Hello everyone.
I'm currently in search for advice and encouragment.
I'm currently around 245lbs ... My goal is to hit 190 to 180lbs.
My current work outs consist of...


Mondays: Chest and triceps.. and abs for about 1.5 hrs.
Tuesdays: biceps, back, shoulders and abs ... 1.5hrs
wed: Rest day
Thursday: Chest and triceps.. and abs for about 1.5 hrs.
Friday: biceps, back, shoulders and abs ... 1.5hrs
Sat: Cardio 1 hr
Sunday: rest day


Are my work outs ok ? I know i should be fitting more cardio.. but i freakin hate cardio.. plus i have asthma... so its hard for me to keep up. any advice is welcome. =) :claphigh:

Hi and welcome!

first and foremost, what's your diet like? We can say very little if we don't know your diet.
It is generally advisable that people who are new to lifting should do 2-3 full body work outs, and later split it. IMO you're slightly overworking, you might wanna try a better split, check out this thread for 3 and 4 day splits: http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=19945
Personaly, I love to do cardio, many people have achieved great results without it. If you have astma my unprofessional advice would be not to do that much of it.
Last but not the least, you should read the stickies at the newbie forum if you haven't done so yet - they hold a great deal of information.

Good luck!
Gila.

Glad to have you here.

Three suggestions. Don't let your routine go over 75 minutes, and preferrably not over 60. You want high-intensity, shorter workouts to build mass, if that's your goal. If you work out too hard for too long you can actually lose muscle, or at least not gain as much as you could.

Also, cut back one ab day. If you are working them intensely enough, it should be TOUGH to do two days in a row.

Third: take all advice, including the above, with a grain of salt. Do whatever works for you, both mentally and physically. The most important thing early in the game is to develop the habit of working out. After you have that, you can become more educated on how to optimize the time you spend. but at first, just focus on building the habit.

Can't wait to see your progress. Good luck!

try for a 40 min walk or power walk 3-4 times a walk doesn't have to be intense but get some more cardio into that routine.

Great advice so far!

I'm going to second what Gila said... you should get your diet straight before you focus too hard on weights/cardio. Diet is by far the biggest factor in getting in shape and you want to make sure you get that under control as soon as possible. You don't have to have a perfect diet, just try to do the little things:

1. Figure out how many calories you should be eating a day (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=1222)
2. Eat 5-6 times a day in about 250-300 calorie portions.
3. Eat enough protein to support your lifting routine... to start out, try to get around 100-150g protein per day.
4. Cut out as much refined sugar as you can - sodas, candy, cookies and such.
5. Make a plan and stick to it.

Good luck! :tucool:

You should add legs in there for much faster progress.

I know how you feel man i was 225 when i knew i needed to make a change and currently 210 after fist month. I totally agree with gila you have to focus on your diet FIRST then just get in a good habit if you over work yourself all at one time your most likely going to burnout or injure yourself. I have been down that road a number of time in the last 2 years and this time i have found that easing into it is best. Start with eating clean which there are many good axamples of around here and then i would personally recomend from a stand point of a beginner myself to like gila said do full body workouts for a couple weeks. it gets you in the habit of going to the gym routinly and also allows your body to get use to being taxed more then its use to. I have found that 5 min cardio warmup followed by 30-45 min full body then anouther 5 min cardio cool down is very helpfull to get in a good groove with going to the gym and not burning out. I do this 3-4 times a week with HIT on my of days. If you would like a break down of what exercies i do for full body PM me and i will send you the routine im using.
Also i would advise setting up a journal on this site i have found it very usefull to keeping yourself on track and truthfull with yourself.

You should add legs in there for much faster progress.
Agreed. Need the leg work in there bad!

hello all.. thanks for the tips and advice...


but... I've been working out pretty consitantly for past 2 months... and before that 3 months... but work got in the way.. but now im getting back into it. Working out consistantly isn't an issue... BUT eat... yea...


I usually eat about 3-4 times a day... i try to cut out bad carbs and stick with whole grain... and protien foods...

but legs? should i really work out legs too ? I feel like my legs are big enough... im 245lbs 5'7"


btw... I want to hit 200lbs on bench... i just repped one time yesterday with 190lbs.. couldn't do anymore. But is it possible to hit 200lbs on bench by end of october?

You should add squats for legs and dead lifts for overall development. These will make you much stronger. Your legs will get probably smaller as you lose fat and adding muscle all over your body will speed up the process.

10 pounds will easily come on the bench this month- especially if you add more compound lifts for overall power development.

but legs? should i really work out legs too ? I feel like my legs are big enough... im 245lbs 5'7"
Yes, you should work out your legs.

ok.. when i'm lifting on the bench... how many reps and sets should i do? and how much weights?

ok.. when i'm lifting on the bench... how many reps and sets should i do? and how much weights?
Honestly these are very, very broad questions. I would suggest you start reading the sticky threads in various forum sections here, as they can be of help.