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First, a little background. I'm male, 42, and 6' tall. I've ranged between 200 and 215 lbs since high school. I quit smoking 4 years ago and watched the weight slowly pile on. After hitting 230 for the first time, I said enough is enough and tried Weight Watchers, which my wife had used succesfully in the past. Well, it worked, and I dropped down to 208 in approx 12 weeks. So far, so good, but I seem to have hit a plateau, because no matter many points I count, I just can't seem to get below 208. I have joined a gym for the first time since high school, and three weeks into it, I've kind of worked my way into a routine that I'm comfortable with. My ultimate goal is to get down to around 200 lbs and lower body fat and get a nice lean but cut look. I'm going for more of a slimmed down Bruce Lee or Brad Pitt Fightclub look than a bulked up Arnold Schwarzenegger type. Here's my diet plan and workout routine, please take a look at it and provide me some tweaks that will help smooth it out. I'm still a novice at this, so bear with me and my unfamiliarity with the terms. And don't worry about my dedication level - it's pretty high and I have loads of willpower once I make up my mind. Thanks in advance!
Diet: I have cut out almost all crap foods (can't give up my coffee or Saturday night beers), eating loads of fruits, veggies and proteins like hard boiled eggs and peanut butter, low calorie soups and low point weight watcher meals. I'm also going to start cutting way back on my sugar intake now, and am going to start looking for whole grain lables instead of white and wheat breads and cereals. I have no underlying medical conditions to be concerned about, and I take no supplements other than a daily low dose aspirin for heart health and a daily glass of red wine for resveratrol.
Workout: I workout 4-5 days a week for 60 - 90 mins, incorporating a total body strengh and conditioning on the nautilus/cybex machines,
doing pretty much the complete circuit on both (arms, shoulders, chest, abs, legs) followed by a 15 minute cardio workout on an elliptical, though I am planning on switching from straight cardio to a high-intensity workout.
Where should I tweak this to meet my goal of burning off more body fat and toning up and getting cut? Less weight training and more cardio? More attention to diet? Thanks again in advance!
Not a bad plan. If your goal is to lose weight, then emphasizing cardio is the way to go. HIIT treadmill works for me. I do it 3 times a week, alternating with moderate intensity biking 3 times a week (total of 6 days a week devoted to cardio). Your resistance routine seems comprehensive although you didn't post any details (how many sets and reps?). Personally, I prefer free weights than machines because free weights are more utilitarian since they mimic activities of daily living.
Thanks for the input and the links, I will check them out. I generally run through pretty much the entire gamut of machines, doing 3 sets of 10-12-10 reps each of moderate resistance (I've heard that it's better to do more reps at lower weight to burn fat and lean up), with extra attention spent on the ab crunch, ab sit ups and upper and lower torso rotations. These hurt the most, so I know I need them, lol! I've always enoyed weight lifting, so these have come easy.
The cardio is another story. I have always hated running or jogging and had to push myself to do this, but now that I'm doing it, I find that I like the elliptical better than the treadmill. I'm still afraid of the stair machine though. I've been doing 15 minutes elipticals at a moderate setting (2) with a 3 minute cooldown afterwards and it's been much easier than I thought, so after 3 weeks I'm ready to push myself a little harder, so I'm going to change it to a high intensity type workout instead - 1 minute warm up, 30 seconds all out, 1 minute cool down, repeat six times. I know this is going to kick my butt at first, but that's the price that must be paid, right?
Thanks for the input and the links, I will check them out. I generally run through pretty much the entire gamut of machines, doing 3 sets of 10-12-10 reps each of moderate resistance (I've heard that it's better to do more reps at lower weight to burn fat and lean up), with extra attention spent on the ab crunch, ab sit ups and upper and lower torso rotations. These hurt the most, so I know I need them, lol! I've always enoyed weight lifting, so these have come easy.
The cardio is another story. I have always hated running or jogging and had to push myself to do this, but now that I'm doing it, I find that I like the elliptical better than the treadmill. I'm still afraid of the stair machine though. I've been doing 15 minutes elipticals at a moderate setting (2) with a 3 minute cooldown afterwards and it's been much easier than I thought, so after 3 weeks I'm ready to push myself a little harder, so I'm going to change it to a high intensity type workout instead - 1 minute warm up, 30 seconds all out, 1 minute cool down, repeat six times. I know this is going to kick my butt at first, but that's the price that must be paid, right?
The elliptical is okay as it is low impact (doesn't hurt the knees and hips as much, compared to running). I do it sometimes. But I prefer running since it is more "natural" (i.e. utilitarian). I also like swimming. Whatever works for you, go for it. See what suits you the best.
First off, your goals are going to be diet related. You should keep a food journal of EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth for 2 weeks. I am sure this will be quiet the eye opener. I read somewhere, many years ago, that most people underestimate their caloric intake by as much as 50% or more. The only way to know for sure is to log it. You can use online sites such as fitday.com or my fitnesspal.com.
You are going to have to decide if your Sat night drinking is really worth not achieving your goals. Alcoholic drinks are just empty calories. It is fine, every now and then, but every week is really going to slow your progress.
As far as exercise, I tell people to exercise in the same area where people are that have the body type you want. Generally, the heaviest people are on the cardio machines, as they are an easy entry level machine. Then, the next level of fitness is typically at the machines and group classes. Typically, the most fit and muscular (not just body builders) are on the free weights. So, if you want the lean muscular look, get off of the machines and start really lifting. You will NOT get bulky by lifting free weights. If it was so easy, every guy in the world would look like a body builder because it is so easy. It actually takes a lot of dedication and devotion to diet and training to achieve the muscular, bulky look.
As others have said, HIIT is great for shedding weight. But make sure you are doing HIGH INTENSITY and not just interval training. There is a big difference and you need to learn the difference to be successful.
Thanks for the input and the links, I will check them out. I generally run through pretty much the entire gamut of machines, doing 3 sets of 10-12-10 reps each of moderate resistance (I've heard that it's better to do more reps at lower weight to burn fat and lean up), with extra attention spent on the ab crunch, ab sit ups and upper and lower torso rotations. These hurt the most, so I know I need them, lol! I've always enoyed weight lifting, so these have come easy.
The cardio is another story. I have always hated running or jogging and had to push myself to do this, but now that I'm doing it, I find that I like the elliptical better than the treadmill. I'm still afraid of the stair machine though. I've been doing 15 minutes elipticals at a moderate setting (2) with a 3 minute cooldown afterwards and it's been much easier than I thought, so after 3 weeks I'm ready to push myself a little harder, so I'm going to change it to a high intensity type workout instead - 1 minute warm up, 30 seconds all out, 1 minute cool down, repeat six times. I know this is going to kick my butt at first, but that's the price that must be paid, right?
I would add some weight and try to max out between 6-8 reps. There is nothing wrong with hitting 10-12 reps, but add weight on the next set. The idea of doing "more reps at lower weight to burn fat and lean up" is false. Working out heavier to failure will give better results. Try to up your cardio to burn more calories. Your current cardio of 15 minutes is simply a warmup for lifting, it is not doing much to help you lose weight. I would try to incorporate free weights into your workout including some dumbells. I wouldn't spend so much time on the ab work. You will have better results with 30-45 minutes of cardio. You can incorporate the interval workout into a longer overall cardio workout.
To go for a "Bruce Lee" look you will want to focus on cardio training and eating healthy with some strength training as well.
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