Weightlifting

[Captain Kyle]

I want to get back into weightlifting after a few years. Im getting sick of being undefined, i used to have some halfway decent muscle mass.

Those of you that do it regularly what do you tipically do? I never really looked for te proper way to do it just did it. Ive heard that you are supposed to work on different things each day.

If im going to spend time on it i want to be effective as possible. Any tips?

[Dawg]

Hire a personal trainer to show you the proper techniques to get you in the right direction.

[aqua pimp]

I'm no expert by any means but I have been lifting hard and steady for almost 2 years now.

Here is what I like to do
On Monday's it's all upper body work. Arms, back, chest, and shoulders. This is usually about 2 hours worth depending on my mood. If I'm pressed for time I will hit the basics and be done. But if I have the time it's a solid 2 hours.

Tuesday is spent all on legs.

Wednesday is spent on all abbs. Generally I spend an hour to an hour and a half on legs and abb work.

Thursday is rest day. Then Friday it's back to upper body and then Saturday back to abbs. Sunday will be a rest day.

I try to stick to this schedule and have done a real good job of it the last 2 years. Sometimes is hard getting in the weight room but I force myself to do it.
Monday through Friday also includes a lot of running and I try to do 2 spinning classes a week.

When i started lifting I was 245lbs and now i have been maintaing 195 to a pretty lean 200. I'm not exactly ripped but I have definition and my abbs are starting to show. At 40 years old I'm in the best shape ever and love lifting weights now.

The man thing is to let your body rest after working out. After working upper body let your muscles rest and rebuild for 48 to 72 hours. This away they rebuild and come back stronger.

And 1 more important thing.... Watch what you eat! For me no fried foods And beer only on weekends. I have dropped two bad habits since working out which was fast food and hooters lol. Now it's all healthy stuff like fruits, veggies, and lots of good protein. Diet is everything.

Just my .02

AQUA PIMP

[Captain Kyle]

As far as dieting is concerned im trying to keep it under 2k calories a day. I weigh 210 and started limiting myself around easter i was 220.

I have stopped drinking beer and rum for things like a diet vodka tonic with lime. I no longer have sodas unless they are diet. I try to eat a small breakfast every day and make as much of those 2000 calories as i can lean protein.

Thanks pimp for the schedule. Im going to try that with a good pre workout supplement.

[C4E]

Pimps schedule is pretty dang similar to mine when I do lift seriously so I x2 that all the way. Go in there and whip one major muscle group a day and be sure to change the lifts or movements and weights every couple weeks. Muscle confusion does work and produce results. I like a mon-thurs schedule short of pimps 6 outta 7. Have a 5-7 minute warm-up to get heart rate up then hit the weights follow it up with some cardio. I perosnally hate treadmills and anything like it so for cardio I always go play basketball raqutball volleyball swim etc and stay focused on moving as much as possible to keep the heart rate up.

Calorie counting is not something that I am a fan of. I gotta believe its for people who really wana hate their regimen and life while they are on it. My .02 pay more attention to types of calories you are putting in your head. Not all calories are bad. If you need something to count count carbs and fat. The same for fats not all are bad. A handfull of almonds in the am is a good soure of good fat that your body needs to funcction properly. Some say that carbs are the enemy but they are your bodies fuel so if you wana feel like complete chit and never have energy enough to rock out those extra 2 reps cut back all carbs. Eventually your body does adjust to not having alot of carbs but its a rough road to get there that aint alot of fun and can frankly be very unhealthy and have some side effects. IF YOU FEEL YOU NEED TO CHEAT ON YOUR DIET. F IT do it. But steal it off a friends a plate a bite at a time. I love a good burger and fried anything but after about 3-4 weeks on my diet they seemingly become unappeasing, its black magic I swear.

