Lets all Diet & get in shape

[rightlane]

Hi Gimp! My wife and daughter both have been going to Weight watchers since after Thanksgiving and they have both lost their 10% level. I follow along. I have lost 17 pounds but I have seemed to have hit a plateau lately. The last three weeks I have not lost. Much of my weight came off from hard workouts ( I just passed a required agility test yesterday) where as their weight loss came from the diet. The point is there are ups and downs to this weight loss thing and you just have to keep the faith.

Good luck

[Accumulator]

PrinzII- Ah, another workout completed I've noticed that big guys often have killer calves, you're right to keep working them as you loose weight. The more weight you lose the more you'll have to work the calves to keep 'em strong (they won't be carying as much weight with each step). Keep up the good work!

Gimp- Welcome. I'll bet you're SO glad to be out of the chair. Congrats on losing the (first) 36 pounds

Edit: Hey Rightlane, just saw your post. Congrats on passing the test. You obviously got your running back up to speed (uh, so to speak). Could be you're not losing weight because you're replacing fat with muscle, so keep up the good work.

[IndigoGTI]

Well after reading this thread on Monday, I was inspired to start working out again. My wife and I are now planning on going to the gym three nights a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday (if we have plans Friday, then Saturday morning). Starting out Monday I did 15 minutes of cardio on the bike, then 3 sets at 105 lbs on the inclined bench press, 3 sets of rowing with 75 lbs, 3 sets of butterflies at 90 lbs and 3 sets of seated leg presses at 150 lbs. All of my sets are 8 reps except for the leg press, which was 12. I kept increasing weight on the leg press, and still wasn't feeling any burn; I need to try more weight next time (tonight). Tonight, I am focusing on legs and abs, maybe biceps.

Right now I am 6'4" and 220, I would like to get down around 200 and get rid of my stomach, and tone up. I have radically changed my diet in the last month, and by just eating better, small portions more times a day, I have lost seven pounds.

Accumulator, feel free to give me any input as to how I could improve my workout routine. My wife is my workout/diet partner, so it can't be too radical.

Keep up the good work guys!

[PrinzII]

Today might be different with someone spotting me while working out. I'll let you know the outcome on that one.

[Accumulator]

IndigoGTI- Glad to hear you (and your wife) are feeling inspired. I train my wife, who's not especially athletic and is, uhm, in her 50's, and I also advise a female friend, so I have a pretty good idea of what will and won't work there (nah, my ideas are a bit unorthodox at times, but not too "radical" for "normal women").

Cardio three days a week should be good, but you might find it takes energy away from your weight work if you do it first. Once you and your wife get into the swing of the lifting, and start pushing yourselves harder, you'll only want to work ONE large muscle group per workout. It'll then be leg day/back day/chest day with arms and abs worked in also. That way you can really concentrate on getting results in a single area and not worry about the last bodyparts getting shortchanged because you are exhausted. Like what you had planned for Wednesday night (legs and bis and abs). You'll REALLY appreciate this when you start doing more sets (I usually have my wife do about 9-12 sets for a large muscle group). Working each group (hard) once a week works well for most people. I'd probably do legs on Fri/Sat so they can recover over the weekend (in time for the next week's cardio).

Legs: I'm absolutely convinced that leg press machines, etc. (ESPECIALLY leg extension machines) are truly BAD. They cause injury due to the fixed pathway and they ignore the stabilizer muscle development that is so important in "real life". You just can't beat squats, though you have to do them with proper form. My wife has found that squats and straight-leg deadlifts (which she initially thought of as macho powerlifter moves) have done WONDERS for her, uhm, entire lower body. Even if you do them with a bare bar (or even NO bar!), you'll really FEEL a few sets of them and they'll firm and strengthen your entire body.

On biceps, it's all about FORM. Most people use WAY too much weight, thus end up using too much body english, and don't get good results. Again, stick with free weights for arm exercises.

Of course YESTERDAY was your leg/bicep day, so this is a bit after the fact!

As I told PrinzII, do your ab work LAST and DON'T do a zillion, low-exertion reps. Do ab work SLOWLY. No, abs don't "grow too big" very often, it's not something to worry about.

People starting out tend to gravitate towards machines (I know I did, and I have the long-term injuries to show for it), but it's precisely THOSE people who should be working with free weights. Rather than write a (longer ) book here, if you want tips on form for a specific exercise, or reasons why I believe what I do (as in my anti-machine stance), just let me know. Proper exercises + proper form + proper resistance + proper reps/sets = proper results.

PrinzII- How'd that workout go?

[PrinzII]

Originally posted by Accumulator
IndigoGTI- Glad to hear you (and your wife) are feeling inspired. I train my wife, who's not especially athletic and is, uhm, in her 50's, and I also advise a female friend, so I have a pretty good idea of what will and won't work there (nah, my ideas are a bit unorthodox at times, but not too "radical" for "normal women").

Cardio three days a week should be good, but you might find it takes energy away from your weight work if you do it first. Once you and your wife get into the swing of the lifting, and start pushing yourselves harder, you'll only want to work ONE large muscle group per workout. It'll then be leg day/back day/chest day with arms and abs worked in also. That way you can really concentrate on getting results in a single area and not worry about the last bodyparts getting shortchanged because you are exhausted. Like what you had planned for Wednesday night (legs and bis and abs). You'll REALLY appreciate this when you start doing more sets (I usually have my wife do about 9-12 sets for a large muscle group). Working each group (hard) once a week works well for most people. I'd probably do legs on Fri/Sat so they can recover over the weekend (in time for the next week's cardio).

