# Exercise advice?



## Alex6534 (May 6, 2012)

Hi guys,

I've been trying to lose weight since February an so far I've gotten down about 3 stone (about 20kg) from 112kg to 92kg or around 205 lbs. I have noticed a lot of improvement in fitness etc but I really want to push myself for the next month, got a few things coming up (Download 2012!  and a few weddings etc to attend. My regime was changed last month but even now I'm going 4/5 days a week and not feeling particularly tired the next day. Just now I'm lifting between 20-35kg on all weight machines e.g. chest press, biceps, lats etc. And doing about 25 minutes of cardio with my heart rate about 170-180. I'm also on a calorie controlled diet, trying to stick to around 1200/1500. I'd like to get below 88/89kg in the next 3/4 weeks if possible to get into my healthy weight for my height/age (6ft 2 18 yr old). Any help would be appreciated on what people think I should be doing exercise/diet wise. This is just a quick message an I'll put my routine/diet up soon! Thanks fellas!


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## Infamous Impact (May 6, 2012)

Losing Fat - Bodybuilding.com Forums
Read the stickies. And do Starting Strength once you decide to go on a bulk and gain muscle.


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## Boleslaw (May 22, 2012)

I think cardio exercise is best way to get good results in natural way and be fit,
i also doing cardio exercise in morning...
walking, swimming, yoga and cycling ... these are the best exercises for good health and fitness ....


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## texshred777 (May 25, 2012)

Infamous Impact said:


> Losing Fat - Bodybuilding.com Forums
> Read the stickies. And do Starting Strength once you decide to go on a bulk and gain muscle.


 
Or All Pros beginner routine. It's old school and simple but it's a good program.


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## texshred777 (May 26, 2012)

Congrats on making the change that you have! Be proud of that. 

I'm not sure how much you know about body recomposition, nutrition and training-so Ill just try to be as thorough and brief as I can.

You're doing good in several ways, you're controlling your caloric intake, consistently training and doing weight training. That's awesome. 

Cardio wise, I'm going to have to disagree(partially) with Boleslaw. With the expressed goal of cutting fat, cardio isn't necessary. I feel safe in assuming 1200-1500 cal/day is a caloric deficit for you. That is, unless you're completely sedentary. The only training that is really necessary at that point is resistance training to minimize lean tissue loss. If you've been seriously(read, consistently) lifting for less than a few months you can even get some newb gains while still cutting fat. 

With that said, cardio is great for cardiovascular health and overall fitness level. Nonetheless I would recommend making weight training your priority for training. It's the only way you'll truly sculpt your body. Otherwise you risk getting into skinny fat territory. 

Weight training wise, there are a couple things that I'd recommend tweaking. Use free weights primarily. Don't worry about looking like some bodybuilder type, unless you're following a very intensive training and diet regimen it won't happen. Do a basic program of compound lifts. Machines are ok, but they do little for core strength and stability. 

I'd recommend something simple like bench presses, squats, rows, dead lifts and overhead presses. Throw in some basic ab work like crunches, leg lifts, side(oblique) crunches. I'd recommend 3 days of full body workouts a week. Do cardio if you want on the other days but rest at least 1-2 days. Also, warm up properly. Do 1-2 light sets before a work load. Stretch after you lift.

If you want to stick with machines that's your call. You mention you do the same weight amount for every muscle, which I think is a mistake. You'll end up overworking some muscles and barely activating others. 

The most important thing though is your nutrition. How are your macro(carb, protein,fat) counts? I eat about 1 grams of protein/pound of lean mass a day while cutting. Protein levels in particular play a huge role when cutting. I'd recommend getting as much of your protein from whole foods(chicken, turkey, lean beef, tuna) as you can. Protein shakes are good as a supplemental source, but whole foods are better.


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## Alex6534 (May 30, 2012)

^Thanks guys, quick question. How would I measure my lean body mass?  I'm a complete noob at this. An I reckon I need to cut down a tad on cardio, I'm starting to look skinny(skinnier) but still have my man boobs haha. Down to 14 stone so hoping some more intense weight training will help. I'll need to check my macro nutrients and get back to you.


