Hi i'm 49 and have been working out for about two years, in the previous year a change in diet saw a weight loss of about 80lbs from 260 down to 180 and this was without any exercise. Then came weightlifting and jogging and mad enthusiasm 2 hours or more of any exercises i could think of that left me falling asleep one day on one day off, i soon realised that it was all wrong and i wasn’t as cleaver as i thought. Next came a book and a more structured program a four day split and eating 5 times a day, slowly things began to change and i saw some growth in the right places and some strength gains but it just dragged on and on i did change exercises each week and somewhere along the line changed to eating at least 10 times a day, i seem to remember reading an article about metabolism so that was probably why. Then came muscle and fitness mag into life with a lot more info and tips and i was soon on a mass building program and made sure i had the basic supps especially whey protein i gained strength and size i just went a bit overboard on the cals and about three months ago at 220lbs was starting to look a bit fat and was shocked when i measured waist it had gone up to over 40 from 36 so i found a fat loss program witch was a six day split and mainly drop sets of up to 20 reps on last sets and mixed cardio 40 min HIIT or 20 min high intensity or up to 2 hours low, it wasn’t written quite like that but i had to tone it down a bit to suit or i may well have died, anyway it done the trick 20lbs down with no apparent loss of muscle although have lost some strength, back to 36 waist all other measurements are only slightly down if at all. For the last four weeks i have eased up a bit and have been around 200lbs but still noticing changes an extra dimple or a bulge in the right place so things are still going the right way and according to body fat scale i’m 12.5% i was 17% when i was at 180lbs as for accuracy of the percentage i’m not sure, they do take account of gender, age and activity level so may be more accurate than some but i still just view it as a rough guide. So conclusion is somewhere in amongst this chaos of the last two years i’ve done the right things, weight is 20lbs up body fat 4.5% down to me that equates to about 25lbs lean mass gained witch may not be much to some youngsters who are piling on the pounds, but to me at age after smoking and heavy drinking for 35 years is pretty good going and after righting this and looking at progress i feel more enthusiastic and ready to go on.
Have posted pics with fittracker profile so you can judge for yourself and as i like to see evidence to back up peoples claims i thought i better practise what i preach.
(i was ment to be asking a diet question but got sidetracked oh well will do that later as well as post workout but for now i have to go and DO IT)
Old (ish) boys journal
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
The workout
weeks 1, 3, 5....................................weeks 2, 4, 6
day 1 chest tricep
incline bench.......................................bench
seated machine bench.........................incline dumbbell press
incline fly...........................................decline dumbbell press
dips...................................................machine fly
close grip bench.................................cable pressdown
cable pressdown.................................2 bench dips
lying tricep extension..........................cable kickback
day 2 legs
squat.................................................leg extension
lunge.................................................sumo dead
leg extension......................................high step up
romanian dead....................................stiff leg dead
lying leg curl.......................................??????????
standing calf raise...............................standing calf raise
day 3 shoulders traps abbs
overhead barbell press.......................cable lateral raise
upright row........................................arnold press
seated lateral raise.............................dumbbell upright row
seated bent over lateral raise..............reverse fly
barbell shrug......................................ncline dumbbell shrug
hanging knee raise.............................reverse crunch
kneeling cable crunch..........................double crunch
day 4 back biceps
deadlift.............................................lat pulldown
bent over barbell row.........................dumbbell row
t-bar row..........................................wide grip seated row
lat pulldown......................................pull ups
barbell curl.......................................seated dumbbell curl
incline dumbbell curl..........................incline dumbbell curl
preacher curl....................................cable preacher curl
.......................................................hammer curl
two light warm up sets for each muscle group then
odd weeks are 3x6 and 1x25 except calf 4x25 abbs 2x20
even weeks are compound 4x12 iso 3x12 calf 4x25 abbs 2x25
cardio after weights 20 to 40 min HIIT 1min splits or up to 1 hour steady at about 60% MHR or up to 20 min at 70 to 80% MHR
sat internal & external rotations with light weights and maybe a few abb exercises if i'm bored
wed,sat,sun cardio if i feel i need it, or if i've been a pig, or sometimes just because i want to
some exercises i have had to change as i workout at home and dont have the equipment just a multigym and a heap of free weights and bars and i'm not sure how much more use i can get out of the multigym as i have to chain extra weight on top of the stack. Also i need to get some sort of rack for squats for now i'm limited to what i can lift over head (about 70k) or dumbbell squats as for pullups i've only just started doing them (i knew i'd find a way) and first attempt was 5
so i don't think i will be doing weighted ones for a wile yet same with dips on bars i can get about 12 reps on that so thats one of the things i've changed
so there it is any thoghts
diet is still under reveiw (in head) but i'm looking at 3700 to 4000 cals 250 to 300 grms protein 60 to 90 fat rest carbs on lifting days
and on off days 2500 to 3000 cals same protein half the fat
Then on odd days i just let rip eat anything and everything chocolate chips greasy burgers ice cream biscuits cake (I LOVE CHEESE CAKE) sometimes up to 7 or 8 thousand cals
weeks 1, 3, 5....................................weeks 2, 4, 6
day 1 chest tricep
incline bench.......................................bench
seated machine bench.........................incline dumbbell press
incline fly...........................................decline dumbbell press
dips...................................................machine fly
close grip bench.................................cable pressdown
cable pressdown.................................2 bench dips
lying tricep extension..........................cable kickback
day 2 legs
squat.................................................leg extension
lunge.................................................sumo dead
leg extension......................................high step up
romanian dead....................................stiff leg dead
lying leg curl.......................................??????????
