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Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Hi guys. Been lurking a while and thought I’d finally post to get some feedback on what I’m doing and where I’m at. I’ve dabbled with weights for years and to no surprise to anyone I’m in no fit state to talk of.

I finally had my light bulb moment and actually saw myself for the fat outta shape 32 year old I have dabbled my way to. Time to do something about it…

I’ve been training now for about 5 months or so, not made much of a transformation in that time, not that I expected to, but have managed to shift a bit of weight. Out of interest this is the “progress” I made in the first four months:

First measurement is the before (10.02.08) the second measurement is after (11.06.08) the third measurement is the difference:

BW - 86.5kg 83.5kg -3.0kg
Approx BF% 25% 19% -6%
Neck 14.5" 14.5"
Shoulders 49.5" 49.5"
Chest 43" 42�?? -1"
Waist 38" 36�?? -2"
Bicep L 13.75" 13.5" -.25"
Bicep R 14" 13.75" -.25"
Forearm L 11" 11"
Forearm R 11.25" 11.25"
Wrist 7.5" 7.5"
Hips 40" 38.5" -1.5"
Thigh L 23.5" 23.5"
Thigh R 24.5" 23.75" -.75"
Calf L 14.75" 14.75"
Calf R 15" 15"
Ankle 9.25" 9.25"

I’ve since lost another 2kg and weigh in now at 81.5kg. My waist is still a rather large 36", although in looks a lot flatter than it did, but I have pretty much lost the cursory bitch tits. I don’t look much like a bodybuilder yet though, as you would rightly assume from my measurements.

I was doing a very abbreviated compound routine just once a week for the period above and focused more on my cardio but have now decided it’s time to get serious and use progressive weights. This is the program I am using:

Workout A - Sundays
Flat Bench - 2x10
Flyes - 2x10
Dumbell Military Press - 2x10
Squats - 2x10

(Squats are last and relatively light compared to the rest of the exercises as I am trying to work on form. I hate squats and squats hate me :slight_smile: )

Workout B - Wednesdays
Deadlift - 2x8
Shrugs 2x10
Barbell Rows - 2x10
Barbell Curls - 2x10

Just working out twice a week due to work commitments which is a 3 shift 12hour pattern (days and nights) plus currently I’m doing overtime which means my weeks are 48hrs, 60hrs & 60hrs in the 3 week rota. On the 48hr week I’m too knackered after my day shift to do a workout so I combine A & B workouts on the Monday.

My diet is not organised, I’m still very much in the lose weight mode and I’d say that food has become the enemy, I’ve built a fear of food due to my reluctance to put on all the fat again.

I know this is wrong but I could do with some advice on this. Also I’m still at approx 19% bodyfat with a 36" waist, I’m aiming to get this down to a healthier level before consuming more calories i.e below 15% and below 34" waist.

I’ve been wading through the beginner stuff on the site but would appreciate input on any area of my training from you guys.

My apologies for the long first post, thanks for making it this far :slight_smile:

2

Need more details on your diet

if you want to reduce your waistline and visceral fat in general these ideas seem to work from what i’ve read around here

  1. less carb intake, particularly simple carbs (sugars)
  2. keep carbs to breakfast and post-workout
  3. cardio after lifting or on an empty stomach in the morning
  4. mega-dosing fish oil
  5. remove all calorie beverages, stick to water only and lots of it
3

So, your goal is to cut. Unlike a bulk, you need to be even more cognizant of your diet. You must communicate that information to us if you want assistance.

Also, I am not digging the 2x10 scheme. 5x5 and its derivatives are excellent. You also lack a vertical pulling motion (pullups, lat pulldowns, etc).

It is true you have to consume a caloric deficit to lose weight, but don’t eat like Otep (the dietary anorexic schoolgirl, as I have come to learn). In all seriousness, you have to eat if you are going to be exercising, or else your muscles will catabolize and whatever lifting you do will be for no gain. I am no expert here, but you really must show us your diet.

4

Thanks njrusmc. The diet isn’t as simple as at this time I have this and that time I have that but I guess I can give an example of a day which may help a little:

Breakfast - Bran flakes or porridge (normally add sultanas to both of these)

Lunch - Sandwich (tuna, cheese, bacon, etc)or toast (cheese, beans, etc)

Dinner - Fish (in batter) chips, peas. Salad. Jacket potato, etc.

I normally try to snack on fruit, but if there is any sweet stuff (due to kids) I tend to snack on that! Although since dieting I have cut the sweets to a minimum (I’ve noticed I’ve been slipping lately though) and have also been reducing the amount of sweet stuff in the house.

So I’d say my diet is a pretty regular Joe kinda thing. No extra protein other than a protein shake every now and again. No six small meals a day. Still eating food out of the packet i.e battered fish, chips, quiche, pies etc. I know it needs a lot of work. I tried eating 6 times a day for a week or so and I just couldn’t handle it, perhaps I jumped in too quickly.

Looking at my example you’re probably wondering how the f@*! I lost any weight, well thats due to “better” snacking and increased activity. The fact that none of measurements actually went up in the previous 4 mnth period is very likely due to be to the fact that I did not eat enough…

So where do I start?

5

You can still make progress only training only twice and working 60hrs/week. But it won’t be as fast as if you trained more and worked less. Not that you’re given a choice, sometimes these things happen. Such is life.

