fat, sluggish, unhappy with the way I look - I need to get my ass in gear!

[EricTheRed]

Hey Guys,
Probably a similar story to most here; I get fit and then I get complacent and then get unfit and fat, then I have to find the willpower to start over again. I'm currently feeling very unfit, very sluggish, I'm not happy with the way I look and I want to make some changes! Well im going to have another go and see if I can make some changes that are going to stick this time!

I'm 32 (33 in Sept), 6' and 217 lbs. I think I probably somewhere between an ectomorph and mesomorph in terms of body composition. I've been back at the gym a few weeks trying to get my body used to some exercise by doing 45 mins of cardio or so at a time every other day (its been about four years and I have a very sedentary life style).

Its kind of boring though and I'm itching to push some iron! I have three challenges here:

1 The time of day I can train: I can only do early before work and probably eat 30 mins or so before starting my workout.
2 The time I want to spend in the gym: As its the mornings and I then have to start my commute to work afterwards I don't want to be in there for more than say 30-40 mins (you can tell from the first two I'm not really a morning person!).
3 I've had some intermittent lower back issues which I think are sciatica related: I know its probably related to poor posture and a week core so I want to strenghten up, but on the flip side I don't want to trigger it either.

My curent thinking is that I should avoid isolation exercises and stick to compounds if possible. I came up with

• Dead lifts
• Squats
• Pull ups
• Rows
• Benchpress
• Shoulder press

Is this too much or too little for a single session? I wasn't sure whether it should be split and introduce some isolation exercises as well?. My main aim here is to get stroger and lose some weight as a by product. If I get bigger too thats a bonus.

I was thinking all the above as a full body workout on Mondays / Wednesdays / Fridays with a couple of rest days or potentially some cardio at the weekend. I need to keep my evenings free to look after my little Girl so they are out I'm afraid.

Diet wise I'm still trying to work it all out. I eat really crappily at the moment so I know I need to make wholesale changes but was goignt o aim for a 50 carb / 30 protein / 20 fats split to start with and then maybe drop the carbs and up the protein depending on how I get on.

I know thats a lots of info to digest but if you have hints / tips / advice or even criticism, my ears are open

Thanks peeps!

[mastover]

Dead lifting and squatting 3x per week is probably not a good idea, (you don't mention your set/rep parameters) but I would support a 3x per week total body routine (I would change some things, however) and minimize cardio on OFF days from weights to short HIIT bouts. I would increase protein and pay stronger attention to your nutritional needs. I don't know how many calories you are taking in, but I would definitely make sure you are getting in at least 1.25 gr of protein per pound of bodyweight.

I also see a problem with consistency. It's good to be motivated again, but when you don't have a passion for the fitness lifestyle regarding diet, training, and other physical activities, complacency and discouragement is only going to rear its ugly head in due course.

My clients all get tired of me tell them this over and over again - My three "P's" for success are - Patience, Persistence, and Pain toleration. Good luck!

[FatLenny]

Originally Posted by mastover

I would increase protein and pay stronger attention to your nutritional needs.

This would be my recommendation as well.

Originally Posted by mastover

I also see a problem with consistency. It's good to be motivated again, but when you don't have a passion for the fitness lifestyle regarding diet, training, and other physical activities, complacency and discouragement is only going to rear its ugly head in due course.

I tend to agree with this as well..

Originally Posted by mastover

My three "P's" for success are - Patience, Persistence, and Pain toleration.

This applies to almost every aspect of life and every goal within it. What he didn't mention is that the pain toleration does not necessarily refer to physical pain. Sometimes patience and persistence are psychologically painful.

That being said, I would respectfully disagree with Aram's opinion of squatting and deadlifting 3x weekly not being a good idea. I think it just depends on the person. I personally squat 4 times a week and deadlift or clean 2-4 times a week without issue. The caveat is that I worked up to that level of volume on those llifts... I didn't jump in there.

I would suggest that you pay close attention to how your body reacts to such a routine and be very willing to self-regulate your workouts(i.e. drop some sets, reps or even exercises if needed). I can't imagine trying to work through those six lifts in 30-40 minutes with any type of meaningful effort, either.

You might consider splitting your workout into three separate days with two lifts each. Go as heavy as you can in the 4-6 rep range and get plenty of rest between sets(maybe 3 or 4 minutes). This type of setup is pretty much a strength building strategy(and if you build strength/muscle, you will drop fat with the proper nutrition in place).

Maybe try something like this:


Day 1: Deadlift & Pull Ups
Day 2: Squat & Shoulder Press
Day 3: Bench Press & Rows

I would also recommend that any off day be a day of rest. If you want to get some 'cardio' work in on off days, get it from play. Go shoot some hoops or throw around a ball. Play a sport. That obviously has cardio benefits and adds the athleticism component. You'll gain mobility, flexibility and coordination. All of those things will help in many ways inside the gym and outside...

In any regard, good luck!

[LateStart]

Originally Posted by FatLenny

Maybe try something like this:


Day 1: Deadlift & Pull Ups
Day 2: Squat & Shoulder Press
Day 3: Bench Press & Rows

I would also recommend that any off day be a day of rest. If you want to get some 'cardio' work in on off days, get it from play. Go shoot some hoops or throw around a ball. Play a sport. That obviously has cardio benefits and adds the athleticism component. You'll gain mobility, flexibility and coordination. All of those things will help in many ways inside the gym and outside

I have used 6 workouts split out over 2 weeks with good success:

#1: Legs/lower back (squat, deadlift, stiff-leg deads)
#2: Upper back (pull-ups, seated cable rows and bent over barbell rows
#3: Chest (dumbbell bench, dips, cable flyes) - same as Day 1
#4: Legs/lower back (squat, deadlift, stiff-leg deads) -- same as #1
#5: Traps/biceps (shrugs, dumbbell curls)
#6: Shoulders/triceps (dumbbell overhead press/lateral raise/bent over lateral, tricep press/rope pulldowns)

Typically, I do 4 sets of each exercise plus warmup, with short rest. Usually takes 45-60 min. Obviously, Days 5 and 6 are not as tough overall, due to the lack of large, compound movements and the presence of isolation exercises.

Legs show up twice because they are BY FAR my weak point. I sprinkle in rest days during the 2 week period, mostly as my "real life" schedule dictates.

I do mine in the evening and typically follow the weights with ~30 min of light cardio (treadmill). On "off" (no weights) days, I try to do some HIIT on a Nordic Track skier to aid in the fat burning and conditioning. I throw in some ab work (hanging leg raises) a couple of times a week.

Seems like an awful lot but at my age (54), I don't routinely train every exercise to failure every session or do the HIIT to achieve a 190 heart rate, so the volume of work is manageable.

Whatever you decide to do, make it a permanent part of your lifestyle. An "OK" routine that you do consistently is better than any "perfect" system you won't stay with.

Best of luck!