Another new guy needs help!

C

ChrisJG

0
Hi.

I've been reading through these forums for a while now and there seems to be loads of useful information. I currently train about 5 times a week. 3 times a week will be 30mins cardio and 45mins weights. twice a week will be anything up to 2 hrs cardio. At the moment my primary objective is to lose body fat (which was 22% 5 weeks ago...yes, you heard right...22%!!!) I have lost about 7lbs since then and I can see that BF% has dropped quite a bit although, I won't know for sure until my re-assessment at the gym in a couple of weeks. I am beginning to get "You've lost weight" comments which is encouraging. I eat 6 times a day and drink what sometimes feels like my own bodyweight in water (not literally!) I have 1 slice of wholemeal toast with PB and an OJ for breakfast or a protein shake, an apple or cereal bar mid morning. Ham sandwich or similar for lunch, yoghurt mid afternoon. Evening meal (post gym) is usually something like chicken, baked potato & salad. Another yoghurt or some dried fruit as an evening snack. I have also quit drinking alcohol (apart from Saturday nights) which was my main vice, along with smoking, which I have also quit.

I'm pleased with my progress so far but, would like to hear some suggestions about things I could try to mix things up a bit, both food-wise and training. I'm going to try some HIIT next week. I suspect that 2 hrs of cardio is excessive but, psychologically, the more I do, the more fat I believe I have burned so, it will be hard to reduce it.

I'm 33 years old, 6'0" tall and weigh 170 lbs
 
good job esp quitting smoking and alcohol, thats a hard thing to do. congrats on that. there are loads of good foods you can eat, just balance out your diet, veggies, fruits and such make sure you get enough protiens too- muscle repair. what kind of cardio and weihgts do you currently do??
 
Hi guys. At the moment Jenn, cardio consists of a 1500m warm up on the rowing machine, followed by 30mins on a cross-trainer (thats on a weights day) and, on a cardio day, I'll start with the same 1500m on the rower, followed by 45mins on the step machine, 35mins on the cross trainer and maybe 20 - 25 mins on the bike on a random program. Weights are basically low weights, hight reps (15 per set) 2 sets per excercise. I wanted to tone to begin with as it has been so long since I saw trhe inside of a gym - I needed to break myself in gently. In a couple of weeks, I'll be increasing the weights and dropping the reps. I'm trying not to go to the gym on Saturdays or Sundays - basically to keep me sane and allow my body to recover.

Its a whole lifestyle change and, 5 weeks in, I'm still enthusiastic about it :)

future trainer, I'm quitting smoking cold turkey this time....so far, so good. Cold water kills cravings, you should try it.
 
well it sounds good to me. i don't know what kind of weights you are doing but thats ok , if you are meeting your goals and keep challenging yourself its all good. i usually do 3 sets some times 4 but i really like the burn the next day, also i pyramid up?? works for me,. all in all do what works for you. i know i can work it harder and better than i could when i was younger, i concentrate on form and what my body is telling me.
 
The weights I'm doing are basically a comprehensive all-body workout 3 times a week comprising legs, chest, shoulders, arms, back, trunk & abs. I'm about ready for a change though. I'd like to add a little mass but, my primary objective remains reduction of BF% (although, I must admit, I quite like feeling that pain the following day too).

Update as of this morning (my weekly weigh-in) I am now 168lbs. :D
 
Okay, I've just had my 6 week fitness assessment and thought I would share the results:-

Body Fat %: (before) 22.7% (Today) 18.6% - whoa, 4% reduction in 6 weeks!! :D
Weight: (before) 84kg (Today) 78.4kg
Fat weight: (before) 19.1kg (Today) 14.1kg - Yay, almost all weight loss was fat!!
BP: (before) 149/86 (today) 147/71 - the right direction but, will take time
Reasting heart rate: (before) 70bpm (today) 66bpm
Stamina (predicted v02 Max): (before) 30.2 (today) 40.5

All in all, I'm extremely pleased with the results I've seen in only 6 weeks. I've got a whole new programme with NO machine weights (apart from cables and leg press) - higher weights, more sets & lower reps.

I am feeling very motivated now!!
 
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Why not start a log? And welcome!
 
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