I am new to the forum, and certainly would appreciate some help with getting in top shape.
This is probably gonna be a fairly in-depth post, just as I wanna give some background before I go into workout (you’ll see why it is relevant in a second).
As for current status and goal:
I am a 21 year old college student.
Stats:
Height: 5-11
Weight: 175-180 (fluxuates and I don’t really every track it exactly)
Waist: 31-32â€
Needs advice to getting more toned...help appreciated
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
i'll probably address some things you already have here but anyway:
- fat, ecspecially stomach fat is usually a product of high cortisol which is a fat storing hormone so when that is present all nutrients basically get stored as fat and it blunts muscle growth...think a long skinny and muscle less marathon runner
- your hs years may have wrecked your metabolism you're young enough that you should be able to bring it back
- 2000 crunches everyday???? never do even 1 again you hear me...it's a wonder your posture isn't totally fucked (maybe it is??)
- genentics may play a small part but i thibk you would have been diagnosed with your mother's issue before now although doctors can overlook the obvious sometimes if they're looking for something else
- your senior year you're were what we call "skinny fat" meaning you're skinny but also fat as you just have lack of actual muscle mass...again think marathin runner
- good call on adding wts in
- 2hr long wt sessions is as outdated as penny farlings
- not eating enough is just as bad as eating poorly
- your current routine is the complete opposite of what you should be doing because of your past and i'll expalin why in a minute...it's not really diferent from what you wer doing in your hs years
- make time to make your meals , you have to...no time is a shit reason but from what i'll give you, you'll have an extra 5hrs a week spare anyway
- i have a site that is under construction right now but should be available tomorrow from what i've been told but it has some stuff diet wie you should look at...in the meantime go to the diet section and read "read before posting..."...also go to the fat loss section and find "fat loss training..." a few pages in...bugger it here they are:
viewtopic.php?t=4681
viewtopic.php?t=4681
- i tell clients to "learn to eat boring" when they want to drop wt basically because i eat boring all the time (same thing everyday just about) so it may work for you and i love the results driven point - not enough of those...they are results driven but they don;t often do what they have to get the resukts in the first place and blame everything else except thermselves for it
- protein sources are in the article/s somewhere and as stated before you need to be prepared with food everyday...i'm not a fan of it but you can use protein shakes as a meal replacement of sorts but there's nothing better for you than actually eating food for emals
- you may feel bloated initially from the food increase yes
- as a side note overtraining (which i think you are) suppresses appetite which will make you fatter
- the stomacj goal is a good one but we need to look at the big picture here mate whivch is your health and bodily functions then let the stomach come along for the ride
- hey, those rugby/lacrosse players are onto something...
- don't bother about counting cal's from activity, you can never work it out, let alone a machine that knows nothing about you
what you need to do:
1 - cut training dramatically...you drove your body to the brink with cardio and no food in the past...now your doing again with your wts training everyday with steroids required and 15 years experience training sessions - not cool...i will suggest a 3 day a week wts program that is very abbreviated with maybe 4 - 5 exercises and low volume and intensity per session
2 - read those articles until they make sense...10 x if needed
3 - cortisol is produced when the body is stressed...this can be from too much cardio stress (usually the problem), too much wts stress (as well), too much work stress, relationships, school, work etc..even good stress that you enjoy such as wt training can build up and break you down...training is all about this:
MANAGING STRESS, NOT SEEKING IT
again:
MANAGE STRESS, DON'T SEEK IT!!!
that is what we will do from now on
right now i suggest you take 1 week off from all training and get your food in order...also each morning take your resting heart rate for 1min, not 10secs and times by 6, an actual minute as soon as your eyes open and write it down...overtraining can be seen with an increase in resting heart rate
how does that sound?
www.uponlinetraining.com
- fat, ecspecially stomach fat is usually a product of high cortisol which is a fat storing hormone so when that is present all nutrients basically get stored as fat and it blunts muscle growth...think a long skinny and muscle less marathon runner
- your hs years may have wrecked your metabolism you're young enough that you should be able to bring it back
- 2000 crunches everyday???? never do even 1 again you hear me...it's a wonder your posture isn't totally fucked (maybe it is??)
