Newbie here..

[jaredm]

Hi there guys!

I've been reading this forum on/off for a couple months now.. Finally decided to join in on the festivities.

Firstly, I'm a 20 year old male from a province called Saskatchewan (that's okay, you don't have to try and pronounce it) up in Canada.

I am 5'10" and weigh approximately 160 pounds. Up until a year and half ago, I weighed about 180-190 pounds. I don't remember exactly what triggered it, but one day, I just woke up and realized I had to lose some weight. I lost a little too much weight -- I went down to 144 at one point. In the last 2-3 months, I've stabilized myself somewhat and have started eating cleanly and have been doing some weight training.

I do not want to become huge, and understandably, this doesn't occur by accident. My goal is to gain muscle tone, simply be at a healthy weight and look good physically.

I grew up with a family where everyone is overweight. Exercise just is not part of their lifestyle and its something I want to make part of mine. So far, what I've done is signed up for an online trainer -- which has helped me figure out what I should be doing. I do all my exercise at home using an incline bench and dumbbells for weight training... and a stationary bike/jogging for cardio.

As far as diet goes, I've been picking up tips from the forum here.According to Fitday, I need about 2200 calories to maintain.

I eat a big bowl of oatmeal from scratch (not the instant crap) nothing added to it for breakfast.
At this point, I usually workout.. 5 minute warmup and 30 minutes (approx.) doing whatever my online trainer tells me to do that day.. and then after I have a protein shake.

For lunch, I usually make myself a tuna burrito (if thats what you call a can of tuna, lettuce and mustard) OR rice/chicken/veggies.

Afternoons, I'm usually at school and don't really get a chance to eat, if anything I grab a fat-free yogourt and a coffee.

Supper varies. Brown rice/chicken breast w/ veggies. Probably going to get bored of this soon.

Late night, I usually grab another protein shake if I get the munchies. Or munch on some baby carrots.

I drink minimal of 2 litres of water a day.

Weekends -- well, less discipline, and I'll admit, this is my weak area. I have averaged over the last 2 weeks 2351 calories/day 27%F/44%C/28%P.

I don't want to put on much weight -- definately want to remain lean, just, of course, muscle.

Bottom line: My goal is to gain muscle and remain lean. Let me know what you guys think of what I'm doing now, and I'm sure you'll want further specifics, feel free to ask.

[cursor]

Welcome to DiscussFitness.com.

For how long have you been doing the weight training with the online coaching? How well do you feel that part of your fitness plan is going? Can you offer some idea of the exercise flow and exertion intensity?

[jaredm]

Been a couple months since I started into it..

As far as how I feel about it.. I'm not sure if I'm getting everything worked that should be...


For example, here is today's workout:
Dumbbell Bench Press
25lbs X 8 - 3 sets
One-Arm Dumbbell Extensions
12 X 8 - 3 sets
Knee Tucks
10 X 2
Crunchies
20 X 2

Plus it recommends I do 30 minutes of cardio...

Yesterday:
One-Arm Dumbbell Bent-Over Rows
30lbs X 8 - 3 sets
Standing Alternate Dumbbell Curls
25lbs X 8 - 3 sets
Knee tucks/Crunchies/cardio again.



Day before that:
Seated Dumbbell Press
20lbs X 8 - 3 sets
Dumbbell Upright Rows
25lbs X 8 - 3 sets
Knee tucks/crunchies/cardio again.

Tomorrow it will have me doing some lunges/squats, plus the standard ab/cardio workout.

As far as exertion.. well, generally, the weights are as heavy I can go without breaking myself.. however, like I was saying before.. I just don't think I'm getting enough done in a day.

Tips/tricks/comments/suggestions all appreciated.


PS - I also take a multivitamin daily.

[Lady C]

One area I can see for improvement to your goal is eating a couple more snacks/meals. Constant nutrition is important with gaining muscle. You really need one between the protein shake and lunch. Eating protein with each meal is really key. I would take a protein shake or bar to school with you. I would make up for these calories by dropping the rice at supper. Consistancy is key.

[cursor]

So, is it a four-day cycle for the exercise? Right off the bat it seems to me that the balance and efficiency of the exercise program is off. Can you list your exercises for the squat/lunge day?

[jaredm]

-sigh-

Cursor, thank you for your patience.

Tomorrow:

Dumbbell Lunges
30lbs X 10 - 3 sets

Dumbbell Squats
20lbs X 12 - 3 sets

Seated Dumbbell Calf Raises <-- I find this to be the most useless one
30lbs X 10

Crunchies/knee tucks/cardio..

