Trying to lose weight - Need help and advice.

R

reservoir

New member
I am 24 years old 236lbs standing at 5'10". My goal is to get back to 180lbs by May of 2008. Over the years of shoulder dislocations and fractured knee and ankle i have gained some weight. I am hitting the gym 6 days a week and so far in the first 10 days no loss. Below i will list what i have been doing and you can please help me modify it to better suit my goals.

1. 30 minute Elliptical Trainer (Weight Loss Program. 4 min low resistence 4 min high)
2. 2 Sets of 12 reps for pecs. (switching exercise weekly)
3. 2 Sets of 12 reps for bicep
4. 2 Sets of 12 reps for back
5. 2 Sets of 12 reps for tricep

I have cut back on eating. In the morning i have a Banana (8pm) then around 10:30 i have some cheerios. For lunch i have a 6" subway sandwhich on wheat or a chicken ceasar salad (1:30pm). Around 5pm i have a vegetable (usually corn or green beans) and chicken, tuna, or a soup. Around 8:30 pm before i head to the gym i have 8oz of 1% milk with 2 scoups of protein (50g protein total).


Someone please tell me if this looks ok, or what i should change.
 
Do you know how many cals you are eating?

The bottom line is, assuming nothing is going on medically, if you aren't losing, you are eating too much.

However, eyeballing that intake, it doesn't seem like too much. So it leaves me to question your consistency. How consistent are you with this? 7 days per week? No cheats?

Oh, and am I reading you correctly.... you use the elliptical 6 days per week and you weight train 6 days per week?
 
Well so far i am 9 for 10 on the gym. When i say the gym that consist of both the elliptical and weights. The day i missed the gym was for a 4.5 hour golf outing with tons of walking where i was completely exhausted. During the 10 days I have only cheated 1 time with buffalo wings but i only had 7 (shouldn't have thrown off anything terribly).
 
I suggest inputting your nutrition into something like , let's see where you stand.

I wouldn't weight train 6 days per week. I'd also add some more balance to your routines. Maybe something like a 3 day per week full body routine (including legs) or an upper/lower split where you alternate upper and lower bodies 4 days per week.

What you are doing right now really isn't effective considering what goals you have in mind.
 
I figured what i was doing wasn't optimal. Actually my intention with what i was doing was just to get the body warmed up and loose for some serious work outs. I am really looking for someone to point me in a direction towards a good workout program i can follow for my goals. I really want to do this and I have the time and now with my 24 hour gym i have no reason to ever miss.
 
I have read a few of them and working my way through all of them. I am having trouble with the FitDat program... I can't seem to find Grilled Chicken. There are so many optiosn for broiled or roasted but not many for grilled.
 
I haven't looked through fitday in a long time.... I'm sure someone who uses it around here can chime in here.....

anyone?
 
Steve, a few years ago (before the injuries) I was on a 3 day work out program (did it twice a week with 1 day off). It was similar to this outline below. Can you tell me if this is something i should go with?

Day 1: Chest and Tricep
1. Bench Press 3x12
2. Flies 3x12
3. Inclinde DB Press 3x12
4. Tricep push down 3x12
5. Overhead tricep extension 3x12

Day 2: Back and Bicep
1. Lat pulldown 3x12
2. Seated row 3x12
3. T-bar row 3x12
4. Standing DB Curl 3x12
5. Hammer curl 3x12

Day 3. Legs and Shoulders
1. Seated Press 3x12
2. Lateral raise 3x12
3. Upright row 3x12
4. Leg press 3x10
5. Calf raise 3.10
 
reservoir said:
Steve, a few years ago (before the injuries) I was on a 3 day work out program (did it twice a week with 1 day off). It was similar to this outline below. Can you tell me if this is something i should go with?

Day 1: Chest and Tricep
1. Bench Press 3x12
2. Flies 3x12
3. Inclinde DB Press 3x12
4. Tricep push down 3x12
5. Overhead tricep extension 3x12

Day 2: Back and Bicep
1. Lat pulldown 3x12
2. Seated row 3x12
3. T-bar row 3x12
4. Standing DB Curl 3x12
5. Hammer curl 3x12

Day 3. Legs and Shoulders
1. Seated Press 3x12
2. Lateral raise 3x12
3. Upright row 3x12
4. Leg press 3x10
5. Calf raise 3.10
Click to expand...

I'd change it up a bit. I'd much rather see you stick with something like a 2 day on, one day off split.

