12 Week Challenge
Discussion
Morning all,
I've not started a thread with some purpose for a while so i figured why not this one!
My new years resolution was to lose a bit of weight, i joined the gym late last year & was making reasonable progress, but had to stop due to having an operation, i should of started again, but got lazy & stopped going & put on the half stone i'd lost.
I'm currently weighing in around 15 1/2 stone at 6ft & 26 years of age, so i cuold do with losing some poundage.
My main aim is to lose the beer belly, double chin & get myself into shape again, ideally i'd like to get down to a 34" waist, currently i'm residing in 36-38" trousers which i find embarrassing, i also want to be able to wear a pair of boardies in the summer when we go away & not feel self conscious.
So i popped back into the local gym & signed myself up to the 12 week challenge.
My PT has had some incredible results with everyone who's stuck to it in the last 12 months & i intend to give it a real good go.
I've yet to receive my workout plan yet.
But the basis around the challnege, is cardio in the morning before brekkie, weights in the evening & cardio at around 8pm.
6 meals a day, gym 4 nights a week (as i can't do the 5th as i have my son) although i will be doing the cardio 7 days a week.
Diet will be 6 & half days a week, with a cheat meal on the Sunday evening.
I'm also giving up the booze & smoking (social smoker), although the nights out i will resume in a lesser quantity once the 3 months is up.
I currently don't have my diet with me at the moment but i will update at the weekend once i have it in front of me.
I thought i'd start the thread for anyone who's doing something similar!
Share your stories / plans etc!
I've not started a thread with some purpose for a while so i figured why not this one!
My new years resolution was to lose a bit of weight, i joined the gym late last year & was making reasonable progress, but had to stop due to having an operation, i should of started again, but got lazy & stopped going & put on the half stone i'd lost.
I'm currently weighing in around 15 1/2 stone at 6ft & 26 years of age, so i cuold do with losing some poundage.
My main aim is to lose the beer belly, double chin & get myself into shape again, ideally i'd like to get down to a 34" waist, currently i'm residing in 36-38" trousers which i find embarrassing, i also want to be able to wear a pair of boardies in the summer when we go away & not feel self conscious.
So i popped back into the local gym & signed myself up to the 12 week challenge.
My PT has had some incredible results with everyone who's stuck to it in the last 12 months & i intend to give it a real good go.
I've yet to receive my workout plan yet.
But the basis around the challnege, is cardio in the morning before brekkie, weights in the evening & cardio at around 8pm.
6 meals a day, gym 4 nights a week (as i can't do the 5th as i have my son) although i will be doing the cardio 7 days a week.
Diet will be 6 & half days a week, with a cheat meal on the Sunday evening.
I'm also giving up the booze & smoking (social smoker), although the nights out i will resume in a lesser quantity once the 3 months is up.
I currently don't have my diet with me at the moment but i will update at the weekend once i have it in front of me.
I thought i'd start the thread for anyone who's doing something similar!
Share your stories / plans etc!
325Ti said:
good luck with it and let us know how you get on
Have been tempted by these programmes myself but dont think i would stick to it strictly enough - so just going to keep at it myself and hope to acheive the same results even if it takes me twice as long
I have little will power, however i'm incredibly stubborn, family & friends have all told me i won't be able to do it or that i will give up after a week, however i'm willing to do it just to prove a point as it does just that, proves a point & changes me hopefully for the better!Have been tempted by these programmes myself but dont think i would stick to it strictly enough - so just going to keep at it myself and hope to acheive the same results even if it takes me twice as long
dean350z said:
Sounds like a good challenge, i'm on board with the cardio before breakfast and weights in the evening, not sure if more cardio in the evening as well is overkill though but I wouldn't have thought it would do any harm....good luck!
Apparently the reasoning behind it is that you have 3 metabolism 'spikes' one early morning to kick start everything after a nights rest, the afternoon one at the gym & one before bed to ideally keep things ticking along, i'm no nutritionist or PT but the guys results speak very highly for themselves!I'm going to do before & during / after shots, so once i've got to week 4, i'll upload a pre-photo & the 4 week challenge to see if there's any differences!
So day one started today, forward planning on my part was going well, i've created a weeks worth of food yesterday afternoon (lunch & afternoon meal) & i'll cook my evening meals daily.
I managed to drag myself out of bed early doors (for me) 7am for my morning cardio in the form of a power walk, my planned route was quickly scuppered as i realised it was still pitch black outside!
Living in the country side with no street lamps this becomes an issue, i still cracked on & got on with it, first 3rd is steep down hill, which i jogged all the way, with the 2nd 3rd flat, i quick walked this & the final 3rd is steep uphill, i walked this also, needless to say by the flat i was sweating.
I'm not ashamed to say i'm incredibly unfit!
I must admit i feel stupidly wide awake now though which is a first for me!
