Alrightttttty then.
I'm about 5'10, say 216 or so, 22 yrs old and looking to cut. I've been working out on and off since I was about 13, and I just started up again 2 weeks ago at Gold's. I've got a nice beer belly, though a few yrs ago I used to be about 175, less than 13% bf and in excellent aerobic condition (sub 6 minute mile, prob less). Anywho, like I said, I'm looking to cut what I have and slim up and get some muscle. Basically, like the guy on the cover of Men's Health, not Muscle and Fitness. I want to tone, add maybe a little bit of muscle, but I don't want to put on any weight really, maybe lose some or keep what I have, but like I said, slim down.
On the other hand, I have a couple spots that I'm weak in, such as triceps, chest, and lower back (injury). When I was 14 I could deadlift about 215, I can still deadlift some, but just today I couldn't do more than 8 hyperextensions without quitting (yes, I just said quitting, the evil word), due to lots of pain.
I also used to row, so I tried to get back into it, yet a minute into rowing, it felt like there was a plate right above my left kneecap (near the thigh) that was sliding...goodie. I was on the bike, the kind that's sloped back so that you can almost peddle up, the ones in front of the TV's, and after 1 minute I had the same problem. Then I tried to do a 10 min brisk walk on the treadmill at 4.5 mph, and it felt like the spot where the hip meets and the right leg meets was killin me, like it was poppin. THEN, when I try to do overhead triceps extensions, my left tricep snaps when I extend at the top, so it seems like I'm in a big heap of mess.
Granted, I'm only 22, but my dad and younger bro have had knee and ankle problems, and I've always been physically active, so maybe it's an early case of wear n tear, who knows. Like I said, I'm looking to cut, so this is what I've been doing. I've tried split day routines, upper 1 day/lower the next, and other different types of programs, and this seems to be somewhat reasonable to putting on strength and muscle for me, yet I haven't been able to cut, even after going for 5-6 months straight I can't seem to see any results, that's why I kinda give up
But here's the program:
MWF (or TTHSat):
(I rotate the exercises and the order in which I do them for variety)
Chest- bench press, dumb press/flyes, decline bench press (this I do 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps, just bc I've been told decline is more for defining the chest via lifting the bottom), seated press machines- 3 sets of 8-10 reps, just bc my chest isn't really that strong and I'm trying to strengthen it up, maybe add a LITTLE size. For 5'10 and 216 lbs, I can maybe do 185 twice, if that.
Legs- I love squats, but I don't wanna attempt them bc of the knee problem. Leg extensions, hack squats, single leg dumbbell lunges, leg press, ham curl. I don't do calves bc mine are big and defined already, thanks to genetics
Back- lower back I don't know of bc of the problem. Like I said, hyperextensions kill after 8 reps. t-bar rows, cable rows, bent over rows, machine-bar pull thingies.
Shoulders- Machine pulldowns, military press, sometimes shrugs (my traps are pretty big as it is), dumb press
Arms- maybe get a bit bigger, yet mostly tone. I need some guns dumb curls, bar curls, triceps pressdown- 3 sets of 6-8 reps for strength (also bc the overhead thing kills me)
I think that's about it. Like I said, mostly just tone, but a couple areas like chest, tris and lower back I'm lookin for strength, lookin to rehab the back but also don't know what to do. For the exercises above, I do 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps. 15-20, 20+ didn't work for me, it's hard to circuit train at a crowded gym, esp. since there's no areas in the corner to work alone, and 10-12 doesn't work, so I've tried 12-15 on and off with little success.
Big problem is diet- tryin to cut back on the fast food, haven't had any in over a month. Started drinkin my soy protein meal replacement shakes again, to lose weight, and overall just watchin what I eat. No brownies, cakes, cookies (mmm....cookies), etc etc...just tryin to eat sensible.
