Goals

[Jetter2]

Hey guys,

Okay so here is the deal. I wanna drop 15-20 lbs, become lean and tone.

I am lifting when I can (soreness is only thing stopping me) usually at least 3x a week.

Monday- All upper Body
Tuesday -Lower Body
Wed- Some More Upper body and some Cardio
Thur-Upper Body
Fri- Lower Body

Sat & Sun Rest

I workout in the morning @ the gym before I go to work, I was wondering if you guys had any other reccomendations. In Wrestling, we would jog and stuff, but we lifted alot more. I saw guys come in who were fat, lift with us for a month and after about 6 weeks they would be toned up and cut.

I eat Fish twice or so a week. Lots of Sandwiches, ass loads of water. I don't drink much coke, but I will have a beer or two(Miller Lite) after work.

In any case, By the time summer hits (May thru June-ish) I'd like to of lost 15-20 lbs and toned up.

I'm a smaller guy (5'9ish) so I don't have a real big frame, but I have broad shoulders.


Suggestions?

[Najonairpic]

I would suggest upping your cardio. Best time for cardio is in the morning (which is perfect for you) and after you lift. I usually like to end my workout with cardio, but I workout at night. How long have you been lifting? If you just started, the soreness won't be as bad as you go. Good luck.

[MIKe30]

like he said ^^^ up the cardio. also, dont work the same muscle goups on back to back days - try to give at least 24 hrs rest... otherwise you'll be going backwards w/those muscles as far as strength and size...

[Sportsmedjosh]

I would really look at your caloric intake and write everything down you consume if it goes in your mouth write it down and write serving sizes down also. Post it here and we will let you know the caloric value of what you've been consuming. Then take a look at your activity level how active are you, we are not talking about the time you go exercise also that will be something sep to look at. From there we need to see if the amount of calories you are taking in is equal to, greater than or less than what you use in a day. Diet is the biggest aspect of losing weight.

I suggest you use the caloric calculator on the main page here to see what is the avg. http://www.epoc-fitness.com/nutrition.php

[S54MCoupe]

You might want to mix it up and try a routine like this sometime...

Monday: Chest and Triceps - In the process of doing your chest, your triceps will compensate for your chest when it begins to fail during certain excercises like bench press, dumbell press, etc. Doing triceps after chest will finish off what your chest workout started.

Tuesday: Upper Back, Biceps and Forearms - Again, certain back exercies will engage your biceps, and certain bicep exercises will engage your forearms. Doing a back routine, followed by biceps, and finishing off w/ forearms will get you good.

Wednesday - Legs. Pretty self explanatory.

Thursday - Lower Back, Abs/Obliques

Friday - Shoulders

Sat/Sun - STRETCH & Recover

This gives plenty of recovery time between each muscle group. And, if you look, Mondays exercises involve pushing-type exercises (bench press, dumbell press, flys, dips, cable pulldowns, dumbell kickbacks) Tuesday is primarily pulling (pullups, lat pulldowns, dumbell rows, bicep curls, reverse curls, forearm curls) Wednesday is pushing (squats, calf raises, leg extensions)...... you get the point.

I honestly don't know if that pulling/pushing makes any difference at all, but if nothing else, it gives your week a more structured feeling. :)

[Jetter2]

I've been on it for right at the 1 week mark now. I worked out 2 Saturdays ago, and got DOMS so bad I couldn't go back to the gym till last Wed lol.

In any case, I worked out every day since last Wed. except Sunday and Tuesday varying up my exercises each time I go in.

I got a membership at LifeTime Fittness, great gym. They have ass loads of free weights, machines, cable pulls, etc...so I have a great variety in how I want to mix things up.

As a rule of thumb...for each muscle group I am doing 3 sets of 8 reps...should I up this or keep it about the same?


Also...say I workout my shoulders and chest on Monday, but I don't get any soreness, and drink lots of water. If i return to the gym in 24 hrs, will it actually hurt anything or hinder any progress? I figure as long as you aren't sore, and you aren't over working yourself, you would get better results by working out when you can.

[Sportsmedjosh]

glycogen stores typically take 24-48 hours to replenish. It you want what I would suggest is doing a day of RE (resistance exercise) then a cardio day then another RE day doing a different muscle group. This way you really get all the recovery time that you need.

[MIKe30]

^^ what he said... and i dont know if you noticed yet... but sometimes when i go hard, i wont feel it till the second day after - so just cuz they're not sore right away doesnt mean they're not worked.

as far as sets/reps... decide what you're lifting for (just strength, size, toning up, losing weight, etc.) and do some reading up on it. sets/reps will vary person to person depending on what they want out of working out.

[Jetter2]

Hmm, thanks