When I get serious about hittin the gym all my groceries come out Sunday night and get cooked and put away in the fridge to live off of all week. I try to eat at least 6-8 meals a day which get your metabolism vamped up and keeps your body charged with nutrients. Its important that all of those meals are balanced and dont look like your golden corral plate. Try to keep from eating out because itll kill you financially these days w the health craze all places charge a premium for low fat high protein foods. In addition to that looking a menu can be dangerous to your diet but I explained how to live through that already. Breakfast is the most important meal because it sets the stage for the day for your body. If you gotta wake up at 4-5am to get it in ya do it then go back to bed. Keep the food comin in and the weight will start coming off. Your body will convince itself there is no shortage of food so therefore there is no reason to make fat cells to store up for hard times and more will be converted to energy cells(more or less thats the skinny on how it kinda works).

Supplements and pre-workout supplements at that work great. I found that I like ones that have some caffeine in them to get just a small wake me up and help me focus on the workout. Dont waste money on protein unless its for the other stuff like creatine or NOS that comes in the protein. If your eatin right youll get all the protein you need which at that should be 1-1.2grams per pound of lean muscle mass on your body.

[Milkjug]

Cool stuff. I used to lift a decent amount, but fell out of it for a few years.

A couple weeks ago I noticed my arm was completley level from the elbow to the shoulder I have started hitting the gym, and am seeing some improvement already.

I just do an all-round upper body workout. I also jog and swim so I figure I'm getting some lower-body too. I am only doing the lifting about 2x a week. I am not a hard-core gym buff, so it is a more realistic goal for me.

To be honest, cardio is what I really need.

Just trying to stay somewhat in shape.

[FlatoutFishin]

I weighed 250 about 4 years ago and started in on the gym hard with a trainer...shed down to 230 and held here for about 6 months, then kicked it up a notch and got down to 220. held that for about 6 months...kicked it up a notch again and hit 210...held for about 6 months...currently at 205. I too try to lay off the fried foods and eat the crap outta fruit...beer on an average only happens 1 time a week...sometimes 3, but then I might go 2-3 weeks with nothing. My key has been not mixing stuff...and it seems to work for the most part. No carbs with protein, or vice versa. One or the other is fine but only with itself. Thats when I'm in the losing phase only...rest of the time I just eat whatever...in moderation.
All that and long power wades at the SLP and then surfing...which has been outstanding this whole spring and most of the summer. One good day of surfing and eat right...I can lose 5lbs.
Greg(aqua pimp) sounds like he's got a routine going...I might jump on that band wagon also as I seem to be all over the place in the weight room.
Oh yeah, and I had 2 hip replacements inbetween all of the above! Good luck on your new life style Kyle!

[Robalo]

I lift on Friday and saturday religiously. I start with 12 ounces and keep lifting them until my cooler is empty-usually do about 10 curls per can/bottle and 12-18 cans/bottles, so that's 120 to 180 curls. I don't need to use that "Add Bulk" stuff-it seems that the beer adds plenty of bulk to my frame.

[Captain Kyle]

Thanks guys this is some great information. One of my biggest problems is getting the breakfast down. What would yall reccomend for an easy to eat breakfast snack that will get the metabolism going?

[FlatoutFishin]

Thanks guys this is some great information. One of my biggest problems is getting the breakfast down. What would yall reccomend for an easy to eat breakfast snack that will get the metabolism going?

Meth I've heard has these qualities!

And I said I only drink 1 day a week...unfortunately, there are 24 hours in a day!

[Captain Kyle]

Meth? Wth?

[C4E]

I think he meant meh.....

For breakfast no bananas...they are a terrible food especially for trimming it down loaded w worthless sugar and carbs

Handful of almonds, handful of blueberries, peanut butter toast on wheat bread or a plain bagel is a good one and easy at that. The most important breakfast you can have involves food...some type of food any type of food just get your metabolism goin. Id often times just grab a bagel ( sara lee makes the best) and roll out. It doesnt cover all the bases but its something goin down the hatch and thats what matters.

[Captain Kyle]

Im gonna try the bagel thing! Thanks!

[FlatoutFishin]

Im gonna try the bagel thing! Thanks!

Probably your best choice(over the meth)...actually, if you're gonna chow, this is the time to do it!

[JT]

And 1 more important thing.... And beer only on weekends.

AQUA PIMP

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! What a bunch of BULLLSHEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya Right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!