male only Weight Lifting: Problem Areas

ouroborous · June 1, 2011

So guys, I need some suggestions on ways to hit some "problem areas" that I've been noticing since losing 100 lbs (with maybe 15-20 more to go).

Unfortunately, all the flab was hiding the fact that my muscles weren't really all that I'd hoped. My legs are/were tree trunks, probably from carrying around all that weight, but even they have shrunk tremendously. Fortunately, I'm not having too much of the "deflated balloon" look -- I think my skin will pull back nicely, despite me being 40 (we guys just have it easier than women, I think...). And the fact that my testosterone has DOUBLED on its own since losing all the weight I've lost so far should really help me out.

That being said, here's what I'd like to work on this summer:

Abs -- despite not having that "crepe paper" loose skin, I still have some pinchable skin, and rather than let it get all saggy, I'd like to give it some muscle to adhere to. Are crunches the best things for upper/mid/lower abs? What about obliques? I want to be balanced.
Arms -- I don't want the typical "wannabe weightlifter" arms -- huge biceps and measly tri's/delts. I'd also like to get some good muscle in my forearms, but I'm thinking that general lifting should take care of that.
Shoulders -- I really have problems (esp. as I get older) with sore/popping delts and tris when I do focused lifting in these areas, so I need a good, relatively safe/low impact workout
Neck -- before the WLS, my neck looked fine. But since the loss, my neck looks MUCH slimmer, which is generally a good thing except that I think it's TOO slim, plus I have a HUGE head (seriously: size XXL hats!) so I'm worried I'll get a bit of an "orange on a toothpick" look going on. What's good for (safely) bulking up the neck muscles; traps (shrugs)? What else?
Legs -- I want to really work on my glutes and hamstrings and calves. My quads are still pretty strong from carrying around all that weight. I wouldn't mind working out the inner thigh too, to counteract some loose skin there.

Given that I'm looking for basically "whole body toning," and given that I'm not super eager to spend all my time in a gym (I have a life), I wonder if you guys have suggestions for "natural" workouts that would hit these problem areas. By "natural" workouts, I mean things like bicycling, batting cages, martial arts, etc. Stuff I could do that's fun (I find weight lifting to be about the most boring thing on earth) and also will really exhaust and build up my muscles.

Thanks in advance, I know this is sort of rambling, but it's been YEARS since I took bodybuilding seriously, and I'm struggling to figure out how to get back into it in my middle age. Just because I'm getting older doesn't mean I have to give up. One thing that I have on my side, btw, is that I'm naturally a mesomorph -- built broad (for my height) and easily building either muscle or fat. So I figure that if I can find a routine that I can stick with (IE, it's not too boring/doesn't take up ALL of my time/doesn't require incredibly expensive equipment), I should be able to bulk back up and fight off a little of the effects of aging. For a while.

Edit: oh, I should add that I'm in Seattle, which means that my available "outdoor time" each year is limited to maybe 6-8 weeks. So whatever routine I figure out, the bulk of it has to be something that I can do indoors, or at least under a cover. That doesn't mean I would mind a little sun for the few months of good weather that we DO get, though!