Weight Loss and Muscle Building

[funkypig2]

Hi, I was in shape about 6 years ago, ran 3 miles a day, lifted etc. Life, work and whatever got in the way. Now I am about 60 lbs heavier and sedintary as hell.
I am inspired to start up again, and have purchased a good home gym(free weights and such) and some running shoes. In the next few weeks I want to prime myself for working out, take long walks, start eating right or better, do some light weights, pushups, pullups. I need help though.

I know just from the last few days that it takes my legs the longest to recover, after my first brisk walk they were sore for about 3 days. This is something I want to cut down on because I have to take it easy and wait for recovery. I can't do the whole I'm sore all the time thing. I did that for a year and my legs got really big but the pain was ... a pain when doing anything, it made it easy to quit.

1. Can anyone recomend a good starter diet?

2. What are the best supplements/pills can induce weight loss or help build muscle quickly/ speed up muscle recovery?

[Kirst]

Well... personally after a break I always make a week of cardio and very light weights (the type you do for endurance) to loosen my muscles again. As for food I think you should search in the nutrition section: http://www.extremefitness.com/forum/f13.html and for weight loss supplements look into: http://www.extremefitness.com/forum/f15.html
Remember to always take your daily multivitamins

[championofnight]

how old are u.....this will make a difference how quickly you are to get back into the swing o' things

[number1point]

^

true...but also it depends on how big he is to see how quickly he can lose it....

honestly man ...i did the velocity diet that adonis posted...(thats only if you want to see results in a month) and i mean big result...you can maintane your mass if not get bigger and lose fat like crazy...i did it and it worked!!!

http://www.extremefitness.com/forum/t21790.html <<< link to see velocity diet


if not then i would suggest eattin your bodyweight in g of protein...keep the carbs under 100 g per day and make sure your gettin plenty of water....

you cardio doesnt have to be that much...just go on a bike for 20 minutes in the am before you eat in the mornin...so your burn cals ...dont binge eat either...have small meals more spread out...


hope it helps... good luck


---at the point---

[pokertriad]

Does how long you have not been lifting really affect your diet that much? Sure, not as much protein, but you still want to shoot for 5-6 meals/snacks a day to keep your metabolism up. I don't know if it's right, but after I stopped lifting for a few months, I made 2 workouts that were composed of one major exercise for each body part(bench, curl, dips, squat, lat pull) and did a low weight. After I was doing that for a few weeks I bumped the weight back up. Hope this helps.

[funkypig2]

thanx guys for the advice so far.

I tested how many pull ups I can do today and that's 5, can do 15 push ups(arms close mostly triceps I can do more if I use my chest) then I have to stop. My abs start burning at 10-15 situps( no suprise there).

Kirst:
that sounds like a good plan for me, cardio and light weights for the rest of the week is what I'm probably going to do, then I'll do 50% of max weight starting Monday. And test how far I can jog.

I picked up some whey protein shake stuff at GNC but forgot a good multivitamin, definately need that again cause I skimp on the fruits and veggies. I have some centrum ones that'll last a few months more so I might keep taking those.

Championofnight:

I just turned 29 and am about 60 lbs heavier than when I was running. 155 to 220(actually 215ish right now). But because of the weights and working out off and on I am stronger, I think if I lost the fat I'd be 170 lb.(6ft tall)

number1point:

The velocity diet sounds really interesting, I'll definately check out that link. Is it good on keeping energy levels up? I'll check it out but from some comments I've seen on it, it seems like it might be too killer for me. We'll see

pokertriad:

Should I train one muscle group a day or do full body for weights. What I learned was opposing musclegroups(bi's/tri's lats/delts/chest for one day etc...) are best but I don't know how dated that information is.

and finally Supplement ?s:

Do I really need this Whey protein shake stuff if I'm not lifting heavy or doing very intense workouts yet? How much should I take and when. From reading it , it seems like if I take it right b4 the workout I'll get the best benifit. (40 grams of prot. per shake, and suprisingly it tastes really good)

It sounds like Creatine is great but do you lose any mass gained if you stop taking it?

