Gym Guidance - 2.5 Months In
Discussion
So, since just before the new year I've been hitting the gym 2-3 times a week mainly doing cardio work - usually around 45 mins on the cross trainer, Im now getting bored of the cross trainer & mix up my workout between rowing 3-5k metres/cross trainer & some jogging ending in some light weights, reps of 4 x 30.
My diet is mainly consisting of:
Breakfast, 1 of the following:
Bowl of Alpen & a bannana
Protein shake & a bannana
large portion of Pineapple
Lunch - usually a large chicken salad OR soup & a bread roll
Dinner - fairly healthy meal of a chicken salad, spag bol, pork chops & salad etc.
I try & stick to that, sometimes have the odd choc bar now & then along with a few beers at the weekend but not every weeekend.
I have a protein shake before & after the gym
So far this year I've lost 12lb but the fat seems to be quite hard to lose? Im 6'3 & 15st13lbs.
What can I do to improve this on this? Im after toning up mainly & then once toned up, increase the weights slightly.
Ta
My diet is mainly consisting of:
Breakfast, 1 of the following:
Bowl of Alpen & a bannana
Protein shake & a bannana
large portion of Pineapple
Lunch - usually a large chicken salad OR soup & a bread roll
Dinner - fairly healthy meal of a chicken salad, spag bol, pork chops & salad etc.
I try & stick to that, sometimes have the odd choc bar now & then along with a few beers at the weekend but not every weeekend.
I have a protein shake before & after the gym
So far this year I've lost 12lb but the fat seems to be quite hard to lose? Im 6'3 & 15st13lbs.
What can I do to improve this on this? Im after toning up mainly & then once toned up, increase the weights slightly.
Ta
Dont use the cross trainer/cardio so much?!?!
Try doing some interval sprints for 10-15 minutes at the end of your workout. Get onto the sqat rack and bench press and get some decent reps in there. I have read in so many places that long cardio work actually increases your bodies desire to store fat. Something to do with a particular stress hormon being activated. Sprint intervals are were the weight loss happens.
I do a 45-50 mintue circuit of resistance training (including legs just incase anyone mentions it) then finish with 10-15 mins of the bike doing interval hill climbing.
Lost 3 inches off my waist and over a stone since Sept/October time to go with my frame looking a hell of a lot better. Im 6'3 mate and im now comfortably under 15 stone.
Try doing some interval sprints for 10-15 minutes at the end of your workout. Get onto the sqat rack and bench press and get some decent reps in there. I have read in so many places that long cardio work actually increases your bodies desire to store fat. Something to do with a particular stress hormon being activated. Sprint intervals are were the weight loss happens.
I do a 45-50 mintue circuit of resistance training (including legs just incase anyone mentions it) then finish with 10-15 mins of the bike doing interval hill climbing.
Lost 3 inches off my waist and over a stone since Sept/October time to go with my frame looking a hell of a lot better. Im 6'3 mate and im now comfortably under 15 stone.
Sounds like you need some assistance!
45 mins on a cross trainer! You must be immune from boredom! Cut this down to 10-15 mins of High Intensity Interval training... which is to be done after weights. We've freed up some time for the good stuff.
High reps of low weight is useless. You need to do low reps of as much as you can physically lift. There's no such thing as "Toning" muscle. You're either building muscle or losing fat - which will increase muscle definition.
Your diet is Ok. You need to maintain your protein intake to give you what you need to rebuild muscle. Carbs are probably a little on the high side too.
You want to find yourself a good "full body workout" (google it) and do this at least 3x per week. Do cardio on the other days.
That's a start any way!
45 mins on a cross trainer! You must be immune from boredom! Cut this down to 10-15 mins of High Intensity Interval training... which is to be done after weights. We've freed up some time for the good stuff.
High reps of low weight is useless. You need to do low reps of as much as you can physically lift. There's no such thing as "Toning" muscle. You're either building muscle or losing fat - which will increase muscle definition.
