weight training tips

carlowplayer

am currently 23% body fat and hoping to get to 13% by this time next year
I have started weight training and want some tips:
For example:

1.how much protein should i have each day and after a good workout ie. is it really 1gram per kg and 1.5gram per kg after a workout?

2.How many workouts should i do each week.Ive heard you should take a break after a workout until the muscle soreness goes away.but ive also heard of people going 5-6 times a week.should i do some workouts on a "rest day" even if it is a shorter and less intense exercise?

3.At what weight should start and how long till i increase the weight of the weights being used

4.Is it necessary to mix cardio with a full body workout
5.Should I do a full body workout in each session ie.my arms/upper body and legs or do each section of my body separatly each session.

much help would be appreciated as I have been getting alot of conflicting evidence and answers

cgmd1

1.how much protein should i have each day and after a good workout ie. is it really 1gram per kg and 1.5gram per kg after a workout?

You will see varying views on this, some say 1g per kg other say 2g/lb, personally I shoot for about 1.5g/lb

2.How many workouts should i do each week.Ive heard you should take a break after a workout until the muscle soreness goes away.but ive also heard of people going 5-6 times a week.should i do some workouts on a "rest day" even if it is a shorter and less intense exercise?
If you are new to lifting 3/week is a good starting point, yes you can train more but you need to allow yourself time to adjust to the work load.


3.At what weight should start and how long till i increase the weight of the weights being used
Figuring out your weights will take you a session or two, decide on a set/rep scheme, ie 5x5, 3x8 etc, then chooses a weight that is challenging but not impossible on the final set, when you can do all your sets and reps with good form on a given weight, add more weight in the next session

4.Is it necessary to mix cardio with a full body workout
Again some people will say yes, others no, personally I don't do traditional cardio, but lots of people use it to good effect. If you are going to do cardio, do it after your weights and keep it relatively brief

5.Should I do a full body workout in each session ie.my arms/upper body and legs or do each section of my body separatly each session.
As someone starting out I would say use full body workouts. Below is an example of a simple full body workout that could be done 3/week


Workout A
Squat 5x5 (thats 5 sets of 5 repetitions)
Bench 5x5
Row OR Chins 5x5

Workout B
Deadlift 5x3
Overhead Press 5x5
Pull Ups OR Lat Pulldowns 5x5

So you could do Workout A on Monday then B on Wednesday, then A again on Friday, then B on Monday and so on.

It really doesn't need to be any more complicted than that, working hard on the big movements.

Getting your bodyfat down will mostly be as a result of getting your diet dialled in, in its simplest form I would say get in your protein as priority and keep fats/carbs inversely proportional .ie if on a particular day your carbs are high keep fats low and vice versa.

thegreatiam

carlowplayer wrote: »

am currently 23% body fat and hoping to get to 13% by this time next year
I have started weight training and want some tips:
For example:

To reduce BF you need to look at your total calorie in vs your total calorie out. Fix your diet, then worry about the weights. If your diet is not right then you will not lose body fat.

1.how much protein should i have each day and after a good workout ie. is it really 1gram per kg and 1.5gram per kg after a workout?
minimum of 1g per lb of lean body weight. There is a lot of room for error, you actually can do it with between .8g per if you wanted to. but the rule of thumb which is easy to stick to is total BW in lbs eat that many grams of protein. Just make sure you are getting a good supply each day.
2.How many workouts should i do each week.Ive heard you should take a break after a workout until the muscle soreness goes away.but ive also heard of people going 5-6 times a week.should i do some workouts on a "rest day" even if it is a shorter and less intense exercise?
Depends. Bodybuilders are looking to exercise 1 muscle a day quite intensely. to do this they need to rest for a good long while after, so bodybuilders can do leg day, then back day, then arm day, then chest day, then rest day, then shoulder day then rest again before going back for leg day.
that is really only if you are doing a split routine because you specifically want a bodybuilding style.

For strength and fat loss you do it different.
For strength you work muscle groups across you whole body so you need to rest your whole body more often, and you lift as heavy as you can.
a good beginner routine (as above) works your whole body, almost, each time you hit the gym, so you need a day to recover (recovery is a good thing, if you don't rest your body doesn't adapt)

3.At what weight should start and how long till i increase the weight of the weights being used
start with an empty bar, add 2.5kg each time you go to the gym.

