A little advice. Please!

Hi

Just looking a little advice as I'm not really offay with the whole weight loss/muscle gain thing. I have done a little research on the internet but there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice out there. If anyone can help me out, it would be greatly appreciated.

Well, despite the fact I can put my thumb and little finger around my wrist, I somehow manage to weigh in and around 13st (82kgs). I'm 5ft 10. I've been going to the gym for about 6/7 weeks now, 3 times a week for an hour, doing a mixture of cardio and weights (mostly bicep, tricep, abs and shoulder). My aim was to remove the weight from around the gut and redistribute as muscle around the upper body. It's not being 13st that annoys me (although 12.5st would be good) it's where most of the weight is sitting. Even if I gained weight, but with a little better shape I wouldn't mind.

Anyway in those 6/7 weeks I haven't really progressed much. I think I'm heavier now, with the weight still where it always has been, but I suppose I am a little fitter than before. My eating habbits vary but I would rarely eat crisps, sweets, chocolate, etc. I eat plenty of fruit and veg, but also a lot of bread and probably too much fried food. I would also tend to eat more at the end of the day than at the beginning. Sometimes, I wouldn't eat till 2 hours after rising. I wouldn't drink alcohol as often as I use to, maybe once or twice every few months, although when I do, I probably push the boat out too far - or so I've been told (can't remember myself

Anyway, that's my story and if you have lasted through it, thanks for reading I'm sure you've read stories like it 1000 times but if you can offer some advice, great!

Couple of things to start you off.

Always eat as soon as you wake up. The faster you get the metabolism up and running, the more calories your body will burn of its own accord.

With regard to training, train your chest (not sure if you accidentally missed this out or not), and also your legs. Can't remember the exact technical jargon but effectively training your legs helps boost the metabolism, too.

If you want to see fast changes then I'd suggest 2 nights where you go for a run (around 3 miles or more) and 3 nights of weight training. Also, keep off the beer and keep that diet rich in protein. Carbs before the workout, protein after.

Thanks FOF. A few questions.

Should I just cut out my cardio at the gym then? I usually go for a run first, but some people tell me this is wrong.

Also if when should I go for the run? Aren't you supposed to rest a day after weight training? Or is it ok considering I do very little leg weights?

It's fine to run a day after a workout mate.

Initially, you could try running early morning before you eat (wouldn't usually recommend this but it is effective at stripping fat).

I'd leave out the cardio at the gym yeah, maybe just a walk after a weight session on the treadmill, or a 10min cycle to warm down. Then dedicate say two days to cardio where you do road running. I'd keep weights and cardio separate.

I agree with Fists, when he says train legs. Full body workout is key. In fact I'd sack off the bicep and tricep training and just do multi-joint movements. Squats, deadlifts, pull-ups etc. Lift heavy (relative to your ability) and fast. Cut down on the bread and eat plenty of broccoli, cabbage, stuff like that.

How much sleep do you get?

About 7/8 hours. Went for a 3 mile road run last night and did my gym session lunchtime today covering all upper body muscles. Although re-reading FOFs post, I'll add some leg work in next time. Was also thinking of joining the circuit training class and see how I go with it.

What do you's reckon on promax protein for recovery?

It sounds like you are working the wrong area's.

You would be better off working your back, chest, shoulders and legs. Most exercises that you can do on these area's would also work the vanity muscles (arms, ab's). In working the bigger muscle groups you will cut the weight better.

Things like your bench press will work your triceps. Lat pull down will work your biceps, good form will work your core.

If you are looking to get quick results I would look at using weights first and then the cardio (this is supposed to do more fat loss) and for your cardio you should look into interval training (sprint 30 seconds, walk 30 seconds, sprint 30 etc for around 10 minutes).

Things like your abs and arms are better to work once you have got closer to the size you want to be as they are more finishing off moves.

You should also be looking to do longer sets whilst you are trying to cut the weight. Maybe 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Give yourself time to recover, 48 hours rest after each session.

Thanks. I really appreciate the help guys.

I inserted a fair bit of shoulder and back weights into my last work out, on top of the chest weights. Bicep and abs would only take up a small part of the workout at the minute. I'll factor more leg weights into tomorrow's session as well.

liverbnz wrote:Thanks. I really appreciate the help guys.

I inserted a fair bit of shoulder and back weights into my last work out. I'll factor more leg weights into tomorrow's session.

One other thing that you should always remember when training, make sure you train for symmetry. If you work your chest don't neglect your back - not necessarily in the same workout but in your training schedule.

I made the mistake of only training the parts that I wanted to show off (chest, arms, abs) and gave myself bad back problems, all good now but screwed me up for a while.

Ab's are one of the major areas where this can happen so try to include a complete core workout as your ab training. Make sure you work your lower back and sides rather just doing endless sit-ups. This could save you a lot of problems further down the line.

Just to echo huw, chest works triceps as a kind of secondary, and likewise back does the same with biceps. You therefore don't need to go OTT with tricep and bicep exercises each week, a quick burn should do.

With abs, try to mix it up. For example to 3 sets of 30 crunches, 3 1-minute planks. 3 sets of 10 leg raises. These should vary it enough to help other areas such as your overall core and lower back, too.

what exercises would you do to focus on the inner chest without going to the gym and having little equipment other than weights e.g dumbells n a bar etc. for example a crossover alternative along those lines

Flyes with the dumbells, along with incline chest press I'd say. Also, pressups, whilst they're great for tris they also work the chest very well.

Stomach Crunches are useless in my opinion, they are apparently one of the most ineffective stomach workouts, also they don't trim fat at all.

I would focus on trimming the fat first then going on muscle definition, weight lifting does help with trimming fat and obviously has a lot of muscular benefits but running is a huge one, especially running at a high pace and try and mix it up with uphill running which cuts fat faster than most other workouts.

Try eating things full of carbs such as pasta before your work out and eat things full of protein like chicken and try out protein shakes also.

Once you've been doing that for a few weeks the fat realistically should be falling off you, also in regards to going out drinking try and stay away from beer and lager as that piles on the pounds and gives you a gut.

This is just from my experiences and although I've never really been overweight or heavy, this is what works best for me.

Once you've got the fat trimmed the main areas to work out are chest arms stomach back shoulders and legs (Basically everything!!!) Keep up the running and soon enough you will probably begin to enjoy it, I love running after previously not enjoying it and actually like trying to beat my records.

Just a little update.

Firstly, I want to thank everyone for their advice, it was really helpful.

Secondly, after weighing in at around 86kgs at the end of the summer, I'm now down to 76.5kgs, which was in and around my target. The last 3 weeks I basically sacked off the gym (more by circumstance than concious decision) and I was able to run a lot more, especially early in the morning. I dropped 3.5kgs in those 3 weeks alone.

Back to the gym this lunchtime and I'm going to concentrate gaining strength and definition for the next few months. I'll also be keeping up with running as and when I can.