Show me the way!

[Rough2k2]

Hi everyone. I come to you gentlemen seeking advice. I respect everybody's opinion here, as many have results that speak for themselves.

A little background, if I may.

The first time I ever set foot in a gym was October 11th, 2004. I stood at 5'11, the same as I do now. I weighed in at about 145lbs, not even close to what I weigh in at now. I was a lanky kid. I had zero knowledge regarding exercises, nutrition or cardio, but I was hungry to learn. Over the next fifteen months I learned a ridiculous amount, mainly from the guys at ForcedRep. I put on about 25-30 pounds, though I'm not going to pretend it was all muscle. Like many beginners, nutrition was an afterthought for me. Fortunately, I loved doing heavy (speaking relatively), compound exercises. This allowed me to stay respectable, at about 14-15% bodyfat, weighing in at roughly 170lbs.

In January 2006, I began to do Good Mornings. Of course I thought I had great form, yet another newbie mistake. Cut to February 22, 2006, my confidence is high and I'm pushing my limits on GM weight. I wake up the next morning with such massive pain in my lower back that I could barely walk. The pain persisted over the next few months and caused days of missed work and school. The gym became far less of a priority, the last thing I wanted to do was pick up a weight. Eventually the pain subsided, but my shitty attitude remained. I picked up a new job this past summer. It required me to sit at a desk for eight hours a day, doing monotonous and repetitive work. It paid well, so I didn't really complain, being a poor University student. I always felt mentally exhausted at the end of the day, and rarely felt "up to" going to the gym; I had zero drive or commitment towards it.

I stepped on to the scale in mid-November and I was scared by the results. I weighed in at 197lbs. I knew that I was getting to be fat, it showed on my stomach and my hips, and that double-chin seemed to show itself a whole lot more often. From a purely guessing standpoint, I was probably about 23% bodyfat. I would love to say that I quit the shitty lifestyle cold-turkey right there, but I would be lying. I ate slightly better, and went out for a walk in the evenings.

On January 8th I weighed 193lbs. I remember because this way the day that I signed up for the gym, again. Ever since, I've been doing 500calories a day, 4 days a week through cardio. I have began eating far better than I was previously. I think at this point, I'm eating better than I have been in my entire life. I still pale in comparison to most of the guys on this board, but I'm making an attempt. Today, I weigh 185lbs with clothes on. My bodyfat is still way too high, if I were to make an uneducated guess, probably 20%+. I have this stomach that embarasses me. Much of the fat around my neck is gone, but make no mistake, it's still there. I'm not used to being overweight, and I absolutely hate it. I have stretch marks on my hips, and my thighs are getting fat. I'm ready to make a change.

Ideally, I'd love to be exactly where I am right now in terms of size. However, I'd want this fatty 185lbs to be far more muscular. I want to significantly lower my bodyfat. I don't want to become a skinny guy, however I'd prefer that to my current look. I want to become solid, I don't need "washboard abs" and exploding lats, but I'd like to not have to suck in the gut when I go swimming.

I turn to you fine ladies and gentlemen for advice. I am currently doing a lot of cardio simply because it's the best way I know to lose weight. I have not been slacking, and my willpower is strong right now. How important is doing cardio, given my situation? Would I be better off doing big compound exercises? A combination of both? Any advice that can be provided to me is greatly appreciated. I am like a lost sheep right now, but I'm not giving up.

I hope that I have not bored you guys with this long story. It's just important to me that people see that I'm not just some guy who posts once, gets advice and leaves, never to return. I'm here until I get my desired results, though I realize that those results lie ultimately on me, and me alone.

 

[anotherbutters]

Congrats on making a change to your life and having made the progress you've made so far. I would say yes, stick to the compound movements: squat, bench, deadlift, bent over rows and overhead press. Pick a number of sets and reps, stick to it and add a bit of weight to the bar each time you work out.

Sorry, would post more but... time for me to sleep

Have a read up on the Rippetoe 3x5 in the training vault sticky for an example of a good way of setting up a program.

 

[Devastation]

you should be doing both cardio and weightlifting. also did you post that right? 500 calories a day?? you need way more then then that, prolly 3x to maintain what muscle you have now

also i read the post twice, but how much cardio are you doing?

 

[Rough2k2]

you should be doing both cardio and weightlifting. also did you post that right? 500 calories a day?? you need way more then then that, prolly 3x to maintain what muscle you have now

also i read the post twice, but how much cardio are you doing?

Thanks for the advice. I didn't make myself clear about the cardio and calories. I am burning 500 calories per day through cardio. The amount of calories I take in depends upon the day. I am all over the place, but I feel like I am taking in generally the same amount of calories per day.