Are there any fat burners that don't make your heart go faster, the last one I took had something( can't remember the name but it's banned now started with a e or an x) that made me feel like I had ten cups of coffee.


thanx again.

funkypig

[funkypig2]

Can someone give me a gauge on how much is 100 grams of carb a day? How many pieces of bread is that or how much rice or oatmeal can I eat. I like corn tortias and grilled chicken for lunch for example. I usually get 6 tortias for 2 thighs, how many carbs would that be?

thanx,

funkypig

[pokertriad]

I have a book sitting in my kitchen that gives nutritional information on many foods that aren't listed on the package, like a steak, I'm sure you could use google and find a free online one.

In refrence to your question about if you can do the same muscle groups everyday, I would suggest going very light (like 30-45lbs for benching) or something just to get your muscles used to getting used again. You should always leave at least one day of rest, but if you are going very light I don't think your muscles can be harmed that much. After all, the UPS guys use their back and leg muscles a lot everyday. Yes, you are right, opposing muscle groups complement each other nicely, but going very light to get back into the swing of things, it shouldn't affect it too much. After you start doing heavier workouts however, you will want to do bi's and tri's one day, chest/back another, legs another etc. I usually do chest/tri's and back/bi's finding that they go better together than bi's/tri's and chest/back, but that is more of a personal opinion.

I have a whey shake with 50-60g after each workout. After you start lifting heavier again you will want to get 4-5 servings of protein a day to build more mass(I forget the formula to figure out how many grams). Protein will revitalize and engergize your muscles to induce more growth, which is why I take it after(within 30 mins after my last exercise). Now if you take a shake, workout, and then have a steak 30min-1hr after you work out, that is as good or better.

Hope this helps.

[number1point]

yea...haha im hard headed and stubborn and when i want some i get it done...this was a tough process for me to do...but welll worth it in the end...and my energy was fine....i mean the hot rox keep you up lol...and the shakes to me were filling....but good luck man

[Italianangel]

give your legs time, they wil not be so sore as you get used to things.
There are some great diet suggestions in the nutrition section to check out, tons of them.
I would look into glutamine, its a recovery supplement and will help with this beginners soreness.

[funkypig2]

Hey guys just wanted to update on my progress. Any advice is always welcome.

My first week I did high reps(about 20 or so) for 3 sets for each muscle group every day. I made the weight heavy enough so that I could only do 20 and had to stop. Even with the light weight I was sore for a bit. Grouped it together with a brisk walk every other day to get my lungs in order.

Second week I separated muscle groups and did heavier weights. about 70% of max I could lift. Biceps/triceps Monday, Quads, Hamstrings, calves Wed, Shoulders, Back and Chest Friday. In between I'd walk/run on Tues/Thurs and try do do abs(some, I'm very lazy and intolerant to pain on abs ) every day. I upped supplements to 1 pro shake during workouts and 1 pro shake after. 8 reps 3 sets each.

This last week I've been training about 80% of max so I went up 5-10 lbs depending on muscle group and have incorporated a multi vitamin in my diet. Also this is the second week I completed my own modified form of the velocity diet(no way I could do all liquids). Dropped 10lbs! 6 reps 3 sets each. I'm going to stay at these weights until my reps seem to easy to accomplish, which right now that last set is killer.

I see a difference in how my clothes fit but I don't see a big dif in muscle size or definition hopefully that will change when I can do more weights.

again guys thanx for the great starter advice.

[Italianangel]

Great job!

[funkypig2]

Hey guys, I'm stuck on something. I can't get my numbers up for pullups. I've been doing weights while doing pulldowns and tried to do some pullups yesterday morning and somehow my numbers went down?! Is that fatigue or something? Anyways, I was very determined to get my strenght up so I loaded up on the weight this morning. I'm over 200 so I load it up to 200 just to see if that'll work... I pull and not only will the weight not budge but I lift myself off the bench, I actually hung there for a sec just thinking wtf, lol and then I slowly dropped to the bench as I guess gravity started working again.

So my question is what excercises can I do to increase my strenght for pull ups. Is there a different position I can try besides standard so that I'm not floating off the bench? Use dumbells somehow?

I tried modified back row with the pulley a little higher, will this work the right muscles?

I'm off to do my legs and calves this morning, thanx in advance.

[Italianangel]

alternate with some sets of chins.....but the main thing is to just do them 1-2 times per week, do them to failure for 1-3 sets, use a spotter to push you beyond and then you will notice you do more on your own and less with spot.