PDA

View Full Version : Training Advice For newby



Ashr1
02-10-09, 7:43 pm
Hi Guys,
Been checking this site out for a few months and have just signed up. Hope all is well with you guys.

I'm 30, from the UK and have been training on and off for around two and a half years.
I'm 5ft 11" and have always been a pretty big bloke... at the moment I weigh 220lbs or around 16.5stones. Unfortunatley mostly fat. :(

I have tried 3 types of training:
1. Burn fat and gain muscle by way of morning cardio sessions and afternoon weights over a 6 day week. (4 days weights only)
2. Burn fat only - loadsa cardio and very minimal weights (to stop myself from getting borred) :)
3. Gain muscle only and try lose fat by reducing caloric intake.

All of the above plans have there ups and downs... as I'm sure you guys know.
And we all know, that by reducing caloric intake, building muscle isn't really going to happen or will happen but at a very reduced rate.

The workout plans I have tried are:

3 days weights - 2 sets only per exercise (bench press, deadlifts, squats etc) aim for 5-7 reps per set...
This was mentally pretty cool, coz you didnt have to think about a long training session... but as it was only 2 sets per exercise, you came out of the gym in less then an hour (inc warmup) and not feeling like u had done much...
I soon added the cardioo session in the mornings to this routine and i started to lose the 'belly' pretty quick... however, as I was hugely watching what i was eating, how much I could lift, push, pull was affected. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you are pushing more you are getting stronger. And if you are getting stronger, you are getting bigger?

Anyway, the above routine is what I started out with a coupla years ago... at a gym which was part of a hotel and did not have a bench press... (need I say more)

The routine made perfect scientific sense, ..."your muscles only need 2 sets, between 5-7 reps for stimulation and growth..., anything more is just a waste of a time..." I want to post the article but don't wana get into trouble... :)

About 2 months ago, after a prolongeed illness, which left me bed bound for around 6 months, I decided to go back to the gym. I popped along to the 'hotel' with my gym stuff only to find it was closed for refurbishing for around 2 weeks...
Rather then wait any longer I found another gym, a proper gym... where the women were bigger than me! Dumbells went up to... err, lots! Superb mix of machines, Hammer strength etc... and its owned by an ex pro body builder..

I now do a 4 day split... (which I found on this site)
1st day - Legs ( I cnahned this to Legs/Biceps)
2nd day - back/calves - ( I changed this to Back/Shoulders/Triceps)
3rd day - off
4th day - Back/biceps
5th day - Chest/triceps
The aim is to bulk up. 5 sets. Weight increases after every set. 5th set is reduced weight but more reps to failure...
More info here : http://www.animalpak.com/html/article_details.cfm?ID=48&section=training%0A

My questions are:
Is this a good routine to add muscle size? I changed the routine to add more days for arms (day 1 day2)... is this classified as overtraining, or is this ok?

I can't make up my mind, if I should fat lose 1st and then muscle build, or muscle build then fat lose, or both?
I know I have a 'sweet tooth' problem and have now completely CUT OUT on that crap.

My diet at the moment is:
9 am - Breakfast: Porrage oats with tea spoon of honey and semi skimmed milk.
Cup of tea - no sugar

11am - banana
11:30am - gym
1:30pm - Protein shake
2:30pm - Jacket potato with beans and low fat cheese; orange juice.
7pm - 2 standard bagels with 100 grams of breast chicken (no skin) sligtly fried in 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 100 grams of lamb cooked same way.

All in all, this is a 1800 calorie diet... slight mods to this depending on day will push it up to 2000 calories.

I am seeing results with what my current training plan.... but results are very slow.
Is there any advice you guys can offer...?
What do I do 1st? Fat loss? Or Muscle gain? I can then trailor my workouts according to my goals.