Starting weight 15st 2lbs
I managed to drag myself out of bed early doors (for me) 7am for my morning cardio in the form of a power walk, my planned route was quickly scuppered as i realised it was still pitch black outside!
Living in the country side with no street lamps this becomes an issue, i still cracked on & got on with it, first 3rd is steep down hill, which i jogged all the way, with the 2nd 3rd flat, i quick walked this & the final 3rd is steep uphill, i walked this also, needless to say by the flat i was sweating.
I'm not ashamed to say i'm incredibly unfit!
I must admit i feel stupidly wide awake now though which is a first for me!
Starting weight 15st 2lbs
lawrence567 said:
So day one started today, forward planning on my part was going well, i've created a weeks worth of food yesterday afternoon (lunch & afternoon meal) & i'll cook my evening meals daily.
I managed to drag myself out of bed early doors (for me) 7am for my morning cardio in the form of a power walk, my planned route was quickly scuppered as i realised it was still pitch black outside!
Living in the country side with no street lamps this becomes an issue, i still cracked on & got on with it, first 3rd is steep down hill, which i jogged all the way, with the 2nd 3rd flat, i quick walked this & the final 3rd is steep uphill, i walked this also, needless to say by the flat i was sweating.
I'm not ashamed to say i'm incredibly unfit!
I must admit i feel stupidly wide awake now though which is a first for me!
Starting weight 15st 2lbs
Good work Lawrence.I managed to drag myself out of bed early doors (for me) 7am for my morning cardio in the form of a power walk, my planned route was quickly scuppered as i realised it was still pitch black outside!
Living in the country side with no street lamps this becomes an issue, i still cracked on & got on with it, first 3rd is steep down hill, which i jogged all the way, with the 2nd 3rd flat, i quick walked this & the final 3rd is steep uphill, i walked this also, needless to say by the flat i was sweating.
I'm not ashamed to say i'm incredibly unfit!
I must admit i feel stupidly wide awake now though which is a first for me!
Starting weight 15st 2lbs
My advice to you would be too start slowly but have a plan you stick too and work up to doing lots more. You need to make sure you don't burn out in the early phases.
All the best and hope it works for you 
Cardio before breakfast will help boost your metabolism or cardio after a weights is the next best thing. If you've done cardio first thing in the morning then I would skip the post gym cardio.
What you do in the gym is important but remember that 90% of it is nutrition so eating well and having the right balance of macronutrients (protein, carbs and healthy fats) will help you achieve your goals.
Cardio before breakfast will help boost your metabolism or cardio after a weights is the next best thing. If you've done cardio first thing in the morning then I would skip the post gym cardio.
What you do in the gym is important but remember that 90% of it is nutrition so eating well and having the right balance of macronutrients (protein, carbs and healthy fats) will help you achieve your goals.
amare32 said:
All the best and hope it works for you
Cardio before breakfast will help boost your metabolism or cardio after a weights is the next best thing. If you've done cardio first thing in the morning then I would skip the post gym cardio.
What you do in the gym is important but remember that 90% of it is nutrition so eating well and having the right balance of macronutrients (protein, carbs and healthy fats) will help you achieve your goals.
I've got a pre-defined diet by the PT so it goes hand in hand.Cardio before breakfast will help boost your metabolism or cardio after a weights is the next best thing. If you've done cardio first thing in the morning then I would skip the post gym cardio.
What you do in the gym is important but remember that 90% of it is nutrition so eating well and having the right balance of macronutrients (protein, carbs and healthy fats) will help you achieve your goals.
First weigh in today (every Thurs & Sunday morning).
3lb down, happy with that
So i did my second weigh in yesterday (i weigh in every Thurs & Sun), i was a bit sceptical that i wasn't going to lose anything as i do the gym Monday-Thursday as i have my little boy on the weekend, but i made sure i 'upped' the cardio on Friday night & Saturday day time to 30mins a piece to make myself feel better for it.
I weighed in another 2lb lighter on Sunday, so a total of 5lb for the week, i was targetted 3.5lb so i was more than happy with that, i don't expect to lose 5lb a week, but it was a good motivation booster & i can't wait for my PT in about 15mins time!
I weighed in another 2lb lighter on Sunday, so a total of 5lb for the week, i was targetted 3.5lb so i was more than happy with that, i don't expect to lose 5lb a week, but it was a good motivation booster & i can't wait for my PT in about 15mins time!
So i had my second weigh in this morning, sadly i've only managed to shed 1lb, i'm a bit disappointed if i'm honest as i'd lost 3lb last week in the same time, coupled with the fact i'm being religous with the training & diet & that i felt i'd made real gains this week, not only in terms of upping what i can lift etc.
My PT has said i should lose more by Sunday, so hopefully we'll see an increase, i'd like to lose 2lb by Sunday, that is realistically my main goal!