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## texshred777 (May 30, 2012)

Alex6534 said:


> ^Thanks guys, quick question. How would I measure my lean body mass?  I'm a complete noob at this. An I reckon I need to cut down a tad on cardio, I'm starting to look skinny(skinnier) but still have my man boobs haha. Down to 14 stone so hoping some more intense weight training will help. I'll need to check my macro nutrients and get back to you.


 
That's the skinny fat effect. Losing WEIGHT as opposed to FAT. Losing weight just means exactly that, the scale drops and you lose mass. The problem with that is it's often as much from muscle loss as fat loss. 

Well, you could get a scale that measures body fat, but they're usually horribly inaccurate. Most gyms will give you a free consultation with a trainer. They'll usually do one of two methods

1: Calipers. They'll measure several skin folds with skin calipers, do the math and find your BF%.

2: Measurements. They'll do either a 3 or 4 point measurement using measuring tape. They'll measure the circumfrance of several areas of your body. 4 point is a little more accurate than a 3. Again they'll do some math and find your BF%.

From there, using basic math you can find your lean body mass. If your BF% is 25%, multiple your total weight by .75. 

With all that said, I'd aim for eating about .75gram protein for every pound(ie, if you weigh 200 pounds eat 150g protein), get your carbs from vegetables or limited grains(oatmeal's a good one) and fruit you should be fine. Eat clean. Give yourself 1 free "cheat" meal a week. It'll have the positive physiological effect of refueling your muscle glycogen and the psychological benefit of indulging yourself. Make it a dinner so starting the next morning you're back in gear doing the right things. Doing it at breakfast can potentially set you up for failure getting back into the habit a few hours later. 

Your current cardio looks a little intense. Just stay in a caloric deficit, eat enough protein and do some basic(but heavy) lifts 3-4x a week.


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## Alex6534 (May 30, 2012)

Thanks for the information, would you say it would be beneficial to take protein shakes? As consuming that much protein through whole foods would be a challenge since I don't personally do the shopping haha. I can get impact whey protein for just over £10 for 1kg, reckon its worth a shot?


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## TRENCHLORD (May 30, 2012)

Shakes are a big convienence helper more than anything.
And when trying to eat light but still hold or even build muscle.
If it weren't for shakes, It'd take me two hours before feeling like making breakfast in the morning.
As is, I roll out of bed and hit a whey isolate based shake (O.N. ATM) and have my only sugar junk food of the day (1 little debbie cake). Breakfast of champions, right


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## Alex6534 (May 30, 2012)

^Thanks! That's a reason why I'm thinking of getting it, I know for a fact I'm not getting enough protein. Also I'm hating the skinny man boobs look -.- ordering some impact whey protein as we speak


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## texshred777 (May 30, 2012)

Alex6534 said:


> Thanks for the information, would you say it would be beneficial to take protein shakes? As consuming that much protein through whole foods would be a challenge since I don't personally do the shopping haha. I can get impact whey protein for just over £10 for 1kg, reckon its worth a shot?


 
Protein shakes are good for supplementing your protein intake. I do one or two a day, but no more. Just get a good quality one. The cheaper ones will have a much lower rate of absorbtion and fillers. I like Isopure but currently using O.N Gold Standard. 

You are better off getting your protein through whole foods than protein shakes, though.


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## TRENCHLORD (May 31, 2012)

texshred777 said:


> Protein shakes are good for supplementing your protein intake. I do one or two a day, but no more. Just get a good quality one. The cheaper ones will have a much lower rate of absorbtion and fillers. I like Isopure but currently using O.N Gold Standard.
> 
> You are better off getting your protein through whole foods than protein shakes, though.


