any of y'all into working out?

[PIMking]

Since my neck surgery I did nothing but sit on the couch, play video games, and put on 20lbs. I got a membership at the local gym and started a diet and workout plan.

I've added a lot of protein to my diet, cut out a lot of sugars, sodas, and fast food.

I haven't lost much weight, I went from 185 to 180 in the first week and put on some weight since and now sitting at 183. I can only think that it's muscle weight.

I've been working out pretty hard and after the first few days of being super sore I actually love going to the gym. I've never had a 6 pack or ripped ever in my life but that's my goal is to tone out. I can care less about weight, just getting rid of my spare tire and tone the muscles.

I want to get in shape for fall hockey and hit the ice again down here. My doctor told me I shouldn't have any issues with my neck again.

My workouts go like this:
30 min warm up on elliptical burning roughly 280-320 cal

Bench press 3 sets.

I don't do sets of 10, or 12, rather go until I'm tired then take a short 30-45 second break

Military press

Leg Curls

Leg extensions

Leg press

then move back to upper body

Bicep curls

Row

Shoulder pull

then medicine ball workouts on abs and core.

depending on how I feel I may jump on the stair climber for 5 mins and kick my ass the rest of the way.

I'm mainly trying to get my shoulders strength up for my neck which at the moment are really weak due to the surgery.

I've already noticed a big difference in my energy, neck strain isn't that bad and my pants fit me better.

About four years ago I had a waist of 38" and went on a diet and basically swam a lot and very light workouts. I was diagnosed with ADHD and put on medication during this and that killed my appetite. I was about 170lbs when that happened and went down to 155lbs and I'm 5'9 so I looked sickly.

This was me right at 20 years old (9 years ago) at a friends wedding

(size)

NSFW!

This was me right before I moved to Bama roughly 205lbs at Kate's sister wedding in SD

NSFW!

This is me at my sisters wedding in Chitcago when I would 155lbs

NSFW!

This is me in January '14 right before my surgery and in loads of pain
about 170ish

NSFW!

so you can see I fluctuated up and down but throughout this I never was a big weight lifter. When I was in High School I got out of lifting weights for football, hockey and soccer by swimming after tearing my Rotators cuff lifting weights.

here is my progression from the beginning of July to last night.



I've made progress, I don't know if it's about where I should be or not.

any of you guys/gals fitness gurus? or in the same boat as me

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Everyone here is going to have a different opinion.
Mine would be that (and it's only informed based on my own experience) you seem to be doing a lot of different exercises that aren't necessary if you do some lareger more dynamic lifts.

Leg curls, leg extensions, and leg press?
You'll probably be better served to do squats and deadlifts instead (GET GOOD TRAINING ON HOW TO DO THESE PROPERLY).

Also, bear in mind that our bodies are pretty good at adapting and getting lazy. Doing the same program over and over again is a great way to plateau, stop seeing results, get frustrated and quit.

That being said, the most important factor in any workout plan is to stay motivated, so whatever works for you, is the best plan for you. Whatever advice people give you, just make sure it's something that you can see yourself sticking to, and if you try a workout and don't like it/find yourself dreading going to the gym, then find something different that you look forward to doing.

[nik-]

I'd do cardio after your weights ... 30 minutes seems like a lot for a "warmup"

I do a 10 minute warm up on eliptical, my weight routine, and then 30 minutes cardio on either eliptical or walk/jog intervals (not sprint/jog since I'm so out of shape) on the treadmill.

I also split up my body so I do one group of muscles once every 6/7 days, depending on availability. Arms/shoulders one day, legs another, chest/back a third. I find this lets me get the rest I need to really have good workouts and not cheat myself with incomplete sets or poor form. I'll try to throw an extra cardio day in on my non weight days whenever possible.

I also have shoulder problems so I work them probably the most of all my muscles. You should look into some rotator cuff exercises that they use in rehab. Super low weight (3-5lb dumbbells or a resistance band) and simple exercises that I do before my actual weights to warm them up and to build a little strength in those small areas.

