[Anarchist101]

Ok, so since September to today, I have since dropped 30lbs (starting out I weight 232lbs/32%bmi). I am now 203lbs and 26% BMI. I have done this simply by being more concious about what I consume, some strength training and some cardio training.

I would really like some opinions on what you guys think I should add/subtract/change. Or perhaps on the 1% chance, you may just think keep doing it exactly how I am doing it. So here is what I do specifically right now.

Fitness

2-3 days a week I hit the gym for a total body workout. Generally I incorporate complex moves like Bench press (majority with dumbbells, sometimes with the smith machine) and goblet squats. Then I usually do specific exercises for muscles that don't get worked from those, like shoulder presses, calf raises, tricept push downs, occasional bicep curls.

The plan is to stick to this for another 3 weeks, then I will try to go to split workouts. One day upper body, next day lower body, rest day, repeat. I try to stay away from machines in general, including the smith machine.

About 4-5 days a week, I will wake up at 4 am, and go for a jog/walk. I can only jog about 11-14 minutes before I am extremely winded. So I jog as long as I can, and then walk for another 20minutes. I plan to start doing sprints during this time, instead of jogging because of what I have read about HIIT. But as it stands right now, I can sprint for about 20 seconds (not one minute like most websites say), and then I gasping for air for a solid 2 minutes minimum. So I just feel it's not efficient until I lose some more of the weight. Maybe you disagree? I would definitely like to know your opinions on this one.

Nutrition

I pretty much eat what I want, except the caveat is that I am concious about it. For example, I have completely shunned fast food. I may have something once every 4-6 weeks, but it's never by choice. I am much better at eating well during the week (work and such) than I am on the weekends. For example, my friend wanted me to try a new pizza place in town on Sunday with them. So, in being concious about that, I had only a protein shake in the morning, and then went there. Then we went and had a few beers so I did not have dinner. That's typical weekend.

Typical work week, I have 3 meals a day.

Breakfast: If I can wake up at 4am (I do about 2-3 times a week during the work week) then I will have 1 egg, and half a cup of egg whites, and some kind of meat.
If I can't wake up at 4am, or I am in a hurry, I will have a protein shake. Seems to keep me full until lunch.

Lunch: is typically something like stirfried green vegetables with either fish or chicken breast and more fresh vegetables.

Dinner: something light like a tuna salad or maybe some fresh cheese of somekind of and dried sausage. Not a whole lot though.

The work week is when I typical do my best as far as losing. Weekends are usually hit or miss, but I am still losing 1-2lbs a week, so it seems to be working for me.

Supplements

So the following supplements are what I take on a daily bases.

Multi-vitamin
An herbal fat burner pill (only herbs, does not contain questionable stuff that you can't even pronounce)
Fish oil
Protein powder for shakes and stuff
A pre and post workout formula which I only use when weightlifting (contains low amounts of creatine, I think its 2g each so a total of 4 on exercise days)
Horney Goat weed Tea: I figured since you always hear about guys in the modern era being low on T, it would help to have a booster of some kind. This is a common herbal ingredient found in T boosters, but it comes in the form of Tea bags. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, but I feel this is a good compromise. I am EXTREMELY hesitant to take any kind of supplement, this is just a simple tea that the Chinese have been using for ages for this purpose.

I have been considering a zinc pill, but my multivitamin already contains 160% so not sure if thats a good idea or not.


My plan for the future.

My hard goal is to get down to 185lbs. I have heard that at my height I ought to weigh around 165-170lbs. However, if I ever get to 185, then I will start emphasizing more muscle building. I haven't weighed 200lbs since I was 12 (29 atm). So that is going to be a massive achievement for me.

Some things I am going to try introducing. I am going to buy a jump rope and a cheap mat to keep at home. I read a lot about jump rope being incredible cardio especially for people who are trying to get fit (because it's harder for them). Also with the mat it will be easier on my shins and I can do crunches at home after waking up. I figure exercising my abs 2-3 times a week is not enough. Most people I know with 6 packs workout their abs 6-7 days a week. So when I start getting close to 10% bmi sometime this year, they will be there.

Also, when I get down to 185, I figure I will be fit enough to start joining sport meetups, and doing other active stuff. Things like Boxing and MT for fitness, and indoor soccer club.

Also, I have never been able to do a pull-up/chin-up. So maybe, just maybe at 185, more body-weight exercises would be great, but right now I can't do it.

Also, I have been reading about pro-biotics. Seems like a good idea, and may aid with overall health, including fat burning and digesting nutrients. I used to live in eastern Europe so maybe I will start mixing a cup of low-fat kefir in my protein drinks. Also maybe introduce saurkraut to my diet.

