Newbie Honest Feedback Needed

Training Beginners
1

Hi I’m Shire,

I just commenced a weight training program aimed at specifically (in order of priority)

  1. Cutting body fat and concurrently maintaining muscle (short term goal).
  2. Increasing overall strength (mid term goal).
  3. Developing a strength athlete’s physique (long term aim).

I am six foot tall, very broad shouldered/framed and 30 pounds overweight. The following is the program I’ve put together:

Four days a week/full body workout (using supersets):

  1. Squat 50 lb. (15reps x 3 sets)
  2. Barbell Bench 50 lb. (8reps x 3 sets)
  3. Dumbbell Chest Flyes 30 lb. (10reps x 3 sets)
  4. Barbell Curls 50 lb. (8reps x 3 sets)
  5. Barbell Deadlifts 50 KGs (15reps x 3 sets)
  6. Barbell Lunges 50 lb. (15reps x 3 sets)
  7. Triceps Head Crunches 30 lb. (8reps x 3 sets)
  8. Reverse Pushdowns 40 lb. (15 reps x 3 sets)
  9. Barbell Upright Rows 25 lb. (10 x 3 sets)
  10. Dumbbell Lateral Raises 15 lb. (10 x 3 sets)
  11. Standing Front Barbell Shoulder Press 25 lb. (10 x 3 sets)
  12. Cable Rows 35 lb. (8 x 3sets)
  13. V-Ups (15reps x 3 sets)
  14. Weighted crunches 10 lb. (15reps x 3 sets)
  15. Standing Calf Raises 30 lb. (15reps x 3 sets)
  16. Lateral Pulldowns 30 lb. (8reps x 3 sets)

Dietary plan:

Breakfast: 3 boiled eggs and 2 piece fruit
Snack: small salad
Lunch: Fish or Chicken and Veggies
Post workout: Organic Cold processed Protein Casein/Whey shake.
Dinner: Chicken and veggies
Snack: Small Salad

My cousins told me that I mustn’t have much muscle under the flab, I guess that’s correct by the amount of weight I can squat (50lbs=squat :wink:

Any useful criticism would be greatly welcomed.

Best wishes Shire.

PS I’ve found this site really useful, however I’ve only been through only 5 or 6 articles so far (so much material!). Big thank you to
T-Nation.

PPS I am seriosuly considering going on the Velocity diet, if this happens I will cut my training down to only compund movements like Chris Shugart advises.

2

If you’re 30lbs underweight you shouldn’t be cutting weight, you should be gaining weight. Eat more. Include a protien source at every meal.

Four days of full body is probably too much. I’d just do: Squat, Bench, Deadlift (once a week), Shoulder press, Chin-ups (lat pull downs if you can’t), Cable Rows, and Dips. If you still have time, toss in some of your additional isolation/small muscle group exercises such as curls, triceps, crunches, etc.

Be sure and read all the beginner articles at the top of this forum section.

3

Uh, are you planning to do all that on one day? Do you live in the gym?

Also, have you read any of the articles regarding diet? You look like you are cutting out a lot of protein from your diet.

4

Rasslore I’m 30 lbs Overweight :slight_smile:

Arioch I am going to university this september and will have lot’s of extra time that I could put to good use. Also I really want to get stronger and in shape(for all the obvious reasons).
By the way it takes about 2-3 hours to do the workout.

5

Arioch the salads would contain things such as low fat feta cheese, chick peas and kidney beans (all sources of protein). Plus I don’t want to gorge on any more protein and attain a bodybuilders physique.

I think i will also incorporate dips/pressups(can do about 30 each with decent form), but I can’t do chin ups just yet.

6

Hey Shire, welcome to T-Nation.

A couple points:

  1. 525 reps 4X/week is way too much volume. You’ll never maintain the intensity required to generate a training stimulus. You need to go with higher reps in the beginning to help train the CNS but you’re just overdoing it.

  2. You have no exercises for your back except lat pulldowns. Add in some rowing to hit the mid back, posterior delts and rhomboids. Muscular balance is the key to long-term injury-free lifting. Pull as much as you push.

  3. You don’t eat ANY carbs. Even if you’re doing low carb dieting some healthy complex carbs in the AM and a shake (like Surge) post workout are almost essential (especially with your workload!).

