My fitness routine

LowOdour

Hi,
ive been trying to get fit for the last month...actually serioulsy trying. Was doing mma, but was uncomfortable with it so stopped going. I did pick up some traning tips which i use.
basically, my routine consists of
5 minute warm up (running on the spot, streching exc)
50 jumping jacks
50 situps
20 pushups
25-30 minutes on threadmill (5 minutes running, the rest high tempo walking)
some work with weights.
I'm around 17st 4, would love to be at the 16st mark come xmas, and around 15 come next may
Il be taking up 1 class of taekwondo a week to improve general fitness so im hoping that will help. Also seem to be building up abit of muscle...but im a built kind of fella anyway.
My diet is average, dont drink much alcohol, rarely have fast food. Suppose chocolate, pasta and bread would be my downfall...mostly at the weekend this occurs.
I know as i progress the amount of training should increase - 50 situps become 60 situps etc.
Would anybody know if my 16st target for xmas is realistic? Can anyone recommened any other basic traning to help me on my way (skipping rope etc)

corkcomp

LowOdour wrote: »

Hi,
ive been trying to get fit for the last month...actually serioulsy trying. Was doing mma, but was uncomfortable with it so stopped going. I did pick up some traning tips which i use.
basically, my routine consists of
5 minute warm up (running on the spot, streching exc)
50 jumping jacks
50 situps
20 pushups
25-30 minutes on threadmill (5 minutes running, the rest high tempo walking)
some work with weights.
I'm around 17st 4, would love to be at the 16st mark come xmas, and around 15 come next may
Il be taking up 1 class of taekwondo a week to improve general fitness so im hoping that will help. Also seem to be building up abit of muscle...but im a built kind of fella anyway.
My diet is average, dont drink much alcohol, rarely have fast food. Suppose chocolate, pasta and bread would be my downfall...mostly at the weekend this occurs.
I know as i progress the amount of training should increase - 50 situps become 60 situps etc.
Would anybody know if my 16st target for xmas is realistic? Can anyone recommened any other basic traning to help me on my way (skipping rope etc)

hi op, I will let the other folks comment on the program (work deadline looming:( ) but the goal of loosing just over a stone before xmas is VERY achievable .. I reckon you could easily get to the 15st mark by xmas (not next may!!!) without too much pain keep the chocolate to pre / post workout and completely avoid (white) bread + pasta

LowOdour

corkcomp wrote: »

hi op, I will let the other folks comment on the program (work deadline looming:( ) but the goal of loosing just over a stone before xmas is VERY achievable .. I reckon you could easily get to the 15st mark by xmas (not next may!!!) without too much pain keep the chocolate to pre / post workout and completely avoid (white) bread + pasta

hi corkcomp
i actaully dont eat much white bread...pretty much have only eaten brown loaf for the last 3 years. As for the pasta, because of time
constraints me or the missus cooks pasta because its quick. its one of them things i cant get around. am going to start eating less
portions though.
should have posted my diet - monday to friday
breakfast (7am) - big bowl of cereal with low fat milk
lunch (1pm) - hand and cheese wrap, cereal bar, 2 oranges and a low fat yougurt
dinner (6.30pm) - pasta/rice with mince/chicken - lots of veg
tea (8.30) - cup of tea and 3 low fat biscuits.
The weekends are similar enough but maybe have soup for lunch and we try to make nicer dinners.
I would say that it looks like a decent diet but maybe big portions, extra slices of bread etc are the killer

corkcomp

LowOdour wrote: »

hi corkcomp
i actaully dont eat much white bread...pretty much have only eaten brown loaf for the last 3 years. As for the pasta, because of time
constraints me or the missus cooks pasta because its quick. its one of them things i cant get around. am going to start eating less
portions though.
should have posted my diet - monday to friday
breakfast (7am) - big bowl of cereal with low fat milk
lunch (1pm) - hand and cheese wrap, cereal bar, 2 oranges and a low fat yougurt
dinner (6.30pm) - pasta/rice with mince/chicken - lots of veg
tea (8.30) - cup of tea and 3 low fat biscuits.
The weekends are similar enough but maybe have soup for lunch and we try to make nicer dinners.
I would say that it looks like a decent diet but maybe big portions, extra slices of bread etc are the killer

ok, the portion control thing is going to play a major part especially with carbs and very high fat foods ... Your diet is not as healthy as you think IMO .

