hello.

I am almost 40 and my hair has started turning grey all of a sudden. Is there any treatment to reverse this or is it time for Just for men?

I do not like and do not go to the gym. I have an exercise bike and 10kilo dumbells at home. My upper body is perfect but I have a pot belly. My thighs are also fat but I cannot feel fat in them when I feel them and I think it's just muscles. My BMI currntly sits at 27 and I need to go down to 25. I need to lose 7 kilos.

What exercises can I do at home to get to my target fast?

Emmia

I'd look at your diet first if you want to lose weight fast. 

Otherwise have you thought about swimming (you'll need to go to the pool), or pilates which will help with both strength and flexibility? I like reformer pilates, but that requires classes so the mat variant might be better for you. Alternatively body weight exercises, like planks, squats, etc 

Just for Men - home box dyes of that sort are often incredibly unnatural looking, think hair of a 1980s ken doll, plus there's the risk of having or developing a PPD allergy (those are potentially life threatening) so always, always do the patch test. I'd personally just go with the grey though.

There's also the problem of regrowth, you'll end up with grey roots, so your dye job will be obvious.

Pollycat

Android07 said:

Hello.

I am almost 40 and my hair has started turning grey all of a sudden. Is there any treatment to reverse this or is it time for Just for men?

I think grey hair is seen as attractive in men - think 'silver fox'.
As long as it is cut well - think long, thin, greasy ponytails - not a good look (imho).

Same for the Bobby Charlton comb-over.
Much better to have it cut short.

Grumpy_chap

Android07 said:

Hello.

I am almost 40 and my hair has started turning grey all of a sudden. Is there any treatment to reverse this or is it time for Just for men?

I do not like and do not go to the gym. I have an exercise bike and 10kilo dumbells at home. My upper body is perfect but I have a pot belly. My thighs are also fat but I cannot feel fat in them when I feel them and I think it's just muscles. My BMI currntly sits at 27 and I need to go down to 25. I need to lose 7 kilos.

What exercises can I do at home to get to my target fast?

Different factors here, but possibly all linked to growing older.

The hair colour is what it is.  There is nothing wrong with respectfully looking your age - by all means try the Just for Men if you feel it will help.  It is a reversible measure so you can stop if you don't like the results.  IMO, it often looks worse than naturally distinguished hair.  (In the same way, dressing in a positive age-appropriate way will achieve better results than still dressing as a "youth".)

The pot belly is also, I suspect, an age related factor.  As gentlemen get a little more mature, fat has a tendency to accumulate at this location so it is very hard to get perfect ABS.  Even if you have great abdominal muscles, they will no longer appear as defined as they once did.
I would not, for example, pick a fight with Anthony Joshua, but the difference between his prime and now (approaching later 30's) is quite clear:


To get to your target of less belly fat and lower BMI will require a focus on both diet and caridovascular exercise.  Weight training can then help to better define the body once headline goals are achieved.
For diet monitoring, I use the My Fitness Pal app, the free version is perfectly adequate.
I also have mine linked to a Garmin fitness tracker, though any brand of device will suffice - if you don't have one, there are fitness trackers that can be picked up for very low amounts.

For cardiovascular exercises to achieve the goals you desire (less belly fat, lower BMI, less fat on the legs), you have the exercise bike which is a great tool.  The other great tool for this is walking and running - a free activity that will get easier as the weather improves.  You could even try activities such as Park Run.  You need to set (and stick to) a routine and targets for using the exercise bike (and running, if you choose).  No need to visit a gym or spend any money, just do an internet search for something like "exercise bike training plan", pick something you like.  If it does not work well for you, then either pick another plan from online, or adapt the plan to what you like.  A target is 150 minutes of cardio exercise every week, including at least three x 30-minute exercise sessions with elevated heart rate.  Assuming you do not have an entirely sedentary life-style, getting the 150 minutes is easier than it sounds as things you do anyway will count - for example walking to the train station to get to work.

Final comment about the pot belly.  
Do you drink alcohol?  How much?  What type?
Do you drink fizzy drinks?
If you can eliminate both of these, you may see a very quick gain in the appearance of the pot belly.

Hope that helps, and do keep us updated on your successes.

Android07

Grumpy_chap said:

Android07 said:

Hello.