My recommendation would be to pick a total body training routine here that consists of mostly compound lifts. There are some great diet articles here by Chris Shugart (the current featured author) on the main page. Read through those and experiment until you determine your caloric and macronutrient ratio needs.

Most important: Be consistent and be patient. You’ll reach your goals before you know it. No offence but your first goal should be putting more plates on the bar!

Good luck.

7

OK bro

More aint more many times less is more. if your doing all that then your intensity is for shit really. you need to split that one workout into three at least and work damn hard like the above said look at maybe TBT or another great full body pan if thats what floats your boat. Get in there and work DAMN hard give it, the few exercises EVERYTHING you have and get out and heal.

With the rest of the time you have go for a walk, a bike ride just be active play some basketball etc… Hit the weights HARD and get the heck out

LOL Ok bro the day you accidentally wakwe up to Huge PLEASE give us all a call and tell us how you did it you dont just get freaky BB big my eating some protein. Protein in high amounts is going to aid in your fat loss goals as well as muscle retention while losing fat. Read up on protein and TEF how expensive it is and actually takes a ton of energy to burn after eating it as well as how it will aid in keeping Lean mass while dieting.

Id suggest reading and following something like T-Dawg 2.0 for your diet a very solid plan that has you control and time your carb intake and will have you adding in a lot of good healthy fats and protein as well

Other then that read the beginner thread pinned above, all the articles linked in it and come on back with any ?'s

Phill

8

[quote]Phill wrote:
OK bro

More aint more many times less is more. if your doing all that then your intensity is for shit really. you need to split that one workout into three at least and work damn hard like the above said look at maybe TBT or another great full body pan if thats what floats your boat. Get in there and work DAMN hard give it, the few exercises EVERYTHING you have and get out and heal.[/quote]

I’ve heard this a few times now…Ok I will change my programme.

[quote]
With the rest of the time you have go for a walk, a bike ride just be active play some basketball etc… [/quote]
I’m doing this.

[quote]
LOL Ok bro the day you accidentally wakwe up to Huge PLEASE give us all a call and tell us how you did it you dont just get freaky BB big my eating some protein. Protein in high amounts is going to aid in your fat loss goals as well as muscle retention while losing fat. Read up on protein and TEF how expensive it is and actually takes a ton of energy to burn after eating it as well as how it will aid in keeping Lean mass while dieting.[/quote]

Ok I sounded stupid, but I do have a lot of muscle on my legs, glutes, shoulders and forearms. Plus I have noticed that I have put on muscle rather quickly the couple of months I’ve been training(but this could be offset by me being a newcomer to weight training).

Thanks very much bro.

9

"Ok I sounded stupid, but I do have a lot of muscle on my legs, glutes, shoulders and forearms. "

No you don’t. Anybody with A LOT of muscle can handle four times those poundages at least. You said you are 30 lbs overweight, could you list your weight please?

10

If you had a lot of muscle on your legs, you’d be squatting 400+ pounds. For reps.

Usually this is the case: you’re not as big as you think.

Your volume is way to high. You’ll collapse OR lose interest. It’s just too hard. Just stick to the big lifts:

bench press
squat
dead lift
pull ups / chin ups
overhead press

If you can do three sets of ten for each exercise in under an hour, then that’s golden. Four times a week would be good, but three is more likely. Exercise other ways on your off days.

Get 8 hours of sleep every night.

Diet: so very important. You need good fats, lots of protein and moderate carbs. Take in ~ half of your bodyweight in omega 3 fats in grams. If you weigh 200 pounds, that means 100 g omega 3 fats. Take in your weight in grams of protein. This is very important. It increases your body metabolism. It means you’re burning fuel to digest and absorb nutrients.

I’m a big fan of cycling carbs. Don’t eat more than 100 g carbs for two to three days, and then eat ~ 200 - 300 g the following day, and then back to the low carb thing for three days. It’ll trick your body into burning fat without your body going into hibernation mode (a slowing of your metabolism and fat storage).

And as for looking like a bodybuilder… yeah, as if it’s easy to look like one! We all just wake up one day and ka-blam! I’ve been training really hard for years and haven’t had this happen to me. Believe me, it won’t happen to you. So you can just disregard that fantasy of yours.

Good luck

11

damn if u are overweight and can only bench 50lbs thats messed up

12

less reps. What are your super sets? Do you run through this whole thing in one go?