standing calf raise...............................standing calf raise
day 3 shoulders traps abbs
overhead barbell press.......................cable lateral raise
upright row........................................arnold press
seated lateral raise.............................dumbbell upright row
seated bent over lateral raise..............reverse fly
barbell shrug......................................ncline dumbbell shrug
hanging knee raise.............................reverse crunch
kneeling cable crunch..........................double crunch
day 4 back biceps
deadlift.............................................lat pulldown
bent over barbell row.........................dumbbell row
t-bar row..........................................wide grip seated row
lat pulldown......................................pull ups
barbell curl.......................................seated dumbbell curl
incline dumbbell curl..........................incline dumbbell curl
preacher curl....................................cable preacher curl
.......................................................hammer curl
two light warm up sets for each muscle group then
odd weeks are 3x6 and 1x25 except calf 4x25 abbs 2x20
even weeks are compound 4x12 iso 3x12 calf 4x25 abbs 2x25
cardio after weights 20 to 40 min HIIT 1min splits or up to 1 hour steady at about 60% MHR or up to 20 min at 70 to 80% MHR
sat internal & external rotations with light weights and maybe a few abb exercises if i'm bored
wed,sat,sun cardio if i feel i need it, or if i've been a pig, or sometimes just because i want to
some exercises i have had to change as i workout at home and dont have the equipment just a multigym and a heap of free weights and bars and i'm not sure how much more use i can get out of the multigym as i have to chain extra weight on top of the stack. Also i need to get some sort of rack for squats for now i'm limited to what i can lift over head (about 70k) or dumbbell squats as for pullups i've only just started doing them (i knew i'd find a way) and first attempt was 5
so i don't think i will be doing weighted ones for a wile yet same with dips on bars i can get about 12 reps on that so thats one of the things i've changedso there it is any thoghts
diet is still under reveiw (in head) but i'm looking at 3700 to 4000 cals 250 to 300 grms protein 60 to 90 fat rest carbs on lifting days
and on off days 2500 to 3000 cals same protein half the fat
Then on odd days i just let rip eat anything and everything chocolate chips greasy burgers ice cream biscuits cake (I LOVE CHEESE CAKE) sometimes up to 7 or 8 thousand cals
replying to both posts here:
- what book/program did you follow? sounds like body for life...
- the more frequent your meals the better...some days i have 12 at 165pds
- drop sets, 20 rep sets...not great really
- 2hrs of cardio...again not great
- if you've lost strength then you've more than likely lost muscle
- activity level has nothing to do with scale readings
- not a fan of muscle splits, too many crap exercises used (flies, pushdowns, kickbacks, tri ext, leg ext, calf raises, shoulder raises, crunches, curls)..you're better off pissing these off and putting all the effort into meaningful exercises such as squats and deadlifts
- it also means you end up doing 90min sessions from putting cardio in the same day
- 3 x full body wts and 2 - 3 x cardio days/week or 2 x lower and 2 x upper body workouts and 1 - 2 cardio sessions/week...i personally do the second one with 1 - 2 metabolic type days (complexes, sprints maybe...often nothing really)
- 200pds are we? 4000 cals seems a lot to me (20cals/pd/bw)
- protein doesnt ereally need to be more than 1.5 x bw in pds'
- cheat days will wreck you very quickly
- 8000cals/day???? absoultely ridiculous mate...good luck with that
- what book/program did you follow? sounds like body for life...
