Hello,
I'm not entirely ignorant to what needs to be done to lose weight. I need to lose about 20 pounds, and I'm just wondering what some people's take on my progress.
I'm 5'8 (male) and my starting weight was about 183-185 pounds. I have been in school for about 10 months, and haven't been physically active. Previous to school, I used to go the the gym 3-4 times a week, and I had built a decent foundation of muscle; however, my diet was horrible: fast food, sugar carbs, excessive amounts of food, ect.
Over the past 10 months, my diet has been as bad as my exercise regiment. Eating once a day if I was lucky, and mostly ate pasta. (Obviously a poor student
) I definately think my muscles had atrophied and got smaller. I was down to 170 at some point.
Since then, I've been able to eat healthier (hence the starting weight of 183, pre- weight trainning)...I think my metabolism may still be punishing me.
Currently, I work out quite abit. Borderline excessive. (Gone to the gym the past 10 days in a row now) I've noticed my muscles have returned to their previous density. I have modified my lifting technique (which I'll ask about later), and I do about 20-25 mins of Hiit (running), and 20 mins of lower intensity (riding a bike at fat burning range for someone 6 years younger than me, so about 70% maximum heart rate). It seems like after my workouts, I'm drenched, and volume wise, I "look" fatter. Is that normal? I've also gone up to 190 pounds again, sigh...
My diet consists of:
6:30- Bowl of cereal
10:00- Yogurt, slice of cheese
12:00- Mixed nuts, meal suppliment shake
3:00- Orange
8:00- Salad and chicken breast
My lifting techniques:
Each day, I'll work one major muscle, doing 4 or 5 different types of isolation exercises, with 1 or 2 of those involving other muscle groups as well. For example:
Monday: Chest- Dumbell flys, inverted dumbell flys, a weight machine that isolates chest....and then I'll do a bench press, and inverted bench press
Tuesday: Back: Bent over row, lower back exercises, ect ect...
Before, I used to push myself to failure, trying to hit around 8 reps, but would often fail at closer to 4. Now, what I'm doing is slightly less weight, but I'm flexing other muscles groups and moving slower, making the weight feel much heavier. I will stop at 5 reps, but I will make sure I'm light enough, that I won't fail before 5. I think this will help me build strength without building "size". I also think doing this will allow enough time for healing that I can get away with working out as frequently as I do.
Should I attribute my weight gain to the rebuilding of muscle? Has anyone else started out this way, and later once their metablism gets used to it, does the weight start coming down? If so, how long did it take for you?
It's been about 2 weeks now, since I've really started my proper diet and exercise. I'm looking to build denser muscle (not larger) and lose fat. Am I on the right track? Anyone done something similar to help reaffirm my program? Any other recommendations? Diet wise? Weight lifting wise? Cardio wise?
I appreciate all advice
I'm not entirely ignorant to what needs to be done to lose weight. I need to lose about 20 pounds, and I'm just wondering what some people's take on my progress.
I'm 5'8 (male) and my starting weight was about 183-185 pounds. I have been in school for about 10 months, and haven't been physically active. Previous to school, I used to go the the gym 3-4 times a week, and I had built a decent foundation of muscle; however, my diet was horrible: fast food, sugar carbs, excessive amounts of food, ect.
Over the past 10 months, my diet has been as bad as my exercise regiment. Eating once a day if I was lucky, and mostly ate pasta. (Obviously a poor student
) I definately think my muscles had atrophied and got smaller. I was down to 170 at some point.Since then, I've been able to eat healthier (hence the starting weight of 183, pre- weight trainning)...I think my metabolism may still be punishing me.
Currently, I work out quite abit. Borderline excessive. (Gone to the gym the past 10 days in a row now) I've noticed my muscles have returned to their previous density. I have modified my lifting technique (which I'll ask about later), and I do about 20-25 mins of Hiit (running), and 20 mins of lower intensity (riding a bike at fat burning range for someone 6 years younger than me, so about 70% maximum heart rate). It seems like after my workouts, I'm drenched, and volume wise, I "look" fatter. Is that normal? I've also gone up to 190 pounds again, sigh...
My diet consists of:
6:30- Bowl of cereal
10:00- Yogurt, slice of cheese
12:00- Mixed nuts, meal suppliment shake
3:00- Orange
8:00- Salad and chicken breast
My lifting techniques:
Each day, I'll work one major muscle, doing 4 or 5 different types of isolation exercises, with 1 or 2 of those involving other muscle groups as well. For example:
Monday: Chest- Dumbell flys, inverted dumbell flys, a weight machine that isolates chest....and then I'll do a bench press, and inverted bench press
Tuesday: Back: Bent over row, lower back exercises, ect ect...
Before, I used to push myself to failure, trying to hit around 8 reps, but would often fail at closer to 4. Now, what I'm doing is slightly less weight, but I'm flexing other muscles groups and moving slower, making the weight feel much heavier. I will stop at 5 reps, but I will make sure I'm light enough, that I won't fail before 5. I think this will help me build strength without building "size". I also think doing this will allow enough time for healing that I can get away with working out as frequently as I do.
Should I attribute my weight gain to the rebuilding of muscle? Has anyone else started out this way, and later once their metablism gets used to it, does the weight start coming down? If so, how long did it take for you?
It's been about 2 weeks now, since I've really started my proper diet and exercise. I'm looking to build denser muscle (not larger) and lose fat. Am I on the right track? Anyone done something similar to help reaffirm my program? Any other recommendations? Diet wise? Weight lifting wise? Cardio wise?
I appreciate all advice