- genentics may play a small part but i thibk you would have been diagnosed with your mother's issue before now although doctors can overlook the obvious sometimes if they're looking for something else
- your senior year you're were what we call "skinny fat" meaning you're skinny but also fat as you just have lack of actual muscle mass...again think marathin runner
- good call on adding wts in
- 2hr long wt sessions is as outdated as penny farlings
- not eating enough is just as bad as eating poorly
- your current routine is the complete opposite of what you should be doing because of your past and i'll expalin why in a minute...it's not really diferent from what you wer doing in your hs years
- make time to make your meals , you have to...no time is a shit reason but from what i'll give you, you'll have an extra 5hrs a week spare anyway
- i have a site that is under construction right now but should be available tomorrow from what i've been told but it has some stuff diet wie you should look at...in the meantime go to the diet section and read "read before posting..."...also go to the fat loss section and find "fat loss training..." a few pages in...bugger it here they are:
viewtopic.php?t=4681
viewtopic.php?t=4681
- i tell clients to "learn to eat boring" when they want to drop wt basically because i eat boring all the time (same thing everyday just about) so it may work for you and i love the results driven point - not enough of those...they are results driven but they don;t often do what they have to get the resukts in the first place and blame everything else except thermselves for it
- protein sources are in the article/s somewhere and as stated before you need to be prepared with food everyday...i'm not a fan of it but you can use protein shakes as a meal replacement of sorts but there's nothing better for you than actually eating food for emals
- you may feel bloated initially from the food increase yes
- as a side note overtraining (which i think you are) suppresses appetite which will make you fatter
- the stomacj goal is a good one but we need to look at the big picture here mate whivch is your health and bodily functions then let the stomach come along for the ride
- hey, those rugby/lacrosse players are onto something...
- don't bother about counting cal's from activity, you can never work it out, let alone a machine that knows nothing about you
what you need to do:
1 - cut training dramatically...you drove your body to the brink with cardio and no food in the past...now your doing again with your wts training everyday with steroids required and 15 years experience training sessions - not cool...i will suggest a 3 day a week wts program that is very abbreviated with maybe 4 - 5 exercises and low volume and intensity per session
2 - read those articles until they make sense...10 x if needed
3 - cortisol is produced when the body is stressed...this can be from too much cardio stress (usually the problem), too much wts stress (as well), too much work stress, relationships, school, work etc..even good stress that you enjoy such as wt training can build up and break you down...training is all about this:
MANAGING STRESS, NOT SEEKING IT
again:
MANAGE STRESS, DON'T SEEK IT!!!
that is what we will do from now on
right now i suggest you take 1 week off from all training and get your food in order...also each morning take your resting heart rate for 1min, not 10secs and times by 6, an actual minute as soon as your eyes open and write it down...overtraining can be seen with an increase in resting heart rate
how does that sound?
www.uponlinetraining.com
Hey, firstly thank you for responding, I appreciate it.
A few things:
1) Ha yeah, the 2000 crunches a day was only during the summer I lost all the weight. And for the following 2 years, 1000 crunches per day were only 3 days a week.
Now for the past 5 years that has certainly changed and I do much fewer and try to target different areas. I have no idea if form was halfway decent until I came to college, but I got some help in making sure abs workout I did correctly with the trainers.
As for posture, fortunately having an ex-military father ensured I have good posture, so that if fine, but that's not the first time I have heard that concern.
2) I am actually really happy with the rest of body, maybe a little more toning, but that I know I just need consistent work to get to that point, so that was never concern.
Also just so you have a reference, I don't count calories anymore other than to try and regulate fat intake and get enough protein, and I feel as if metabolism has rebounded to a normal level (might not be high enough for activity load, but it's not significantly off). That has been a concerted effort of mine for the past 5 years to get it normalized.
3) I did find those pages you referenced about diet and health and had actually bookmarked them and read through them (ps. thanks for doing that monsterous diet thread).
4) Totally understand the not eating enough/correctly, and that I always figured was main obstacle, but never took the time to sort it out (totally fault I know...) just never had anyone to ask 'til now.
I actually got off work early yesterday and made a bunch of brown rice/chicken/brocolli to be able to make meals out of. Thankfully summer internship is winding down which means I will be on a more normal human being schedule than current 8am-midnight work week, so preparing meals will be much easier. biggest problem will be preparing things regularly but that I am willing to do.
5) The overtraining actually makes a lot of sense. Now I am not the quickest exerciser when it comes to lifting. I can take too much time in between sets (def. aware of that).
When you say "low volume and intensity per session" you mean high intensity right? Like making sure I am being pushed 100% each time and not a low volume low intensity workout?
I have heard low rep/high weight builds muscle/strength and low weight/high rep is what makes you leaner. Is this correct?
6) Would you recommend doing circuit/full body work outs on the training days? circuit day in routine has actually become favorite day, I definitely feel the most worn out (in a good way) and it usually only takes 30 minutes + whatever cardio/abs I do.
I will admit, I love going to the gym. Working out is definitely release and favorite part of the day. That probably led to the overtraining in that I really liked it.
As for the stress. I am not normally stressed (which i am thankful for, bc I see kids feak out and have never felt anywhere like that). And even this summer with a time crunch due to job, not ever really stressed, it actually makes the days go by faster. Even the fact that I can't finish off abs isn't stressful just an annoyance, but outlook is that that is really a small thing in the grand scheme of life so it doesn't really bother me outside of if I think about it (which I don't), and considering I am otherwise healthy in terms of a medical sense, not a huge deal. I just tend to work for what I want, and at this point the investment is high so to speak, haha - just saying this for a reference.
Again, thanks for all the help. I knew the diet needed to change, and that I definitely needed to be strict and lean about it bc I am obviously not one of those genetically gifted people. But I definitely would have stuck current routine shown above otherwise.
A few things:
1) Ha yeah, the 2000 crunches a day was only during the summer I lost all the weight. And for the following 2 years, 1000 crunches per day were only 3 days a week.
Now for the past 5 years that has certainly changed and I do much fewer and try to target different areas. I have no idea if form was halfway decent until I came to college, but I got some help in making sure abs workout I did correctly with the trainers.
As for posture, fortunately having an ex-military father ensured I have good posture, so that if fine, but that's not the first time I have heard that concern.
2) I am actually really happy with the rest of body, maybe a little more toning, but that I know I just need consistent work to get to that point, so that was never concern.
Also just so you have a reference, I don't count calories anymore other than to try and regulate fat intake and get enough protein, and I feel as if metabolism has rebounded to a normal level (might not be high enough for activity load, but it's not significantly off). That has been a concerted effort of mine for the past 5 years to get it normalized.
3) I did find those pages you referenced about diet and health and had actually bookmarked them and read through them (ps. thanks for doing that monsterous diet thread).
4) Totally understand the not eating enough/correctly, and that I always figured was main obstacle, but never took the time to sort it out (totally fault I know...) just never had anyone to ask 'til now.
I actually got off work early yesterday and made a bunch of brown rice/chicken/brocolli to be able to make meals out of. Thankfully summer internship is winding down which means I will be on a more normal human being schedule than current 8am-midnight work week, so preparing meals will be much easier. biggest problem will be preparing things regularly but that I am willing to do.
5) The overtraining actually makes a lot of sense. Now I am not the quickest exerciser when it comes to lifting. I can take too much time in between sets (def. aware of that).
When you say "low volume and intensity per session" you mean high intensity right? Like making sure I am being pushed 100% each time and not a low volume low intensity workout?
I have heard low rep/high weight builds muscle/strength and low weight/high rep is what makes you leaner. Is this correct?
6) Would you recommend doing circuit/full body work outs on the training days? circuit day in routine has actually become favorite day, I definitely feel the most worn out (in a good way) and it usually only takes 30 minutes + whatever cardio/abs I do.
I will admit, I love going to the gym. Working out is definitely release and favorite part of the day. That probably led to the overtraining in that I really liked it.
As for the stress. I am not normally stressed (which i am thankful for, bc I see kids feak out and have never felt anywhere like that). And even this summer with a time crunch due to job, not ever really stressed, it actually makes the days go by faster. Even the fact that I can't finish off abs isn't stressful just an annoyance, but outlook is that that is really a small thing in the grand scheme of life so it doesn't really bother me outside of if I think about it (which I don't), and considering I am otherwise healthy in terms of a medical sense, not a huge deal. I just tend to work for what I want, and at this point the investment is high so to speak, haha - just saying this for a reference.
Again, thanks for all the help. I knew the diet needed to change, and that I definitely needed to be strict and lean about it bc I am obviously not one of those genetically gifted people. But I definitely would have stuck current routine shown above otherwise.
