From 35 to 40

Training Over 35 Lifter
61

Well had shoulders today and almost didn’t go as I was still a little sore from yesterday. Decided to go and take it slow and light and see how things felt. I am glad I did. I started of real light with alot of warm up sets and as my shoulder got some blood rushing to it I noticed the stiffness and pain went away. I still took it kind of easy but got a decent Shoulder and Abs day in.

Shoulder Press Mach
40lbs/10reps , 50lbs/10reps , 60lbs/10reps x 3 sets
Lateral Raises
15lbs/10reps , 20lbs/10reps , 25lbs/10reps x 3 sets
Shoulder Shrugs
20lbs/10reps , 25lbs/10reps , 30lbs/10reps , 40lbs/10reps x 3 sets
Crunches on ab board
10,10,10

20 mins on the treadmill.
5mins@2.0mph
5mins@2.1mph
5mins@2.2mph
2.5mins@2.1mph
2.5mins@2.0mph

will keep raising the speed till I am doing most of my walking at 2.5mph then I will add some time again.

62

[quote]SuperHeavyWeight wrote:
Well had shoulders today and almost didn’t go as I was still a little sore from yesterday. Decided to go and take it slow and light and see how things felt. I am glad I did. I started of real light with alot of warm up sets and as my shoulder got some blood rushing to it I noticed the stiffness and pain went away. I still took it kind of easy but got a decent Shoulder and Abs day in.

[/quote]

Checking in to say howdy, SuperHeavyWeight. Smart decision on your part paid off: a bit of active recovery, you might say.

63

SHW.
2 years ago I went from 355 to 300 in 3 months and kept most of it off for 18 months…just recently started gaining it back…stress from job and upcoming wedding are my issue right now.

But i ate 6 times a day…7 on gym days
Woke up had Isopure shake…before my feet hit the ground…

Rode bike for 25 min and stretched…

Breakfast 4 egg whites, 4 eggs 1/4 cup fat free cheese with salsa on the side 1 dry wheat english muffin…

Multi Vitamin, CLA, L-Carnatine (1500mg-2000mg of last 2)

Isopure Shake 1 TBLSP Red Fat Peanut Butter

Lunch-2 chicken breast, 3tblsps grain rice

Isopure Shake…
CLA, L-Carnatine (1500mg-2000mg of last 2)

Dinner-Turkey, Flank Steak, or Chicken or ground turkery in frying pan with Garlic, Onion and Peppers and spices rocks…
Small salad…

On gym day i have a shake at the gym right after workout, only do half of it usually…

Everyday is 1-2 gallons water…2 on gym days…

Was always full…and I love to eat…
Weekends get tough but for the first 2 weeks real hard then slowly you get into it and it is 2nd nature…

My workouts were still long and annoying but was comfortable at the gym…

Abs done a lot…not to build abs for looks but to keep up with rest of muscles to avoid injury.

Think I have a copy of it still…

Good Luck!

64

[quote]SuperHeavyWeight wrote:
Well had shoulders today and almost didn’t go as I was still a little sore from yesterday. Decided to go and take it slow and light and see how things felt. I am glad I did.

I started of real light with alot of warm up sets and as my shoulder got some blood rushing to it I noticed the stiffness and pain went away. I still took it kind of easy but got a decent Shoulder and Abs day in.

Shoulder Press Mach
40lbs/10reps , 50lbs/10reps , 60lbs/10reps x 3 sets
Lateral Raises
15lbs/10reps , 20lbs/10reps , 25lbs/10reps x 3 sets
Shoulder Shrugs
20lbs/10reps , 25lbs/10reps , 30lbs/10reps , 40lbs/10reps x 3 sets
Crunches on ab board
10,10,10

20 mins on the treadmill.
5mins@2.0mph
5mins@2.1mph
5mins@2.2mph
2.5mins@2.1mph
2.5mins@2.0mph

will keep raising the speed till I am doing most of my walking at 2.5mph then I will add some time again.
[/quote]

Keep it up, man. Looking like some good, consistent training goin’ on here.

