Hi, all. A couple of months ago I was 201lbs (I’m 5’9) and was disgusted with how big I’d gotten. I’ve generally been quite athletic my whole life and I became unemployed for a few months, which led to irregular eating times, etc. I used to eat two meals a day- a huge breakfast and then nothing til the late evening, and that would be a salad bowl full of nutty/chocolate cereal.
I got a new job, but it’s kind of sedentary as well, so I struggled a bit to shift the weight. For the past two months I’ve been doing 2km sprints on my exercise bike, and a bit of weight training (not to mention the newb mistake of hundreds of stomach crunches). As of two days ago, I was down to 184lbs, which is when I discovered T-Nation.
Now, I’m sure you’re all aware of how daunting it is to read all the info out there and absorb it, so I just basically wanted to outline my goals, tell you what equipment I have, and get some pointers as to how I can achieve what I want to achieve. I’ve been reading Chris T’s guides for newbs, and I’ve got myself some after-workout carb/protein drinks, and today is gonna be my first day of weight-training proper.
I started drinking green tea (I hate tea!) and taking cod liver oil capsules (I don’t eat meat- but I do eat fish) yesterday, and have been eating lots of little protein meals throughout the day, after a big breakfast. Here’s what I want to do:
I don’t want to be big- I want to be ripped. I want to see my 6-pack again. I’m 33, and if I don’t do this now, I fear I’ll be a fat, balding middle-aged man by the time I’m 40. I have an exercise bike and a small set of dumbbells (1.5kg, 3kg and 5kg). My flatmate is going to give me his dumbbells, but I’m not sure what size they are, but let’s assume they’re bigger, coz I told him what mine were. I also play 5-a-side football (soccer) every Thursday from 5pm-6pm.
What exercises do you guys suggest? When should I do them and how many reps & sets? Any advice on my workout, cardio or diet would be very much appreciated. Thanks for reading.