Something like this would work better IMO:

Monday: Upper -- Horizontal heavy, Vertical light
Bench Press -- 4x6
BB Row -- 4x6
DB Overhead Press - 3x10
Cable Pulldowns - 3x10

Tuesday: Lower -- Quad heavy, Posterior chain light
Full Squats -- 4x6
Stiff Leg Dead lifts -- 3x12
Lunges -- 3x8
Leg Curls -- 2x12

Thursday: Upper -- Horizontal Light, Vertical heavy
Assisted Pullups -- 4x6
BB Overhead Press -- 4x6
DB Incline Bench -- 3x10
Close Grip Cable Rows -- 3x10

Friday: Lower -- Quad light, Posterior chain heavy
Deadlifts -- 4x6
Leg Press -- 3x12
Bulgarian Split Squat -- 2x8
Calves -- 3x8

You could throw some accessory stuff in at the end of each day if you'd like such as abs and arms but don't go crazy.

This is just a real quick idea of what I'm talking about, certainly modifiable.
 
Thank you. That is the type of information i really need to help me get going. The only exercise on there that i can't preform is the BB overhead press. This is a sure way for me to dislocated again (even though i had surgery). Is there another exercise you can suggest to accomplish the same result?
 
Reservoir:

Since youve been only working out for 10 days, I would suggest a few things.

#1: Increased volume at the start is good. When you get back into working out your body's adaptation to the stimulus of the specific movement is what brings about such fast gains.

#2: You still need rest. Your muscles need to recover. However, smaller muscle groups like your shoulders and biceps need less time than larger muscle groups like your quadriceps. Plan your workouts accordingly.

#3: Before you hit huge compound movements like squats, deadlifts and the like you need to prepare your body for the undertaking. I recommend:

1.
2. leg extensions (quads)
3. leg curls (hamstrings)
4. heavy ab work (core)
5. lots of post-exercise stretching

before you start any heavy compound movements. Steve's recommendation is far too advanced and you risk injury if you jump right into it, particularly because of the low volume. The low volume suggests heavy lifting. If it didn't, you wouldnt be getting nearly enough stimulation to grow at the start.

A strong lower back and strong abs are pre-requisites to that type of exercise.

Any more questions feel free to ask.

Michael
 
Yea, me is dum. doNt lissen 2 me evar.

And the deltoid is 3 muslce groups too, right Michael.... LOL.
 
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That 3 day cycle you talked about is almost what I currently use (I jack it around a bit, and do different lifts, but the emphasis is the same). It is ROUGH if you go balls out.

Like steve said, start off with a 2 day on, 1 day off cycle, alternating which set you emphasize each time you go. Get to where you do that and can stick to that well, then you can think about switching up your workout to something more complex if you feel that it is warranted.

As far as the shoulder goes, I feel you on that one. During a fight in the summer of 1999, I dislocated and separated my right shoulder, and tore my lat and trap. The only good part about the whole ordeal was the sweet scar.

What I’m interested to know is why you think you can’t military press. After all of that, and after I rehabbed it and got my strength in it back, I was never told by my doctor or physical therapist that I couldn’t do it, and I can now hit a set of 10 with 100 pound dumbbells. More information on the specific condition of your shoulder would be great, but if a medical professional has told you not to do it, obviously don’t do it. But, if you are just laboring under the misconception that you can’t military press due to the fact that you’ve dislocated your shoulder, you should probably go back to your doctor and ask.

--Pig
 
You are working out too much :) I would suggest you to do weight training a 3 day per week. Since you’re starting out, the best thing is to do the basic strength training:

1. Dead lifts
2. Bench press
3. Pull-ups

The rest of the week you should do cardio. Take it slow, there is no point in getting injured.
 
Andrey said:
You are working out too much :) I would suggest you to do weight training a 3 day per week. Since you’re starting out, the best thing is to do the basic strength training:

1. Dead lifts
2. Bench press
3. Pull-ups

The rest of the week you should do cardio. Take it slow, there is no point in getting injured.
Click to expand...

Oh noez!! Big lifts willz brake da backs!!!!!!!!!
 
But, if you are just laboring under the misconception that you can’t military press due to the fact that you’ve dislocated your shoulder, you should probably go back to your doctor and ask.
Click to expand...

Quoting my own post here, but if you DO end up going back and asking, please come back here with the answer you get, as I would like to know if I am possibly risking another dislocation. Getting that back in, and that specific rehab after the surgeries was one of the least fun things I've had to do in my life.
 
Andrey said:
:rotflmao:

Not necessarily. Big lifts with small weights will do the trick :)
Click to expand...

Exactly.

To Michael, on a serious note, I suggest you read my "basic lifts" thread which has been stickied if you'd like to know my philosophy on integrating big lifts into a novice's programming.

I'd never recommend max effort attempts on these lifts until they are ready.

No, 4-6 reps does not necessitate heavy weight. Admittedly, I should've added more context to my post though, so touché!
 
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