It also recommends that I do some Level I Hyperextensions... which I don't have the equipment for, so I've been skipping it.

Then I get 3 days off like you said. (Usually by the third day, I go for a light 10-15 minute jog/walk just to get some blood flowing... I don't get much exercise in my daily activities)

[cursor]

day 1
Seated Dumbbell Press – 3 sets of 20-lbs x 8 reps
Dumbbell Upright Rows – 3 sets of 25-lbs x 8 reps
Knee Tucks – 2 sets of 10 reps
Crunchies – 2 sets of 20 reps
Cardio

day 2
One-Arm Dumbbell Bent-Over Rows – 3 sets of 30-lbs x 8 reps
Standing Alternate Dumbbell Curls – 3 sets of 25-lbs x 8 reps
Knee Tucks – 2 sets of 10 reps
Crunchies – 2 sets of 20 reps
Cardio

day 3
Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets of 25-lbs X 8 reps
One-Arm Dumbbell Extensions – 3 sets of 12-lbs x 8 reps
Knee Tucks – 2 sets of 10 reps
Crunchies – 2 sets of 20 reps
Cardio

day 4
Dumbbell Lunges – 3 sets of 30-lbs x 10 reps
Dumbbell Squats – 3 sets of 20-lbs x 12 reps
Seated Dumbbell Calf Raises – 1 set of 30-lbs x 10 reps
Knee Tucks – 2 sets of 10 reps
Crunchies – 2 sets of 20 reps
Cardio

days 5, 6 & 7
Rest

Is this right?
What do you do for cardio, and for how long?
What sized dumbbells do you have? Do you have other weightlifting equipment at home?

[jaredm]

Well, the trainer recommends that I do 30 minutes of cardio.. and it lets me choose whatever I like doing. Most of the winter, I've just been using my stationary bike.. now that its spring, I've been going for light jogs.

However, since I pretty much hate doing cardio, I have only done limited amounts... usually only 5 minutes on the bike to warm up for a workout... and if I have lots of energy, I go for maybe a 20-30 minute jog/walk.

Dumbbells = 10/15/20/25/30/35 lbs
Incline bench & my stationary bike -- thats it.

I'm scared to go out shopping for more -- all the stores are just there to sell yah crap -- whether you need it or not.
Example: going to a supplement store :confused:

I'm willing to make an investment in something if I know I'll actually know what I'm doing with it and can actually make some progress. Personally, I have to be able to enjoy it too. To that end, I really have no idea what I'm doing as far as equipment/training goes... but I want to learn.

Since I'm just wrapping up final exams, and I'm off to work for the summer (8-5 M-F like everybody else) my schedule is going to change.

Probably start working out during the evenings rather then in the mornings and will probably do more on weekends.

Staying motivated is going to be hard (moving back in with my family).


EDIT: The more I think about it.. perhaps some assigned reading may be my best course of action haha..perhaps some books that you suggest I read.

[cursor]

How married are you to following this on-line coach's recommendations? Would you consider an alternative program? I really think that you can do better.

By the way, I was not suggesting that you necessarily have to purchase additional equipment. I simply wanted to understand what you had available to you.

[jaredm]

Haha -- definately not married to it all.. I've only paid for 3 months.. which was a fairly nominal fee anyways.

[cursor]

OK, cool.

You're working out four days per week,

day 1
3 sets shoulders
3 sets back
Knee Tucks, Crunchies & Cardio

day 2
3 sets back
3 sets biceps
Knee Tucks, Crunchies & Cardio

day 3
3 sets Chest
3 sets ΏOne-Arm Dumbbell Extensions?
Knee Tucks, Crunchies & Cardio

day 4
7 sets legs
Knee Tucks, Crunchies & Cardio

days 5, 6 & 7
Rest

You're doing basically 6 sets of resistance training per day. That's not much. With so few sets, it really makes little sense to focus on isolation movements for biceps and calves. Note that your biceps muscles are half the size of your triceps (the back side of your upper arms), yet no specific exercises are done for them.

For quality metabolism control, which translates into fat-loss, your focus should optimally be on performing compound movements that invole the largest muscles in your body (thighs, hamstrings, glutes, back & chest). Doing "knee tucks, crunchies & cardio" on each of the four exercise days is not the most effective way to stimulate one's metabolism.

How long does it take you to do a single day of exercise?

[jaredm]

If I workout in the morning, I'm a little groggy.. but generally the weight-training takes about 20-30 minutes (depending on how long I break in between sets, usually 30-60 seconds -- depending on whether or not I feel broken after the set or not).

[jaredm]

Any further tips?