So I would really like to know some things y'all think I can add to my daily regime. Most of this stuff I do now between fitness/nutrition/supplements were added on very slowly and over time. My goal is to build good habits in the long run. Taking vitamins just made sense, since I can sit them right in the middle of my table and take them before I leave for work. Waking up at 4 in the morning was great because I don't go to work feeling drowsy, and I don't worry about working out after work when I am exhausted.

I am always looking at new things to introduce, and I am subscribed to over 4 different fitness sites. So anytime I see something that is both easy to obtain, and fits into my regime, I usually try it.

If you have suggestions on things like that, definitely chime in.

[Pollito]

How tall are you?

What kind of weights are you putting up?

It sounds like you've lost a good chunk of fat at a steady but slowish pace, but my initial thought is you probably aren't lifting heavy as you should be if you're at 200 now and can't do one pull-up.

[Isaac Jordan]

First of all, major props for getting your shit together and for the progress you've made thus far. Just getting started is the hardest part and it sounds like you're killing it. Keep up the good work!

At your current weight/body fat levels I'd recommend dropping the fat first and then focusing on building muscle. The best way to do that will be through a combination of becoming fat-adapted and intermittent fasting (essentially, turning on the genes in your body that allow you to burn fat, and then giving it enough time to do that without interrupting the process by ingesting new calories).

I'd give The Leangains Guide a read-through and see if you can implement some of his suggested practices. His intermittent fasting protocol, along with a paleo/low-carb diet and a workout routine that alternates lifting days with swimming days, allowed me to get my body fat down in the single digits (and more importantly, to retain that physique) rather easily.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding the above material; I've been doing this for a few years and I can assure you it's worth the time and effort. Good luck!

[Anarchist101]

(02-27-2017 03:44 PM)Pollito Wrote:  

How tall are you?

What kind of weights are you putting up?

It sounds like you've lost a good chunk of fat at a steady but slowish pace, but my initial thought is you probably aren't lifting heavy as you should be if you're at 200 now and can't do one pull-up.

So I am 5'10.

I am not putting up a lot of weight. I haven't tried to max out since highschool (about 11 years ago). So doing dumbbell bench two days ago, I used two 35lb dumbbells and I do 10-12 reps per set. I failed on the third set at around rep 7 or 8.

On the smith machine I can do the same reps at 75lbs. So it's about equal.

I could try to lift more at lower reps to build strength, I am just not sure that will work well since I am eating at a deficit.

Oh, and yes it seems a bit slow because obviously there were ups and downs. During the holiday period thanksgiving and christmas were both tought gain a couple, lose a couple the following weeks. Then there was that god awful period after new years, where I swear no matter what I did I kept hovering at 210-214 for 3-4 weeks. I since decided to cut carbs in general and that has put me back on track for 1-2lbs a week.

[Steelex]

Might as well just diet down till you have a six pack, then build from there.

Your workout is fine, keep doing full body. Add weight when you can, but don't expect too much progress.

Your cardio is good, keep at it. It's OK to just walk too.

Don't worry about supplements right now. A good multi vitamin and a protein powder is all you need. All the Chinese herbal tea and pro-biotics in the world doesn't amount to a speck of shit on a bird's ass. This is calories in vs calories out baby, and in your case you don't have much muscle to save, so you can just hack that shit very aggressively with diet and exercise.

Here is a diet I wrote for someone a while back. If you can stick to it, you'll kill it.

Meal 1 (7 AM)
One scoop optimum nutrition whey, mixed with 8 oz almond milk (180 calories)

2 ounces avocado (90 Cal)
10 almonds, salted (70 Cal)
OR
Yogurt equaling 150 calories

Meal 2 (10am)
2 scoops optimum nutrition whey, mixed with almond milk. (280 calories)
10 almonds *optional eat if hungry (70 calories)


Meal 3 (12pm)
4 ounces of grilled chicken or fish, seasoned to taste (150 calories)
Unlimited salad/greens
Up to 200 calories in oil/vinegar type dressing, no ranch or other creamy type dressings

Meal 4 (3-4)
2 ounces of cheddar cheese (150 cals)
1 apple, orange, pear, or banana (80 cals)

Meal 5 (8-9)
Unlimited grilled chicken, fish, or lean beef
Unlimited greens/green veggies

Pick one cheat day a week to add another 1000 calories of carbs such as cereal, potato, pasta, sweets, ect. It just has to be on the same day each week.

1 gallon of water per day, no soda or other sugary drinks.

Weigh in every week.

[H1N1]

I agree with Steelex. Don't change too much for now. What you're doing is working, and you believe in it, so stick with it. I'd like to see a few more vegetables in your diet for sure though.

In these first stages, particularly when there is years worth of damage and bad habits to undo, the single most important thing is to create new, good habits that you can build on. In your case, you've found something you can stick, and have had significant success with it. Congratulations. My view is that you should ride it out until it stops working, which it probably will once you get down around 180lbs.

