In dire need of a routine...

**Cetier** · 12-07-2008, 11:10 PM

I've read some of the stickies here, but I'm more or less a novice at all of this, so I really need some detailed help. I'll explain... Two years ago I went into the Army. I wasn't in great shape, I struggled a bit, but I did alright. I hurt my knee while in basic and got an entry level separation after they dicked around with me for a month. So here I am, two years later, ready to go back in if I can get a waiver. I'd rather go with the Air Force, but the Army and Marines are my best bet. Right now I'm so out of shape it's unbelievable. I've been sulking for the last few months because my life is kind of in the dumps thanks to a certain family member. I've been sitting on my ass and have had a pretty nasty diet.

I'm 6'2", 155 pounds, and my diet essentially consists of takeout once per day (lots of Chinese, but all in all it isn't too bad, I've learned some decent eating habits but I neglect them) and maybe some fruit at night. About fours years ago I was around 230 pounds. I lost all that through diet and healthy eating. I did very little exercise.

If I can get my waiver I'll have probably three or four months to prepare. Right now I'm pretty skinny outside of a little fat I carry on my gut, and I feel like crap. I've got no stamina at all. I need to really build my strength and stamina in the next few months because I don't want to get back in and struggle. So I need something that will allow me properly progress and work with my poor physical condition, but also prepare by body for the 12+ hours per day physical stress. A big issue is my diet. I need to have a proper diet planned out. I don't care if it's the same crap everyday, but I need something rather cheap and easy to prepare and consume. I can't lose weight and would much rather gain some muscle weight.

In terms of equipment, there is a gym about a half hour away, but I'm getting rid of my car soon and it'd be too much of a hassle to get there. I have some free weights, a crappy stair machine, and a jump rope. There's lots of room to run, but there's a lot of dirt roads and the weather would be questionable. I'd rather not run up and down muddy hills, so I'll need another cardio routine to go along with any running I do. I have no idea what exercises I should be focusing on, what sort of reps/set combination I should do, what sort of weekly routine I need to be on, how much I should do per day, and how/when I should be eating. I really need some help and need a routine I'll stick with. I want this so I have all the motivation, but I really need a routine set out for me that I'll keep with and I can scale over the next few months. I'm starting from the basics, so keep that in mind. I get winded quick and I'm likely at a 12 minute mile right now. My lungs/throat burn like hell rather quickly when I'm out there running, but it's more or less my legs that do me in. They get weak and heavy.

Anyways, any help would be greatly appreciated. I really need some muscle gain all over my body with emphasis on my neck and butt. I get some killer neck aches when exercising and I can't sit on anything besides a mat when doing situps because my skinny ass is putting all my weight on my tailbone.

**Built** · 12-08-2008, 12:24 AM

FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal please join the free site and set up a diet for yourself that gets in 3000 calories a day to start. Make sure you get in at least 200g of protein, at least 25g of fibre and at least 75g of fat. We'll tweak this in a few weeks. Your food choices are your own - just enter protein sources (chicken, eggs, egg whites, tuna, fish, steak, ground beef, cottage cheese, protein powder), fat sources (olive oil, raw nuts, butter, avocados, natural peanut butter, fish oil capsules - I like to recommend 10g of fish oil daily), produce (broccoli, romaine, green beans, apples, oranges, bananas, whatever other fruits and veggies you like) and starches (oatmeal, bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, rice cakes, noodles) and fiddle with the numbers until this works out to the minimums I suggested. Eat as many or as few meals a day, it doesn't matter what time of day or night, just get that food in.

While you get that going, can you describe the free weight equipment you have, and do you have a chinup bar?

**Cetier** · 12-08-2008, 03:20 AM

Alright, right now I've broken it down to something like this...

Breakfast:
1 cup oatmeal (whole grain)
1 piece whole wheat toast
1 tablespoon almond butter
9oz soy milk

Snack:
Apple
???

Lunch:
3 piece whole wheat toast
1 can tuna
green leaf lettuce
1 Fiber One bar (or any better alternative I can find)

Dinner:

6oz chicken breast
2 cup wheat spaghetti
2 tablespoon canola oil
1 clove garlic
1/3 onion

2 cup steamed broccoli
1 carrot

Snack:

1 banana
9oz orange juice

That's really a whole ton for me to eat. Right now I'm that's 2,458 calories, 80.2g fat, 303.3g carbs, and 148g protein. I'm sure I have plenty of fiber there too. I'm wondering if I'd be taking in too many carbs? As far as the rest of the calories and protein, I'm looking for some sort of protein shake that would be carried at most supplement stores. Preferably something that doesn't cost a fortune and something that doesn't taste like ass. I'll be able to get some of the more expensive stuff on my list in bulk at Costco so that defined a lot of my choices. If anyone has better ideas, let me know.

Currently I'm taking a men's daily vitamin and fish oils. The free weights have a 5' long bench press bar (I'm assuming, I never actually measured it though), about 100 pounds of various weights, and two barbell bars. It also has the bench and something on the end I'm assuming is used to work out your legs. I don't have a chin up bar, but if I can find some place to mount one I was going to.

**Built** · 12-08-2008, 09:41 AM

Bring that protein up - nothing wrong with the carbs. I suggest cottage cheese, eggs and more chicken to bring up the protein.

Ditch the soy.

**Doublebase** · 12-08-2008, 01:25 PM

Don't forget about chicken. You can buy chicken breasts when they are on sale. Cut them up and freeze them. Easy to cook and you can make quick meals with them.

**Cetier** · 12-08-2008, 04:24 PM

My stomach dies when I eat dairy, thus the reason I had the soy milk on there since I regularly drink it anyways. I can toss more chicken in, but I'm not a big fan of eggs either. They just gross me out. Always have. I'll be getting some sort of protein shake so that should fill out my protein and give me more calories. I'll toss in whatever else I can throughout the day that's healthy. Also, is there anything I can take in the morning that will give me a nice wake up boost? I have a hell of a time getting up because my bedroom gets almost no light in the morning and I don't want to pound down coffee and tea doesn't do a whole lot for me.

**Built** · 12-08-2008, 04:58 PM

Caffeine tablets.

Are you allergic to milk protein, or is it the lactose?

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