10 Weeks in, What's Next

Training
1

Hello,

Thanks in advance for your valuable expertise.

36 yo, 5’11", 210lbs

10 weeks ago I decided to get off the couch and put some work into my health. Though a sculpted body wouldn’t hurt my feelings any my ultimate goal and intention was to improve my health. It has not been all that long but I’m learning that training is fun and it’s really becoming a hobby as well. I can’t explain what it’s done for my stress level.

I started with some substantial diet improvement. No more processed foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners. Cut out rice, potato’s and bread for now. I eat lots of salads (very little dressing), fish, eggs, chicken, turkey, lean beef. Piles of vegetables, nuts, whole milk and some fruit.

Currently eating 1800 cal per day, under 60gr of carbs. Enjoying a small whey protein shake with whole milk and a banana after weights.

I’m taking Super B Complex, Methylcobalamin b12 and Vitamin D3 daily.

My Blood pressure is down from 150/95 avr. to 117/73. Energy is way up, can’t sit still all day. Also sleeping better than I ever have. Down to 210lb’s from 250lb’s with noticeable muscle/strength gains relatively speaking (probably silly at your standards).

I’m currently walking at an average speed of 4.5 mph for 3 miles per day 4-5 days per week. Also doing 40 min weight training 3-4 days per week using kettle bells and dumb bells with my 15 year old son. He’s turning into a monster, I’m making slow and steady progress.

I have a few routines but the bulk of the exercises are rows, Russian twist, clings, squats, curls, dumb bell bench press, planks, side planks, push-ups and a few that I don’t know the names of. Seems fairly balanced to me. I do 20 reps (25lbs) or 12 reps (40lbs) three times each per session.

So what I’d like is any suggestions about what I’m doing for diet and training and idea’s to step it up. I have limited equipment. I’m considering adding two days of High Intensity Cardio in place of two of the walking days.

Once again thank you for your time.

2

At this point, is your goal still to improve your general health?

The 4 lb/week is pretty fast, but just the fact that you’re changing habits is more important and a lot of that was water. You could probably add in at least another 500 calories and even double your carbs; your son is probably a beast because he eats twice as much as you (that and hormones). At the very least, give yourself 1 meal/week that’s high carb. At this point, I wouldn’t aim to lose much more than 2-3 lb/week.

I definitely would not add any cardio. Your workouts smell cardio-ish and without knowing exactly what you’re doing, the exercises you mentioned seem to be neglecting the lower body a bit, but it’s no big deal if your goal is just general health and you’re enjoying yourself. You could look up some stuff on general physical preparedness (GPP) if that’s still your goal. A little more focus on strength wouldn’t hurt, but there’s a bias on here towards that and it’s doubtful you could do much with your limited equipment.

3

[quote]1 Man Island wrote:
At this point, is your goal still to improve your general health?

The 4 lb/week is pretty fast, but just the fact that you’re changing habits is more important and a lot of that was water. You could probably add in at least another 500 calories and even double your carbs; your son is probably a beast because he eats twice as much as you (that and hormones). At the very least, give yourself 1 meal/week that’s high carb. At this point, I wouldn’t aim to lose much more than 2-3 lb/week.

I definitely would not add any cardio. Your workouts smell cardio-ish and without knowing exactly what you’re doing, the exercises you mentioned seem to be neglecting the lower body a bit, but it’s no big deal if your goal is just general health and you’re enjoying yourself. You could look up some stuff on general physical preparedness (GPP) if that’s still your goal. A little more focus on strength wouldn’t hurt, but there’s a bias on here towards that and it’s doubtful you could do much with your limited equipment.[/quote]

X2. If you’re seeing progress there’s no need to step it up just yet by adding cardio or further reducing calories. I too would suggest adding about 500 calls and seeing how that treats you. Specifically, you could try getting your carbs to 100g (which is still low and should allow for efficient fat loss) and getting the remaining calories from healthy fats.

If buying a barbell and a set of weights is an option for you, do it. Training with added resistance will allow you to build muscle mass, which is key for long term progress.

Great job so far and keep the motivation up.

4

Hey thanks guys. 2300 calories per day and 100 carbs sounds good to me. I’ll start that right away. If i’m tracking, the concern is that I’ll start eating muscle up along with the fat. Do you think increasing the whey shake to everyday and adding some peanut butter and coconut oil for a total of 500 would be a good choice for the additional calories?

10-4 on the cardio addition. Makes sense. Last night I picked up a bench, bar and heavier weights. Added inclined bench, regular bench and two handed jerk cleans to focus on strength. Only doing 70lbs and working on form before increasing. Man my chest and shoulders are on fire from three 10 rep rounds. Even that little weight has me on fire today.

