Do i need a personal trainer or a kick in the ass?

digzy

At the risk of repeating previous threads... i'm looking for inspiration

I've been fairly good at hitting the gym...3-4 times a week.
i spend about 40 mins on cardio followed by 8 different weights-machines/freeweights.3 sets of 12

I'm genuinely making very little progress. I cant bench more than 35 kgs and i find my arms get 'electric shock' pins/needles sensations through 'em when i approach the end of my final sets in some.

I'm an embarrasing 15.5stone and 6 ft 1. I'm aware of what needs sorting on the diet front but my lack of progress in the gym is quite frustrating, especially when i see other lads much younger benching a multiple of my efforts!

My goal is to get below the 25 score of the bmi. However, advice is quite confusing. The lad in the gym recommends cardio to get metabolism going and burn the fat. Mags and some of my mates push the notion of intense short bursts of cardio.others argue that my using weights to create muscle, that this muscle will burn calories even at rest.should cardio and weights be done on seperate days?

so to sum up, personal trainer, web based workouts or mens health??

thanks for any help in advance.

digzy

squod

Diet for a start. PT might put you straight on the basics or at least get you into good habits while at the gym. If you have the cash, why not.

muboop1

Is your main goal to lose weight or gain muscle?

I would suggest a mixture of weights and cardio. I do weights 3 times a week and cardio twice.

Mon, Wed, Fri are weights. Tues and Thurs is cardio.

Reason? I found that if i done both cardio and weights on a single day, whichever i done first inhibited the other.

After cardio i would be to tired to lift or vice versa.

People say burst sprinting gives the metabolism a boost. I also read that doing weights gives the metabolism like a 48 hour boost or something? So I would assume the weights would suffice here and that you shouldn't worry about the sprinting etc.

For weight loss, its important to note that weight loss is a numbers game. By running you are burning calories. Each pound of fat is approx 3500 Kcal's

Basically hit the weights hard and run your ass off is my advice.

As for motivation? Look in the mirror, and imagine what you could be. And work your ass off.

Whats your diet like?

cc87

digzy wrote: »

At the risk of repeating previous threads... i'm looking for inspiration

I've been fairly good at hitting the gym...3-4 times a week.
i spend about 40 mins on cardio followed by 8 different weights-machines/freeweights.3 sets of 12

I'm genuinely making very little progress. I cant bench more than 35 kgs and i find my arms get 'electric shock' pins/needles sensations through 'em when i approach the end of my final sets in some.

I'm an embarrasing 16stone and 6 ft 1. I'm aware of what needs sorting on the diet front but my lack of progress in the gym is quite frustrating, especially when i see other lads much younger benching a multiple of my efforts!

My goal is to get below the 25 score of the bmi. However, advice is quite confusing. The lad in the gym recommends cardio to get metabolism going and burn the fat. Mags and some of my mates push the notion of intense short bursts of cardio.others argue that my using weights to create muscle, that this muscle will burn calories even at rest.should cardio and weights be done on seperate days?

so to sum up, personal trainer, web based workouts or mens health??

thanks for any help in advance.

digzy

I presume from the post, losing weight is your main goal? Well sorting out your diet would be the best way to go about it.
You say you are aware what needs sorting in your diet but i would still strongly advise posting it up here and letting people comment on ways to improve it.

How long have you been going to the gym? Progress takes time?

What exactly do you do in the gym?? What exercises and sets/reps??

What age are you?? Have you trained much before?

I wouldnt pay much attention to the whole metabolism stuff as a reason to pick different forms of exercise.

The key is to find something you like and want to keep doing.

As for the last question, a PT would be the only thing out of those 3 I would recommend, but you would want to make sure that he/she is a good one.

Whereabouts do you live?? People here will probably be able to recommend a good one in your area

Transform

Here is everything you should expect a trainer to cover with you -maybe more areas maybe less but I would suggest this is the least you should expect.

All the best

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7zBwDrdGo8

Wollwead

Man get yourself to a good Personal Trainer pronto! Not only from a short term/weight loss point of view but also from a general health point of view/long term education. Getting sound instruction and guidance from a good PT will mean that you'll get your nutrition right first of all.

Not only that, you'll learn how we can all do some silly things in terms of exercise when trying to get in shape - by that i mean jogging for hours or doing endless cardio or bicep curls in the mirror.

Get yourself to a PT, advise on your location here and someone can point you in the right direction of a good trainer. It'll save you a lot of time wasting on needless exercises and get you started on more important stuff and after a few weeks/months as the fat drops, you'll be quicker stronger and look better.