Your diet is Ok. You need to maintain your protein intake to give you what you need to rebuild muscle. Carbs are probably a little on the high side too.
You want to find yourself a good "full body workout" (google it) and do this at least 3x per week. Do cardio on the other days.
That's a start any way!
Edited by GBDG on Tuesday 13th March 16:55
GBDG said:
Sounds like you need some assistance!
45 mins on a cross trainer! You must be immune from boredom! Cut this down to 10-15 mins of High Intensity Interval training... which is to be done after weights. We've freed up some time for the good stuff.
High reps of low weight is useless. You need to do low reps of as much as you can physically lift. There's no such thing as "Toning" muscle. You're either building muscle or losing fat - which will increase muscle definition.
Your diet is Ok. You need to maintain your protein intake to give you what you need to rebuild muscle. Carbs are probably a little on the high side too.
You want to find yourself a good "full body workout" (google it) and do this at least 3x per week. Do cardio on the other days.
That's a start any way!
Good post.45 mins on a cross trainer! You must be immune from boredom! Cut this down to 10-15 mins of High Intensity Interval training... which is to be done after weights. We've freed up some time for the good stuff.
High reps of low weight is useless. You need to do low reps of as much as you can physically lift. There's no such thing as "Toning" muscle. You're either building muscle or losing fat - which will increase muscle definition.
Your diet is Ok. You need to maintain your protein intake to give you what you need to rebuild muscle. Carbs are probably a little on the high side too.
You want to find yourself a good "full body workout" (google it) and do this at least 3x per week. Do cardio on the other days.
That's a start any way!
Edited by GBDG on Tuesday 13th March 16:55
I'd also add;
Check portion sizes (no point in eating good food by the bucket load!)
Remove fizzy drinks/alcohol/sugar from the diet
Remove heavily processed foods
Want to boost your metabolism for 38 hours? Do weights!
scientific study said:
Abstract
Studies have shown metabolism to remain elevated for hours following resistance exercise, but none have gone beyond 16 h, nor have they followed a whole body, high intensity exercise protocol. To examine the duration of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) following a period of heavy resistance exercise, seven healthy men [mean (SD) age 22 (3) years, height 177 (8) cm, mass 83 (10) kg, percentage body fat 10.4 (4.2)%] engaged in a 31 min period of resistance exercise, consisting of four circuits of bench press, power cleans, and squats. Each set was performed using the subject's own predetermined ten-repetition maximum and continued until failure. Oxygen consumption ( ) measurements were obtained at consistent times (34 h pre-, 29 h pre-, 24 h pre-, 10 h pre-, 5 h pre-, immediately post-, 14 h post-, 19 h post-, 24 h post-, 38 h post-, 43 h post-, and 48 h post-exercise). Post-exercise measurements were compared to the baseline measurements made at the same time of day. The was significantly elevated ( P<0.05) above baseline values at immediately post, 14, 19, and 38 h post-exercise. Mean daily values for both post-exercise days were also significantly elevated above the mean value for the baseline day. These results suggest that EPOC duration following resistance exercise extends well beyond the previously reported duration of 16 h. The duration and magnitude of the EPOC observed in this study indicates the importance of future research to examine a possible role for high intensity resistance training in a weight management program for various populations.
