Its time for CTC to get back in the gym, putting on a few pounds...

From 05 til about 07 I trained kinda sorta religiously. I could cut weight like crazy with little of no planned healthy dieting. I would mainly do an upper body(arms n chest0f the rest) and cardio.. Well my cardio is in the tank and I'm losing my tone. My max bench was only 315lbs. and I was probably 225 at the time

I'm standing 5'11 about 270. I dont really care what I weigh in the end, I just need to go back to a 40 waist and an XL shirt. Right now I'm up to a 44 waist and TIGHT XL's.. I guess I would like to be in the 225. I have never been an any supplements or diet pills, just good ole whey.

So here's the point. I need to know how/what to diet. I know their are body building forums and whatnot, but you guys would know best without having a fathead. It seems like I snack all day long, bad stuff too.

I need to replace coffee with something, but I dont know what. I always have a HUGE cup in the morning, LOTS of sugar. Since I am tryin to cut weight, I'm not sure if a whey shake is good for me?

I cannot give you guys a basic rundown of my daily diet because it is EVERYWHERE.

At the gym, what do I need to be doing? Cardio ofcourse, but am I training with heavy weights or low weight high rep? I forgot all about training and what I've learned.

 

Whey protein is fine cutting. Replace your coffee with that or just water. I carry around a 1/2 gallon jug almost everywhere I go.

Training? Cardio, of course, like you said.


Fail.

Legs, legs, legs. Squats+leg workouts release more testosterone than any other body part/exercise combo. Don't be a pansy, work your legs. That's one of my pet peeves at the gym...people that don't work lower body. Ever see those guys that are jacked up but have chicken legs? Yeah...that doesn't look cool. It makes you look like a tool that only works chest and arms.

/rant


When I cut I generally keep everything the same and just cut rest periods in half. If you're looking for something more specific, try some form of circuit routine, incorporating a little bit of everything. Keep it down to basic, core movements (squats, bench, rows, etc), keep it heavy, and keep the rest short.

Similar to this program I tried a few years back (it works pretty well if you stick to it).

 

What MBlouir said. I do mostly cardio at the gym as I am into cycling but I do upper body a 2 days per week. Just add in more fruits and veggies. Sounds cliche, but boy does it help. Also, its ok to snack, but it is crucial what and when you eat. I would eat after work over the summer (1030-11pm) and I couldn't lose weight despite what I did working out. I stopped that and went from 205-207 to about 184-186 and still dropping. After working out, you can have some snacks because your body is still in a calorie burning mode, so that is something to take advantage of to get some protein.

 

I recently dropped about 40 pounds, mostly with dietary changes but also some exercise. I can't function without coffee, so instead of cutting it out, I just use vanilla whey protein mix instead of sugar/creamer. If you can get it to mix well and not be all lumpy, it's actually pretty good.

As far as exercise, lately I've been getting into Crossfit. You can check out the site at crossfit.com, and if you have a Crossfit gym nearby, I find being around others who are doing it really helps with motivation.

 

No no... Go back and read, I meant that what I USED to do.. Now I want to complete a full body workout...

 

I was thinking somewhat of a basis like this...

Breakfast
Protein shake-banana
or
Orange juice- Protein bar

10:00 work break
fat free yogurt
or
tuna sandwich
fruit

11:30-1:00- 30 min lunch in there somewhere
Grilled chicken
rice
Protein shake
Or
turkey sandwiches

Dinner
I have no idea....

 

You're gonna have to get your diet in check if you want to see some good loses. You can run all day, but if you eat crap, you're not gonna see much fat loss. Start getting your diet in check first. Then after about 2 weeks of eating good/better ease your way into the gym. Don't start out to fast. Take it easy for a couple weeks. After that 2 weeks, you will be at 1 month of eating good, and 2 weeks of getting the soreness out. Then you can turn up the intensity, and continue to work on your diet as well.

WVxlt has a great recommendation. CrossFit. It is a great full body workout. Focuses a lot on core and functional strength. Plus it is an *** kicker, and will leave you taxed as long as you give it your all. A lot of mental battle goes with their workouts. I could go on and on about it. Check out CrossFit.com and look around.

But, your workouts are all going to depend on what you want to achieve. Once you figure that out, it will be easier to help you on the gym part.

 

yea that program looks pretty ripped...

Whats everybody's take on Hydroxycut? My neighbor used to workout with me and he takes it and keeps his weight down as long as he's training.

 

Supplements are not really a good idea when first starting out. You want to get a good base before you start adding supps like that. Protein powders are fine, but that is all I would worry about right now. Your first months of training you will see great improvments and gains. Best bet is to just go off those for motivation, and leave the energy supps to someone else. Plus, people tend to get used to then, so if they forget it for whatever reason, their motivation is next to nothing in the gym, leaving the slacking. That, plus most of the crap out there isn't going to help you at all. All they will help you do is lighten your wallet.

 

I know exactly where you are coming from on the coffee - the first thing you should do is drink it WITHOUT sugar. If you can't stand the taste of black coffee, use artificial sweetener. If you can't stand the usual aspartame or saccharin based ones, try Splenda or one of the new Stevia sweeteners. There's no reason to quit drinking coffee, just drink it with no calories.

 

You don't need any supplements like Hydroxycut until you're about 10-12% bodyfat and have a solid diet. Then it's only used as an aid to drop that last bit of weight. Since you're just starting it's pointless and the difference between taking it and not right now will be negligible. Lose it the old-fashioned way--you'll feel better about yourself and save money.

 

I would pretty much axe the cardio completely. Cardio aerobic exercise doesn't burn as much fat as weight training does. It will burn fat, but it also starts breaking down your muscle after a certain period of time, causing you to lose fat AND muscle. Weight training is the better approach because you are burning pure fat while building your muscles up. Also, do sets of 8-12 if you're looking to burn fat and get leaner. You won't get as strong this way, but you will burn more fat.

 

i need cardio. i have no capacity anymore... treadmill killed me last night, couldnt even make it 10 mins

 

Cardio is a necessity. Weight training is not cardio unless you are keeping a high heart rate. YOu are doing the right thing. I do about an hour + of cardio each day at the gym. You should do what you can on the treadmill... then walk for 3 minutes then try again. I jog at 5.2mph on it after I get warmed up. I use the stair climber, then elliptical or bike. Too bad you aren't near me cause I'd whip you into good cardio shape... I love it

 

I agree with what you say here, but not completely doing away with cardio. Maybe 20-30 minutes before or after weight training. That would be sufficient.

False. There isn't a magical rep range to lose fat. When you're trying to lose fat weight lifting it's all about rest between sets. The best thing to do while losing weight is to keep your reps low and weight heavy. The goal is to lose fat while retaining as much muscle/strength as possible. The best of both worlds would be to incorporate all rep ranges into your workout, which one should be doing anyway regardless of their goals. Different rep ranges stimulate different muscle fibers. Best to hit them all.

General rule of thumb when trying to lose fat---change your diet, not your workout.

Doing >30 minutes cardio is for endurance, not really fat loss. Sure, you lose, some fat, but not much after that long of a period.

The best cardio to do for fat loss is HIIT, bar none.


Weight training vs cardio for fat loss