- the more frequent your meals the better...some days i have 12 at 165pds
- drop sets, 20 rep sets...not great really
- 2hrs of cardio...again not great
- if you've lost strength then you've more than likely lost muscle
- activity level has nothing to do with scale readings
- not a fan of muscle splits, too many crap exercises used (flies, pushdowns, kickbacks, tri ext, leg ext, calf raises, shoulder raises, crunches, curls)..you're better off pissing these off and putting all the effort into meaningful exercises such as squats and deadlifts
- it also means you end up doing 90min sessions from putting cardio in the same day
- 3 x full body wts and 2 - 3 x cardio days/week or 2 x lower and 2 x upper body workouts and 1 - 2 cardio sessions/week...i personally do the second one with 1 - 2 metabolic type days (complexes, sprints maybe...often nothing really)
- 200pds are we? 4000 cals seems a lot to me (20cals/pd/bw)
- protein doesnt ereally need to be more than 1.5 x bw in pds'
- cheat days will wreck you very quickly
- 8000cals/day???? absoultely ridiculous mate...good luck with that
swanso5 wrote:replying to both posts here:
- what book/program did you follow? sounds like body for life...
I't was the truth by Frank Sepe he gave pic's and desriptions of the exercises and it was flexible not a one size fits all and there wasn't many books to choose from
- the more frequent your meals the better...some days i have 12 at 165pds
I't can be a pain when going anywhere but it's workable with a little prep
- drop sets, 20 rep sets...not great really
- 2hrs of cardio...again not great
Both of these were only part of the fat loss programme heavy start to maintain strength then lighter to keep up the volume.
steady state cardio may not be the best way to burn fat but it was part of a mix. Surely its no good to just do the same thing over and over??
- if you've lost strength then you've more than likely lost muscle
I can only go by the tape mesure and how i look surely someone on a low cal low carb diet wont have the energy to lift as much as normal and in fact now i'm back to normal eating i feel more energetic and can lift more than when the diet started.
- activity level has nothing to do with scale readings
"These formulas just predict your body fat. Unfortunately there is no one formula that accurately predicts body fat for the whole population. Differences in age, gender, ethnicity, body size, and fitness level all have a significant affect on the results"
the above is a quote from the following web site
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/bodyfatscales.html
and is one of many that say the same thing.
If i set scales to level 1 ie not verry active reading is 38% now i may or may not be 12.5% as the reading for level says but there is no way i'm 38%
- not a fan of muscle splits, too many crap exercises used (flies, pushdowns, kickbacks, tri ext, leg ext, calf raises, shoulder raises, crunches, curls)..you're better off pissing these off and putting all the effort into meaningful exercises such as squats and deadlifts
I looked at so many articals for and against isolation and all seem to make sense and even the ones that are pro compound don't dissmiss isolation compleatly so i picked one with both but most effort goes into the compound moves at the begining
- it also means you end up doing 90min sessions from putting cardio in the same day
I have often thought about this thinking that i'm doing this when i should be eating to make the most of workout so this has changed from what i wrote to twice a week on off days
- 3 x full body wts and 2 - 3 x cardio days/week or 2 x lower and 2 x upper body workouts and 1 - 2 cardio sessions/week...i personally do the second one with 1 - 2 metabolic type days (complexes, sprints maybe...often nothing really)
for now i will stick with what i'm on but if after a few weeks it's not working then will change sooner. Dont like full body much so would try the upper/lower split (will be back for some tips)
- 200pds are we? 4000 cals seems a lot to me (20cals/pd/bw)
why the question after the weight forgive me if i'm wrong but it seems like you don't believe me?? I did say 3700 to 4000 but in fact this first week has been about 3500 and i'm half lb up witch is neither here nor there so will still at that level
- protein doesnt ereally need to be more than 1.5 x bw in pds'
250 to 300 grms is 1.25 to 1.5 per lb
- cheat days will wreck you very quickly
- 8000cals/day???? absoultely ridiculous mate...good luck with that
I agree its not somthing i do intentionaly i just get carried away ( a bit like someone who's had enough to drink they know it but still have more then fall of the stool)
It started as that once in a while treat that does you good but got compleatly out of hand BUT IT BWILL STOP