Newbie Intro and Goals

R

RoRoCo

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RoRo Goals and Routine

Hey guys,

I just wanted to drop you a line and say hey. I have recently gotten very serious into trying to get in shape. I have always worked out, but I have always done the safe/preferred routines. In other words, I have done a lot of weight training with little cardio.

I am 6’5” and 270 pounds 32% body fat. I am a big guy with broad shoulders a slight gut and a general all over softness…but still muscular. I can pull off “fit” in clothes, but my goal is to get trim and yes to get a six-pack. I have never had a six-pack, and I realize that this is a lofty goal, but I think it is an obtainable one if I stick to it.

Over the last three months I have lost 10 lbs and 6% body fat while maintaining my strength and my muscle mass with my new routine:

45 minutes of cardio (jogging or Stairmasters) 5-6 times a week
10 minutes of polymeric exercises after 2 cardio sessions a week (none weight days)
45 minutes of targeted weight training 4 days a week (chest/tri, back/bi, shoulders/traps, legs, repeat)
Sit ups and home pushups every day

I eat right and light everyday (and I do cheat sometimes).
I cycle supplements on and off. That is; I take Creatine and RipFeul-like pills for two months and than stop for two months. Nothing more.

Part of my new plan is to do things to put my mind in the right frame. I buy workout specific clothing (too cheap to let them sit in my closet without using them), talk about my goals openly to others (obviously), and I do daily exercise (sit ups and push ups) every morning as to start off my day with a no-excuse type mentality.

I would love to hear your guys thoughts on this. If you want more details or you would like me to post my results as they happen, then I will oblige.

Just so you know…I have read up on HIIT and am not completely sold on the idea. I will try HIIT when I am in the gym on the Stairmaster, but I will continue to jog throughout the week. Besides…my dog already hates me…changing pace would make her unbearable.

Sorry for the long post…it was theraputic though :D

RoRo
 
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I was like you when I started, 283, some experience in the whole fat loss game. I did what you did. I lost more weight when I cut back on my cardio. Only do 4 times a week max.
 
Welcome!!

I agree w/ Allen that you are doing too much cardio - it's really unnecessary and will only hinder results.

Remember: six-packs are made in the kitchen. YOu say you are eating light, but I hope you are eating enough. There are a lot of people who think that to lose weight and get a hard stomach they have to eat less, much less; however, that is the opposite of what should be done. Do some searches on these forums on clean diets and you'll get the idea.

And definitely try HIIT - it's a lot of fun, mostly because it's so short! But it is very time-efficient and is recommended. Although, I think it may be better to do on the treadmill or a track as opposed to a stairmaster.
 
Thank for the replies guys :D

Couple more points to your points.

1) I like doing cardio every day because it helps keep me motivated (plus I feel like a slob when I don’t train). I may reduce the amount once I get to a certain level. Right now I am making good muscle gains, losing fat at a healthy pace, and I am sticking to the routine. I will change it once I plateau a bit.

2) A common day menu for me looks like the following…

9:00 Low Sugar Oatmeal
12:00 Veggie Chicken Pita (At a little shop near my work)
4:00 Soup (From Giant or Pita shop)
8:00 Cold-cut sandwich (roast beef , turkey, chicken)
or
Some Chicken Salad

I have taken out all junk food and heavy meals that I used to eat. I feel full all day long and I don’t think I am eating a whole lot for my size.


Your thoughts?

RoRo
 
sounds way low for your weight.

Keep track of your calories, at 270 you want to consume approximately 2500-2700 minimum for healthy fat loss.

at 250, i consume 2200-2500 and lose 2 lbs a week.
 
Please correct me if I am wrong...but I thought things like calorie intake and suppliment doseage should be calculated from ideal body weight and not actual weight. I was told that fat weight should not be included because fat does not burn the nutrients in question.
 