65

hello heavy
wasn’t going to chime in since, you have received a lot of good advice all ready. I was never quite as big as you but, did get up to around 260. One day I was vacationing in Thailand on the beach and realized that there was a lot of fat people out there and I was one of them. I never looked back from that day on the beach. I hope you have reached that point.

As some have posted with success comes a certain momentum and self esteem. Do yourself a favor and address the mental aspect. The weight lost now will be fast and easy-the real test will be in a few weeks or months-when you do get down to around 280 the heavy weight lifting will help the issue with loose skin,it appears you have a large frame so weights will be a lifestyle for the rest of your life along with, healthy food. Your main defense will be food choices no kidding,cut out all the bull shit food(at least for now).
Best of luck

66

[quote]daudowen wrote:
hello heavy
wasn’t going to chime in since, you have received a lot of good advice all ready. I was never quite as big as you but, did get up to around 260. One day I was vacationing in Thailand on the beach and realized that there was a lot of fat people out there and I was one of them. I never looked back from that day on the beach. [/quote]

Mine happened with a photograph taken of me in Vietnam…

You will get there SHW. You are on the right track.
Sorry for the hijack

67

First of all, congrats on making the mental leap and commitment to change. Managing your food intake combined with exercise is critical to success…no surprise and you have figured that out long ago.

I do have a few thoughts, based on experience and research, that may be of use;

  • at this point, your diet is the critical factor. Don’t think that going to the gym makes it OK to cheat on that day or you can cheat on the weekend. I don’t think cheating is ever good. It is a path to failure. Find a variety of appropriate foods to keep your tastebuds from getting bored.

  • steady state cardio (i.e. walking on the treadmill) is poor for weight loss compared to interval training (fast pace, slow pace, fast pace, etc. or high-incline, low-incline, high-incline etc. on the treadmill). Now, this may be a challenge given your current weight (keep a close eye on your joints) but interval is proven to be far superior.

  • training with weights is a great way to lose fat but not the traditional split-type training that you seem to be doing. Do a search on training with complexes. Complexes are a vastly superior way to crank your metabolism which is what you want at this point. Working on your bench to get the poundages up is not relevant to your current goals.

I have great respect for people that take control, set a goal and keep at it even though the road may be a long, hard one. One of the real risks that I see (I took note of your disappointment at only losing 2 pounds in one week) is that you won’t see the regular, steady progress that you will need to see in order to stay motivated over the long term.

Summary…no cheating on the diet (doesn’t mean it needs to be boring), interval cardio as soon as your body lets you and barbell or body weight complexes.

Kick some ass!

68

I don’t know a lot about weight loss having never had a weight problem but I imagine it’s somewhat like strength gains. You’re going to have good days and bad days. The key is not letting the bad days get to you and keep plugging away. Set small goals at first but with a larger goal in mind. Be consistent and eventually you will reach your goals.

One thing you might try when you get really hungry is to drink water. I done it when I don’t have anything to eat readily available and it seemed to satisfy me for a little while. You also might want to clean your home out of all the junk food if you haven’t already done so. Another thing that I have done is always carry my food and bottled water to work that I am going to eat that day and leave all my money at home. That way I won’t be tempted to eat from the snack machines at work. Hope this helps.

69

Hey guys sorry I have not been out here in a few days. I had a ton of things going on. I am a youth pastor and we kicked off our youth group for the year on sunday. As well as working full time I am going back to University part time and that started last week and has occupied almost all my computer time :slight_smile:

I really was going to quote and answer every post but I will try and do it all in one.

First though I have to share a new exercise highlight for me. The community center we have our youth outreach program at has a weight room. We went early cause we were going to hand out flyers.

OK long story short my son (15 year old starting center on his JV football team)<—(proud braging father :slight_smile:

Says dad I want to know how much I can bench for 1 rep. I said I wonder if I can do the 185lb max I hit 2 years ago when I first started working out.