I am almost 40 and my hair has started turning grey all of a sudden. Is there any treatment to reverse this or is it time for Just for men?

I do not like and do not go to the gym. I have an exercise bike and 10kilo dumbells at home. My upper body is perfect but I have a pot belly. My thighs are also fat but I cannot feel fat in them when I feel them and I think it's just muscles. My BMI currntly sits at 27 and I need to go down to 25. I need to lose 7 kilos.

What exercises can I do at home to get to my target fast?

Different factors here, but possibly all linked to growing older.

The hair colour is what it is.  There is nothing wrong with respectfully looking your age - by all means try the Just for Men if you feel it will help.  It is a reversible measure so you can stop if you don't like the results.  IMO, it often looks worse than naturally distinguished hair.  (In the same way, dressing in a positive age-appropriate way will achieve better results than still dressing as a "youth".)

The pot belly is also, I suspect, an age related factor.  As gentlemen get a little more mature, fat has a tendency to accumulate at this location so it is very hard to get perfect ABS.  Even if you have great abdominal muscles, they will no longer appear as defined as they once did.
I would not, for example, pick a fight with Anthony Joshua, but the difference between his prime and now (approaching later 30's) is quite clear:


To get to your target of less belly fat and lower BMI will require a focus on both diet and caridovascular exercise.  Weight training can then help to better define the body once headline goals are achieved.
For diet monitoring, I use the My Fitness Pal app, the free version is perfectly adequate.
I also have mine linked to a Garmin fitness tracker, though any brand of device will suffice - if you don't have one, there are fitness trackers that can be picked up for very low amounts.

For cardiovascular exercises to achieve the goals you desire (less belly fat, lower BMI, less fat on the legs), you have the exercise bike which is a great tool.  The other great tool for this is walking and running - a free activity that will get easier as the weather improves.  You could even try activities such as Park Run.  You need to set (and stick to) a routine and targets for using the exercise bike (and running, if you choose).  No need to visit a gym or spend any money, just do an internet search for something like "exercise bike training plan", pick something you like.  If it does not work well for you, then either pick another plan from online, or adapt the plan to what you like.  A target is 150 minutes of cardio exercise every week, including at least three x 30-minute exercise sessions with elevated heart rate.  Assuming you do not have an entirely sedentary life-style, getting the 150 minutes is easier than it sounds as things you do anyway will count - for example walking to the train station to get to work.

Final comment about the pot belly.  
Do you drink alcohol?  How much?  What type?
Do you drink fizzy drinks?
If you can eliminate both of these, you may see a very quick gain in the appearance of the pot belly.

Hope that helps, and do keep us updated on your successes.

Thank you for the fantastic reply.

I have been watching a video by Jeremy Ethier on Youtube and the solution seems to be to do 7,000 steps 5 days a week AND 30 mins. cardio ( bike.rowing etc. ) 3 days a week. I am hitting the steps target. Just need to squeeze in the cardio as well.

I do drink a coke can every other day. I am not sure what to replace it with? Juice carton? Home-made limeade? Milk?

Emmia

Android07 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

Android07 said:

Hello.

I am almost 40 and my hair has started turning grey all of a sudden. Is there any treatment to reverse this or is it time for Just for men?

I do not like and do not go to the gym. I have an exercise bike and 10kilo dumbells at home. My upper body is perfect but I have a pot belly. My thighs are also fat but I cannot feel fat in them when I feel them and I think it's just muscles. My BMI currntly sits at 27 and I need to go down to 25. I need to lose 7 kilos.

What exercises can I do at home to get to my target fast?

Different factors here, but possibly all linked to growing older.

The hair colour is what it is.  There is nothing wrong with respectfully looking your age - by all means try the Just for Men if you feel it will help.  It is a reversible measure so you can stop if you don't like the results.  IMO, it often looks worse than naturally distinguished hair.  (In the same way, dressing in a positive age-appropriate way will achieve better results than still dressing as a "youth".)

The pot belly is also, I suspect, an age related factor.  As gentlemen get a little more mature, fat has a tendency to accumulate at this location so it is very hard to get perfect ABS.  Even if you have great abdominal muscles, they will no longer appear as defined as they once did.
I would not, for example, pick a fight with Anthony Joshua, but the difference between his prime and now (approaching later 30's) is quite clear:


To get to your target of less belly fat and lower BMI will require a focus on both diet and caridovascular exercise.  Weight training can then help to better define the body once headline goals are achieved.
For diet monitoring, I use the My Fitness Pal app, the free version is perfectly adequate.
I also have mine linked to a Garmin fitness tracker, though any brand of device will suffice - if you don't have one, there are fitness trackers that can be picked up for very low amounts.

For cardiovascular exercises to achieve the goals you desire (less belly fat, lower BMI, less fat on the legs), you have the exercise bike which is a great tool.  The other great tool for this is walking and running - a free activity that will get easier as the weather improves.  You could even try activities such as Park Run.  You need to set (and stick to) a routine and targets for using the exercise bike (and running, if you choose).  No need to visit a gym or spend any money, just do an internet search for something like "exercise bike training plan", pick something you like.  If it does not work well for you, then either pick another plan from online, or adapt the plan to what you like.  A target is 150 minutes of cardio exercise every week, including at least three x 30-minute exercise sessions with elevated heart rate.  Assuming you do not have an entirely sedentary life-style, getting the 150 minutes is easier than it sounds as things you do anyway will count - for example walking to the train station to get to work.

Final comment about the pot belly.  
Do you drink alcohol?  How much?  What type?
Do you drink fizzy drinks?
If you can eliminate both of these, you may see a very quick gain in the appearance of the pot belly.

Hope that helps, and do keep us updated on your successes.

Thank you for the fantastic reply.

I have been watching a video by Jeremy Ethier on Youtube and the solution seems to be to do 7,000 steps 5 days a week AND 30 mins. cardio ( bike.rowing etc. ) 3 days a week. I am hitting the steps target. Just need to squeeze in the cardio as well.

I do drink a coke can every other day. I am not sure what to replace it with? Juice carton? Home-made limeade? Milk?

Tap water,  boring but there you go. If it's the caffeine you want, black coffee or tea, no sugar.

I'd be making sure those are brisk steps not a gentle amble to maximise the exercise benefit.

Grumpy_chap

Android07 said:

do 7,000 steps 5 days a week AND 30 mins. cardio ( bike.rowing etc. ) 3 days a week. I am hitting the steps target. Just need to squeeze in the cardio as well.

I do drink a coke can every other day. I am not sure what to replace it with? Juice carton? Home-made limeade? Milk?

I work to a steps target of 10k per day, every day and also try to cover 100k steps per week.  It is very doable.  Perhaps use the 7k steps for 5 days per week as an initial target and then work up towards increased targets as you make progress.
For the cardio, 30 x 30 minutes sessions every week is a very common target and really will make a difference - I use the same.  I also try to achieve a total of 150 minutes of elevated heart rate activity across the week as a whole.  Again, this is very doable.

For the drinks, as Emmia said, tap water is the best.  If you do decide to go for fruit juice, or anything else, then the more natural the drink the better.  Pure squeezed orange juice is better than Sunny D, for example.

JennyDavis

I started to have first grey hair when i was 20, now i have lots of those. There is nothing you can do. There are some meds as far as i know, but those are highly toxic, not worth it. When it comes to weight, it is easier, and definitely possible to find a solution. Some of my friends had to buy wegovy online, as doctor said it would be the best what they can do in the situations like that.

silverwhistle

Emmia said:

Tap water,  boring but there you go.

Might be an idea to get a water filter, depending on where you live. I'm very sensitive to the presence of chlorine in my local supply.

I do a football training session a week (plus a game during the season) and sea rowing when I can (two long rows due this week if weather permits), but I also use the bicycle to build in some exercise into my day with short local journeys, sometimes to the supermarket with paniers full.

Running I find boring, so it's finding something that you enjoy. As I enjoy beer I'm hoping my new activity of rowing helps my belly too (!), but it's just great to be out on the water. Lifting, stacking, bucking and splitting firewood is another useful way of getting a bit of open air gym..

Grumpy_chap

silverwhistle said:

As I enjoy beer I'm hoping my new activity of rowing helps my belly too (!),

Any cardio activity will assist to reduce the belly fat, so long as the rowing sessions are not countered by an extra pint or bar of chocolate as a "reward".  It is all about calorie deficit.

If you are looking for the belly to be more defined (six-pack-esque) that needs the fat reduced plus core exercises, so sit up, crunchies, wheel exercises etc.