I'm down 30lbs in the last 3 months and hope to lose another 5-10 before I leave for vacation in a month. Then I want to lose another 20 or so after I get back. I find my scale weight will fluctuate pretty wildly day to day so I try to think of it as a trend instead of a linear decrease.

[Muta]

Are you stretching properly? That will be key to also gaining strength in your neck, especially when lifting weights; blood flow will make the neck muscles more flexible during workout. This will still be important for your neck even if you say its healed. Injured areas should always be watched a bit closer.

My observations:

1) Cardio is fine, but might be slightly not enough if your goal is to lose belly fat. Try 45 minutes. Your cool-down cardio should be longer than 5 minutes at the end, too (try 10 minutes). I'd do the stairs at the beginning, and then the spin bike at the end.

2) Do you need to do all those muscle groups at once, every day? Why not break them into groups, ie. chest / back, legs, shoulders / arms, abs and core? Your muscles need time to recover in between; that's where the muscle growth actually happens. I'd recommend doing each group once, or twice, a week. No more.

3) I'm with Bring_Back_Shantz, you should incorporate squats and deadlifts into your workout. The squat is arguably the best full-body exercise out there. You can make a tons of gains with squats - even moreso if you can do them properly (ask a trainer for proper technique!) Start off with a Smith machine and then move on to barbells.

4) If you're going to failure on each set, try increasing the weights in either direction. For example; do 5 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 and increase the weight. Or do it the other direction and decrease the weight. Working to failure and then adjusting the weights is a good way to build muscle. Just make sure you know your limits.

5) Switch up your workouts every 4 months or so, in order to shock the muscles and your system. This is how maximum gains can be made. Do what you need to in order to avoid 'plateauing'.

4) Your diet seems okay; just make sure you're getting the proper amounts of fats and carbs, too, in addition to protein. All three are necessary building blocks for muscle growth and cardiovascular health. Increase your intake of vegetables, especially green ones. Also, increase your intake of beans and legumes, as they are a source of protein and a whole bunch of other good stuff. Cut out carbonated drinks completely, and if you can, reduce your liquor consumption. If you want grains, make sure they're whole wheat, not white.

I'm following Arnie's original plan, and it's kicking my ass right now. I've been going to the gym for five years, and the amount of sweat that falls off my body with this workout is awesome. There's no machines, only dumbells, barbells and your own body weight. Here's the program, I highly recommend it in the future.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/arno...iner-main.html

Good luck!

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Everyone here is going to have a different opinion.
Mine would be that (and it's only informed based on my own experience) you seem to be doing a lot of different exercises that aren't necessary if you do some lareger more dynamic lifts.

Leg curls, leg extensions, and leg press?
You'll probably be better served to do squats and deadlifts instead (GET GOOD TRAINING ON HOW TO DO THESE PROPERLY).

Also, bear in mind that our bodies are pretty good at adapting and getting lazy. Doing the same program over and over again is a great way to plateau, stop seeing results, get frustrated and quit.

That being said, the most important factor in any workout plan is to stay motivated, so whatever works for you, is the best plan for you. Whatever advice people give you, just make sure it's something that you can see yourself sticking to, and if you try a workout and don't like it/find yourself dreading going to the gym, then find something different that you look forward to doing.

I would love to do squats and dead lifts but I'm trying to keep the bar off my shoulders at the moment because of the neck.

[GreenLantern]

I second the Arnold program, it is intense. Bodybuilding.com is about the best resource you will find out there, you just have to sift through the "bro do you even lift" crowd. Do you research, read the stickies and then make a post similar to this one and you will get positive feedback, especially posting pics, they seem to 'rep' that and it gets you through the first door.