Enough with the modesty. I want to be a healthy, strong, panty dropping animal eventually. New goals already.

I appreciate the kind words and encouragement.

5

From what I remember from some research backed recommendations, (but I have no idea where I’d find it now), protein should be kept fairly high at roughly 1.5g per lb of lean mass when you’re losing weight. Those same recommendations had it at 1g/lb for gaining.

All improvement is good improvement.

I definitely agree that the suggestion of upgrading to a barbell and set of weight plates is a good idea. Several sporting goods stores run pretty good deals for an Olympic-sized bar and 300lbs of weights.

That will give you a lot more options for continual progress down the road. There’s plenty of things you can do with just a barbell and weights. Down the road you can upgrade with a bench and squat rack or power rack if you’re so inclined, but having the weights is a good start. You can even buy dumbbell handles that work with the same weight plates.

EDIT: I totally missed that you just picked up a bench and bar and weights. Ha.

6

Yes Sir I did get the set with the dumbell handles. Oh man 315g of protein, I better get busy. I’m eating lots of flesh but not near that amount every day. Is the whey protein just as good for the difference or should I make an effort to get it from food?

7

[quote]sweet-t wrote:
Yes Sir I did get the set with the dumbell handles. Oh man 315g of protein, I better get busy. I’m eating lots of flesh but not near that amount every day. Is the whey protein just as good for the difference or should I make an effort to get it from food? [/quote]

Whey is a good choice to make up whatever you can’t get from food. Some brands are definitely better than others. For me, it’s all about ease of digestion.

8

Good overall fitness and strength workout…

also reading a bunch of articles by that guy will do wonders for your training knowledge

9

[quote]eaboadar wrote:
Whey is a good choice to make up whatever you can’t get from food. Some brands are definitely better than others. For me, it’s all about ease of digestion.[/quote]

What brands do you prefer?

10

Quick update and a request.

I’ve stuck with it. I’m down to 190lbs and all is well. Currently eating 2400 calories, 75 carbs and tons of protein from meat and whey. 2-3 servings of green or yellow vegetables with lunch and dinner. One piece of fruit, a few servings of peanuts and 5-7 berries each day.

Taking d3, B complex, and Methyl B every day.

I really am ready to ramp it at this point. I only want to loose about ten more pounds then increase the calories and focus on adding muscle.

I scored some new equipment and would like some suggestions for a good solid beginners routine. I’m currently trying to keep it well rounded but don’t have a consistent routine.

My form is getting better for dead lift, squat and I’ve been doing some sqaut-clean-press (sorry if that’s wrong) moves. Please don’t fall out of your chair laughing hysterically but I’m doing it with 90 pounds right now. Form, Form and more form says my brother. I know I’m capable of a good bit more but have been focused on not hurting myself.

Thought I had a routine worked out but I’m swimming in opinions and contradicting advice.

I did add two days of beginner HIIT Cardio a few weeks ago. So twice per week I’m doing five miles. Flat out sprint for .3 and 5mph walking for .7 for a total of five. It’s fun.

Here is the new stuff.

weight bench, cage with cable station (one high and one low), dip and pull-up station. Olympic barbell, dumbbells, 300lbs of plates and some good floor mats for ground work.

Would appreciate feedback for a four day per week training routine geared towards a leaner stronger body. Hoping for a medium amount of bulk, nothing drastic. I will do the research and learn how to correctly do any suggested exercises that I’m not familiar with.

Thanks for your time.

11

Before you get ahead of yourself, a lot of folks would suggest that once you get to your goal weight, to maintain that weight for around 6 months so your body can establish where it ought to be. Otherwise, it thinks it has been starving this entire time and if you increase the calories, it is going to try and store those calories as fat instead of building muscles.

As far as routine, some folks would suggest to maintain what you’re currently doing to monitor how your body adapts to changes in diet, etc.

If you did want to change it up, I think a standard 3x week, full body, strength based program should work fine for now.

12

10-4 on the diet. That makes perfect sense. Glad I asked.

I believe what I’m doing now is a basic full body strength based program. I’m defiantly getting stronger and more flexible still.

I’m being a little impatient and feel great so I’m dying to see what I can really do.

13

You should be able to ride that out to around a 300+ squat, upper 300s DL, 200+ bench, mid 100s OHP 5RM before you need to worry about switching anything up… Given the weightloss, it’ll take about a year, maybe more.

Also, every 6 weeks or so, skip a workout or two… go do something active and fun (hike, fish boxing, hooker orgy, or whatever). This will help your body recover for the long run.

14

Sounds like a great plan. What’s 5RM?

I like your style. Now those are quality activities. :slight_smile: