Ohhh no, not another newbie asking to rate their work out....

Tillo

Hi All,

This is a very long post and I know you get asked to do this a million times but was really hoping someone could have a look at my diet and workout routine and advise me if there is anything I could improve on. I have only just started using weights so the program is very basic and I will be looking to change it regularly as I improve. I am looking to cut body fat, which is currently around the 23%– 25% mark, and to add muscle all over. I have been running a good while so the running part of my training poses no problems for me.
Here is the day-by-day breakdown. I drink at least a litre and a half of water everyday and also take a multi vitamin.

DIET


Breakfast – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
1 Large Fruit scone with 20g of low fat butter
1 Cup of tea made with skimmed milk


Breakfast - Saturday & Sunday
2 slices of thick white toast with real butter
1 Cup of tea made with skimmed milk

Lunch – Everyday
1 Turkey Sandwich made with 2 slices of turkey, 10g of onion, on 2 slices of wholemeal bread (No Butter)
1 200ml bowl of homemade soup.

Snack - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
1 Medium Apple


Snack – Saturday & Sunday
1 Cup of tea made with skimmed milk.
1 Kit Kat (2 fingers)

Supper – Everyday
1 Cup of tea made with skimmed milk.
1 Kit Kat (2 fingers)

Dinner – Monday & Tuesday
1 Large bowl of Stew made with lean mince, carrots, onions, and potatoes, and a packet of oxtail soup.
1 Glass of Coke Zero

Dinner - Wednesday & Thursday
1 Large Beef or Turkey Stir Fry, made with peppers, onions, chillies, mushrooms and 1 portion of thin dried egg noodles.
1 Glass of Coke Zero

Dinner – Friday & Sunday
1 Turkey breast roasted in the oven topped with spices, 6-8 weight watchers roast potatoes, peas & carrots,
Small amount of gravy made with granules.


Dinner – Saturday
Chicken Curry, fried rice, chips and chicken wings.
1 Glass of Coke Zero


I share a large portion of all this with my girlfriend.

WORKOUT


I do the following workout routine on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays.


10 Minutes warm up on the exercise bike

Exercise Sets Reps
Chest Press 3 10
Upper Back 3 10
Shoulder Press 3 10
Vertical Traction 3 10
Total Abdominal 3 15
Leg Press 3 12
Back Raise 3 15
Bridge 3 30 seconds/set

I also run 3 miles outdoors after the my work out at about 8.30minute/mile


So how does it look, I know I could make a changes to the diet but I am trying to do it slowly so it’s easier for me to stick too, I feel if I change everything too quickly I’ll find it hard and might quit. I have given up booze completely.


Any comments or suggestions would be very welcome although I would prefer if the criticism is kept to a minimum as I am a total novice at this and I am really trying to learn and change things for myself.


Thanks a million for your help.

Roper

You don't eat breakfast. You eat some flour at the same time as breakfast, but that isn't the same thing. Try to exchange that for porridge or eggs. I know everyone probably told you this before, but it really is the most important meal of the day. Packet soup also contains a lot of flour so I'd stay away from that and use herbs and stock instead. I would say you have a pretty good diet though. Why Coke Zero though? Coming off the real thing? I wouldn't be too judgemental about the Kit Kats either since I eat about a tonne of crap a day.

Your workout looks pretty poor on the other hand. It's lacking in compound movements, has very little leg work and I'd hazard you don't really feel badly pressed by it. I would ask about who designed it but I'll go out on a limb and say it was a gym instructor. Do some research and you'll probably come across some better stuff yourself which will challenge you and you will get far greater returns from. It'd be easier if you said what your goals are mind you.

For the running, invest in a stopwatch and try to decrease your time each run. It will give you a good goal to aim for and keep you motivated. Then change up the route and see how you get on at a longer distance.

Tillo

Hi Roper,

Thanks a million for your reply. It's much appreciated.

I thought I'd get pulled up over my breakfast alright. I guess it's just a bad habit I've gotten into and I do enjoy my stodgey breakfast though, but I'll change it to porridge and maybe add a banana for a mid morning snack.

Ha.. how did you guess I'm coming off the full fat coke. I used to drink about 4 litres a day, so I think I'm doing well to get it down to one glass of coke zero. Also I'm very glad I can keep the kit kats, I have a sweet tooth.

Have you any recommendations about where I could find a decent weights work out. As I said I'm only starting off so I was really unsure about what I should be doing, you were right of course it was a gym instructor who did it for me. I want to build my upper body, I have a weak chest, back, shoulders and arms, I really need to add bulk, but of course I'd like to drop the body fat too. My legs have always been very strong and big.

As regards the running, I've done a few marathons before and a lots of other longer runs, but at the moment I'm not training for anything at the moment so I'm happy enoughto keep ticking over at between 3 - 6 miles. I do also run at a better pace but as I said I'm just keeping things ticking over at the moment.

Again, thanks for your help.

Roper

Try here for an excellent beginners weights programme www.startingstrength.net
If you're unfamiliar with the hows and whys of them you can find pretty good instructional videos online of the major lifts, squat, deadlift, power clean etc. but one or two sessions with someone who knows what they're doing would see you basically right for your first few months.

As for the full coke thing. My mate did it a year ago. He drank 1-2litres of Coke a day since he was 12 and he said kicking it was like coming off heroin or something. He scaled himself down using diet coke. Actually now that I think of it it may have been Coke Zero.

Tillo

Thanks again Roper, I will check out the site and have a look around for some instructional videos.

kevpants

Tillo wrote: »

Thanks again Roper, I will check out the site and have a look around for some instructional videos.

You really can't go wrong with Starting Strength Tillo. Just forget everything you thought you knew and read that. As a noob you'll make gains really fast on it.

rubadub

Tillo wrote: »

Ha.. how did you guess I'm coming off the full fat coke.

Dunno if that is a typo, there is no coke in fat, it is the sugar that makes you fat. If you did not know that then you should read up about reading nutritional info on packets. All the info is on them these days, learning how to read packets can help you make better choices- you will be surprised what has a lot/little calories.

And you really need to start portion control, that means weighing your foods and calculating your calorie intake. You will then get an eye for the amount you are eating. I aim for 2500kcal a day, your Saturday dinner alone is probably more than that if that is from a takeaway, I would sooner stick with the booze than eat all that!

Keep of the machines in the gym and hit the free weights(barbell, dumbbells) and hit the chinup bar and dip station check www.exrx.net . You can do pushups at home and body squats, check out www.simplefit.org a chinning bar at home is a great investment.

LightningBolt

rubadub wrote: »

there is no coke in fat

They've resorted to putting it in fat now:eek::D

Tillo

Thanks to everyone for all your advice. I have a lot of info to be getting on with there. I've been reading starting strength and it seems to be an excellent starting point for me.

Thanks again everyone for your help.

Tillo.

miju

rubadub wrote: »

Keep of the machines in the gym and hit the free weights(barbell, dumbbells)

why stay away from the machines in the gym?

simon333

miju wrote: »

why stay away from the machines in the gym?

They force you into unnatural movements. But more importantly for me, they're too specific. You're much better off (at least at the start) to build up your body strength with compound exercises. They work your whole body, and build up your strength. I was using machines for about 4 years before realising this, and I wasn't progressing at all.