Chris's Journal

C

ChrisH

0
3 weeks ago I decided it was time to get fit and healthy as I had let myself slip over the past 4 years by drinking too much, not following any diet or routine and not doing any regular exercise. I have reduced my alcohol intake from around 30 pints of lager per week to under 5 and I am now paying particular attention to what I eat and when. I'm still very much learning about nutrition however I am taking advice from this forum as well as my PT.
I have joined the local gym and have paid a little extra for a PT to keep an eye on me so I'm not wasting my time and money. I'm currently in the gym 6 days per week.

My Short Term Goals:
1. To reduce my body fat to 16%
2. Be able to run/job at a consitent speed for an hour.
3. To look good lol.

Long term after getting my BF down I'd like to build muscle but not extreme. I assume I should deal with the BF first?

Anyway on the 11th May my figures were as follows:
Height: 180 cms
Weight: 95.2 kg
BF: 22.5%

Today (1st june) there is little difference although it is in the right direction:
Weight: 94.1 kg
BF: 21.5%

I'm putting the small improvement down to the facts that I'm still trying to balance my diet and that I'm building stamina before really starting to push myself in the gym. Although theres little difference in the numbers I feel a lot better and I'm sure there is visual improvement.

The routine I have been following:

Sun/Tues/Thurs
CV:
Treadmill - 10min @ 5kph (warmup)
Treadmill - 20min @ 6kph (3% incline)
XTrainer - 20min keeping speed above 10
Rowing - 5min @ 30spm
Weights:
Shoulder Press - 3x10@25kg
Lat Pulldown - 3x10@42kg
Pec Dec - 3x10@35kg
Leg Curl - 3x10@35kg
Leg Extension - 3x10@28kg
Rear Deltiod - 3x10@28kg
Situps - 3x10

On Mon/Wed/Fri I do double CV with no weights.

Tommorow (2nd June) this routine will be revised to include running (fast walking at moment) along with some new weight exercises. I will post the new routine when I get back from the gym tomorrow and will update this journal weekly at least.

Regards
Chris
 
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Good to see you here.

What does your diet look like? I know how hard it can be to cut down on the beer...but it'll be worth it in the end.

You seem to be doing great in the cardio section - 55 minutes a session is pretty intense. As for weight lifting, I'm no expert. Check out the weight training section for some better advice.

Post your diet! What you're eating can make all the difference when it comes to losing fat and gaining muscle. Check the weight loss section for some advice.
 
Thanks Shieldst.

I found cutting out the beer quite easy when I think of each pint being 240 calories lol. The CV workout I'm doing, although long, is fairly relaxed as the treadmill @ 6kph is a fast walk rather than a jog or run and the XTrainer is a comfortable speed. The CV workout listed does around 600 calories according to the machines display (not sure how accurate these are).

I'm working on my diet at the moment by recording what I eat to control my calorie intake. According to my PT my BMR is about 2100 cal so I need to be taking in around 2500 on the days I'm in the gym. Currently I have a protein shake for breakfast and again in the evening after the gym and this immediately accounts for 820 calories so I'm trying to balance the remainder between lunch and dinner. I have a pile of leaflets to read about nutrition lol.

As mentioned on previous post heres the new routine:

Sun/Tues/Thurs
CV:
XTrainer - 5min (Warmup)
XTrainer - 20min (Level 10, approx 300 cal)
Treadmill - 10min (4 min @ 5.5kph then 1 min @ 8kph, then repeat)
Bike - 20min
Weights:
Bench - 3x10@30kg
Lat Pull - 3x10@42kg
Cable Cross Pull - 3x10@30kg (Not sure of the correct name for this)
Cable Tricep Pull Down - 3x10@20kg (again not sure of correct name)
Leg Push - 3x10@55kg
Shoulder Press - 3x10@5kg (ish)

It seems I have a bad shoulder that can't keep up with the other so I need to keep any eye on it. It gave up tonight after lifting 5kg for 15 reps whereas the other is fine on 25kg for 30 reps. Still hurts 2 hours later.

This routine is likely to be revised shortly as I adjust and know exactly where I'm pushing myself.
 
heh you lost me there.. The first routine was what I've been doing for past 2 weeks or so. The second is the revised routine for the next 3-4 weeks.

I will probably be in gym on days in between to push myself on CV work, trying out different preset programs.
 
Weekly Update:

Weight: 95.5kg (down 0.2kg)
BF: 20.7% (up 0.2%)

Both of these are negligable differences.

There seems to be more improvement visually than in the numbers.. stomach is getting flatter and beginning to see signs of definition on upper arms.

Weight increases:

Leg Press: 55kg > 70kg
Bench: 35kg > 50kg
Cable Cross @ 30kg replaced by Pec Dec @ 42kg


Will probably drop the treadmill and increase time on XTrainer to 45min. I seem to have a problem with balance on treadmill.
 
Well I managed to do 45 min on the XTrainer for an estimated 660 cal.. apparently I went blue in the face, now I've done it once I'll do it everyday.

Thought I'd add so photos of me now so I can look back at a later date, any constructive comments welcome I realise I have a long way to go.. it took 4 years to put the weight on so I don't expect it to disappear overnight.
 
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