ok i started lifting about 2months ago but i see just a little difference. i work out 5days a week and run a mile a day. i havn't tried any protein drinks or such. i try to eat right as in subway, etc. my routine excercise is bench,chess press, military, squat, incline sit ups, dips, shoulders, dungbell press/fly/curls. i mainly want to get a stronger upper body as im satisfied with my lower. what can i do to lose the excess fat and turn to lean muscle? i'm 5'10 180lbs. ching
... lolz. if you want lean mass you should look into more running, and cardio, and lifting less weight but with more reps. I think asking these questions is a great place to start! Do you want to gain muscle mass, or lean mass? what size wieghts are you lifting? how many reps? maybe you may need to add a 1/4 mile to what you are doing. also 2 months is how long it takes your body to get used to the new demands you are giving it.
Work out 5 days a week, huh? Do you do all of those lifts each day? The most important part of working out is resting the next day (or two, depending on how hard you lift). When you lift, you actually break up the muscle bonds in your body, and then they take time to regenerate stronger and faster. If you insist on working out 5 days a week, be sure to get a routine down that uses one muscle group one day, and another muscle group another day. Other then that, if you are just getting in to lifting, be sure that you do not lift too much weight. Form is the most important thing in lifting, both for muscle building and for physical safety. Lift less weight and focus on proper form. I highly recommend free weights, as they can force you to use proper form when used correctly. Other then that, I can say that the first couple months of lifting weights are about the hardest (if you've never lifted before). You will likely see gains in how much weight you can lift and your stability, but physical (how you look) gains will take longer.
What bullwinkle said...plus do your reps slow. when actually lifting the weights don't go fast and jerky. Go through the rep very slow and count to at least 3 every time on the way up and on the way down. Oh boy does that help!!! don't worry about being a couch potato. I feel the same way. less than two years ago I was very fit, now I'm in the same boat as you....kinda funny, just started working out again last week and I already feel a difference. My biggest complaint about working out is hitting a plateau after about 3 months. You're working out but the noticeable difference becomes less. I finally learned to switch up my routine and that solved the problem completely.
IF you want to lose lbs you need to run. And not on a treadmill. The reason. For this is because when you run on a treadmill you are not using your strenth in your legs to propel you forward you are simply hopping in place. When you run outside you are using a combo of kenetic energy via your legs to make you move your potential energy when you are starting and rnning up hill is a great fat burner because you have to keep your motion alive or you will stop (DUH) bttom line is: you want to shed some pounds fast rnning outside usingyour own feet to make motion is the only way to go you will start seeng results in less than a week. Seriously. Lifting weights is great for buildng muscle but the only good that comes from weightlifting in terms of fat burning is you work up your metabolisim a your body feeds off your fat...SORT OF.
^this^ running uphill/incline is where its at. And when eating carbs, do some reading on the Glycemic Index. It will help you understand what and which carbs do what to your body
It is all in your diet. EVERYTHING. You want to lose weight, you have to alter your diet. You want to pack on muscle, you need to alter your diet. Diet is key to the whole process. First couple of quick things I see. 1. You are working out too much. Like what was stated, you really should only being using every muscle group once a week to mantain. If you are doing a full bodt workout every day and eating subway to eat right, you are on the losing end of this battle. 2. Diet. What are you eating?? Are you eating 6-7 times a day?? Much much protein are you taking in?? How many carbs?? Fats?? 3. Suplements. Even the basics. Are you taking a good multi?? Not one-a-day, a good multi. Fish oil?? Green tea?? Extra protein over and above what you are eating with your food?? I lifted pretty hard for 2 years and didn't give a rats ass about diet. I gained strength to a point and that was it. Not much size, didn't lose the body fat that I wanted, just didn't gain a whole lot. Now I am lucky if I lift 2 times a week, I try to bike 3-4 times a week and since June I have dropped 25lbs of mostly fat. If I wasn't at xcel every other night for hockey games, I would be able to do some more lifting and biking. The one thing that I am really trying hard to keep going is my diet. I am not freaking out every little bit that goes into my mouth, but I eat 5-6 times a day, I am taking in a little over 1gram of protein per pound of body weight, and I have a pretty good stack of multi/fish oil/green tea that I take every day. Russ
You should really be lifting and biking more...don't worry about those tickets either, I'll be nice and take them off your hands
I am just going to take growth hormones and steroids. Ill be huge in no time and dead after that, lol. J/k. Do exactly what everyone has been saying. The right Diet is #1. Im still working on that myself. Lifting, As stated do it right and do your reps slow. 3 count up and down. That will really help, as far as building the muscle with lifting. And Rest. You shouldnt work the same muscle groups every day. They need to rest for a day or two, then continue. Get a work out schedual. Maybe work upper body one day and lower the next. That way you give each their rest in between. As for taking suppliments, I used to take creatine and that helped but that just fills your muscles with water. You notice a difference after a while but as soon as you stop working out and get lazy, it all goes away. I would just stick with protine shakes if you wanted to take anything. Im a smaller guy and want to gain weight plus my metabolism is super high. I can pig out everyday 6 times a day and have a hard time gaining any weight. Id rather be on the heavier side trying to loose weight honestly. So I need help with that to. I just recently started working out and am working to finally get my weight room done. But Just follow everyones advice and you should be ok.
:brokenrecord: Don't lift same muscles 5 days a week. When I was playing hockey, I had a schedule of: Monday: upper body Tuesday: lower body Wednesday:rest Thursday: upper body Friday: lower body Saturday/Sunday: rest I still did cardio everyday though (rest days being optional)...I ran 2.5 miles for cardio The only difference I see here is end goals...I did all this to be faster/stronger than the next guy on the ice. I could care less if I looked strong. *Remember, lifting tears down muscles. The building of muscle comes with them repairing themselves...in order to repair, they need time!
Recent studies would disagree with this method. Damnit Dave. Now I have to move in:laugh: Remember that weight training stimulates muscle growth. Once stimulated, your muscles need time and nutrients to grow. So rest more, eat (healthily) more often, hydrate frequently, and rethink your exercise schedule. Do you go to a gym? Most places have plenty of literature and sometimes free personal training sessions you can check out.
SEE, If I would have asked sooner, I would have known this. Asking questions is importent if you are like me and don't really know what your doing. Some times I assume I know what I'm doing when I don't.
Break it up into a couple groups. Push muscles, pull muscles, and legs/back. Each group takes one week to recover. So, push on Monday, pull on Wednesday, legs/back on Friday and run the other days. If you want ab work, do it on the running days. Those can be done 3 times a week, but not everyday. As far as the weight goes, lift as much as you can for 12-15 reps. If it's too easy, add more. But on the last three of any set, return to home slowly. It should be fairly easy for the first 12, and you should be straining on the last 3.
:more broken record: Run, every day, for 20 minutes, then take Sunday off. When that feels easy, go for 30. Etc. You'll be toned as **** in 4 months.
and also remember, results dont happen over night. give it time and be patient. You get out of it what you put into it. If your diet lacks, well then your results will lack and so on. make a goal for your self with a timeline, then go for it.
