A little help please

dinky earnshaw

Hi there,
Im 31 5ft 11 and weight 19st 8lbs. Ive started the unislim diet which Ive done before loosing 2 stone in 3 months without excersise. The plan is to finally sort my self out once and for all.
So Ive joined a gym and plan to workout 3 times a week. Ive spent a bit of time reading the stickys and searchinmg the net and have come up with this work out aimed at loosing as much weight as possible quickly.
Here it is:
5 min warm up bike/Xtrainer

3 x 15 rep bodyweight squats
3 x 15 reps chest press
3 x 15 reps lat pull down

Interval cardio using either the BIke/Xtrainer/treadmill.
5minutes warm up followed by 45sec hard pace then 90 easy pace x 6
5 minutes warm down.

Anyone have any ideas on how to improve this or do i need a total rethink??
Cheers
Dinky

celestial

dinky earnshaw wrote: »

Hi there,
Im 31 5ft 11 and weight 19st 8lbs. Ive started the unislim diet which Ive done before loosing 2 stone in 3 months without excersise. The plan is to finally sort my self out once and for all.
So Ive joined a gym and plan to workout 3 times a week. Ive spent a bit of time reading the stickys and searchinmg the net and have come up with this work out aimed at loosing as much weight as possible quickly.
Here it is:
5 min warm up bike/Xtrainer

3 x 15 rep bodyweight squats
3 x 15 reps chest press
3 x 15 reps lat pull down

Interval cardio using either the BIke/Xtrainer/treadmill.
5minutes warm up followed by 45sec hard pace then 90 easy pace x 6
5 minutes warm down.

Anyone have any ideas on how to improve this or do i need a total rethink??
Cheers
Dinky

First of all, 'loose' means 'doesn't fit', 'lose' = to 'lose weight'

Well done on taking the steps to get yourself in shape. For me, your programme looks a bit random. Warm up is fine, I'd then follow it up with free weights instead of machines, bodyweight squats are fine. In fact, you could use just bodyweight exclusively for the first while if you wanted.

On the cardio - intervals are actually REALLY hard. If they aren't then you aren't doing intervals - simple as. If you are starting out, then I would be going for 20-30 minutes cardio at an intense pace. So, weights/bodyweight exercises, followed by your cardio. Of course, you can work up to intervals, but starting off I'd recommend just getting your heart rate up for a sustained amount of time, and working from there.

Diet is where your real gains will be made, of course.

dinky earnshaw

celestial wrote: »

First of all, 'loose' means 'doesn't fit', 'lose' = to 'lose weight'

Well done on taking the steps to get yourself in shape. For me, your programme looks a bit random. Warm up is fine, I'd then follow it up with free weights instead of machines, bodyweight squats are fine. In fact, you could use just bodyweight exclusively for the first while if you wanted.

On the cardio - intervals are actually REALLY hard. If they aren't then you aren't doing intervals - simple as. If you are starting out, then I would be going for 20-30 minutes cardio at an intense pace. So, weights/bodyweight exercises, followed by your cardio. Of course, you can work up to intervals, but starting off I'd recommend just getting your heart rate up for a sustained amount of time, and working from there.

Diet is where your real gains will be made, of course.

Thanks for the reply I was led to believe from certain sites that Interval training was the way to go for weight loss.
Could I start the Intervals at really hard level for my current fitness level and work them up ?

corkcomp

dinky earnshaw wrote: »

Thanks for the reply I was led to believe from certain sites that Interval training was the way to go for weight loss.
Could I start the Intervals at really hard level for my current fitness level and work them up ?

without a doubt intervals help fat loss but given your stats and history above id agree with the advice to work your way up to this - try steady cardio (at a fairly intense pace) that you can do for 30 minutes or even longer if you have time .. once you have built up a decent cardio fitness you will gain more from the HIIT stuff imo

EileenG

If you have a significant amount of fat to lose, you'll have to do an overhaul on your diet as well. Most people eat more than they think, and generally food that's less healthy than they think.

If you were to do only three lifts in the gym, I'd go for squat, bench press and deadlift.

Do plenty of cardio, both steady state and HIIT. If you have one, dig out your bike and cycle as much as possible. You get cheap transport and a lot of cardio in one package, and it doesn't take time out of your day.

dinky earnshaw

Thank you all for the advice. As regards weight training and weight loss what would you all consider must do excersises? And can you tell me the best way to decide what weight and how many reps you should lift.

Cheers
Dinky

bigstar

dinky earnshaw wrote: »

Thank you all for the advice. As regards weight training and weight loss what would you all consider must do excersises? And can you tell me the best way to decide what weight and how many reps you should lift.

Cheers
Dinky

these

EileenG wrote: »

If you were to do only three lifts in the gym, I'd go for squat, bench press and deadlift.

along with pullups, rows, dips, overhead press, romanian deadlift or any compound lift. reps and sets dont matter too much, somewhere within 3-5 sets 0f 5-10 reps, start off fairly light and build up from there. just be consistent, good luck.

ragg

I've not read the entire thread, but sack off the unislim diet. Learn to eat right for real, long term weightloss. I.E. loads of protien, less carbs& loads of good fats.
In other words read the stickies

EileenG

dinky earnshaw wrote: »

Thank you all for the advice. As regards weight training and weight loss what would you all consider must do excersises? And can you tell me the best way to decide what weight and how many reps you should lift.

Cheers
Dinky

As Bigstar said, the best lifts are the compound ones using free weights, like squat, bench, deadlift, stiff leg deadlift, lunges, pull-ups (or downs), military press, bent over row, dips, close grip bench press, pullovers, hyper-extensions and wood choppers.

NASA spend a ton of money researching what gave the most bang for your exercise buck, and settled on three sets of 8 reps, at 80% of your maximum lift. Most people who pick the weigh that feels right will go for about 60%, so whatever you choose, add a bit to it. You should have to really struggle to finish the last rep. When you can do it easily and add on another couple, it's time to increase the weight.

Also, include some sort of plyometic work if you can. That can be jumping, or sprints, or boxing, or just lifting explosively.

That sort of workout is supposed to give the best return in terms of strength and health and bone mass, not necessarily the biggest muscle.

corkcomp

ragg wrote: »

I've not read the entire thread, but sack off the unislim diet. Learn to eat right for real, long term weightloss. I.E. loads of protien, less carbs& loads of good fats.
In other words read the stickies

are you familiar with the unislim diet? if you are and you dont like it thats cool but if your just slating it because of some misconception you should read up on it ! - its not a bad diet in that it encourages whole grains, lean meat, fish and plenty fruit and veg .. its in a totally different league to the weight watchers type system ....

ragg

corkcomp wrote: »

are you familiar with the unislim diet? if you are and you dont like it thats cool but if your just slating it because of some misconception you should read up on it ! - its not a bad diet in that it encourages whole grains, lean meat, fish and plenty fruit and veg .. its in a totally different league to the weight watchers type system ....

My bad, i've just read the blurb on it, i thought it was just another weightwatchers, not what i'd do personally, but its better then i thought it was, sorry OP