Type of Training

First, let me say what an awesome resource this magazine is. I’m very much a novice in the gym and with nutrition, so 80% of the stuff in here goes straight over my head, but the the 20% I do understand is fantastic, especially after trying to digest the garbage that Men’s Health and other “Male Cosmo” magazines have to say. Anyway, to get to the point, I am what I refer to as a “skinny” fat guy. I’m 6’1" and about 197 pounds, but unfortunately, a lot of that weight is fat. I had my body fat tested about 9 months ago and it came out at 29% (although I’m not sure how accurate that was. I mean I have a lot of fat, but I didn’t think that much). The great bulk of my fat is my “gut” and love handles. My arms are skinny, my legs are skinny, thin neck, etc., so most people think I’m crazy when I say I’m trying to lose some fat. I’ve been keeping a calorie log and thanks to this site, I realized how protein deficient I was, so I’m in the process of changing that. My main quandry is what type of training I should be doing. I have, for the past 9 months, been doing a mix of weights and circuit machines and cardio, sort of like a chicken witout a head. My personal trainer was a complete waste of cellular tissue. My main goal is, surprise, surprise, to put on lean muscle and lose fat. What should I be concentraing on to accomplish this goal? Should I be doing just cardio to lose fat and then weights later on to put on muscle? And what training routines should I be on? Also, I definitely would like to use some of these supplements, but I don’t know which are best for my goals. I know this is probably the 15 millionth time you’ve heard this question, but anything would be useful to me at this point.

Here are some suggestions:


Start a food log. If you don’t know exactly what you’re eating, you’re shooting in the dark.


Go to the FAQ on the T-Mag site and look through it. It has a lot of good workout programs to choose from. Pick one that you like.


Before you pick the workout program, however, you should read up on the “newbie” articles that T-Mag has. Good luck.