 
Yeah I'd also reccomend either one of those two. If you want the best deal they are both available in the huge size (7.5# Isopure, and 10# ON gold). I like the Isopure better for taste and texture, but really it's good to switch back and forth for taste variety.

edit; keep in mind that the 7.5 Isopure is a approx. 3gallon bucket, and the 10# ON gold comes in a huge bag. So I'd get the Isopure 1st so you have the bucket, then if trying the ON gold you'll have a bucket to dump the bag into.


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## catherinewinglet (Jun 11, 2012)

Apart from cardio exercise you can go for walking, swimming, jogging and yoga. These exercise will definitely show you noticeable results. Best of Luck.


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## texshred777 (Jun 11, 2012)

TRENCHLORD said:


> Yeah I'd also reccomend either one of those two. If you want the best deal they are both available in the huge size (7.5# Isopure, and 10# ON gold). I like the Isopure better for taste and texture, but really it's good to switch back and forth for taste variety.
> 
> edit; keep in mind that the 7.5 Isopure is a approx. 3gallon bucket, and the 10# ON gold comes in a huge bag. So I'd get the Isopure 1st so you have the bucket, then if trying the ON gold you'll have a bucket to dump the bag into.


 
Well, after switching it up this time around I'm not liking the ON nearly as much as Isopure. It's not bad, the texture/taste isn't as pleasing to me though. I like the numbers Isopure has a little more too. I appreciate that the ON has a much shorter ingredients list though..


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## TRENCHLORD (Jun 11, 2012)

texshred777 said:


> Well, after switching it up this time around I'm not liking the ON nearly as much as Isopure. It's not bad, the texture/taste isn't as pleasing to me though. I like the numbers Isopure has a little more too. I appreciate that the ON has a much shorter ingredients list though..


 
Isopure is more filling as well, which is always a plus when restricting calories.
And the O.N. 10pound size being bagged instead of bucket kind of ticked me off as well . I think I'm going to get the Isopure again next time also.


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## texshred777 (Jun 11, 2012)

TRENCHLORD said:


> Isopure is more filling as well, which is always a plus when restricting calories.
> And the O.N. 10pound size being bagged instead of bucket kind of ticked me off as well . I think I'm going to get the Isopure again next time also.


 
Yeah it is, it's way thicker. It's almost like a treat too which helps curb my cravings for something sweet. Luckily I don't have much of a sweet tooth though, my wife's an amazing pastry chef.


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## Alex6534 (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm doing not bad, down to 85kg. Still got a bit of moob fat to lose  doing an hour of moderate swimming and an hour of moderate weights 4/5 times a week.


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## Alex6534 (Jul 11, 2012)

Quick question, I've been trying to up my intake of protein as before I realised I wasn't taking anywhere near enough, an reckon some weight loss has been muscle and not all fat. For the past month or so I've been trying to take in around 160/180gb of protein per day, along with 50-75g carbs and fats.....I'm not entirely sure. I hardly eat any fatty food now apart from Peanut butter in porridge in the morning. So I suppose max would be 30/40g, all in all 160/50/30. Thoughts? Want to maximise fat loss while retaining the muscle I have.


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## Infamous Impact (Jul 11, 2012)

Alex6534 said:


> Quick question, I've been trying to up my intake of protein as before I realised I wasn't taking anywhere near enough, an reckon some weight loss has been muscle and not all fat. For the past month or so I've been trying to take in around 160/180gb of protein per day, along with 50-75g carbs and fats.....I'm not entirely sure. I hardly eat any fatty food now apart from Peanut butter in porridge in the morning. So I suppose max would be 30/40g, all in all 160/50/30. Thoughts? Want to maximise fat loss while retaining the muscle I have.


Add in HIIT.


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## UnderTheSign (Jul 11, 2012)

That doesn't sound like a lot of food at all...


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## Winspear (Jul 11, 2012)

Yeah that's not much..You weigh a lot more than me and I've been cutting on 210/165/90 which is about 2.2kcals. I cut from 180 to 160lbs like that and have still lost far too much muscle! Stayed on my heavy lifting routine with no alteration. Before that I was eating 280/420/130. Of course metabolisms vary.


