Advice on exercising please

Meursault · 25-11-2019 12:14pm #1

Hi All,

I was hoping you might be able to advise on the following.

I have been going to the gym at least 4 days a week for 30 - 40 minute sessions. Usually I do leg related weights for two days and then upper body the other two days. On top of that I also go for a run twice a week. Nothing major. Usually 5 - 8km but it is constantly up and down hill, so not a bad run.

My question is, how long should it be before I see visible benefits - that is - muscle gain and fat reduction? Diet is pretty healthy. No sugary drinks, not much sugary treats and plenty of fruit and veg, etc.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks.

Laurali · 25-11-2019 12:41pm

Heya,

Couple of questions that will help:

* how would you rank your exertion from 1-10?
- e.g. for the running could you hold a conversation, or are you gassed?
- for the weights are you going for strength (heavy and low reps) or are you going light and lots of reps (or lots of fast reps)

*Whats you height, Weight, sex, composition?

* how many calories are you eating a day (or have you any estimate? Maybe write out what you eat on an average day! (no cheating!)

If you are looking to lose weight, the last two questions will be important. If you are also looking to build muscle/fitness the first one will be too.

bladespin · 25-11-2019 1:02pm

What's your goal?

muscle gain and fat reduction, it's possible but difficult to do both, better to reduce fat first then go for muscle gain IMO.

Laurali · 25-11-2019 1:12pm

bladespin wrote: »

What's your goal?

muscle gain and fat reduction, it's possible but difficult to do both, better to reduce fat first then go for muscle gain IMO.

Too true..

Meursault · 25-11-2019 1:47pm

Laurali wrote: »

Heya,

Couple of questions that will help:

* how would you rank your exertion from 1-10?
- e.g. for the running could you hold a conversation, or are you gassed?
- for the weights are you going for strength (heavy and low reps) or are you going light and lots of reps (or lots of fast reps)

*Whats you height, Weight, sex, composition?

* how many calories are you eating a day (or have you any estimate? Maybe write out what you eat on an average day! (no cheating!)

If you are looking to lose weight, the last two questions will be important. If you are also looking to build muscle/fitness the first one will be too.

Thanks for the response Laurali.

To answer your questions:

1. Definitely gassed by the end of a run.

2. On the weight lifting, I normally do 10 reps x 4 or 5 sets. I am definitely feeling it - (sweating/breathing hard/muscles feeling the strain, etc) - by the end of the sets. I would be concerned about going OTT and injuring myself, but I definitely think its a decent enough work out. Also, I dont tend to hang around/distracting myself with phones or anything, so I try to stay on the go for the entire session.

3. I am male, about 5'9", have a BMI within the healthy range, so I am not overweight or anything. I just would like to maybe have a flatter stomach and build up some muscle. Definitely not looking for wrestler-type muscle build or anything close to that :-)

4. No idea how to gauge my calorie count, but as I said above, healthy enough with the odd chocolate bar thrown in.

bladespin · 25-11-2019 1:59pm

Meursault wrote: »

Thanks for the response Laurali.

4. No idea how to gauge my calorie count, but as I said above, healthy enough with the odd chocolate bar thrown in.

Sounds like a good general plan, if it's aesthetics then you will need to look at the above, get some kind of tracker and work out your calories etc, then you can lean in or bulk up as you like.

plllc · 25-11-2019 2:19pm

Move more eat less

Meursault · 25-11-2019 2:31pm

bladespin wrote: »

What's your goal?

muscle gain and fat reduction, it's possible but difficult to do both, better to reduce fat first then go for muscle gain IMO.

Perhaps I am not doing a good job at explaining what I am looking for!

I thought both would happen concurrently, but then again I am a relative neophyte when it comes to the gym. I have only been going regularly for a few months.

Not looking for anything too spectacular really. Just avoid man-boobs, flattish stomach and maybe see a bit of difference on the shoulders and biceps!! :-)

Thanks for the advice again

ciaranmul · 25-11-2019 2:43pm

Meursault wrote: »

Perhaps I am not doing a good job at explaining what I am looking for!

I thought both would happen concurrently, but then again I am a relative neophyte when it comes to the gym. I have only been going regularly for a few months.

Not looking for anything too spectacular really. Just avoid man-boobs, flattish stomach and maybe see a bit of difference on the shoulders and biceps!! :-)

Thanks for the advice again

You'll need an idea of how many calories you're taking in. MyFitnessPal will help with that. This article is a great read for calculating your needs.

If you want to lose weight, keep it very simple: consume less calories than you spend each day. I've been training people for over 10 years, and in my experience people will always overestimate how many cals they burn in the gym. Look at your non exercise calorie burning, i.e. walking, house cleaning, daily movement, etc. Aim to move more, and be in a consistent deficit for a long period of time and the rest will look after itself.

bladespin · 25-11-2019 2:46pm

plllc wrote: »

Move more eat less

Nope

Meursault wrote: »

Perhaps I am not doing a good job at explaining what I am looking for!

I thought both would happen concurrently, but then again I am a relative neophyte when it comes to the gym. I have only been going regularly for a few months.