So we head in there and he does 155lb which was as high as I was letting him go. He pushed it up all on his own but it was a strugle and he is still only 15 so I cut him off and said my turn.

After a couple warm up sets I went for the 185lbs no problem, put a 10lb on each side and for the first time in my life benched over 200lbs @ 205lbs. I added 20 more and almost had it locked out but I was struggling and with my boy spotting I called it off.

I am already benching more then I ever have after in my life and I think in another month I will go for the 225lbs again :slight_smile:

70

1Geech

Thanks for dropping in and I am extreamly happy with focusing on the work instead of the results. I have had no guilt and no cheats and great workouts. I am sure I have lost weight but am not dwelling on it I will see where I am at on the first and then just move along.

njplaymaker

Thanks for sharing you program bro I will be borrowing some of it :slight_smile: Looks great I just can’t afford the ISOPURE YET.

daudowen

thanks for sharing your story man. I am at that point. It really isn’t about the weight cause I have been 300+ since highschool. It is about how run down and crappy I have felt. I use to play baseball / hockey and basketball regularly at 300lbs. I even ran cross country at 280 in high school.

skidmark

Thanks man lifting is the one thing that I never have to force myself to do. I love time in the gym and can’t get enough as of now anyway.

j_willy3

Welcome Home and thanks for your service.

My day spent 5 years there 3 in 101st AB and 2 in 58th eng.

giterdone

The first time I really started lifting was aug of 06 I did great with this type of workout for 6 months lost over 50lbs. Then someone told me about HIT and compound lifting ie/A power liftiers type program.

Unfortunatly my back/knees and shoulder didn’t like in and the whole thing came crashing down with a pretty serious back injury then a knee injury that put me out of working out for the next 6 months and some most of the weight back on my butt.

I am going to stick with walking and an iso type workout routine for as long as it works. I know when I get down to 250 or even 300 I will reevaluate that but for now I am going to stick with what works and is safer for me and my size. Thanks for the great advice though and I will post out here how the progress goes.

Ironmantrw

thanks bro I have been drinking a half gallon and hope to get up to a gallon eventually.

Thanks everyone for the amazing support out here I really really appreciate it.

And stream thanks for the get your but back in here pm it was appreciated.

Talk to you guys tommorow.

71

SHW,

Sorry I have not chimed in but welcome. Happy to have you in the old mans forum. This site has been the single most important tool in making a bigger, faster and stronger me. Couple of things to re-enforce:

1 - Injuries should be your #1 concern. Warm up and be smart. Most days when you think that weight might be too heavy it is.

2 - I think giterdun has a HUGE point in cheating is never OK. You train your mind as much as you train your body and that is a 24hour process. The lifting is just an hour.

That cheating philosphy has kept me on and off the wagon for far more years then I would like to admit. Get a support structure and use it. This site is great. You may find one or 2 friend here.

3 - I was well above 20% BF and nothing ever seemed to change. Till I stoped weighing myself and started just add weight to the bar. If I could not add weight I would push the rest period down by 15 secs. Anything to add stress in my workout. Not only did the BF come down but I got really excited to get in the gym and get after it. No more TV watching on the stationary bike - I was DEADLIFTING!

4 - The hard days are going to get harder and the good days are going to get even better. The delta between the 2 can be an adjustment. Keep you head on straight and remember it is never as bad as I think it is and it is never as good as everyone else tells you it is.

5 - Use the PM feature on this site.

Take care - Stay Consistent and Stay Strong.

72

Nice post RWElder0.

Great to hear everything is staying strong.

73

Sorry to hear you were sidelined with injuries. As was said, staying healthy is critical. Nothing sucks more than if your mind is willing but your body can’t deliver.

If what you are doing is working then stick with it. Lots of support here if you need it.

74

[quote]SuperHeavyWeight wrote:

njplaymaker

Thanks for sharing you program bro I will be borrowing some of it :slight_smile: Looks great I just can’t afford the ISOPURE YET.

