I’ve never seriously weight trained in my life, just my job I’m in management at a tool store. I’m 6’1 and I want to get in better shape, and put on some muscle. I’m 235 and for the last few weeks I’ve already made the biggest changes to my diet, nothing but water which wasn’t so bad and I cut out all the junk food I was eating before, turns out it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be. As someone totally new to the gym I’m just really confused on what I should be doing and what I should be training for a balanced workout routine.
You haven’t mentioned any particular goals or focus so my advice would be to try a few different things and see which ones light a fire in you.
Maybe kettlebells are going to be the answer for you, maybe powerlifting or Olympic lifting, Crossfit, strongman, bodybuilding, calisthenics, old fashioned cardio. The only way to know is to do a bit of research and try some of them.
Thanks dude, I’ll try that ideally I’d like to lose about 30 pounds and at this point I have no idea how much muscle is attainable over say a year period. So I might try a bit if everything.
As long as you’re on a program that has you lifting 3-5 days a week and doing some kind of cardio 2-4 days a week (those can be on the same day, so don’t think you need 9 days in a week), then you’re on the right track.
The details will vary, but that’s the most basic place to start. Show up to the gym consistently… and do stuff. There are tons of programs that fit the bill. the one Badger posted is solid, and there are plenty more to choose from here: Workouts - T NATION The exact one almost doesn’t matter, as long as it covers those bases.
Diet-wise, if you’ve stuck to your changes so far, that’s a great start. You just also need to make sure you get enough quality protein. Are you the kind of person who’ll weigh food and track numbers or would you not stick with that kind of detail, every day for every meal?
I definitely would weigh food and stick to a solid routine. Thanks so much for this kind of response. I am so new and it’s honestly a little overwhelming. I want to cut 30 pounds and put on 10 to 15. Is protein from food enough or would a simple protein supplement like powder be recommended?
I definitely would weigh food and stick to a solid routine. Thanks so much for this kind of response. I am so new and it’s honestly a little overwhelming. I want to cut 30 pounds and put on 10 to 15. Is protein from food enough or would a simple protein supplement like powder be recommended?
Depends. Can you consistently get 230ish grams of protein from whole foods? A shake or two per day can be useful.
No prob. This training and diet stuff can be as complicated or as simple as folks want to make it. Seriously.
For the diet, if you need to simplify, stick with “Eat a lot less crap than you were eating and also eat a lot more protein than you were eating.” That’ll get you on track in the broadest sense.
For more detail, see which of these plans sounds like something you’d do, then stick with it for 4 weeks (tracking your progress at the end of each week by weighing in in the morning, after using the bathroom/before eating or drinking anything):
For the training, again, any plan that has a couple of days of lifting with a couple of days of cardio is pretty hard to mess up. (It can be done, but it’s tough.)
If you really want to dive all-in, check out the T-ransformation challenge that a couple dozen of us are doing this year - basically shooting for big results from now until June. Pop into that thread to take a look, decide if you’re in, then start a training log and go for it.
Honestly I think I’m going to go with “The Green Faces” plan it seams really straight forward and in line with what my current strat is, well minus the carbs. I’m trying to nail down a workout plan and separate my days of training out, so I don’t just randomly train different areas on random days. Thanks
Good call. That was probably the best written article of the three anyway.
Start by thinking about how many days you will realistically (not “ideally”/in a perfect world scenario) hit the gym, considering your current work schedule, home life, etc. Will you go five days a week on the way home from work? Is it easier to go Saturday morning, Sunday morning, and one day during the week? Etc.
Realistically I can get there 5 days a week I’m in management so I don’t get a consistent “weekend” but 5 days a week is well within my realm of possibility after work. So I guess I can adapt a routine for 5 days a week and go from there.
Honestly pretty good I’ve been keeping track of my intake and I’m just doing a consistent 5 day upper lower split. I’m down 9 lbs, and I am definitely noticing positive changes, Now that I have set goals.
