Post: #1

Need some help. Trying to finally get my body in better shape. Id say Im at 30-35% body fat. Got me a fit bit to help keep track of workout. Ive started eating healthier to aid in body transformation

I'm now able to run 4k without stopping at 6pm. Goal is 5k under 30 minutes. For a good month that was my only workout , for the past 2 weeks I am doing

30 minutes elliptical --> 1 rep of bench press at 105 (servers as a break)
--> 30 minutes of stair climber at level 10 --> 1 rep of bench press at 105 again)
--> 30 minutes of stationary bike to give legs a break --> 1 rep of bench press at 105 (again)
--> 30 minutes on treadmill to complete 4k at around 6pm.

Ive uploaded several weekly results from fitbit. My question is if I'm trying to cut body fat from gut, should I be in the Cardio stage or Fat burn stage??

Anything else I should be aiming at? heart rate? According to tape measure I am 37 inches if I measure at naval, wear a size 31-32 jeans

Post: #2

If you have 2 hours to work out, you will make more progress lifting weights for 1-1.5 hours and then doing the fat burning for a half hour. That's actually exactly what my cutting ruitine is each spring, coupled with a good diet it works amazingly. The bro science behind this is doing hard cardio right after or before weight lifting may mess with your gains. Based off of what you are benching, it seems in addition to burning fat you need to add muscle. Lifting weights accomplishes both of these.

Post: #3

As a guy who's struggled w/ skinny-fatness at times, this "zone" issue is an almost negligible issue. Hell, if you're diet's truly on point, you could simply go for walks and lose the fat (although the testosterone from weightlifting would certainly help).

Post: #4

(01-16-2016 04:32 PM)Repo Wrote:  If you have 2 hours to work out, you will make more progress lifting weights for 1-1.5 hours and then doing the fat burning for a half hour. That's actually exactly what my cutting ruitine is each spring, coupled with a good diet it works amazingly. The bro science behind this is doing hard cardio right after or before weight lifting may mess with your gains. Based off of what you are benching, it seems in addition to burning fat you need to add muscle. Lifting weights accomplishes both of these.

^ this.

2 hours of cardio is insane if you ask me. Try doing cardio for about 45 minutes max.
- 15 minutes of elliptical
- 15 minutes rowing machine
- 15 minutes stationary bike

The other 45 minutes hit the weights and attack your major muscles. Muscles require a lot of energy so will burn more calories, even when you are just sitting/sleeping etc.

As far ar the 'zone' goes, just push yourself and keep your heartrate up. Heartrate up = your body working really hard thus burning calories. This together with a caloric deficit of about 500 will have you burning fat.

Nonetheless, most important is your diet. You can do all the excercises you want but if your diet isn't in check, you'll never maximize results.

Best advice I can give you: read this thread by StrikeBack.

Post: #5

Bro, please learn to resize images before posting a thread full of them.

In regards to your cardio, do you want to use it to lose fat or get better at cardio/specific exercise like running? These are obviously not mutually exclusive but one is easier than the other. Incline walking can really help you lose fat but it won't improve your run times much if at all. You have a goal in your post about increasing your running times but I'm not sure how serious you are about that.

In regards to your fitbit, I would say the cardio stage is better. I don't have a fitbit but the cardio stage sounds harder so I'll go with that.

Keep in mind to the calories burned number you are seeing isn't necessarily accurate either. Don't think you have that full number of extra calories to eat.

Also, get on a good weightlifting routine. Anything is better than what you're doing now. Lift weights then do your cardio.

Good luck man.

Post: #6

Would this be a good routine? 90% of the equipment is at my gym
Should I do cardio every day ? (15 minutes of elliptical,15 minutes rowing machine
15 minutes stationary bike)

Should I avoid doing hour long cardio on days off? I have no core ab muscles. Should I add 5-10 minutes of situps after every workout?

Once I can have a set work out routine I can start on a focus path. Right now I just dont know where to start.

Post: #7

^^^

When I first started weightlifting, I had a biokineticist work out a program for me. It was a split routine similar to the one you've posted. After 3 months of no progress, I gave up on it and I did Stronglifts 5x5 instead, and at last I started seeing progress after a few weeks.