Lantus

A healthy body requires 4 components. cardio, resistance, nutrition and motivation or goal setting.

1. Nutrition. This accounts for 70% of all your effort and needs to be right. It's the solid foundation upon which all your hard work in the gym will be built.

2. resistance training is key to shaping your body and getting strong and healthy. You need to hit your muscles hard allright but only resting them and feeding them will make them get stronger, bigger and better at what you ask of them.

3. Cardio. Essential for a good heart and lung function and overall fittness as well as an aid towards fat burning.

4. Goal setting. Often never done. We wouldn't set off on a road trip to spain without a clear idea of how, when and why we will get there. yet we hurl ourselves into exercise without a second thought. set goals for the day, week, month, 6 months and a years time. goals should typically be specific, measurable and time based and you'll need to read up on this more to better understand what is required.

Finally, I know it's hard but stop comparing yourself to other people. There will always be someone younger or stronger. Focus on your own goals and achieveing success by your own standards slowly over time. In time you wil change your body, your life and yourself as you change into a healthy, stronger and happier person.

G86

If you don't know where to start then a few sessions with decent PT would definitely be worth your while, forget about hearsay from your mates and the lads in the gym. Go to someone who knows their stuff, get some technique instruction and a decent program, and take it from there yourself. Progress is a great motivator.

Antisocialiser

I feel that option A is being treated as the axiomatic answer so to provide some balance:

Wollwead

Antisocialiser wrote: »

I feel that option A is being treated as the axiomatic answer so to provide some balance:

That was such a funny episode too!

Westcoast Thugs

Antisocialiser wrote: »

I feel that option A is being treated as the axiomatic answer so to provide some balance:

R.I.P Dermot Morgan

Lantus

digzy wrote: »

At the risk of repeating previous threads... i'm looking for inspiration

I've been fairly good at hitting the gym...3-4 times a week.
i spend about 40 mins on cardio followed by 8 different weights-machines/freeweights.3 sets of 12

I'm genuinely making very little progress. I cant bench more than 35 kgs and i find my arms get 'electric shock' pins/needles sensations through 'em when i approach the end of my final sets in some.

I'm an embarrasing 15.5stone and 6 ft 1. I'm aware of what needs sorting on the diet front but my lack of progress in the gym is quite frustrating, especially when i see other lads much younger benching a multiple of my efforts!

My goal is to get below the 25 score of the bmi. However, advice is quite confusing. The lad in the gym recommends cardio to get metabolism going and burn the fat. Mags and some of my mates push the notion of intense short bursts of cardio.others argue that my using weights to create muscle, that this muscle will burn calories even at rest.should cardio and weights be done on seperate days?

so to sum up, personal trainer, web based workouts or mens health??

thanks for any help in advance.

digzy

In terms of weights if your doing all your body parts with 8 exercises then thats fine for a starting program to build basic strength but to develop you will need to invest in a split program. This focuses more effort on every muscle group. For example I use a 4 day split and would only train quads and hams on 8 exercises once every 5 days. But it's intense, heavy and helps to build strength and mass. (it's also very time efficient. I usually spend 40-50 mins in the gym tops.)

Doing cardio and muscle on the same day takes practice. It helps to do one in the morning and one in the afternoon and usually not cardio on the day after you work your quads. (if you can you didn't hit them ard enough.)

Hit your legs hard to stimulate muscle growth. Switch your exercises every 4 to 5 weeks, do a super set every 3 to 4 weeks for each muscle group.

Mellor

Lantus wrote: »

Switch your exercises every 4 to 5 weeks, do a super set every 3 to 4 weeks for each muscle group.

Why?
If you are making progress with a routine there is no need to switch.

marathonic

Mellor wrote: »

Why?
If you are making progress with a routine there is no need to switch.

Having messed about in the gym for ages at the start, I agree with this.

I notice that, when I switch a routine, it often takes 1-2 weeks for me to get a good grip on what weights I can do on each new exercise – by starting off too low and raising pretty quickly or too high and getting very little volume (I’d consider very little volume to be <5 reps on most excercises).

That leaves 1-2 weeks out of every 5 where you aren’t realizing your full potential if you continuously change your routine. I’ve read in places that 3 months is a good amount of time for a routine but everyone is different and Mellor has hit the nail in the head – unless a routine is inherently bad (an example would be if you are doing machine weights and want to switch to free weights), you should stick with it until you aren’t progressing any more.

I’ll be sticking to my current routine (apart from possible minor tweaks) until I can’t progress for a couple of weeks, then switching it up.