Gaz_9

hi, im trying to shred the fat around my waist, while also trying to get stronger and im a bit confused as to whats the best approach training wise. my diet is pretty clean but im a bit overwhelmed with regards to the info about training.

im a bit confused as to what type of training would be best for me? - cardio, caqrdio & weights, heavy weights, low reps, high reps e.t.c.

there seems to be a lot of contradicting info e.g - cardio being counter productive for muscle building and im left a bit confussed. i guess i just want some reasurrance that im not wasting my time with my current reigime.

im 25 years old,
weight 13stone
height 5.10

i do a 2 day split 3 sets of 10 of a weight im just able to lift 10 times-

i workout at a home gym so its mainly free weight work plus i have a stepping machine and rowing machine

workout A:
UPPER BODY 3 sets of 10 reps of everything

Bench Press
Flyes
Shrugs
Bent Over Dumbell Rows
Barbell Rows
Lateral Raises
Front Raises
Dumbell Curls or Barbell Curls
Concentration Curls
Tricep Extension

workout B: again 3 sets of 10 reps that i can just about lift 10 times
LOWER BODY

Rowing (Warm Up)
Squats
Straight Back Straigh Leg Deadlift (i think thats what its called!)
Leg Extensions
Leg Curls

I also play 5 a side football (soccer to you americans!) for 1 hour once or twice a week and go swimming on a weekend for about an hour and a half but its more of a relaxing thing rather than full-on lenghths!

im taking protein, creatine and sida cordifolia supplements

any advice would be great - iv seen some muscle size gains but im a bit worried that i might not be doing the right things to get rid of my belly!

i would be so gratefull for any advice

(forgot to say - i lift weights 6 times a week - 3 of each workout)

thank you
gaz

sdupdike

If you are mostly concerned about losing the belly, I'd say you need to focus more on your diet. A pretty clean diet is probably not as clean as it needs to be for optimizing fat loss. Your workouts look fine, I'm sure someone else will comment more on that. My only comments would be maybe to split your upper body workout into two days, something like Back/Bis on one day and Chest/Shoulders/Tris on another day. That looks like an aweful lot to do on one day. Also, most people lift between 3 - 5 days a week. 6 days sounds like too much. Your body does need to rest, that's when you grow. You're getting cardio from soccer and swimming. Getting your diet in check will be key to your success in losing fat.

Shannon

There's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

PTYP

30 sets per workout to failure times 3 workouts? Overtraining is an understatement on workout A. B is good for a leg workout (where's the calves?), but doing this 3x a week is also overtraining. If you like this routine, then Id say rest every other day and your routine will cycle. Id also suggest moving a bodypart from A to B (shoulders or back). Your above routine looks extremely lobsided.

Gaz_9

thanks for the advice, i think ill try shifting some exercises from workout A to B. (as you can probably guess - workout A takes almost twice as long so it makes sense!!!) think im going to have to look a bit closer at my diet too.

i get my calves worked doing the leg curls, seen some decent gains too.

my thinking when doing 3 workouts each of A and B a week were that i would be burning more calories and i really enjoy my time on my own every day! - but ill take that on board, i didnt think i was overtraining as i dont feel REALLY tired ever.

ill try cut back to 2 workouts of each a week and see how we go!

thanks again

Edmorgan

I say more cardio there... if you want to gain muscle... people with more body weight are lucky as they can turn the at into muscle.. i think you need to spread your workout more.. start cycling to the gym too!

Tough Old Man

people with more body weight are lucky as they can turn the at into muscle

Where in the hell did you come up with that, turn fat into muscle. If that were true everyone would want to get fat first.

TJ Cline

I had no idea that myth was still around.

MyK

this is why I keep coming back here!! its shit like this that entertains me!!!


Yo, Gaz, let the questions fly, we have alot of work to do!!!

ihateschoolmt

If you want to lose weight fix your diet. Six times a week is too much, I would cut that down to four. Change up the rep range and sets some too. Your lower body work out seems good, but your upper body has to much stuff.