Some general observations - I would forget the cereal unless it is weetabix, porridge or no added sugar muesli.
Make sure the wrap is wholegrain and have tuna and lots of salad instead of ham / cheese ..
Make sure you have so many veg at dinner that there is very little room left for the pasta!!!
The biscuits are a bad idea late in the evening, i wouldnt say cut them out but have them earlier in the day ...

Be careful of low fat products also, they may have just as many calories and even more sugar than normal products..

Dovers

LowOdour wrote: »

I would say that it looks like a decent diet but maybe big portions, extra slices of bread etc are the killer

I would beg to differ.

breakfast (7am) - big bowl of cereal with low fat milk- elaborate. Should be porridge, no sugar

lunch (1pm) - hand and cheese wrap (swap ham and cheese for lean protein here eg. chicken/ turkey + nice portion of salad), cereal bar (no good, usually full of sugar- swap for some almonds), 2 oranges and a low fat yougurt (check sugar content, low-fat usually means loaded with sugar to compensate)

Get a small snack in here maybe, piece of fruit/ cottage cheese on ryvita/ oatcake with peanut butter ?

dinner (6.30pm) - pasta/rice with mince/chicken - lots of veg. Ok here, swap pasta for small portion of wholegrain rice

tea (8.30) - cup of tea and 3 low fat biscuits. I dont think I need to say anything here. Try some cottage cheese

You need some good fats in your diet- fish/ nuts (almonds/brazil) and also you dont mention water intake. 2.5 litres a day

See stickies for more complete info

thirtythirty

LowOdour wrote: »

Hi,

25-30 minutes on threadmill (5 minutes running, the rest high tempo walking)

I personally give up on the treadmill everytime & loath going back to it. Not cuz of fitness, cuz of boredom. Get a road bike and go for a cycle everyday. (expensive-ish to buy a decent one, but you're more likely to keep it up than running. Also not bad for your knees!).

LowOdour

Thanks for advice fellas, will definately take stuff on board.
When I said decent diet, i meant im not prone to eating take-aways junk food etc. I try to keep the bad food intake to a certain level, but by some comments its not enough.

Cant eat fish due to the missus been alergic, wish i could though.
Cutting the yougurts out was one thing i wanted to do, so going to replace that with a bit of fruit. Will try getting back on weetabix, used to like them. Because im a big-ish fella, i eat a big lunch so that im not tempted to snack for the rest of the work day. My desk is right beside the vending machine, which im glad to say that I dont go near.

Will try and cut back on some stuff. Btw, what is the difference between having a cup of tea and a few biscuits early in the day than at 8.30?

Spotty: I know what you are saying about the treadmill,i also tend to get very bored of it but i really want to lose weight so im going to try and keep motivated. Taking taekwondo once a week for something different.

Any other opinions on my excercises by anyone would also be welcome

Dovers

LowOdour wrote: »

I'm around 17st 4, would love to be at the 16st mark come xmas, and around 15 come next may

Will try and cut back on some stuff

Btw, what is the difference between having a cup of tea and a few biscuits early in the day than at 8.30?

Look if you are serious about this weight loss and willing to put the required work in you will reach your goal. Sacrifices will have to be made though you have to understand this. The probelm lies in your diet, there are no magic excercises or short cuts here that will make you shed the weight without the requisite dietary changes.

Oh Id also add that eating small regular meals throughout the day is better than trying to stuff yourself up at lunch so you wont be snacking later in. Its about keeping blood sugar levels contant throughout the day.

LowOdour

Dovers wrote: »

Look if you are serious about this weight loss and willing to put the required work in you will reach your goal. Sacrifices will have to be made though you have to understand this. The probelm lies in your diet, there are no magic excercises or short cuts here that will make you shed the weight without the requisite dietary changes.

Oh Id also add that eating small regular meals throughout the day is better than trying to stuff yourself up at lunch so you wont be snacking later in. Its about keeping blood sugar levels contant throughout the day.