Any thoughts on helpin me cut and strengthen my problem areas, as well as the injuries I've listed, would be greatly appreciated. I'm gonna talk to my Doc about the injuries, but he just shrugs them off usually so who knows. Again, thanks to all, and sorry for the lengthy post, but I try not to leave anything out so that ppl can have all the necessary info they need to make a proper judgement...or somethin
I'm about 5'10, say 216 or so, 22 yrs old and looking to cut. I've been working out on and off since I was about 13, and I just started up again 2 weeks ago at Gold's. I've got a nice beer belly, though a few yrs ago I used to be about 175, less than 13% bf and in excellent aerobic condition (sub 6 minute mile, prob less). Anywho, like I said, I'm looking to cut what I have and slim up and get some muscle. Basically, like the guy on the cover of Men's Health, not Muscle and Fitness. I want to tone, add maybe a little bit of muscle, but I don't want to put on any weight really, maybe lose some or keep what I have, but like I said, slim down.
On the other hand, I have a couple spots that I'm weak in, such as triceps, chest, and lower back (injury). When I was 14 I could deadlift about 215, I can still deadlift some, but just today I couldn't do more than 8 hyperextensions without quitting (yes, I just said quitting, the evil word), due to lots of pain.
I also used to row, so I tried to get back into it, yet a minute into rowing, it felt like there was a plate right above my left kneecap (near the thigh) that was sliding...goodie. I was on the bike, the kind that's sloped back so that you can almost peddle up, the ones in front of the TV's, and after 1 minute I had the same problem. Then I tried to do a 10 min brisk walk on the treadmill at 4.5 mph, and it felt like the spot where the hip meets and the right leg meets was killin me, like it was poppin. THEN, when I try to do overhead triceps extensions, my left tricep snaps when I extend at the top, so it seems like I'm in a big heap of mess.
Granted, I'm only 22, but my dad and younger bro have had knee and ankle problems, and I've always been physically active, so maybe it's an early case of wear n tear, who knows. Like I said, I'm looking to cut, so this is what I've been doing. I've tried split day routines, upper 1 day/lower the next, and other different types of programs, and this seems to be somewhat reasonable to putting on strength and muscle for me, yet I haven't been able to cut, even after going for 5-6 months straight I can't seem to see any results, that's why I kinda give up
But here's the program:MWF (or TTHSat):
(I rotate the exercises and the order in which I do them for variety)
Chest- bench press, dumb press/flyes, decline bench press (this I do 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps, just bc I've been told decline is more for defining the chest via lifting the bottom), seated press machines- 3 sets of 8-10 reps, just bc my chest isn't really that strong and I'm trying to strengthen it up, maybe add a LITTLE size. For 5'10 and 216 lbs, I can maybe do 185 twice, if that.
Legs- I love squats, but I don't wanna attempt them bc of the knee problem. Leg extensions, hack squats, single leg dumbbell lunges, leg press, ham curl. I don't do calves bc mine are big and defined already, thanks to genetics
Back- lower back I don't know of bc of the problem. Like I said, hyperextensions kill after 8 reps. t-bar rows, cable rows, bent over rows, machine-bar pull thingies.
Shoulders- Machine pulldowns, military press, sometimes shrugs (my traps are pretty big as it is), dumb press
Arms- maybe get a bit bigger, yet mostly tone. I need some guns
dumb curls, bar curls, triceps pressdown- 3 sets of 6-8 reps for strength (also bc the overhead thing kills me)I think that's about it. Like I said, mostly just tone, but a couple areas like chest, tris and lower back I'm lookin for strength, lookin to rehab the back but also don't know what to do. For the exercises above, I do 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps. 15-20, 20+ didn't work for me, it's hard to circuit train at a crowded gym, esp. since there's no areas in the corner to work alone, and 10-12 doesn't work, so I've tried 12-15 on and off with little success.
Big problem is diet- tryin to cut back on the fast food, haven't had any in over a month. Started drinkin my soy protein meal replacement shakes again, to lose weight, and overall just watchin what I eat. No brownies, cakes, cookies (mmm....cookies), etc etc...just tryin to eat sensible.
Any thoughts on helpin me cut and strengthen my problem areas, as well as the injuries I've listed, would be greatly appreciated. I'm gonna talk to my Doc about the injuries, but he just shrugs them off usually so who knows. Again, thanks to all, and sorry for the lengthy post, but I try not to leave anything out so that ppl can have all the necessary info they need to make a proper judgement...or somethin