If you are looking for a body transformation (which I gather from the 'tone' comment) then I would take a peak at Kris Gethins 12 week trainer:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris...y-trainer.html

He is a bit of a jerk and sometimes hard to handle, but its aimed at beginners so he breaks things down pretty good. Add to that the bb.com instructional videos and you should be ok as far as form goes. He also takes you to the grocery store, talks a fair amount about diet and also about work out related injuries, motivation, all that stuff. It is a great all around program to get started with. Just remember that everyone's body is different and so everyone's diet should be different. You can follow the guidelines but you have to figure out what ratio of fats to carbs to protein actually works best for you through trial and error.

As a guy who has been injured more than a few times in the gym I can't stress form enough. Ask people around you to watch you as you lift, it is amazing what others will pick up on that you aren't. If I could go back and tell 20 year old GL anything it would be to lock that form down.

As far as supplements go... I dunno. I can't actually show you any proof that they work, but I definitely enjoy the placebo effect you gain. It can get quite expensive though so wade in slowly. Start with a solid whey protein that has some glutamine in it for your post work out shake.. but remember the best form of protein is from real foods (chicken breast, turkey, lean steak, talipia, salmon). Also a good all around multi vitamin doesn't hurt things, some doctors will tell you it is expensive pee, but at the end of the day when you are putting your body through hell it is just good insurance to know you are picking up what your diet might be leaving behind. I will gladly pay 10 cents a day for neon green pee to have that peace of mind.

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by PIMking

I would love to do squats and dead lifts but I'm trying to keep the bar off my shoulders at the moment because of the neck.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercise...e/goblet-squat

Hell even do air squats, just multiple the sets by 3 or 4. But do squats!! The big three that no routine should be without, ever, are squats, deadlifts and bench press.

[saillias]

The best thing to ever happen to my diet/fitness was finding Intermittent Fasting and a good program for it.

http://rippedbody.jp/

You want evidence it works you can look at his client photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/68068051@N07/

[Cali Panthers Fan]

The first 2 responses were ideal. Listen to what they said.

I would argue that you can do most of your exercise with your own body weight. Pullups, pushups, squats, lunges…these are the things that will work the majority of your muscles. If you want to challenge your body in a new way, consider doing a TRX suspension type workout. It's cheap as hell and you will work almost every muscle in your whole body doing 5-7 movements. That's the key to burning fat, using the larger muscles as much as possible until exhaustion occurs, and also making sure you contract all those little stabilizer muscles during the workout. Change it up for 2-3 weeks. Do your cardio at the end of your workout (you are in prime fat burning mode at that point), and make sure it's a high intensity interval cardio workout (basically go as fast as you can for 30-60 seconds and then a 2 minute rest in between). Here are links if you need more info.

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/...l-body-workout

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/...ning-intervals

[SHOGUN]

If you want to shed some extra body fat, I really recommend Intermittent fasting.

[Flash Walken]

Check out the DDP yoga thread.

Lots of those guys are working out but are dealing with limitations, physical, lifestyle or a combination of the two.

I'm not doing the program, but I like reading the thread to get their reaction to it.

[AcGold]

Body weight exercises are the best IMO, working out early before breakfast sheds fat the quickest, squats(even just body weight) are probably the best exercise, incorporate certain techniques from DDP yoga or regular yoga that strengthen the neck and back and exercises that work multiple areas at once are better than ones that target individual muscles. Remember to breath and maintain control and maintain a tight core while lifting. Avoid highly fibrous or complex foods before the gym. Good luck

[undercoverbrother]

Remember to stretch, stretch what you strenghten and strenghten what you stretch.


Opps forgot to add this is a great website.


http://www.exrx.net/

You can spend tonnes of time on there and there is lots of information.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Squats and Milk!!!

Though I don't pound the gallon of milk a day lol. But been trying this out since plateauing on squats.

But I agree with the above. If you're looking for mass, squats and deadlifts are king. If you can't do barbell squats, do the 100 squat challenge instead. I would personally say pull-ups are essential for building mass on the back. Don't even need to throw them into your regular gym routine. Get a pull-up bar, throw them up on a door frame, and do a few sets every couple of days. Once it gets easier, throw on a backpack, throw some heavy stuff into it and pull up with that.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

Squats and Milk!!!