Since you’re only training twice a week, I’d recommend something like the following:

Sunday: PUSH
Squats: 5x10
Bench Press: 5x10
Military Press: 5x10

Wednesday: PULL
Deadlift: 5x10
Barbell Row: 5x10
Pullup: 5x10

Because the training is less frequent, there is considerably more volume than is typically recommended to beginners. You’ll notice there are few exercises, and they’re all compound.

These exercises provide the most time-efficient training stimulus for your muscles. You’re also pulling and pushing both horizontally and vertically. This is important for shoulder health.

As far as diet goes… eat better. A good way to eat five times a day is to eat what you’re normally eating, and down a protein shake in-between breakfast and lunch, and another between lunch and dinner.

Throw back some peanuts along with the shake and you’ve got good protein AND healthy fats. Have eggs for breakfast instead of cereal, and make sure you’re having meat (fish counts) at lunch and dinner. Do that, and you’ve got a pretty decent diet for cutting.

Oh, and welcome to The Nation.

6

Soz cyph31 I missed your post yesterday. Sound advice which I am mostly aware of just need the discipline to do it! Hadn’t heard about the fish oil thing though I’ll do some research.

Otep thanks for all the advice, appreciate that. Question about the suggested workout though. In principle it seems good, but I’m not too sure about that rep range. Despite only working out twice a week I still reckon I’d burn out and it’d take forever and a day to get any decent level of strength up. Wouldn’t it? Or am I missing a trick?

Good diet advice “eat better” lol - Ok I will! This time I’ll take one step at a time. First step is stop picking at the sweets again and not allow myself to slip and second is to introduce daily protein shakes x 2.

Thanks again.

7

"I tried eating 6 times a day for a week or so and I just couldn’t handle it, perhaps I jumped in too quickly. "

I guess I don’t understand why this is hard. Of course, if you double the amount of times you eat a day, you should roughly halve the quantity of food you eat per meal. You don’t eat 6 full meals a day, up from 3 full meals a day (unless you are in a hardcore bulk). Otep has given sound advice, try that out first and get back to us.

8

[quote]Just Tel wrote:
Breakfast - Bran flakes or porridge (normally add sultanas to both of these)

Lunch - Sandwich (tuna, cheese, bacon, etc)or toast (cheese, beans, etc)

Dinner - Fish (in batter) chips, peas. Salad. Jacket potato, etc.

I normally try to snack on fruit, but if there is any sweet stuff (due to kids) I tend to snack on that! [/quote]

Good God. This is horrible.

Which is why you look like a regular Joe.

[quote]No extra protein other than a protein shake every now and again. No six small meals a day. Still eating food out of the packet i.e battered fish, chips, quiche, pies etc. I know it needs a lot of work. I tried eating 6 times a day for a week or so and I just couldn’t handle it, perhaps I jumped in too quickly. [quote]

Yeah, we don’t do those things because they’re cool. We do them because those things get results. None of those habits are arbitrary.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=459493

Nutrition For Newbies
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1654364

Nutrition for Newbies, Part 1
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1793585

Nutrition for Newbies, Part 2
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1795045

Those should help you. Good luck!

9

“Good God. This is horrible.”

lol - yeah I know but it is honest.

“Which is why you look like a regular Joe”

And which is why I’m here :wink:

Thanks for the reply and the links I’ll check them out. I am determined to get this diet thing sorted, I’m obviously at a disadvantage eating as I do. My problem is that reading about it bores me and even though I like to think that I know about nutrition in reality I don’t know shit.

I read on here about homemade protein bars that I may give a go. I also need other ways of packing up some decent food for work cos the canteen sucks.

I will keep you informed of how the diet is coming along.

Oh and what kinda nuts should I be chewing!

10

[quote]Just Tel wrote:
Oh and what kinda nuts should I be chewing! [\quote]
All nuts are fair game.
Peanuts are cheap.
Almonds are probably healthiest.
Cashews taste like goodness.

[quote]
Question about the suggested workout though. In principle it seems good, but I’m not too sure about that rep range. Despite only working out twice a week I still reckon I’d burn out and it’d take forever and a day to get any decent level of strength up. Wouldn’t it? Or am I missing a trick?[/quote]

it’s the ‘burn out and it’d take me forever and a day to get any decent level of strength up’ part that gets me, because I’m not really sure what it means.

I assume that by ‘burn out’ you mean ‘I will be exhausted by the end of the workout’, which is correct.

I assume that by ‘get any decent level of strength up’ you mean ‘My lift numbers won’t go up as fast as someone doing sets of 3-5 reps’ which is also correct, but misleading. Beginners progress very quickly by frequent exposure to moderate stress (squatting three times a week with sets of five reps). However, your schedule does not permit such frequency, and in my experience, there’s a great deal of difference between training three times a week and two times a week. So the volume increases (sets of ten) and the frequency decreases (only twice/week).

If you follow this program, I think you’d be surprised at your ability to make progress, both in your lift numbers and in your body composition. However, you’re free to do as you like- drop the reps, add in other exercises, if it suits you. If you record what you’re doing and you stick with this long enough, eventually you’ll find what works for you.

About your diet though- the sooner you can start snacking on stuff in between meals the better. Most people snack on junk food because they’re kind of hungry. Healthy snacks (nuts and shakes) prevent this.

Good luck.