Ok, I'll try to give good answers to your questions [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

(1)- How to get rid of 15 lbs - The easiest way is through low-carbing, but that doesn't mix all that well with working out/gaining muscle. First of all, you must increase your metabolism and the best way to do this is by introducing a sustained cardiovascular activity into your routine.

Depending on what you enjoy, there are many possibilites. I recommend 45+ minutes at least 3 times a week of the cardio activity. Something that works your legs pretty hard will be most effective, for the reason that your quadriceps are your body's most powerful/heaviest muscles. If you get your quads in great shape, you will have gained a significant amount of muscle weight (a shocking amount, really!), and at the same time, the increased muscle mass will burn more calories and fat.

(2)- If you are looking to enlarge and gain strength in places like your arms, then weightlifting is about the only choice. What seems to be most effective is lifting to burnout, where you do relatively low reps (maybe 2 sets of 8), but where you increase the weight resistance until you literally are almost unable to complete the last reps. Make sure you are consuming enough potassium, aminos, and protein! Creatine is also a very good supplement for this. One last thing to remember about the mass you gain from lifting is this .. maintainance is CRITICAL. If you stop the lifting, your body won't take long to go back to your natural size. When I was last serious about heavy lifting, I reached around 255-260lbs, but it made me feel a bit bulky and sluggish for my other activities, so I went back to mostly cardio/speed activity, and within 6 months, I had dropped back to around 225, which is my healthy size without weight training.

(3)- To get cut, strong abs, you need to combine a responsible diet (avoid cheap carbs like sugar!!) with ab-specific exercice, along with your ongoing cardio workout (which lowers body fat body-wide). It is best to combine a couple of different ab exercices. I recommend starting with these 2.

First, do 3 way crunches or situps, depending on how many you can do, I recommend not a set number, but rather as many as you can do in two sets of five minutes each. That way you really concentrate on the burn and increased heartrate. 3 way situps are pretty simple : lay with your hands behind your head and your knees slightly raised, then sit straight forward, then lay back down, sit up while twisting to the right, lay back down, sit up while twisting to the left, repeat. You can increase resistance by holding weights across your upper chest as well. You can also try putting some leg weights on your forearms and that will also have beneficial effect. Regardless, try to keep the sets at least 5 minutes long.

Second, leg lifts for the deep lower abs. This works best with a partner. Lay down flat and straight with your arms at your sides. Then raise your legs together without bending your knees at all, try to raise them until they get past hip level, then have your partner (standing above you), hit your legs with his palms with a strong toss .. throwing your legs back towards the ground. Before your legs hit the ground, your abs have to perform the resistance necessary to stop them. You can alternate this exercise by lifting your legs to the side angles, this works the deep oblique abdominal musculature.

That's a pretty good start, just try to keep your routine going strong, the biggest pitfall of people trying to get in shape is not necessarily what type of workout they are doing, but that distractions get them off-track. Stick on this, or pretty much ANY competent workout plan, and you will see results [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Good luck!