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## Alex6534 (Jul 11, 2012)

Just trying to get back on track haha, just now I'm about 190lbs so still got a fair bit to lose. I'm doing an hour of cardio (moderate swimming) in the mornings and about an hour to an hour and a half of weights (combination of compound and isolation) in the evening. To be fair, my eating habits have changed considerably. Usually a shake before cardio, tuna + chicken + whatever meat + greens for brunch and usually the same around mid day, afterwards It's usually brown rice/meat or a pasta dish. Not snacking much, or at all most days. I'll try and keep a diary over the course of the next week and see how it goes. I'll report back here an see if I can get any tips


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## TRENCHLORD (Jul 11, 2012)

Swimming is the shit man. Not only for fitness/cardio, but it also works wonders for keeping all those joints and in between stuff (like rotator cuffs) strong and flexible.
There's just something about the way you manipulate the body through those mild resistances. 
Going off the boards and getting in and out of the pool all the time doesn't hurt either.
We were going to the pool almost every other day back in summer of 06, and my bench and deadlift both went up about 20 or 30 pounds during those few months.
Also there's something about being shirtless and tan out in the sun that is motivating to train harder and eat better.
Seeing all those hot little (18 and up of course) chicks is also a great T-booster lol.


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## Alex6534 (Jul 11, 2012)

^ We don't see much of that in Scotland, damn weather! 

On average I'll do about 70/80 lengths in an hour or so, normally just freestyle front crawl but will sometimes add backstroke/fly etc. 

Thinking I do need to re-do my macros, just so it does completely add up to 1500 cals. For me it keeps me full enough, being Scottish I'm no stranger to a good ol bowl of porridge haha


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## Winspear (Jul 11, 2012)

That's still very very low cals for your bodyweight I'd say, hungry or not. General consensus is that you should get 0.5g of fat per lb of bodyweight and 1-1.5g protein as far as I remember. If your metabolism is freakish then 1500 might be ok but I can't imagine it at that bodyweight. But all in all as long as you aren't losing more than 1.5lb-2lb a week I'd imagine you're doing healthy


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## Infamous Impact (Jul 11, 2012)

TRENCHLORD said:


> Swimming is the shit man. Not only for fitness/cardio, but it also works wonders for keeping all those joints and in between stuff (like rotator cuffs) strong and flexible.


Swimming kills me. My coach says no swimming. I did a lap around the pool the other day (forgot his order) and the next day my CNS was killing me.


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## Alex6534 (Aug 11, 2012)

Hey folks, thought I'd update you's. I'm down to 81kg and can see some results, looking a bit leaner but still got a bit of a gut and moobs. Down to a 32 inch waist though so can finally grab something off the shelf to wear . I recently got some callipers and I think my body fat is still around the 17% mark... I've seriously brought up my protein in the last 2 months to around 160/180g and keeping to a 1500 calorie diet. Hoping if I can cut down to about 75/76kg I can get the bf down a bit by xmas. Kind of afraid to cut any further than that in case I look too small.


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## Alex6534 (Oct 20, 2012)

Thought I'd give this thread a little update: 

Got down to 76kg as of yesterday morning, so just about 12 stone exactly. Pretty happy with results but still got some flab left on stomach/moobs. Going to cut down another 3/4kg max and do a nice slow bulk for the next few months, trying not to add more than 2/3 pounds a month following a good bodybuilding routine like starting strength. Also found a gym that is proper old school so I can now start compound lifts, hoping for some newbie gains .

Also following the Leangains guide so 16 hour fast and 8 hour feeding window with consistent macros along the lines of Protein: 160g, Carbs: 150g and fats: 50g Going to do some carb cycling though so will need to change it slightly on workout days.


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## texshred777 (Oct 20, 2012)

Good job. Keep it up.


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## Bevo (Oct 21, 2012)

Good job for sure!!


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