Sorry for the massive post... ;)

EBO13
02-10-09, 7:53 pm
why did you change up the workout routine that you got off of here? ive used it and it worked great for me in the past... i am currnetly on a 5 day split that i love... your diet needs a lot of work... you arent gettin enough protein throughout the day... go read some of the Diet Articles on here and learn more about diets, just because you are eating less doesnt mean you are eating right... jsut a banana b4 your workout isnt a good preworkout meal.. you need some protein before a workout... eat eggs and oats in the mornin... its the best breakfast... just read up some more and learn more... this is a great site and has loads and loads of info on here....youre on the right path though... keep it up bro

Ashr1
02-10-09, 8:16 pm
why did you change up the workout routine that you got off of here? ive used it and it worked great for me in the past... i am currnetly on a 5 day split that i love... your diet needs a lot of work... you arent gettin enough protein throughout the day... go read some of the Diet Articles on here and learn more about diets, just because you are eating less doesnt mean you are eating right... jsut a banana b4 your workout isnt a good preworkout meal.. you need some protein before a workout... eat eggs and oats in the mornin... its the best breakfast... just read up some more and learn more... this is a great site and has loads and loads of info on here....youre on the right path though... keep it up bro

Cheers Bro, for the super fast response...
The routine I found on this site (training routine #5) was:
Monday:
Quads/Hams
- Squats
-- Stiff legged deadlifts (added)
-- Leg Curls (changed to lying curls)
-- Leg Extensions - replaced with leg press
-- Calf raises (added)
- Abs
-- straight bar Bicep curls (added)
-- Hammer curls (added)

Tuesday:
Back/Calves
- Deadlift
- Shrugs
--Toe raises (removed)
- shoulder press (added)
- Side lats (added)
- Rear lats (added)
- Straight bar raises (added)
- Tricep pulldows (added)
- Reverse tricep pulldowns (added)

Wed: Off

Thursday:
Back/Biceps
- Behind neck pulldowns
- Front lat pulldowns
- Seated rows
- bicep curls
- preacher curls
- alternate seated dumbell curls
- Abs

Fri:
Chest/Triceps
- Flat bench
- Incline bench
- Incline dumbell
- Dips
- Tricep cable pushdowns
- Reverse tricep pushdowns - (added)

Mondays: I added stiff legged deadlifts to leg routine as I enjoy the exercise... also added biceps as it was a pretty short session...

Tuesdays: was a pretty short session with deadlifts and shrugs, so added shoulders and triceps, also coz the entire routine did not have any shoulder exercises... did I miss something? Maybe a shoulder routine was not required?

Thurs & Friday I left as standard mainly...

In the back of my mind I know I'm eating wrong but am always worried that if I increase my intake I'll just get fatter and fatter...
Maybe I need to educate myself further on the types of food to eat... ?

EBO13
02-10-09, 8:19 pm
im always on here so i usually look for new posts... haha... but all of this is 70% to 80% diet and the rest is the actual weights... i would focus more on gettint your diet in check before you search for the right routine...how long have you been abck in the gym and serious about lifting?

Ashr1
02-10-09, 8:34 pm
im always on here so i usually look for new posts... haha... but all of this is 70% to 80% diet and the rest is the actual weights... i would focus more on gettint your diet in check before you search for the right routine...how long have you been abck in the gym and serious about lifting?

I've always been serious about weights and training... just way of life, work, laziness always stopped me. I then got myself a motorbike (R1) :) about 3 years ago. I went to buy myself a leather biking jacket, and the one i wanted would'nt fit me well... teh shop assistant tried her best to find me a bigger size, but the one i tried was the biggest! She then made the remark "maybe you should do the hoovering once in a while..." it took me around 2 mins to figure out what she said, but she was right!!

Ive always been big, broad shoulders, big back... so always looked as if I was body builder/weight trainer... I just want to make that a reality and not just an illusion. :) hahaha

I was diagnosed with epilepsy around 6 months ago, so had to leave my job, stop driving, riding, training etc.
Rather then just stay in bed and feel sorry for myself I want to complete the task I've set myself. I will do what ever it takes.

I've been back at the gym for 5 weeks now. Prob doesnt mean much but my:
bench press = 90Kgs (complete motion, bar touches chest, and them squeeze and hold for 2 secs at the top.) 5 sets.
Deadlift = 155kgs
Squat = 130kgs

I work from home at the moment, so have unlimited time to attend the gym and concentrate on my diet... :)

EBO13
02-10-09, 8:48 pm
since youre just getting back into it stick to a basic workout with basic heavy movements until your body gets back into lifting and everything... if youre tryin to drop some weight then check the diet and add 30 mins to an hour of cardio in the morning b4 breakfast or after your workout(which is when i do it)... just get back in there and work hard and results will come.. just take time