My PT has said i should lose more by Sunday, so hopefully we'll see an increase, i'd like to lose 2lb by Sunday, that is realistically my main goal!
I'm not expert at all, but I would just say give it time, keep at what you're doing and you will see results because it looks to me like you're eating well and doing a good amount of exercise. A couple more weeks and then if nothing happens/you feel no progress (which I'd be surprised) ask your PT.
I've also got an extremely slow metabolism and when I stop doing anything I notice it straight the way.
Oh and don't compare yourself to others, they're not you, you're you
I've also got an extremely slow metabolism and when I stop doing anything I notice it straight the way.
Oh and don't compare yourself to others, they're not you, you're you
Edited by MrB1obby on Thursday 17th January 12:47
MrB1obby said:
I'm not expert at all, but I would just say give it time, keep at what you're doing and you will see results because it looks to me like you're eating well and doing a good amount of exercise. A couple more weeks and then if nothing happens/you feel no progress (which I'd be surprised) ask your PT.
I've also got an extremely slow metabolism and when I stop doing anything I notice it straight the way.
Oh and don't compare yourself to others, they're not you, you're you
I was just a bit gutted as i'm putting everything into it & was really gutted to only lose 1lb, i'm not so much bothereed by what the other people are doing as i'm doing it for me.I've also got an extremely slow metabolism and when I stop doing anything I notice it straight the way.
Oh and don't compare yourself to others, they're not you, you're you
Edited by MrB1obby on Thursday 17th January 12:47
However before i went on my health kick i'd smoke at the weekends as well as have a big night out, drink sugary fizzy drinks during the day + whatever i wanted to eat in no matter what portions i wanted & i never went above what i started with weight wise, now i've made all these drastic cuts etc i just guess i expected to see a bit more of a return so to speak.
My PT has assured me this is normal & just to up the cardio for a few days to 30mins to see how i fare with it, so we'll see how that goes, i intend to battle on though, next weigh in Sunday & i'll report back!
4L of water a day? Did your PT recommend that?
"Keep your toilet close. And your urinal closer."
Or, get better advice. Like, "you really don't need to be drinking 4L a day". Those recommendations (more often 2L per day) are based on misunderstanding and some terminal stupidity.
Good luck with the rest of it. Losing alcohol, sugar, and white flour lost me 3st. before I really started the gym work. It takes time though.
"Keep your toilet close. And your urinal closer."
Or, get better advice. Like, "you really don't need to be drinking 4L a day". Those recommendations (more often 2L per day) are based on misunderstanding and some terminal stupidity.
Good luck with the rest of it. Losing alcohol, sugar, and white flour lost me 3st. before I really started the gym work. It takes time though.
Edited by grumbledoak on Friday 18th January 07:27
OP, I'm 6'1", 34 and started out 4 or 5 months ago at a lardy 16 stone and am now a shade under 14. Sliming down is easy, there's no magic involved, it's a simple calories in versus calories burned forumula.
Excerise for me is a variety, some weeks I'll smash out 2 10k runs, or 2 uphill sprint HIIT sessions, I also add in bodyweight excecise sessions. The goal is just to be active. Dont get too hung up on the online/magazine articles with some new fandango/magic cure/superset superdooper weights routine. Just keep moving and active. For me the goal is to be slim and athletic, not some pumped up weights monster who can hardly move or run 100m.
As for diet, again, forget all this suppliment driven super food guff, just eat healthy yet keeping calories down. Breakfast for me is just some wheatabix, lunch is a tuna or chichken salad (>300cal) and dinner is usually some meat or steamed fish and a load of veggies. Don't get me wrong, I dont live some monkist lifestyle, weekends do involve some treats n lagers (get coors light, 1/2 calories of normal largers). Whatever you do to drop the pounds make sure you enjoy it. See you at a ripped 13 and a bit stone in a few months ready for spring/summer
Excerise for me is a variety, some weeks I'll smash out 2 10k runs, or 2 uphill sprint HIIT sessions, I also add in bodyweight excecise sessions. The goal is just to be active. Dont get too hung up on the online/magazine articles with some new fandango/magic cure/superset superdooper weights routine. Just keep moving and active. For me the goal is to be slim and athletic, not some pumped up weights monster who can hardly move or run 100m.
As for diet, again, forget all this suppliment driven super food guff, just eat healthy yet keeping calories down. Breakfast for me is just some wheatabix, lunch is a tuna or chichken salad (>300cal) and dinner is usually some meat or steamed fish and a load of veggies. Don't get me wrong, I dont live some monkist lifestyle, weekends do involve some treats n lagers (get coors light, 1/2 calories of normal largers). Whatever you do to drop the pounds make sure you enjoy it. See you at a ripped 13 and a bit stone in a few months ready for spring/summer
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