No, they should be calculated from current bodyweight. All caloric formulations take your current bodyweight into account for caloric expenditures. In order to burn off more than you take in, you have to calculate from what you burn now, not what you would burn if you were at an ideal bodyweight. Think about exercise in the same way, you carry around 270 lbs, you'll burn more calories walking around with 270 then if you weight 190. As you get lighter, the weight bearing exercise (walking, running, stairstepper) burns less calories at the same intensity.
 
Doing cardio everyday does make one feel good - I enjoy cardio. However, you will find that you won't be making much progress in terms of the weightlifting; you won't be gaining much muscle weight. Sure, you're losing weight and fat, but a lot of it is going to be muscle. It's really unnecessary.

I'm a girl, I weight about 130, and I eat twice as much (if not more) than you do. You really, really, really need to eat more. And only 4 times per day? That's no good, either. It's important to eat enough, and often. Aim for 5-7 meals per day. This will keep your metabolism going and will prevent catabolism.

Low-sugar oatmeal = no good. It's full of preservatives and other junk, and has less fibre and protein. Get the basic rolled oats, from the carton - not packets - and cook it up yourself in the microwave or on the stove. You can sweeten it up with a chopped apple and cinnamon or some frozen berries.

The Veggie chicken pita sounds okay - so long as there's no mayo or other high-calorie condiments on it. The only thing that bothers me is that pita's aren't 100% whole wheat - therefore you're eating simple carbs, which will most likely be converted into bodyfat.

Soup is not a meal.

A sandwich is not a meal.

My suggestions along with the oatmeal: eat 5-7 meals, with a serving of protein with each. The protein can be some grilled chicken, egg whites, protein powder (perfect for post-lifting), cottage cheese, lean red meat, canned tuna. What a lot of us do is grill up a bunch of chicken on Sunday, and then you have plenty to take for the week as needed; or you can hard-boil a dozen eggs on Sunday for the week. You also need to eat more fruits & veggies - apples, bananas, oranges, berries, sweet potatoes, salad greens, etc. are all good choices. Healthy fats are important, too - olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed, natural PB. If you must have a sandwich, be sure it's 100% whole wheat bread.

I know you've made progress with your current plan, but I can predict that unless you make these suggested changes, you're not going to see much more. Search these forums for info on clean diets to get some more insight. Also, look into HIIT 3xs per week to replace your daily cardio.
 
I definately appreciate all the feedback. I can seem like a stubborn SOB sometimes but I definately listen to all critisim...so please don't stop.


I can't possible eat more at this time. I would have to force feed myself and I hate that feeling. Plus...I believe size of people and food intake is not relative. Your metabolism is much higher than mine. My heart rate at my size is naturally much, much slower, thus, I burn much fewer calories per lbs than you. I look at the dog kingdom for theories here. All other things equal...My dog is 120 lbs and eats 1/4 of what my friends 50 lbs dog eats. Her metabolism is just much slower.

Working behind a computer most of the day does not burn off enough calories per day for me...thus, why I feel like I have to do cardio as much as I do. I jog at a ogre-ish pace so I maintain a reasonable heart rate. I do not hit anerobic levels so muscle loss should not come into play.

I will try HIIT on my 2-3 gym cardio days. Does jogging in hilly areas fall into HIIT?

I will add potien powder to my oatmeal and I will start back up on protien shakes though. You are right on my protien intake.

I like my sandwiches dry...no mayo...no ketchup...some mustard.

I try and stick with 12 grain bread for sandwiches...which reminds me...I need to stop by the store later.

I strongly feel like I can get past my first milestone of 250 lbs and 25% body fat on this plan. Once I am there than I will tweak my regiment to get my next milestone. If I am wrong...I will of course gladly share my experience with the forum.

I believe in listening to the theories but believing in the tested. I am testing my theories right now...I'll keep you posted on my beliefs. :D
 
RoRoCo said:
Does jogging in hilly areas fall into HIIT?
Click to expand...
No.

HIIT is alternating periods of high-intensity sprints w/ periods of recovery, and is best done on a flat surface.