Dovers, kind of like some of my other posts I dont think you get the tone of what im saying.
I agree fully with you that I have to put in the work/sacrifices to acheive my weight goals and i believe I can and will. Ive got some good advice from yourself and others on here today.
When I said I will try and cut back on some stuff, i will do to the best of my ability. I have a reunion in a few weeks and i probably wont be able to help myself having a few pints!
As for the biscuit question, that was a genuine question.I was wondering what the difference was having them in the evening that earlier in the day? Is it that they are harder to break down in your system at night?

corkcomp

LowOdour wrote: »

Dovers, kind of like some of my other posts I dont think you get the tone of what im saying.
I agree fully with you that I have to put in the work/sacrifices to acheive my weight goals and i believe I can and will. Ive got some good advice from yourself and others on here today.
When I said I will try and cut back on some stuff, i will do to the best of my ability. I have a reunion in a few weeks and i probably wont be able to help myself having a few pints!
As for the biscuit question, that was a genuine question.I was wondering what the difference was having them in the evening that earlier in the day? Is it that they are harder to break down in your system at night?

the bottom line is that you will only achieve half baked results if you take a half baked approach, you need to forget crap food as much as possible and stop making excuses! Just because your wife is allergic to fish doesnt mean you can eat it, it just means she cant... Its the same with the pasta etc .. Regarding the biscuits, in fairness it is a no brainer that eating biscuits is not a good idea but it you HAVE TO have them at least the simple carbs will have a better chance of being burned off during the day and there is less chance you will be going to bed with elevated insulin levels .. No offence here OP but you are trying to justify a lot of your current habbits and you really need to change that mindset and most importantly JUST DO IT ..

LowOdour

you are right cork, half baked approach == half baked results. I seem to be putting myself in a bad light here. Im not looking to make excuses and I know where alot of my issues lie. I definately dont want to come across as someone who is posting/looking for help just for the fun of it. As for the fish thing, well the missus touched the outside of a fish finger (bread coated) and made her swell up like a ballon, so definately cant even have fish in the house.
Would love to have fish in my diet, but it actually isnt possible.
Definately not trying to justify my current habits as I more than anyone know how bad they are and im the one who has to deal with my weight issues, thats why im looking for the help and thats why im getting serious for the first time in a few years.

Dovers

corkcomp wrote: »

the bottom line is that you will only achieve half baked results if you take a half baked approach, you need to forget crap food as much as possible and stop making excuses! Just because your wife is allergic to fish doesnt mean you can eat it, it just means she cant... Its the same with the pasta etc .. Regarding the biscuits, in fairness it is a no brainer that eating biscuits is not a good idea but it you HAVE TO have them at least the simple carbs will have a better chance of being burned off during the day and there is less chance you will be going to bed with elevated insulin levels .. No offence here OP but you are trying to justify a lot of your current habbits and you really need to change that mindset and most importantly JUST DO IT ..

+1 to the above

Look treats are ok now and again as a reward for busting yr b*lls off all week, things like that keep you sane but not as part of your daily diet. I think you know this yourself, you know what needs to be done.

Transform

you mentioned your goal by xmas but already your kinda stepping back from it maybe?

Your diet needs much work and the rest of the training looks fairly solid but you could do with adding in some more basic exercises like lunges, band pulls, reverse ab curls, plank, swiss ball leg curls etc

Omar comin

Wow guys, take it easy on him! Motivate him, but don’t put him off!
Well done lowodour for trying to better yourself. The guys are right on the diet side of things. Be sensible and educate yourself on food. What type of fats? How sugar is bad.
If you want to shift weight and get healthy, it really isn’t rocket science. Eat less and sweat more. Your exercise regime looks good for a beginner. As soon as you notice it getting any easier, start to run instead of walking on the threadmill. Do the TKD if that is what motivates you. Don’t be afraid to do different things in the gym, exercise bike etc... Just make sure you sweat sweat sweat and challenge yourself or you are taking it too easy.
Again educate yourself on putting some compound weights into your regime. Talk to your gym instructor, or Google it if that suits better.
But fair play to you. Keep it up. Remember that when you are least motivated to work out, make sure you workout, you feel great and proud after it. And don’t fall into the trap of rewarding yourself with something sweet when you get home!
Good luck...