4.Is it necessary to mix cardio with a full body workout
not necessary, but your goal is do burn BF, so all exercise will help. Stick to HIIT type exercises. and do them either after the weights or on a different day. you should tire yourself before lifting.
HIIT is sprint 100% for 1 minute, jog 70% one minute, repeat for 20 minutes, this has a better effect than jogging at a steady pace for 1 hour. (you can sprint, cycle, indoor our outdoor)
You can also do some metcons

5.Should I do a full body workout in each session ie.my arms/upper body and legs or do each section of my body separatly each session.
yes, unless you are specifically doing a bodybuilding weight routine.
Firstly because you are a beginner then your whole body needs to get into shape, its no good getting a "pump" in your biceps is you have crap shoulders and no triceps
second, using every muscle in a routine is more work load so you burn more energy
by using every muscle we dont mean, bicep curls, followed by triceps, followed by shoulders, followed by etc etc, a full body routine mean you choose 3/4 or 5 exercise each one works multiple muscles. ie, squat, bench press, dead lift, pull up, etc.

much help would be appreciated as I have been getting alot of conflicting evidence and answers

Some places you can get more info on this type of routine:

http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki

They are very good for reshaping your body, if you eat a a calorie deficit then you will lose weight.

carlowplayer

thanks. i know it sounds silly to be asking such questions but i just wanted some clarification before i started so i didnt end up doing things wrong and spending the next year doing things wrong and staying the same % body fat or worse injuring/malnutritioning myself or putting on weight.I needed clarification mainly for the protein thing.I am currently 233lbs so 233x1.5=349.5 grams of protein.Would that be correct

thegreatiam

carlowplayer wrote: »

thanks. i know it sounds silly to be asking such questions but i just wanted some clarification before i started so i didnt end up doing things wrong and spending the next year doing things wrong and staying the same % body fat or worse injuring/malnutritioning myself or putting on weight.I needed clarification mainly for the protein thing.I am currently 233lbs so 233x1.5=349.5 grams of protein.Would that be correct

230g is fine, dont forget its lean body mass is your minimum.

so at 25% BF your lean body mass is 175lbs. eat around that and youll be fine.

+/- a good few %. its very forgiving.

but the most important figure is your calories in vs calories out or the BF won't change.

carlowplayer

so yeah 230g of protein and watch the calories by going low fat as possible(and as little as possible) and keeping carbs in check? I want to get to at least 12-15% body fat and then from there i probably see if body building is for me

Breakfast:
Toast and eggs or cereal

Lunch:
fruit and Protein Shake

Dinner:
Steak/chicken or fish with some rice/pasta

thegreatiam

carlowplayer wrote: »

so yeah 230g of protein and watch the calories by going low fat as possible(and as little as possible) and keeping carbs in check? I want to get to at least 12-15% body fat and then from there i probably see if body building is for me

Breakfast:
Toast and eggs or cereal

Lunch:
fruit and Protein Shake

Dinner:
Steak/chicken or fish with some rice/pasta

I would head over to the stickies in the health and nutrition thread if I were you.

You cant go high protein low carb and low fat. you need to pick 2 (and your body needs fat and protein or its game over)

and that diet you posted is all carb.

try this
Bfast choose from (or similar)
bacon, eggs, beans, steak, greek yoghurt, oily fish

lunch choose from (or similar)
tuna, chicken, beef, pork, turkey, oily fish,
veggies, peppers, cabbage, kale, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, etc,
salad, lettuce, cucumber, tomato,

dinner,
same as lunch,

snacks,
yoghurt, nuts+seeds, meat.

basically stick to these rules,

eat protein with every meal and snack.
eat 2 vegetables with every meal.
eat whole fresh food, not prepacked junk foods.

cgmd1

What thegreatiam said.

Have a read of this also

LD 50

As a quick question, when you all say eat x amount of protein, do you mean eat 200g of chicken, beef etc, or how much actual protein is actually in the food. e.g a 200g chicken breast wont actually have 200g protein in it.
Get me?

carlowplayer wrote: »

so yeah 230g of protein and watch the calories by going low fat as possible(and as little as possible) and keeping carbs in check? I want to get to at least 12-15% body fat and then from there i probably see if body building is for me

Breakfast:
Toast and eggs or cereal

Lunch:
fruit and Protein Shake

Dinner:
Steak/chicken or fish with some rice/pasta

Also, that nowhere enough food to fuel and repair if you're hitting the gym.

cgmd1

approximately...

100g chicken = 30g protein
100g beef/pork/lamb/fish = 20g protein
1 egg = 7g protein

One shot on kill

Your diet is going to have to be so struck to get down that far.

Be carefull what and went your taking fruits.
I'd also try cut out wheat. No bread at all no cereal. Loads of chicken eggs veggies.

Be carful of your carbs in your rice or pasta. They will also make a big differance.