Here is a typical HIIT program:
5 minutes warm-up
30 seconds sprint (I do 9.5mph on the treadmill)
1 minutes recover (I do 4.5mph)
*do 8 sets of sprints/recovers
5 minutes cool-down
total 22 minutes
 
And my metabolism is higher because I lift weights, and I eat every 2 hours. If you eat every 2 hours, you're metabolism will get a boost, too.
 
spock when i eat every 2 hours i feel like im over filling myself? Is it okay to eat an apple before i go to bed because i honestly hate cottage cheese? Then also in the weekdays because of school i dont have time to eat during classes. This is what a meal plan for me sometimes looks like
Breakfast: Oatmeal with fat free milk or Special K Cereal or Egg Whites
Lunch: Salad with fat free dressing with an apple and a pickled egg (are they good for you by the way or is pickled bad should i just eat the reg white ones?)
Snack: Apple, orange, banana
Dinner: Chicken, Turkey, Steak, (sometimes i eat hamburger helper) veggies, baked potato, sometimes wild rice with added carrotts and sometimes i eat spahgetti even though thats prlly bad
Then sometimes for a snack i eat an apple around 9 o'clock and go to bed around 10:30 is that bad to go to bed right after you eat?
 
spockafina said:
No.

HIIT is alternating periods of high-intensity sprints w/ periods of recovery, and is best done on a flat surface.

Here is a typical HIIT program:
5 minutes warm-up
30 seconds sprint (I do 9.5mph on the treadmill)
1 minutes recover (I do 4.5mph)
*do 8 sets of sprints/recovers
5 minutes cool-down
total 22 minutes
Click to expand...

IF i do this at the gym what will it result in?
 
Natural_dreams said:
IF i do this at the gym what will it result in?
Click to expand...
HIIT is a very effective form of cardio that burns more calories and is less likely to use up muscle. You may not burn as many calories during the actualy 25 minute work-out, but because of the high-intensity's effect on metabolism, the calorie-deficit at the end of the day would be greater than doing steady-state cardio.

Doing HIIT will result in what most cardio does - fat loss. You can replace all of your cardio w/ 3-4 sessions of HIIT per week and you'll get great results (so long as your diet is in the right place, of course).
 
Modified Plan using some of your recommendations.

Typical Day Diet:

9:00 Oatmeal w/apples
12:00 Veggie Chicken/Turkey Pita (BTW…there are a ton of veggies in this thing and no bad condiments)
3:00 Soup (navy bean or beef stew)
5:30 Myoplex Carb Sense Shake
8:00 Chicken Caesar or Mandarin Oriental Salad (very, very little low fat dressing)

If I get the munchies…I usually have a piece or fruit (i.e., plum, nectarine, pear, etc), but I ususally do not.


Work Out Schedule:

My weights system is 3 exercises for each muscle group with 3-4 sets (pyramids, super sets ususally).

Sunday - 25 min. HITT (Elliptical)
45 min. Legs weights Protein Shake
25 min. Low impact Cardio (elliptical)

Monday – 25 min. HITT (StairMaster)
45 min. Chest and Tri weights Protein Shake
25 min. Low impact Cardio (elliptical)

Tuesday - 45 min. Jog

Wednessday – Rest (sometimes 45 minute jog)

Thursday – 25 min. HITT (StairMaster)
45 min. Back and Bi weights Protein Shake
25 min. Low impact Cardio (elliptical)

Friday - Rest

Saturday – 25 min. HITT (StairMaster)
45 min. Shoulder and Traps weights Protein Shake
25 min. Low impact Cardio (elliptical)

Everyday…Balance ball abs and lower back routine. 20 Pushups


I know some of you are going to say that I do too much cardio, but I am not a hard gainer and I have not been losing any muscle mass or strength. Quite the contrary actually.


I will keep you guys posted on the results.
 
Your new plan looks much better than before

And you're right, I am going to say you're doing too much cardio. Doing the extra cardio along w/ HIIT defeats the purpose of shorter, more intense, less frequent sessions.

I really believe that if you trusted us and gave doing less cardio a chance for 1 month, you'd see amazing progres.
 
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