Last edited by mdm78 on Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
low vol and low intensity = low number of sets and a scale back from the wt you were using and/or the reps per set you were using...it may asem a step back but we want your body to get back to normal level so we might vary our intensity a little each week:
week 1 - high
week 2 - medium
week 3 - very high
week 4 - low
you can;t peak each session if you're doing things properly so this way you peak once a month which gives you a wave of intensity to make sure you do so...most go for a max attempt and missit then trainharder that week and try again next week and miss again and again and again...little do they know that missed lifts are worse for your nervous system made lifts and more and fatigue is building up each week and no recovery/growth occurs
diet is really what makes you lean and an efficient program
i'd rather see your numbers (deadlift, squat and bench) before suggesting a program
you might not feel stressed but the workload your body takes with those long days and a shitload of training stress does take it's toll and you can miss it, putting it down to simple tiredness which it is not, it's 1000x worse
www.uponlinetraining.com
week 1 - high
week 2 - medium
week 3 - very high
week 4 - low
you can;t peak each session if you're doing things properly so this way you peak once a month which gives you a wave of intensity to make sure you do so...most go for a max attempt and missit then trainharder that week and try again next week and miss again and again and again...little do they know that missed lifts are worse for your nervous system made lifts and more and fatigue is building up each week and no recovery/growth occurs
diet is really what makes you lean and an efficient program
i'd rather see your numbers (deadlift, squat and bench) before suggesting a program
you might not feel stressed but the workload your body takes with those long days and a shitload of training stress does take it's toll and you can miss it, putting it down to simple tiredness which it is not, it's 1000x worse
www.uponlinetraining.com
That makes a lot of sense, never heard that before.swanso5 wrote:low vol and low intensity = low number of sets and a scale back from the wt you were using and/or the reps per set you were using...it may asem a step back but we want your body to get back to normal level so we might vary our intensity a little each week:
week 1 - high
week 2 - medium
week 3 - very high
week 4 - low
you can;t peak each session if you're doing things properly so this way you peak once a month which gives you a wave of intensity to make sure you do so...most go for a max attempt and missit then trainharder that week and try again next week and miss again and again and again...little do they know that missed lifts are worse for your nervous system made lifts and more and fatigue is building up each week and no recovery/growth occurs
diet is really what makes you lean and an efficient program
i'd rather see your numbers (deadlift, squat and bench) before suggesting a program
you might not feel stressed but the workload your body takes with those long days and a shitload of training stress does take it's toll and you can miss it, putting it down to simple tiredness which it is not, it's 1000x worse
www.uponlinetraining.com
As for numbers:
Bench: I start with a warm up of 120 - 10 reps and then:
150 - 8 reps
160 - 8 reps
170 - 8 reps
180 - 8 reps
200 - fail (I can't always do this...sometimes I fail at the 1 rep)
then 150 - 10 reps
Incline Bench:
1 45lb plate on either side then:
2x45+5 (meaning a 45lb and 5 lb plate on eachs side)
2x45+10
Decline Bench:
2x45+10
2x45+10+5
2x45+25
Staggered Squats:
I warm up with:
1 45lb and 1 10lb plate on either side, then go up to:
2x45+10+5
2x45+25
Normal Squats I go from
2x45+10+5
2x45+25
2x45+35
And Front squats
2x45
2x45+5
2x45+10
Dumbbell curls I use 35lb and 40 lb weights, barbell curls I use a 70lb bar, EZ Bar curl I use 75lb, barbell row & bent over row I use an 85 lb bar.
And I understand now what you mean about stress (I was thinking about the typically mental stress...like college freak out before final) and not bodily stress that is physical...As for that, yeah I probably am stressed. I usually crash at night really well (which is nice to get a good night sleep), but I definitelty see what you mean.
far too much volume...for bench you're doing 42 reps before tyou even reach your top wt, no wounder you always fail...you don't run 10 x 100m sprints to warm up with then do another going for your best time, you're simply already too fatigued
www.uponlinetraining.com
www.uponlinetraining.com
here's what i would do:
if i was going for 4 sets of 6 reps at say 100kgs:
1 x 3 @ 50kgs
1 x 3 @ 70kgs
1 x 3 @ 85kgs
and off i go
9 reps warm up and no fatigue so now i can get 24 reps at the heaviest wt (100kgs) instead of the 1 you're getting
sounds good?
www.uponlinetraining.com
if i was going for 4 sets of 6 reps at say 100kgs:
1 x 3 @ 50kgs
1 x 3 @ 70kgs
1 x 3 @ 85kgs
and off i go
9 reps warm up and no fatigue so now i can get 24 reps at the heaviest wt (100kgs) instead of the 1 you're getting
sounds good?
www.uponlinetraining.com