So you believe that it is best for me to do both cardio and weights? I just feel that I am gimping myself in a way if I do both relatively intensely.

 

[Devastation]

break it up then. how many days a week can you make it to the gym? 7 days would be ideal, 4 days cardio, 3 days of weights. if that's not feasible find something that does work for you

also your cardio, regardless of calories burned, you need to get your heartrate up and keep it at a high level for a sustained amount of time, preferably for 45 mins or more

as far as weights you should likely be staying in the 5-8 rep range on your working sets for you main lifts, and 10-12 reps on your accessory exercises

don't stress so much either. it's not healthy for what you're trying to accomplish

 

[Rough2k2]

break it up then. how many days a week can you make it to the gym? 7 days would be ideal, 4 days cardio, 3 days of weights. if that's not feasible find something that does work for you

also your cardio, regardless of calories burned, you need to get your heartrate up and keep it at a high level for a sustained amount of time, preferably for 45 mins or more

as far as weights you should likely be staying in the 5-8 rep range on your working sets for you main lifts, and 10-12 reps on your accessory exercises

don't stress so much either. it's not healthy for what you're trying to accomplish

Thanks for the advice. I'd love to be able to go to the gym seven times per week. Realistically, I will probably got 5-6 times per week.

My cardio is always pretty intense. By the end I'm sweating a ton and ready to fall down. According to the heartrate monitor attached to the machine, I'm steadily 180+. I usually strive for 500 calories in 30 minutes, but I'm going to keep aiming for lower times.

I've always read that to be successful in the gym, you need to be successful in the kitchen. Nutrition is such a huge part of looking and feeling good. I just feel that my weightloss and or bodyfat loss goal is counterproductive to that. I force myself to limit the calories I take in so I can lose weight. If I want to add muscle I need more calories!

I hope you can clarify this a little for me. As you can see, I'm quite confused, and probably quite misinformed. Thanks again.

 

[anotherbutters]

It's useful to distinguish between weightloss and fatloss. When you're losing weight, you're losing a combination of fat and muscle. The trick is to maximise the fat loss and minimise the muscle loss. You'll do that by lifting weights to tell your body that it needs to hold on to the muscle, and by not stripping off weight too fast.

Conversely, if you try to put on muscle by bulking up and gaining weight, you're gaining a combination of fat and muscle and the trick there is to obviously maximise the muscle gain and minimise the fat gain. You'll do that again by lifting weights to stimulate the body to grow muscle, and by not gaining weight too fast.

For someone with a fair amount of bodyfat and low muscle, if you eat enough to maintain the same bodyweight, you'll both add some muscle and lost some fat, 'recomposing'. The more muscle you have and the lower your bodyfat, the harder it is to carry on recomposing, so you end up having to focus on bulking or cutting.

It sounds like you want to be around your current weight, but with more of it being muscle. I'd keep doing the cardio and losing weight, but slow down the weight loss a bit, say 1lb per week and go down to say 175lb. There's no reason why you couldn't do that with 3 days of weights and 2-3 days of cardio, with a decent diet. Then once you're at 175lb, hold that weight for a bit to recomp, then maybe increase your weight to 180-185, whatever you're comfortable with.

Hope that helps.

 

[Rough2k2]

It's useful to distinguish between weightloss and fatloss. When you're losing weight, you're losing a combination of fat and muscle. The trick is to maximise the fat loss and minimise the muscle loss. You'll do that by lifting weights to tell your body that it needs to hold on to the muscle, and by not stripping off weight too fast.

Conversely, if you try to put on muscle by bulking up and gaining weight, you're gaining a combination of fat and muscle and the trick there is to obviously maximise the muscle gain and minimise the fat gain. You'll do that again by lifting weights to stimulate the body to grow muscle, and by not gaining weight too fast.

For someone with a fair amount of bodyfat and low muscle, if you eat enough to maintain the same bodyweight, you'll both add some muscle and lost some fat, 'recomposing'. The more muscle you have and the lower your bodyfat, the harder it is to carry on recomposing, so you end up having to focus on bulking or cutting.

It sounds like you want to be around your current weight, but with more of it being muscle. I'd keep doing the cardio and losing weight, but slow down the weight loss a bit, say 1lb per week and go down to say 175lb. There's no reason why you couldn't do that with 3 days of weights and 2-3 days of cardio, with a decent diet. Then once you're at 175lb, hold that weight for a bit to recomp, then maybe increase your weight to 180-185, whatever you're comfortable with.

Hope that helps.

An awesome reply, you hit the nail directly on the head there. I'm glad to see my cardio isn't having a "negative" effect. I'm going to start looking into a good program to follow. I can definitely start up the weights again, I like to feel stronger anyways.

I love having knowledgeable people at my side, you guys make my job a lot easier. Thanks again.