Here is my suggestion for upper body
Bench Press
Flyes
skull crushers
Barbell Rows
military press
Dumbell Curls or Barbell Curls

Gaz_9

thanks people, im still a bit confused though, taking on board what you've all said does this sound ok?

workout A

bench press 3 x20
flyes 3x20
barbell rows 3x20
barbell/dumbell curl 3x20
concentration curl 3x20
tricep extension 3x20

workout B
squats 3x20
straight back straight arm deadlift 3x20
leg extension 3x20
leg curl 3x20
lateral raise 3x20
front raise 3x20

both workout routines performed twice a week

also running maybe 2 or 3 times a week - how long?

i really appreciate your help!

thanks!

ABLQ2

getting there.. do 12 reps. 12-15. and realize that its not lifting weights that will get you lean.. lifting weights is about 1/8th of it. doing cardo is about 1/4 of it. the rest is eating right. so basically, id alternate lifting days with cardio days and do a bit of cardio 6 or so hours before you lift even on lifting days. this will shock your body. i wouldnt run, unless youre running sprints. running is really tough on your body. try aerobic rowing or cycling.. in a perfect world, you would do for example sprint 100 yards, walk/jog 100 yards, and alternate between sprinting and walking untill youre too tired to even get back to your car/house.


thats longwinded... basically you need to focus on eating right. count your calories. eat 2000-2500 a day. no sugar, low fat.
then do cardio maybe (this is controversial) 7 days a week for 1 week to kickstart your body, and then cut back to 3-4 times a week. do your cardio in the mornings (this is also controversial) before you eat.
you will loose lots of weight fast




edit : i did exactly what i said up there after my last bulking cycle where i got up to about 16 percent bodyfat (a flabby four-pack stomach).. 1 month later, i already could see all my abs again.

be persistant, eat right, train hard. and in that order.

Gaz_9

thanks dude,

maybe something like this ok then?

i like running so ill do some sprint-jog-walk stuff, i have a rowing machine to so ill use that more.

ill have to do what i can around work etc. ( i also play 5 a side soccer on fridays and swimm saturdays so theyr'e going to have to stay in the routine am afraid!)

see what you think:

MON - AM- 30mins sprint/jog/walk
PM- Workout A

TUE - AM- 30mins sprint/jog/walk
PM- Workout B

WED - AM- 30mins sprint/jog/walk
PM- Soccer/Swimming

THU - AM- 30mins sprint/jog/walk
PM- Workout A

FRI - AM- 30mins sprint/jog/walk
PM- Soccer

SAT - AM- Swimming

SUN - AM- 30mins sprint/jog/walk
PM- Workout B

ill do 3 sets of 12-15 of the two workouts?

workout A
bench press
flyes
barbell rows
barbell/dumbell curl
concentration curl
tricep extension

workout B
squats
straight back straight arm deadlift
leg extension
leg curl
lateral raise
front raise

ill also do some research into my diet, as i said before its pretty clean but probably not good enough!

thanks a lot everyone!
any more suggestions would be good

ABLQ2

that looks really good. just make sure that after about a week you cut the cardio down a bit, so you dont injur yourself.

on work out A, try to do some pullups too, maybe.

Gaz_9

just thought should i be doing ab work? ill try to get some pull ups in too, i have a pull up bar. thanks everyone! ill get there in the end and im going to enjoy the journey!!!!

bulletproof1

you sound pumped and thats great, just kind of ease into it. it takes a lot of work and if you get burnt out too fast, it wont be fun. thats why like 95% of americans stop dieting and exercising after like 1 month.

dont be a statistic, make it a lifestyle.

get your diet posted asap.

1 last thing, more isnt always better. be careful not to overtrain or you will go no where fast.

ABLQ2

ya.. i see it as a 1 month hurdle. if you can get someone to train consistantly for over 1 month, then chances are they will get sucked into/addicted because it quickly becomes a stress reducer.

Gaz_9

im not american by the way but yeah i know what you mean. iv always been into soccer and iv lifted weights a few times a week for over a year (dodgy routines and in tensity though to be honest!) but i want to get serious now after iv had a few injuries and am fully fit.

ill get through a month coz i am used to training but i want to step it up and loose that gut. ill get my diet up A.S.A.P - ill work out the kcals and grams of stuff.

once again - thanks everyone for the help and encouragement im really gratefull!