Legs: I'm absolutely convinced that leg press machines, etc. (ESPECIALLY leg extension machines) are truly BAD. They cause injury due to the fixed pathway and they ignore the stabilizer muscle development that is so important in "real life". You just can't beat squats, though you have to do them with proper form. My wife has found that squats and straight-leg deadlifts (which she initially thought of as macho powerlifter moves) have done WONDERS for her, uhm, entire lower body. Even if you do them with a bare bar (or even NO bar!), you'll really FEEL a few sets of them and they'll firm and strengthen your entire body.

On biceps, it's all about FORM. Most people use WAY too much weight, thus end up using too much body english, and don't get good results. Again, stick with free weights for arm exercises.

Of course YESTERDAY was your leg/bicep day, so this is a bit after the fact!

As I told PrinzII, do your ab work LAST and DON'T do a zillion, low-exertion reps. Do ab work SLOWLY. No, abs don't "grow too big" very often, it's not something to worry about.

People starting out tend to gravitate towards machines (I know I did, and I have the long-term injuries to show for it), but it's precisely THOSE people who should be working with free weights. Rather than write a (longer ) book here, if you want tips on form for a specific exercise, or reasons why I believe what I do (as in my anti-machine stance), just let me know. Proper exercises + proper form + proper resistance + proper reps/sets = proper results.

PrinzII- How'd that workout go?

It didn't. I made the boneheaded move of leaving my bag in the car. :

[Accumulator]

PrinzII- Oh well, think of it as more recovery time. Now you can REALLY get in a good workout.

BTW, if your pull-downs are getting your ARMS sore instead of your LATS, uh, we might want to work on your form there. I always think of my arms as just "hooks" that connect the weight (the pull-down bar) to the muscles I'm working (my lats). It's kinda hard to explain..but that never stops me And besides, it's back-day for me when I log off, so this'll get me psyched.

Pull-downs: Generally, use a pronated (palms down) or neutral (palms facing each other- takes a special bar) grip. NOT a supinated (palms up) grip. This will help keep the biceps out of it and help you focus on your lats.

Don't lean back, sway, or otherwise use body english. Don't hunch your shoulders. Try to imagine touching your elbows together behind your back.

If you have a training partner/spotter there, have him/her GENTLY "karate chop" your lats while you're doing the exercise. You'll feel his contact in the muscles you're trying to work and better feel whether you're targeting them or not (my wife found this especially helpful).

Work sorta slow. Don't jerk the bar down from the top position, and hold it for a second when you've pulled it down all the way. Have the bar go back up slower than you pulled it down. If you can't do the reps smoothly and slowly, drop the weight a bit until you can.

Inhale as the bar goes up, exhale as you pull it down (breathe OUT when you're "working").

Rep-wise, you'll eventually want to do far fewer than 50 reps per set, even given your specific goals. If tightening your form drops you down to 20 reps per set (or even less), that would be more like it. Otherwise, do each rep slower or maybe UP the weight. More than 20 reps (and/or sets that last much more than 2 minutes) aren't right for the fast-twitch muscle fibers that make up your lats (and most of your muscles), even when you're working on endurance. Better to do shorter sets and rest for shorter intervals between them.

[PrinzII]

This is getting quite frustrating. I cannot work out because my clothes got soaked from a soda that sprung a leak. Oh well...laundry night.

[94AccordSedanEX]

I don't know if anybody remembers, but around page 1-3 I was posting. I was 6'0, 190 lbs. Weighed my self last night, and I weighed in at 175. It feels a lot better to weigh less, but I'd still like to lose 10 or so lbs of fat and then build muscle up (I won't care if I gain that weight since it'll be muscle). I've been eating a lot better. OJ and a vitamin in the morning, school lunch w/ a salad and apple at lunch, and a sub or something at night. I drink a lot of water still, and thats all. No coke, etc. I've been running a lot after baseball practices and games. Just updating you guys.

[kgb]

Originally posted by 94AccordSedanEX
I don't know if anybody remembers, but around page 1-3 I was posting. I was 6'0, 190 lbs. Weighed my self last night, and I weighed in at 175. It feels a lot better to weigh less, but I'd still like to lose 10 or so lbs of fat and then build muscle up (I won't care if I gain that weight since it'll be muscle). I've been eating a lot better. OJ and a vitamin in the morning, school lunch w/ a salad and apple at lunch, and a sub or something at night. I drink a lot of water still, and thats all. No coke, etc. I've been running a lot after baseball practices and games. Just updating you guys.

Remeber when you start building muscle you will probably go up in weight a little cause muscle weighs more than fat.

Keep up the good work though.

[Accumulator]

94AccordSedanEX- As 2001civicex said, keep up the good work

At 6', 175 would be a good weight if you replaced a little fat with muscle. Even another 10 pounds would be fine if it was muscle. The more muscle you build, the more calories (and fat) you'll burn, too.

This might sound counterintuitive, but if you have a bigger breakfast, with plenty of protein and low-glycemic carbs, you will probably find that you loose fat and (if you're lifting) gain muscle. Remember that it really is "breaking a fast" after sleeping all night, you need to refuel yourself so your body is ready to take on the day.

[PrinzII]

Time to make the workout a tad more intense.