From that experience I believe it's better to focus on the compound lifts as a beginner.

There was a good post on bodybuilding.com about this:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread...=118920551

Post: #8

Honestly my view on cardio is that it is best seen as a 'supplement' when it comes to burning fat. Start with a healthy diet with a 500 calorie deficit. Every calorie you burn while doing cardio is a bonus while you nonetheless increase stamina. As an example I start every workout with just 10 minutes of elliptical as a warmup before hitting the weights. Still, I'm burning fat. Your situation could benefit from extra cardio because of a pretty high fat %, just don't think cardio is THE solution, it's a part of it.

As for excercises, google for 5x5 stronglifts. This model is based on attacking your major muscles. You don't need to be able to squat 300lbs right away, just be patient and with time also adding weights will come. Number 1 priority is your form as the wrong form can cause injuries -as can wanting/trying to lift too much too soon- and this may fuck up your joints. Search YouTube for instructions on the proper form of the exercises. Track your progress using an app like 'Jefit'.

I assume your gym has employees to guide you through all of this. Ask them to do so and take measurements before starting a new workout schedule and after 4-8 weeks, do it again. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing your hard work paying off on paper and more important, the mirror.

And again, read the thread StrikeBack started because it is a gem. All the basic info you need is to be found there.

Post: #9

Started a 5*5 today

Squart 5*95
Bench Press 5*95
Barbell Row 5*65

Squart
overhead press
deadlift

How should I go about increasing the weights? add 5 lbs every month? ever two weeks? Taking it light first few times to make sure form is good and body doesnt give off red flags.

Post: #10

As a beginner, you'll be surprised to realize you can probably add 5-10 lbs. for each type of lift per week. Example: if you benched 95 this week, do 100 next week, 105 the week after, and just keep going. Do the same on all the other lifts. If you can't go up in weight in a given week, go up in reps, then increase the weight the following week.

Now this won't last. These kind of gains happen with beginners, and will slow down in time. You can probably double all of these numbers by going up 5-10 lbs per week on each, then you might start to slow down.

Besides the 5x5 program, another very popular program is Starting Strength. This is the name of a book by Mark Rippetoe, and it goes into great detail on how to correctly do the five major free weight lifts. The book states that you can expect strength gains this rapidly. I experienced this when I started lifting a few years ago. Unfortunately, I have lifted off and on, and am trying to get back into it again.

Post: #11

Abs are made in the kitchen. If you're at 35% bodyfat, you need a diet more than you need 2 hours of cardio. Cardio burns calories during the activity, 100 calories of running could be accomplished by not eating 100 calories worth of peanut butter cups. Lifting weights increases your muscle mass, which in turn increases your daily caloric needs. Lift weights under a caloric deficit and you'll preserve your muscle mass (assuming you're eating adequate protein) and also burn fat.

Get out of the weight loss mindset and remember that you're after fat loss and muscle preservation. Muscle with an absence of fat is what makes a body look good and healthy.

An easy diet would be the 5/2 diet, basically two nonconsecutive days a week you eat no more than 800 calories a day. The other five days you eat normally.

Fasting one whole day a week works for some folks as long as you don't binge the other days.

If you want to try the rapid fat loss diet, skim the original thread and shoot me a PM.

You could calculate your daily maintenance calories and subtract 500 calories, but this is usually too much math for beginners to dick around with.

Lifting wise you could probably do any sort of beginner barbell program and be just fine. 5x5 stronglifts, starting strength, greyskull LP, or even a bodybuilderish brosplit would work.

In any case, pick one kind of nonretarded diet and one lifting program and stick with it until you're lean. Do not waffle. 100% dedication to an adequate diet and lifting program over time is going to do a lot more than changing it up every 2 weeks with the latest fad shit you hear about at work.

Post: #12

I'll keep updating my progress on this thread once every two weeks.

1/17/2016
Squart 5*5 / 95
Bench Press 5*5 /95
Barbell Row 5*5/ 65

1/18/2016
Workout B
Squart 5*5 / 100
Over Head Press 5*5/ 45
Deadlift 1*5 / 95

Measurements
Chest 36.8
Bicep 11.1 /unflexed, will add flexed as well
Waist 37.3