Not looking for anything too spectacular really. Just avoid man-boobs, flattish stomach and maybe see a bit of difference on the shoulders and biceps!! :-)

Thanks for the advice again

To a certain degree you're right but the recurring theme with toning up is nutrition, too much and you grow; not just fat though, if you're training hard and eating you will grow muscle as well, but it's virtually impossible to do so without adding bodyfat

Too little and you will drop weight, not just bodyfat though, you will cut muscle as well.

Most agree it's best to do things in phases; cutting phase to lean in, get defined and drop fat, then bulking to grow.

BUT to succeed you will need to track calories and understand what you're eating.

the baby bull elephant · 25-11-2019 2:53pm

Are you following an actual programme or just doing what feels right? Following an actual proven programme would help make progress faster.

As already said it is generally better to focus on building muscle or losing fat and adjusting calories appropriately. As a beginner however, you are in the easiest position for doing both. No one can really give you an accurate timeframe because everyone is different and reacts differently.

I'd recommend reading this wiki https://thefitness.wiki/getting-started-with-fitness/ because it has a lot of great info for beginners. Don't look at the actual subreddit though.

Meursault · 25-11-2019 3:33pm

the baby bull elephant wrote: »

Are you following an actual programme or just doing what feels right? Following an actual proven programme would help make progress faster.

As already said it is generally better to focus on building muscle or losing fat and adjusting calories appropriately. As a beginner however, you are in the easiest position for doing both. No one can really give you an accurate timeframe because everyone is different and reacts differently.

I'd recommend reading this wiki https://thefitness.wiki/getting-started-with-fitness/ because it has a lot of great info for beginners. Don't look at the actual subreddit though.

thanks for the advice.

Im not following any program. just trying to exercise as frequently as possible. i track steps and calorie burn, etc on my I-Watch. I dont track what I eat though.

I'll take a look at the link for sure. cheers.

Laurali · 25-11-2019 4:08pm

Agree with everyone here - if you are in normal BMI, changes will be much more subtle compared to an obese person who would drop weight suddenly with a heatlhier than their normal diet, and more exercise.

Essentially the person if using more energy during the day than their body was used to eating. An Obese person would probably have a high metabolism or would need far more calories to maintain their body weight, so quick changes are easier.

For a normal weight/person, it's much tougher to get the changes - if you want a flat stomach, you'll have to look to nutrition.

For example, take myself, I train almost everyday (I play sports and train for performance - so strength and fitness). Because of that I eat a lot of food to fuel myself. I train abs and core a lot to improve my strength and prevent injury - I have a really strong core, but you wont ever see it because it's covered in a layer of fat.

If you want to see abs or a flat stomach, you'll need to reduce your calories and burn more calories than you are taking in to expose the muscles underneath.

what you are looking for specifically is a lean bulk (gain muscle slowly and cut fat slowly) which is harder than doing one or the other. lots of info on the internet for 'lean bulks' but your best bet is to reduce your calories, but keep your protein/protein supplements up so that your body doesnt lose muscle as quickly as it loses fat when you reduce your weight. Also, when you workout in the gym with weights, your muscles will have the protein it needs to repair the muscles.

Laurali · 25-11-2019 4:11pm

Laurali wrote: »

Agree with everyone here - if you are in normal BMI, changes will be much more subtle compared to an obese person who would drop weight suddenly with a heatlhier than their normal diet, and more exercise.

Essentially the person if using more energy during the day than their body was used to eating. An Obese person would probably have a high metabolism or would need far more calories to maintain their body weight, so quick changes are easier.

For a normal weight/person, it's much tougher to get the changes - if you want a flat stomach, you'll have to look to nutrition.

For example, take myself, I train almost everyday (I play sports and train for performance - so strength and fitness). Because of that I eat a lot of food to fuel myself. I train abs and core a lot to improve my strength and prevent injury - I have a really strong core, but you wont ever see it because it's covered in a layer of fat.

If you want to see abs or a flat stomach, you'll need to reduce your calories and burn more calories than you are taking in to expose the muscles underneath.

what you are looking for specifically is a lean bulk (gain muscle slowly and cut fat slowly) which is harder than doing one or the other. lots of info on the internet for 'lean bulks' but your best bet is to reduce your calories, but keep your protein/protein supplements up so that your body doesnt lose muscle as quickly as it loses fat when you reduce your weight. Also, when you workout in the gym with weights, your muscles will have the protein it needs to repair the muscles.

Just to finish on this - I've been focusing on my arms and shoulders recently and starting to see big changes from pushing the weights a bit more and upping the sessions I do each week. as your shoulders would be naturally lean anyways, you would prob notice a change sooner than later!
Also for chest, if you are just flat and not carrying a lot of weight, you should see initial changes soon enough if you are consistent.

anacc · 25-11-2019 5:44pm

Meursault wrote: »

I have been going to the gym at least 4 days a week for 30 - 40 minute sessions. Usually I do leg related weights for two days and then upper body the other two days.

I wonder is it possible that you're not seeing as much gains as you expect because you might not be doing it right. I gained more in three months of PT than I did in years of gymming on my own because during PT I was actually doing it right. While doing it on my own I bought books, read stuff online, etc, and thought my form was correct until I got PT and the trainer watched me and then made minute corrections to my form. You'd be surprised how just a couple of inches out of good form can reduce the effect of a movement.

Advice on exercising please

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