Alright...before I start I should mention that I am very new to excercise/weight training as I was lucky enough to have the type of metabolism that made it possible to eat anything without getting fat. Now, however, I have put on a lot of fat around my mid-section (I look a little bigger than John in the pictures taken before he started working out) and it has become rather embarrassing so I want to get fit and healthy before it is too late. This has also led to a lot of lower back pain as I am sure the extra weight being carried around my stomach is what is causing my back pains.

I have also noticed problems with my breathing which I want to resolve (these come from smoking a pack a day for 20 years now). There are five floors in my house and I have noticed lately that, when I go up all five flights of stairs, I am very winded when I reach the top and my heart seems to be beating through my chest. It usually takes about a minute to catch my breath and for my heart to stop pounding. This has to change...right away.

Now that I have pointed all of this out I was wondering if someone would be kind enough to suggest a beginners program for me? I would like to get more fit in every respect so I would like to burn off excess fat, tone muscles, and increase my cardiovascular abilities (the smoking stops today so that should help with my breathing).

I only own free weights and a very simple bench plus an exercise bike. Can some decent gains be accomplished with this limited equipment? I would like to be able to see some gains in about 8-10 weeks. Not as dramatic as John seems to have accomplished in his first few months but noticeable nonetheless.

If anyone can suggest a program for me would you mind providing some sort of explanation of the proper form for any exercises suggested? Doing them without using proper form would probably nullify any possible gains so I want to be sure I am using proper form. And could you make this program the 'For Dummies' version so that I can actually understand it (not having any experience some of the stuff y'all say here is Greek to me)? Also...since losing fat is one of my main goals should I do cardio every day?

I should also mention that I am 6'1" tall and currently weigh 213lbs.

Sorry for the long, rambling, and disconnected nature of this post and thank you in advance for any advice offered.

Alright...before I start I should mention that I am very new to excercise/weight training as I was lucky enough to have the type of metabolism that made it possible to eat anything without getting fat. Now, however, I have put on a lot of fat around my mid-section (I look a little bigger than John in the pictures taken before he started working out) and it has become rather embarrassing so I want to get fit and healthy before it is too late. This has also led to a lot of lower back pain as I am sure the extra weight being carried around my stomach is what is causing my back pains.

I have also noticed problems with my breathing which I want to resolve (these come from smoking a pack a day for 20 years now). There are five floors in my house and I have noticed lately that, when I go up all five flights of stairs, I am very winded when I reach the top and my heart seems to be beating through my chest. It usually takes about a minute to catch my breath and for my heart to stop pounding. This has to change...right away.

Now that I have pointed all of this out I was wondering if someone would be kind enough to suggest a beginners program for me? I would like to get more fit in every respect so I would like to burn off excess fat, tone muscles, and increase my cardiovascular abilities (the smoking stops today so that should help with my breathing).

I only own free weights and a very simple bench plus an exercise bike. Can some decent gains be accomplished with this limited equipment? I would like to be able to see some gains in about 8-10 weeks. Not as dramatic as John seems to have accomplished in his first few months but noticeable nonetheless.

If anyone can suggest a program for me would you mind providing some sort of explanation of the proper form for any exercises suggested? Doing them without using proper form would probably nullify any possible gains so I want to be sure I am using proper form. And could you make this program the 'For Dummies' version so that I can actually understand it (not having any experience some of the stuff y'all say here is Greek to me)? Also...since losing fat is one of my main goals should I do cardio every day?

I should also mention that I am 6'1" tall and currently weigh 213lbs.

Sorry for the long, rambling, and disconnected nature of this post and thank you in advance for any advice offered.

Hi, First - Congratulations on making the decision to have a healthy lifestyle! I myself am fairly new to resistance training. After reading until my eyes were blurry, I bought the Body For Life book (used, online - very cheap). It is a very good beginner's program and has illustrations to explain proper form for exercises. I am on week 3 and have lost 11 lbs so far which is a very good motivater!

Good Luck!

Hi, First - Congratulations on making the decision to have a healthy lifestyle! I myself am fairly new to resistance training. After reading until my eyes were blurry, I bought the Body For Life book (used, online - very cheap). It is a very good beginner's program and has illustrations to explain proper form for exercises. I am on week 3 and have lost 11 lbs so far which is a very good motivater!

Good Luck!


Thanks...I will definitely pick up a copy of that book. I'm also on my way out to pick up 'Fitness for Dummies' as I think the 'For Dummies' series is brilliant.

And I can sympathize with your 'reading until my eyes were blurry' comment as I have done the same but just felt myself getting more and more lost as I didn't even know the basics.

Thanks again and good luck reching your goals.

I'm far from an expert in weightlifting programs, but what I used to get me started was to go to John Stone's training page (bottom of this page - http://www.johnstonefitness.com/php/training.php). Then I looked at some of his favorites and followed the links to the EXRX and Bodybuilding.com sites to read-up on the proper form.

Since I'm just getting started myself, I'm more or less following what John did. As I get more experienced, I'll probably branch out a little more to see what works better for me personally.