.[/quote]

No kidding…I have about a week left and don’t feel like dumping 45 bucks on it…if you look online real hard sites like prosource.net and bodybuilding.com sometimes have good deals on supplements. Someone somewhere mentoined using carnation sugar free instant breakfast with generic protein powder is tasty and just as low carb-cal…

75

Brad,

I’ve been lurking here at T-Nation for a while reading articles and such but your story has motivated to make my first post.

You can do it. Although I didn’t have as far to go as you, I’m in the midst of my own journey to better health. I was at 307lbs on September 1 of last year and I lost all the way to 230. I’m back up in the 240 range but I’m lifting a lot so I’m not so much worried about the scale as I am my overall fitness.

When I started I could barely make it 20min on the treadmill and had trouble fitting on some of the Nautilus machines and now I’m a gym rat in the free weight part of my gym.

I followed an anabolic style diet with lots of meat, fish and veggies with no bread, grains, or sugar. I’m glad your incorporating strength training but keep up with the cardio and consider pilates or yoga if your gym offers it. A challenge as a “big guy” is going to be your core strength and mobility. I know for me I’m still hindered on squats and deads due to my years of being out of shape and working behind a desk 8hrs a day.

Keep it fun and do a variety. Do you like to bike, run, whatever…do what you like. I hate the rowers but some people love em. I couldn’t do the treadmill without my ipod. I also spent a lot of time doing a “curves” style (don’t laugh it works) circuit training. It helped me drop weight and build base line strength that helped me when I was ready for barbell strength training.

At your size you will see dramatic drops on the scale but don’t get discouraged when you don’t lose for a week or two. I never really hit a plateau until I got to around 240. I had several spots where I didn’t lose for a couple of 3 weeks, that’s not a plateau just your body catching up. And…don’t weigh but once a week. It will drive you crazy if you try to look every day. Your body will go up and down throughout the week. Pick a day and stick to it.

Good luck man
Cleave

76

RWElder0

As far as cheating goes I have been spot on.

I am really working on the consistancy. It’s my main goal and is why I put the scale away except for once a month.

Also thanks for all the great info

giterdone

Yeh it sux cause my legs and such are pretty strong and the compound lifts are really fun to see how much you can move :slight_smile:

I just learned my lesson and will wait till the 300lb mark then it will be on like donkey kong.

njplaymaker

I have been using Body Fortress whey its 12.95 at walmart or meijer. Its got a whey blend in is as well as bcaa’s glutamine and some creatine mono.

If it does not mess with you belly it only has 2g of carbs per scoop.

Cleave

Thanks for posting it is inspiring to hear how you guys have changed so much the way I want to.

77

OK so I have found my comfort zone as far as diet goes. This fits well in my macros and isn’t so alien that I feel like I am turning my life upside down.

Since being on day shift this is what I have been doing.

6am
3 whole eggs (Scrabbled)
1 serv steel cut oats with skim milk and fruit.

10am
2 pcs ezekial bread
w 1 can of tuna (2tbsp fat free mayo & 1 tbsp mustard)

1pm (post workout)
2 scoops protein powder shake
and 1 serving fruit (been 2 cups grapes)

4pm
Natty Peanut Butter and fruit preserves on 2 Ez toast.

7pm
Dinner with the family (made to fit healthy eating style/calories and macros.)

Before bed
1 cup cottage cheese and tbsp natty PB.

I am comming in between 2500 and 3000 cals
200g minimum Protein
less then 30% fat
rest from carbs whole grain and fruit and vegg.

I know it is not as tight as it will need be when I get down in the low 300’s or even the 200’s but for now I am happy with the progress I am getting from it. Seems like enough Protein ect. That I can increase my lifts weekly while still losing some fat.

78

You are inspiring!

79

How you doing guy? just checkin in on you.

80

Streamline and I need more inspiring.

Please post.