Let's Attempt! Lost the weight!

[AllenSmithee]

Okay, so effectively, I'm not fat.

One lady described me as delightfully boyish, with an energetic weight to me. She said that a lot of the girls think this means I'd be good in bed.

So I don't know. I just dislike my tummy, effectively.

Now, I've got a gym and pool membership. And I just got a bike.

So my basic plan is to bike to the gym a few times a week this summer and weight lift/whatever and swim on the days off at the local pool.

Is that a good general plan?

At home we have a mere few dumbells, which are like 8 pounds.

In terms of diet? I actually don't really like meat, so I'd be kinda keen on cutting that, and I dislike factory farming and such, but I mean. I have not much willpower I suppose? And meat is good, like pork with the protein.

I want to cut out sodas, because sugars are bad and I've got ADHD so it winds me up.

Oh yeah, I should list my medication (this could honestly change as soon as Wednesday, since I'm seeing my doctor then):

Concerta - adhd, icd
Respridal - ocd, odd, icd
Selexas - anxiety

and I'm supposed to take melotonin to sleep but I often don't.

these things basically support weight maintanance and fuck up my appetite both ways.

Ugh.

Uhm, I don't know what other info is needed. I'm just below six feet, I guess, and I weigh like 175 lbs, I believe, although I've been losing weight lately, so it might be different.

[runinruder]

Cardio and a good, healthy diet will enable you to shed fat. Weightlifting is fantastic and you should do it, but it's not going to help much with that.

I love swimming. I've been doing a lot of it this summer, and I'm looking sharper, leaner, and studlier than ever. It works so many different muscles and really gets the heart pumping.

I like to eat five or six healthy meals (most of which are fairly small) each day, making the final one a few hours before I hit the sack. I dig lots of fruit and relatively protein-rich stuff like peanut butter and tuna. I'm also big on dairy products (milk, yogurt, etc.).

I try to drink a lot of water and do a lot of walking.

No soda for me anymore. I used to drink lots of it, but once I became accustomed to healthier stuff, it started to taste disgusting to me anyway.

Caveat #1: I'm probably way too thin (6'1, 130), so the stuff I do might not be the stuff that'll "work" (produce desired results) for others.

Caveat #2: I'm no expert on this stuff, so listen to everyone else over me!

[ECM]

runinruder:

Holy crap! I can see through you!

Smithee:

I'll be back later w/ constructive thoughts.

[ECM]

(Allegedly) Constructive thoughts:

If you *only* want the six-pack, well, you're going to get other things w/ it, so deal...

Working assumption: you are completely untrained and have never used weights before over any meaningful timeframe.

Weight training:

3x/week:

Day 1
Bench Press: 3x6 reps
Shoulder press: 3x6 reps
Dips: 3x6 reps

Day 2
Pull-ups (or pull-downs): 3x6 reps
One-armed rows: 3x6 reps (each arm)
Bicep curls (barbell): 3x6 reps

Day 3
Squats (or leg press): 3x6 reps
Hanging leg raises (or knee raises): 3x15 reps, but *hold* each rep for a count of 5 seconds (not sure what that is in metric) at the top of the motion.

IMPORTANT: each set is to be performed w/ MAXIMAL effort. This means that on rep 6, you should be near to the point where you can't do anymore. If you can squeeze out more, do more. If you can't get 6, lower the weight on the next set. (Each subsequent set is going to require you to lower the weight, also.)

IMPORTANT 2: some of these exercises, e.g. bench press and squats, *require* a workout partner/spotter. If you can't get someone, you'll need to swap in a comparable machine (i.e. Smith rack for bench press).

IMPORTANT 3: DO NOT HURT YOURSELF. If you do, don't come crying to me. That means if you it starts to feel painful in a *bad* way, i.e. beyond your muscles burning w/ lactic acid (something you should know), BACK OFF.

Diet:

Cut out carbs as much as possible, e.g. bread, pasta, rice, junk of all stripes--the more you eliminate, the faster you'll 'have abs' and make sure you get about 2/3rds your bodyweight in protein, in GRAMS, every day, e.g. if you weigh 150 lbs. get at least 100g. protein/day. (UNLESS YOU HAVE KIDNEY PROBLEMS, THEN DO NOT DO THIS.)

Always eat as soon as possible after a workout, right after you've downed your creatine and protein (see below).

Also drink about half your bodyweight in ounces in water/day.

Supplements:

If you can afford creatine, use it. If you can afford a protein supplement with BCAAs, use it. Take the creatine immediately after every workout and take the protein at least twice/day (more if you can afford it), once, always, immediately after a workout and once upon rising *unless* you plan to workout first thing, then don't eat anything.

Cardio:

Initially, don't bother. See how the weight training and dieting goes, then we can talk about cardio in 4 weeks which is when you might want to change up the workout.

Now, go forth and conquer your pasty brethren!

[AllenSmithee]

Sweet, thank you! I'm going to print that out and take it to the gym two days from now and they'll help me out with what I don't understand and guide me on my way

[ECM]

Small accidental omission: In case it isn't clear, the day breakdown is 1 day on, 1 day off, so you'd go, for example, Mon/Wed/Fri on w/ Tues/Thurs/Sat/Sun off...or some permutation thereof--rest is every bit as important as the work.

Also: make sure, if you can, to get a bodyfat check before you start and weight yourself at the same time. Then banish the scale and bodyfat check for the following four weeks, then check it again. (And you might want to take some before/after pictures to shock and amaze your friends/family/cat.)

Sonofa, also forgot: minimum of 2 mins rest between sets--3 is even better.

[ECM]

*checks watch*

So, uh, did you go??

[ECM]

Woo! Good luck!

[runinruder]

Jul 24, 2011 1:30:09 GMT -5 Zigfried said:

Tomorrow, I will go swimming. I think Sundays will be my swimming days.

You know I think this is awesome. I bet you'll want to do it more than once a week once you get into it. It doesn't take long at all to build up endurance for it, and the benefits that come with doing it are very obvious in so many ways almost immediately. Plus, it's fun, and it's especially great during this time of year since it's so warm outside.

I find that swimming and weightlifting complement each other very well. The strength I've gained from lifting has definitely helped me out in the pool, and swimming helps keep everything sharp and lean so that the results from lifting are more evident.

Incidentally, this has to be the fittest game-nerd forum I've ever come across. Definitely a point worth boasting about. "Our board may not have a name, but we sure do have a lot of six-packs."

[feilong80]

Coming to a left leaning state near you: Zigfried: DESTROYER OF WORLDS!