Though I don't pound the gallon of milk a day lol. But been trying this out since plateauing on squats.

But I agree with the above. If you're looking for mass, squats and deadlifts are king. If you can't do barbell squats, do the 100 squat challenge instead. I would personally say pull-ups are essential for building mass on the back. Don't even need to throw them into your regular gym routine. Get a pull-up bar, throw them up on a door frame, and do a few sets every couple of days. Once it gets easier, throw on a backpack, throw some heavy stuff into it and pull up with that.

As a climber and someone who's done thousands of pull-ups, I would advise against putting a weight in something like a backpack because it could lead to injury. If you get to the point of weighted pull-ups, suspend the weight underneath your body either with a belt or even hang dumbbells between your knees. Nobody should do weighted pull-ups until you can do sets of 10 anyway.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

As a climber and someone who's done thousands of pull-ups, I would advise against putting a weight in something like a backpack because it could lead to injury. If you get to the point of weighted pull-ups, suspend the weight underneath your body either with a belt or even hang dumbbells between your knees. Nobody should do weighted pull-ups until you can do sets of 10 anyway.

Good to know. I've only thrown 10 lbs into my pack for now. Once I get up a bit higher I'll grab me a belt.

[Regorium]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

As a climber and someone who's done thousands of pull-ups, I would advise against putting a weight in something like a backpack because it could lead to injury. If you get to the point of weighted pull-ups, suspend the weight underneath your body either with a belt or even hang dumbbells between your knees. Nobody should do weighted pull-ups until you can do sets of 10 anyway.

Why is this? I would've thought it was exactly the same.

(I say this because I don't have a weight belt and been putting 40lbs in a backpack to do weighted pullups)

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Regorium

Why is this? I would've thought it was exactly the same.

(I say this because I don't have a weight belt and been putting 40lbs in a backpack to do weighted pullups)

It's more of a problem for beginners trying to transition to weighted pull-ups as adding weight without being ready for it can really screw up your form and then back/shoulders/whatever. If you put the backpack on the front side it probably won't be so hard on your back however. I really recommend spending the $20 or whatever it is to get a dip belt so the weight is not on one particular side but evenly underneath.

I know nobody asked this, but also play around with the variations of pull-ups. Wide grip, narrow grip, chin up, towel, muscle up, whatever. They all activate different muscles and are awesome for functional strength.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

If you want to lose the spare tire, I think the best thing to do is drop the long cardio sessions, and swap out for interval training or "anaerobic" training instead. At first when you have lots to lose you'll drop belly fat from long cardio sessions like a 30 to 45 min jog or on the elliptical, but once you are at the spot you're at now, it won't help much. It's good for building up your lungs and heart, but not much good for trimming the waist line.

Lots of programs out there you could use (including classes at your gym I'm sure) but basically anything that goes in quick bursts for 30sec to a minute then on to the next thing (with no to limited rest ie. seconds) in between. Do a work out like that for 30min to 45 mins 2 to 3 times a week and I think that's the best way to go to drop the tire. That and of course dropping the sugar and carbs. But if you make sure your heart rate is up and your sweat the entire time you'll burn calories for hours after you are done, not just while you work out (like with long runs or elliptical).

Anyway, I'm not a trainer or an expert but that's what I've been told by those that are and I've had some decent results doing it myself.

[t0rrent98]

It takes a long time to get to where you wanna be. A lot of hard work and dedication. Through I have a buddy who did it in 3 years and he's ripped as ****. He says you can do it in a year but you'd have to go everyday and push yourself hard.

TBH, I should be doing what I am telling you but I always seem to break my diet and going back to sweets but for a guy like me who is an ectomorph its harder for me to gain the weight unless I spend my days just eating which inturn is pretty hard for me because I don't have a cushy office job.

I am currently hoverng from 155-160 and am trying to reach upwards of 180. I've been hitting the gym for at least 5 years now but if you look at it, I'd probably only gone for 2 or 3 years out of the 5 :P.