2 days lifting---beginner

[acctingman]

Howdy all

I'm a 40 yr old guy who is trying to shed about 40-50 lbs of whale blubber and replace it with a little more muscle but mainly just trying to tone as much as possible.

I know diet is HUGE when it comes to toning up and cardio should not be neglected.

As for the diet...I'm shooting for low carbs, lots of protein, fruits and lots of veggies.

Cardio.....at least 30 min a day, 5 days a week.

Lifting...I only want to do 2 days a week.

Can anyone recommend a 2 day a week breakdown of what muscles to work on for those 2 days? (the 2 days a week will change to 3 days a week after a couple months)

Thanks!

 

[PushAndPull]

Personally, i've found that going on a strict diet(low carb) and starting an exercise routine when you are not used to doing either can be overwhelming.
I would recommend that you replace the low carb with plenty of good carbs and start your workout routine. Once you have adjusted to the routine, then starting a stricter diet would be far less painful.
As far as the weight lifting routine goes I would split it up, with one day upper body, one day lower.
Upper body: bench press( using barbell ),curls( using curl bar ),backarms( using v-bar (cables) ), back ( using lat pulldown (cables) ) doing 2 sets of each and using moderate weight.
Lower body: Leg press (machine), seated calf raises (machine), lying hamstring curls(cables), again 2 sets each with moderate weight.
If you don't know what some of these exercises are or proper form, I would recommend that you do a quick search on Utube and get a demo.
The cardio might be a little much to start with as well, maybe try 3 times a week to start. Getting in shape/losing fat is a marathon not a sprint.
Hope this helps.

 

[TwoWalks]

Since you are only wanting to do lifting 2 days per week and your goal is getting the muscles use to working as well as dropping some lard I would suggest full body workouts:

# Bench press
# DB Press
# Bent-over barbell rows
# Standing barbell curls
# Parallel-bar dips
# Hanging leg raises
# Barbell squats
# Standing calf raises

The first 2 weeks do 2 sets in the 10 - 12 rep range.
The second 2 weeks increase the sets to 3
Beginning week 5 increase to 4 sets.

Add into this some light cardio (walking etc) for 20 minutes each day. 3 days per week on non workout days increase the cardio to moderate for 30 to 45 minutes.

In the beginning I would not worry too much about low carb etc types of diets. First you are beginning to do cardio and lifting so your body is going to begin burning more calories. Second you will lower your current calorie intake a good amount just cleaning up your diet. It will stop your weight loss in its tracks if your calorie intake is too low. So approach it slowly.

 

[Phineas]

I know you say you want to lift only two days a week, but think about this: 1 pound of fat burns 3 calories a day, whereas 1 pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories a day. What do you think is the more effective fat-loss method?

 

[Perdido]

I would suggest full body workouts:

+1

 

[PushAndPull]

If your gym has a pool, swimming is another great workout you can throw in your routine.

 

[P-funk]

I know you say you want to lift only two days a week, but think about this: 1 pound of fat burns 3 calories a day, whereas 1 pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories a day. What do you think is the more effective fat-loss method?

That number is highly inflated. Research supports the fact that 1lb of muscle will burn potentially an extra 6-calories. It isn't as significant as many say it is.

Training twice a week is fine. You need to keep things simple and learn some basic movements. I would focus on doing upper and lower pairings (supersets) and just developing good technique. For example:

Day 1

1a) Squat (start with body weight, progress to medicine ball, goblet squat, bar, etc..)
1b) Push up

2a) 1-arm DB row
2b) Glute bridge
2c) plank


Day 2

1a) Split squat
1c) DB bench press

2a) 1/2 kneeling 1-arm pulldown
2b) RDL
2c) Bird dog



Always warm up properly. Again, use good techniques. Start with a higher number of sets and lower reps to focus on developing good technique and not allowing fatigue to compromise form. Higher sets will allow you to reach an appropriate amount of volume in an exercise. For example, instead of doing 3 sets x 10 reps or 2 sets x 15 reps (common rep ranges that are perscribed to beginners), go with 5 sets x 8 reps or 4 sets x 8 reps.

patrick

 

[Phineas]

That number is highly inflated. Research supports the fact that 1lb of muscle will burn potentially an extra 6-calories. It isn't as significant as many say it is.
patrick

My apologies for giving false advice.

P-Funk -- can you explain to me why, then, the metabolism increases so drastically with increased lean mass if the calories per pound is only up to 6? Are there other changes going on in the body that account for this?

 

[P-funk]

My apologies for giving false advice.

P-Funk -- can you explain to me why, then, the metabolism increases so drastically with increased lean mass if the calories per pound is only up to 6? Are there other changes going on in the body that account for this?

Dude, don't apologize. I used to say the same thing until I actually read up on it and was like...WHOA!

I don't know that the increase in metabolism would be. Obviously it would be different for every person given genetic make up. So, I don't even know how I would answer that.

patrick

 

[P-funk]

Here you go Phineas. I just sat down to read Lyle McDonald's newsletter for this month and he actually reviewed the study looking at what you are talking about. Check it out HERE

patrick

 

[danzik17]

I'd suggest that the person with higher lean mass is generally a more active person than one with less lean mass.

That and at low BF levels, I believe you partition calories better. Although it's not a given, people with higher lean mass are generally leaner anyway, so they would partition better than your average guy giving the appearance that he's "burning more calories".