This is part of the reason why weight lifters/bodybuilders can get and/or stay lean easily. Its the uneducated view cardio is the only answer to weight loss, its only part of the answer.Studies have shown metabolism to remain elevated for hours following resistance exercise, but none have gone beyond 16 h, nor have they followed a whole body, high intensity exercise protocol. To examine the duration of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) following a period of heavy resistance exercise, seven healthy men [mean (SD) age 22 (3) years, height 177 (8) cm, mass 83 (10) kg, percentage body fat 10.4 (4.2)%] engaged in a 31 min period of resistance exercise, consisting of four circuits of bench press, power cleans, and squats. Each set was performed using the subject's own predetermined ten-repetition maximum and continued until failure. Oxygen consumption ( ) measurements were obtained at consistent times (34 h pre-, 29 h pre-, 24 h pre-, 10 h pre-, 5 h pre-, immediately post-, 14 h post-, 19 h post-, 24 h post-, 38 h post-, 43 h post-, and 48 h post-exercise). Post-exercise measurements were compared to the baseline measurements made at the same time of day. The was significantly elevated ( P<0.05) above baseline values at immediately post, 14, 19, and 38 h post-exercise. Mean daily values for both post-exercise days were also significantly elevated above the mean value for the baseline day. These results suggest that EPOC duration following resistance exercise extends well beyond the previously reported duration of 16 h. The duration and magnitude of the EPOC observed in this study indicates the importance of future research to examine a possible role for high intensity resistance training in a weight management program for various populations.
80% of the end result is diet and then the rest is smart training. As well as the benefits of massively increased fat loss, weight lifting results in a manly figure at the end of the dieting as opposed to the 'bag of bones' look.
Brilliant - thanks for the replies.
I am bored to death of the cross trainer now!
Started interval running last night & upped my weights, can feel the benefits of that this morning.
Stopped eating junk food and snacking the day I started at the gym - no heavily processed food, ready meals, fast food or sugary fizzy drinks - none of that rubbish, just the odd couple of beers...
Thanks again - will follow the advice.
I am bored to death of the cross trainer now!
Started interval running last night & upped my weights, can feel the benefits of that this morning.
Stopped eating junk food and snacking the day I started at the gym - no heavily processed food, ready meals, fast food or sugary fizzy drinks - none of that rubbish, just the odd couple of beers...
Thanks again - will follow the advice.
Interesting reading.
I've been working out on and off for the past year, but in the past 1-2months have been concentrating and hitting it quite hard 3-4 times a week. I personally cannot stand running, and easily get bored on the cross-trainer (unless there's a pert bum in front of me doing some sort of gyrating), so I choose to use the rotary climbing wall for cardio. 6mins on that thing and you'll be sweating far more than you would be from a light-medium intensity 30min run. It's so intensive that I find it works far better for me than monotonous long cardio sessions by other means. It's also excellent for working muscles that you wouldn't be able to using various weight machines etc, as you get the sort of workout of your back, shoulders and arms (especially forearms) that is very difficult to replicate.
Not every gym has this though (David Lloyd), so it's not available to all.
I usually follow that up (usually have around 12mins worth of intensive speed climbing) with weights such as chest press, fly, pulldowns, curls etc. It's working quite well and even after a month or so I can see visible results, with my weights slowly increasing (and ease of climbs improving). I'm slowly notching things up so hopefully, if I can keep it up, I should see significant improvements after a few months.
Diet is something i'm not too hot on, mainly as my work is erratic that I can rarely plan where i'm going to be.
I've been working out on and off for the past year, but in the past 1-2months have been concentrating and hitting it quite hard 3-4 times a week. I personally cannot stand running, and easily get bored on the cross-trainer (unless there's a pert bum in front of me doing some sort of gyrating), so I choose to use the rotary climbing wall for cardio. 6mins on that thing and you'll be sweating far more than you would be from a light-medium intensity 30min run. It's so intensive that I find it works far better for me than monotonous long cardio sessions by other means. It's also excellent for working muscles that you wouldn't be able to using various weight machines etc, as you get the sort of workout of your back, shoulders and arms (especially forearms) that is very difficult to replicate.
Not every gym has this though (David Lloyd), so it's not available to all.
I usually follow that up (usually have around 12mins worth of intensive speed climbing) with weights such as chest press, fly, pulldowns, curls etc. It's working quite well and even after a month or so I can see visible results, with my weights slowly increasing (and ease of climbs improving). I'm slowly notching things up so hopefully, if I can keep it up, I should see significant improvements after a few months.
Diet is something i'm not too hot on, mainly as my work is erratic that I can rarely plan where i'm going to be.
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