Weight Loss & Strength Gain W/O

Well, after years of not having time to work out and stationary lifestyle I’m getting really unhappy with my body. My most active jobs lately have been in sales, and usually I have held desk jobs. To make matters worse, I commute over an hour each way to and from school, where I sit on my #$$ all day in class. In the last four years or so, I’ve gone from around 160 pounds to just under 190, and I’d like to shave that off. I’m also looking to gain some muscle definition and work on strength & endurance. I’m not looking to be huge or anything, but I don’t want to look skinny again either (I have a thin frame, and when I was 160 pounds people kept saying that I looked like I was starving, and guessed my weight to be around 120 to 140.)

Anyway, I recently got myself a gym membership at my school, but I don’t know much about developing a balanced workout routine. I’ve read some articles, but I haven?t found a routine online that quite fits me. I have four days (Monday through Thursday) available to work out, and I’d like to keep my workouts to around 45 minutes. I’d also like to try different exercises out to keep things interesting and see what works best. Here’s roughly what I’ve come up with:

Monday ? Chest, Triceps, Biceps, Upper Back
15 min jog
Dips; 3 x 8
Chins; 3 x 8
Curls; 3 x 8 (maybe replace with Dumbbell Presses?)

Tuesday ? Shoulders, Lower Back, Cardio
30 min jog
Deadlifts; 3 x 15 (I?m VERY uncomfortable doing high weight lifts right now… kept throwing my back out about a year ago, and I don’t want to screw it up again)
Shoulder Press; 3 x 8

Wednesday ? Chest, Triceps, Biceps, Upper Back
15 min jog
Dumbbell Presses; 3 x 8
Rows; 3 x 8
Overhead Extensions; 3 x 8
Curls; 3 x 8

Thursday ? Shoulders, Lower Back, Cardio
30 min jog
Deadlifts; 3 x 15
Upright Row; 3 x 8

Will this work, or is this just crap? And yeah, I’ve completely left out lower body workouts, but that’s because I’m more concerned with building up my upper body, and I think that the cardio will give me the definition I want in my legs.

Also, what are some reasonable goals I can set for myself in terms of weight loss and muscle gain? Here are my current stats:

Age: 23
Weight: 188
Height: 5’10
Body Fat: 23% or so
Right Bicep (not flexed): 12.5 inches
Chest: 38
Waist: 36

Thanks.

That sucks, plain and simple. The deadlift is a leg exercise, first of all. And where is your leg day?

You’ve definitely come to the right place. Check out the beginner thread: http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=640350

If you want to strip some fat, you have to get your diet right. You don’t even need to worry about calories right away, just start incorporating Berardi’s 7 habits. You’re in a good position because, as a beginner, you can actually gain muscle and lose fat at the same time provided you work hard.

I can’t stress this enough, because there are certain body parts that will always be harder or less “fun” to train–you have to suck it up and work out your legs. They’re big muscles, so don’t neglect them. Start light, learn proper form, but work your way up to the heavy weights. Cardio is going to give you chicken legs.

Deads are a leg exercise?? I’ve never heard that before…

Anyway, yeah, I suppose I should add in lower body workouts… I just wanted to do cardio for endurance, and that’s hard to do with leg exercises and four days of straight training. What about something like this?

Monday
DB Press; 4 x 6
DB Pullover; 4 x 6
DB Row; 4 x 6

Tuesday
Squat; 4 x 6
Calf Raise; 4 x 10
Inline Crunch; 4 x 25

Wednesday
Chins; 4 x 6
Dips; 4 x 6
Shoulder Press; 4 x 6

Thursday
30 min jog
Deadlift; 4 x 10
Hanging Leg Raise; 4 x 25

Also, what I should I be aiming for in reps and sets? I’m starting to lean towards 4 x 6 since that’s better for strength and building than 8 reps, and I’m not sure I can do 5 sets without burning out. Is that okay, or should I try something else?

[quote]adamsad1 wrote:
Deads are a leg exercise?? I’ve never heard that before…[/quote]
You should be feeling it a lot in your hamstrings and glutes when you do deadlifts. If you thought it was an upperbody exercise, perhaps you are making the mistake I was for a while: doing deadlifts with a full grip rather than a false grip (not gripping with the thumbs). I felt it a lot in forearms and biceps before I started using a false grip.

[quote]Bonn1997 wrote:
adamsad1 wrote:
Deads are a leg exercise?? I’ve never heard that before…
You should be feeling it a lot in your hamstrings and glutes when you do deadlifts. If you thought it was an upperbody exercise, perhaps you are making the mistake I was for a while: doing deadlifts with a full grip rather than a false grip (not gripping with the thumbs). I felt it a lot in forearms and biceps before I started using a false grip. [/quote]

Well, I was thinking of it as a lower back exercise. Especially since I want to start out with low weights (probably 100 to 150) so I don’t injure my back again. With that low of weight, I’m thinking I’d barely feel in my legs, but it would probably be enough for my back toned up a bit before kicking the weight up.

In any case, how does the second routine look? I’m kinda anxious to get started tomorrow.

Thanks.

[quote]Bonn1997 wrote:
adamsad1 wrote:
Deads are a leg exercise?? I’ve never heard that before…
You should be feeling it a lot in your hamstrings and glutes when you do deadlifts. If you thought it was an upperbody exercise, perhaps you are making the mistake I was for a while: doing deadlifts with a full grip rather than a false grip (not gripping with the thumbs). I felt it a lot in forearms and biceps before I started using a false grip. [/quote]

I wouldn’t disagree that deads work your quads and hams, but done properly, deadlifts are definately a back movement first and foremost. Obviously, in a deadlift and a squat, the motion is similar, but the difference of where the bar is changes the emphasis from the legs to the back.

In deads, with the bar both in front of the body, and with the bar and weight below the hips, the shift is to the back. Done right, you should feel deads in your middle back from the bottom to the top.

With that being said, body type plays into it. Some body types will tend to go too deep into the squat. You want to keep your hips low and make sure you’re not turning it into a stiff leg deadlift, but don’t keep your hips so low that it starts to look like a squat. One tip is that when the bar gets past you knees, concentrate on pushing your hips forward toward the bar. This will help to get you using more back and less legs. Interesting comment about using a false grip for dl’s.

I’ve never heard that before for deadlifts. Do you feel stronger with the false grip, or does the movement just feel different? Doesn’t the bar want to roll out of your fingers with the false grip? Isn’t that why heavy deads are usually done with a mixed grip?

I have found that a poor grip leads to bad form and injury potential when deadlifting. I don’t prefer a false grip, but that is just personal preference.

If you are just beginning, I think that a full body routine is your answer. Stick to the basics. You can do something a little more advanced like having an A and B workout, and/or doing different rep ranges for the A and B workout. Balance is easy, if you push in one direction, pull in the same direction on another exercise.

If there is a choice between moving in a direction that has a longer range of motion and a shorter range of motion, choose longer. Don’t make it out to be any more difficult than it is. Some will try to offer up some “secrets”. There aren’t many if any. You probably have all the information you need. Now put it into action.