Long time reader first time poster. I’ve been very impressed with all you guys and gal willingness to help out others.
Well my story so far is that i have been going to the works gym for a while but havent really had anything that structured and have decided to change how i look. This is partly inspired by the fact i am going to be a dad in July and want to get in shape for that.
Current Stats
5’11
230lb
32 BMI
32% Body fat (as measured by tape)
I am looking to get rid of the bodyfat and try to get lean with some decent definition. I am not looking at getting as big as some of you guys so i am not looking for anything too hard core (although i know i might be in the minority here) I can work out in the gym mon-fri for around an hour in my lunch break. As my goal is fat loss what would be the best plan to go for? I’ve had a look around and most of the plans are about building muscle which i am not sure would be benificial.
Move more, eat less. Any of the fat loss programs on this site would work(Waterbury has some good ones), try to pick one you think you’ll be able to stick to.
THE most important thing is going to be your diet, sorry to say. You’re not going to be able to make any marked process on workouts alone.
There’s programs out there that will tell you exactly what to eat. The basics are meat: chicken, eggs, lean beef, fish and vegetables: spinach, beans, tomatoes, brocolli, etc. Very little starches and processed carbs, potatoes, bread, etc. Don’t be afraid of good fats like olive oil and nuts, have multiple servings a day.
On the workouts, again there are a ton of programs out there. I’d focus on resistance training the whole body given your time constraints. Complex movements like lunges, squats, deadlifts, cleans, etc. You’ll be better served doing these exercises at a quick pace, with little rest, that running on the hamster wheel.
First of all I second, third, and fourth the advice in the first two posts…
Its so important I’m going to be the 3rd straight poster to say your diet is the key to everything.
Now as far as your fears of putting muscle on and it being counter productive. This is very backwards. You want to put muscle on. It increases fat loss.
However. Your goals are very different than the skinny guy who wants to get huge. I’m sure you’re getting a little lost in the advice people are giving skinny guys.
Newbies with extra weight on them can add muscle and lose fat/weight at the same time. And by adding muscle your fat loss will speed up. And you’ll look the way you want and feel the way you want much earlier in the process.
I suggest you search for two guys on this site. Alwyn Cosgrove and Chad Waterbury. Actually now that I put them side by side if I remember right those guys have a really good plan they developed together for weight loss. It was a featured article on this site I think. Search for it and check it out.
Thanks guys for the posts, will certainly look at the suggestion put forwards.
The reason i posted was that the site is geared towards getting big muscle and trying to find the sort of thing i was looking for was proving tricky.
I didn’t want to work on the weights if its not going to be the best route for me but it looks like that would be beneficial and certainly makes a workout more interesting than hours on a treadmill.
If your numbers are what you say they are then the first thing you need to do is just get into a simple routine.
Eat right
Exercise
Get enough sleep
Be good to yourself.
I applaud you for wanting to make a change. The big thing is that you have not developed the habits yet to even begin the process. The most progress you are going to make will be dictated by the schedule that you live by. Until it becomes part of your every day life you will see little in the way of results.
The resources here are great and please read as much as you can. Ask questions but most of all just keep showing up.
Your eating, exercise and sleeping ‘appointments’ need to be just as important as your work/school. All weighted equally and none more important than any other. Once you have a pattern ingrained in you then it becomes easier to experiment.
Anything you do right now outside of your normal routine will get you results. You have lots of training ahead of you before things get more complex. Do not try running before you crawl.