New to the forums, looking for some advice

[jedwards16]

Ill try to keep this as short as possible.

Back in May, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at the ripe old age of 23. At the time, I was 313 lbs. Im only 5 foot 7 (short, I know ) so you can imagine how that looked. This scared the crap out of me and gave me the necessary kick in the butt to get things in gear.

Fast forward to today, after 7 months of eating right (lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean meats, no soda, tons of water), and doing exercise (30mins on a stationary bike daily and walking whenever I can), Im down to 210 lbs bringing my total lost so far to 103 lbs. More importantly, Im off of my blood pressure meds and am currently sitting at a steady 120/80 BP. I couldnt be happier or feel better.

Im not done yet but Id like to change things up some and have a few questions.

1)Id like to tone up some. Soon, Im going to incorporate weights into my weekly workout but am curious as to how effective it would be since nearly everything I read says "build muscle = eat more calories, lose weight = eat less calories". The two directly contradict themselves.

Does this essentially mean, no matter what I do, since Im cutting calories, I will put on no muscle at all? Its confusing to me as I always thought that lifting weights meant muscle gain but I guess not.

Bear in mind that Im not looking into getting huge. I just want to start getting toned. Think Lance Armstrong rather than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Would picking up a decent set of dumbbells and using them weekly, maybe 2-3 times a week, be a good way to start?

2)I absolutely love my stationary bike and actually look forward to coming home from work and just using it while I catch up on the news, etc. Im not going to stop using it so Im wondering whats the best way to incorporate weights into my cardio workout? Do both on the same day? Alternate days? Typically, whats most effective?

3)Lastly, Ive been skimming here and there on these forums but theres so much to take in. If anyone can provide any advice on anything, it wont go ignored and Id appreciate anything you guys can provide me with. If any of you were in a similar situation to me, hearing your stories and how you did it will help a ton.

I must say that you guys have a nice community here. Everyone seems to down to earth and hell bent on helping eachother. Im glad I stumbled upon it.

 

[endurancefit]

Well done on your reaching your goals. The good thing is that you have found a form of exercise that you enjoy, the stationary bike and that is very good. That pushes up your heart rate, which in turn pushes up your metabolism which in turn burns fat and obviously very good for cardiovascular health.
Weight training is equally important to build strength in your body but also to build lean muscle, which in turn burn more fat. These two combined with a proper and high protein, low fat diet is the ultimate combo.

Start with weights, 3 sets of 10 reps, try and cover each major muscle group and finish with your stationary bike. From time to time you also want to push up your heart rate to 80% +, so that you'll still burn fat long after your workout.

As long as you eat lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, lots of veggies and water, you have nothing to be concerned about.

Also keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat, so although your weight stays the same, but your pants are getting looser, it means that you are losing bodyfat, which is what you really want.

Good luck and keep up the good work

" People ask me what am I on... I'm on my bike six hours a day... that's what I'm on. "
Lance Armstrong

 

[jedwards16]

Start with weights, 3 sets of 10 reps, try and cover each major muscle group and finish with your stationary bike. From time to time you also want to push up your heart rate to 80% +, so that you'll still burn fat long after your workout.

What about resting days? Ive read before that muscles need some resting time to rebuild. Should I take days off between using weights? Should I do this on a daily basis?

Thanks for the advice

 

[Michelley85]

I'm no expert... But as far as I know you're going to want to alternate your strength training and cardio workouts, i.e do the strength training one day and the cardio the next. You can do the cardio on the same day but split it up so you're doing you weight training first, as to not take away any effort from it. Hope this helps!