Way out of shape

[JoshW]

I'm 19, 5'7'' 156 lbs. I've smoked for the past 6 years and I doubt I could run a half mile, I eat lots of junk food, and drink a case or two of beer just about every weekend. I want to get in shape now. My brother bought a smith machine. I want to get in shape but I have no idea how much weight to start with, how many reps to do starting out, how much cardio I should do, what I should eat or anything for that matter. Only thing I've done so far is give up the ciggarettes for the past week. If anyone could give me some info about how to start weight lifting, and also how to start running, as in how much to start with and how often I'd greatly apprecitate. It all seems so overwhelming, I need some way to get pointed in the right direction. I'd like to get lean at first, maybe build bulk later on. I'd really like to get rid of this beer gut.

 

[Quiocho]

hi there!
well it sound like you are willing to try and make a change through exercising. giving up the smoking is a good start because your breathing will be an important aspect in clearing the obstructions that are still there.
one thing that is needed to be understood is seeing the whole picture about exercise. to see this is to go beyond the "shape" of the body. taking shape should begin by knowing that your body's health is what give the body its true shape. in other words, learn to understand no matter what type equipment you use, the greatest andmost important one is the human body. how you use your body will determine the results you will be developing.
start with learning the basics of health-exercise-fitness. the body works well by a natural order inside out. by giving up smoking, your mind has given into working with your body towars changing.
now if you are really determine, educated yourself by reading sensible and realistic materials, talking with exercise/health professional, and most of all, be patient.
start off using four to five basic exercises that will involve the whole body. such exercises would be squats, deadlifts, standing shoulder press, pullups and pushups. all of these can be done on the smith machine. i'm not going into the varibles of lifting which are the selction of exercises/order of exercises/number of sets/number of reps/weight usage/frequency/duration/and resting intervals. it would be easier seeking help near by.
don't even think about how much weight but rather how well you can do the exercise with the lightest weight. again, your health of the body is first than the shape of it.
you can get rid of your beer gut but exercise is only a part of it. what goes in your mouth is the other and probably the other part is your consistency.
exercise is not suppose to be overwhelming or complicated. learn to understand what is and what should be so you don't get discouraged or frustrated. you may want to train hard and fast but it is those who train smart and slow that truly show the accomplishments and attain the disicpline to make new goals and continue.
you have youth on your side. use it as an advantage to truly make your exercises progressively health and physically fitting!
good health to you!
dat's it for now!
aloha!
mikey q.

 

[Kalrog]

Honestly, dropping the cigarets will be the best thing that you can do for your body - probably even better than exercising, but to do both would be great! And a great way to fight off the weight gain that usually happens when you quit smoking.

If you are as out of shape as you indicate, I would probably start with something VERY simple. Go walk a mile. Then 2. Then start a walk/jog program and move up to a running program. Take it slow and make sure you don't hurt yourself. Something that might be good for your motivation is to take all of that $$ that you were spending on nicotine and save it. When you make your workout goal for the week/month/whatever - go buy yourself something to make your workout more fun or effective. Maybe a "sport" MP3 player to listen to while you run or something like that. Motivation is an often overlooked aspect of working out.

And about lifting weights, start light. See my thread about starting to lift weights on this same forum for what I am doing - and I have been working out (running) for months now. But weights are a new thing for me and I have to go slowly again!

 

[JoshW]

Ive started working out now. I'm doing low weight starting out and am doing 3 sets of 12 reps with each exercise. I'm only doing squats, dead lifts, curls, bench press, and sit ups to start out with. I plan on doing this monday, wed, and fri. I also started running and started with 1 mile which just about killed me. I plan on doing my running tuesdays, thursdays, and saturdays. Is this is a good way to start out, is that enough different exercises to begin with? I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible, I know I'll be much better about sticking with it if I do it that way. As for eating I've cut out all the junk food, and am eating three meals a day, smaller portions than I used to. I'm also eating fruit a few times through out the day as a snack and am drinking a large amount of water. I carry a water bottle with me at all times. I find this really keeps me from being hungry between meals. Anyone have any suggestions on anything I should do differently?

 

[SRV524]

You're doin' great......at least you're giving it an effort. Good for the cardio, but try to do something more along the lines of walking a mile, running a mile. Or you could use the technique of walk for 5 min, run for 1, and then gradually increase the running while decreasing the walking, which builds up to a good amount of time running. Your goal in 6 months is to be at running for 4-5 miles or 45 min a day, 5-6 days a week. That should be easy for you at that point, but who knows. Good luck!