13

Start with the big 5 that kroby listed. Start with the low weights that you have and put the weight up every workout. Start with 10 reps and after 4 weeks switch it to 5 reps at least once a week. (you will have to do an extra warm up set for the 5s) Focus on getting stronger, the muscle will follow and then the fat will start to go. Learn what you can about diet and make gradual improvements in it.

Stu

14

[quote]kroby wrote:
If you had a lot of muscle on your legs, you’d be squatting 400+ pounds. For reps.

Usually this is the case: you’re not as big as you think.

Your volume is way to high. You’ll collapse OR lose interest. It’s just too hard. Just stick to the big lifts:

bench press
squat
dead lift
pull ups / chin ups
overhead press

If you can do three sets of ten for each exercise in under an hour, then that’s golden. Four times a week would be good, but three is more likely. Exercise other ways on your off days.

Get 8 hours of sleep every night.

Diet: so very important. You need good fats, lots of protein and moderate carbs. Take in ~ half of your bodyweight in omega 3 fats in grams. If you weigh 200 pounds, that means 100 g omega 3 fats. Take in your weight in grams of protein. This is very important. It increases your body metabolism. It means you’re burning fuel to digest and absorb nutrients.

I’m a big fan of cycling carbs. Don’t eat more than 100 g carbs for two to three days, and then eat ~ 200 - 300 g the following day, and then back to the low carb thing for three days. It’ll trick your body into burning fat without your body going into hibernation mode (a slowing of your metabolism and fat storage).

And as for looking like a bodybuilder… yeah, as if it’s easy to look like one! We all just wake up one day and ka-blam! I’ve been training really hard for years and haven’t had this happen to me. Believe me, it won’t happen to you. So you can just disregard that fantasy of yours.

Good luck[/quote]

Hi Kroby thanks for you honest reply,

Okay I admit I guess i’m wrong about how strong I think I am. Honestly i’m posting here looking for genuine advice and I appreciate your (and the other folks) advice.

I have implemented the following changes:

My workout four times a week consists of -
(as Kroby suggested)
bench press
squat
dead lift
pull ups / chin ups minus this as I can’t do either yet
overhead press
And:
Lunges(3x10)
Dumbbell curls(3x8)
Lying Tricep extensionscratch this one
Cable pushdowns(3x8)
Lying Dumbbell Chest flyesscratch this one
Cable pulldown(3x8)
Dips(3x10)

My diet:

Meal 1) Breakfast - 3 egg omelette (with seving flax seed)
Snack - 2 pieces fruit
Meal 2)Lunch - Tuna salad
Make a Turkey stir fry with lots of vegetables/legumes such as brocolli, chick peas and kidney beans + cooked with 1 table spoon extra virgin olive oil in a non stick pan
Meal 3) Half of the stir fry and salad
Meal 4) Remaining half of stir fry and salad

On workout days I have a post workout shake consisting of 80% micellar casein 20% whey protein powder, serving of flax seed and 1 apple with 250ml of 2%fat milk.(35 grams of protein from the powder)

On every third day i have a full serving and half of porridge for breakfast with a scoop of protein powder.
I take a multivitamin and full daily dose of deep sea fish oil capsules
take in at least 2 litres of water
get 7 hours sleep a night(being honest)
Hows that?
Am i taking in enough protein I way 212.8 pounds so do I meet the 212 gram of protein mark(I mean am I taking in enough protein?)
With thanks a newbie :slight_smile:

15

One more thing Kroby and Phil I also eat avacados for healthy fats and add natural low salt/sugar peanut butter in my shakes.

One other query, if i’m not getting in enough carbs then what should I add to the 2-3 days when I don’t eat more than 100 grams of carbs?

Oh I forgot to mention i’m employing the one and a half rep method as I read tall long limbed guys find it harder putting on mucle than shorter guys(and this is an effective means of overcoming this issue).

With thanks brothers…

16

Oh yes i weigh 209 pounds and i’m six foot tall…sorry been all over the place starting university.

I really do appreciate everyone’s help!

I guess i was wrong again!: my workout is just:
3x10 for the following
Bench
deadlift
squat
overhead press
lunges
curls(3x8*)
pushdowns

Thank you…

17

That looks better. Keep putting the weight up as long as you can keep proper form.

Stu