The time to make changes is when things stop working. Too much time is wasted spent wondering about what's optimal - particularly when for most of us our lives don't allow for the optimal approach anyway. You've done well, and have a lot to show for your efforts. Well done, keep it up, and once you close in on your first goal, 185lbs bw, then it will be time to look at what comes next - and we can certainly help you with that.

[Anarchist101]

(02-28-2017 03:57 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

I agree with Steelex. Don't change too much for now. What you're doing is working, and you believe in it, so stick with it. I'd like to see a few more vegetables in your diet for sure though.

In these first stages, particularly when there is years worth of damage and bad habits to undo, the single most important thing is to create new, good habits that you can build on. In your case, you've found something you can stick, and have had significant success with it. Congratulations. My view is that you should ride it out until it stops working, which it probably will once you get down around 180lbs.

The time to make changes is when things stop working. Too much time is wasted spent wondering about what's optimal - particularly when for most of us our lives don't allow for the optimal approach anyway. You've done well, and have a lot to show for your efforts. Well done, keep it up, and once you close in on your first goal, 185lbs bw, then it will be time to look at what comes next - and we can certainly help you with that.

Yeah, it's great. Every 5-8 lbs is a noticable difference in my body shape. I fit into more cloths which I like, and unlike other people, the consistent compliments from old friends and coworkers is huge motivation. In my mind, it means it is working. The 3 week period where my weight seemed to stall was extremely demoralizing, and I was frantically looking for new ideas. Thankfully, I found a great read on the science behind limiting carbs, so that broke the trend.

Ok, this is good. I have been wondering if my goals are logical, it seems losing the weight and then working on other things is a good step. It will be great when these damn love handles are gone.

The vegetables, I definitely agree with. I am going to try introducing saurkraut. It's good with breakfast, very little calories since it's just fermented cabbage, and requires next to no added work. I will take steelex's advise though and skip out on calorie dense foods like kefir, since this is about running a deficit.

[birthday cat]

(02-27-2017 03:55 PM)Anarchist101 Wrote:  

...

Oh, and yes it seems a bit slow because obviously there were ups and downs. During the holiday period thanksgiving and christmas were both tought gain a couple, lose a couple the following weeks. Then there was that god awful period after new years, where I swear no matter what I did I kept hovering at 210-214 for 3-4 weeks. I since decided to cut carbs in general and that has put me back on track for 1-2lbs a week.

This is where a lot of guys fall off the wagon. You won't always have noticeable gains. You might even gain weight from one week to the next but it could be only water weight. The most important thing is eating well, sleeping well, and showing up for workouts at least a few times a week. Now you are doing about 6 to 8 workouts or runs per week but don't get discouraged if you don't lose weight every week or can only workout a few times in a week. Consistency is the key.

(02-27-2017 04:58 PM)Steelex Wrote:  

Your workout is fine, keep doing full body. Add weight when you can, but don't expect too much progress.

I agree with this. One of the big weaknesses for a lot of guys in the gym is that they never learned how to do the compound lifts well because their ego got in the way of them practicing with light weights. Use this time to perfect your form in the compound lifts like squats, bench press, overhead press, rows, pull-ups, dips, etc.

Don't worry so much about isolation work, including abs. You won't get a lot of bang for your buck with that stuff when you are trying to lose weight anyway. Also, having visible abs is mostly a product of low body fat percentage, not doing a lot of ab exercises, and compound lifts probably work the abs better than most ab exercises.

[Anarchist101]

(03-01-2017 06:31 PM)birthday cat Wrote:  

This is where a lot of guys fall off the wagon. You won't always have noticeable gains. You might even gain weight from one week to the next but it could be only water weight. The most important thing is eating well, sleeping well, and showing up for workouts at least a few times a week. Now you are doing about 6 to 8 workouts or runs per week but don't get discouraged if you don't lose weight every week or can only workout a few times in a week. Consistency is the key.

Good to know. Yeah, I recently got a fitbit (christmas) and I personally bought a fitbit Aria scale. Unlike most advise on the web state, I do weigh myself every morning when I wake up. It also gives me my BMI. So I get to see a nice graph at the end of the week to see what is happening. If I see myself go up a pound, chances are it was a heavy meal the night before, or I ate something prior to weighing in. It definitely helps as both a reminder to get at it, and show me a trend rather than a one time weigh in.

Also mentally, I don't treat exercise as weightloss. I see it more like "insurance" or "Damage control". I am not perfect, but knowing I burned 200 calories from walking/jogging after taking one of my mother's crisco laiden cookies, really helps. The diet is end all, be all for my weight loss.

(03-01-2017 06:31 PM)birthday cat Wrote:  

(02-27-2017 04:58 PM)Steelex Wrote:  

Your workout is fine, keep doing full body. Add weight when you can, but don't expect too much progress.

I agree with this. One of the big weaknesses for a lot of guys in the gym is that they never learned how to do the compound lifts well because their ego got in the way of them practicing with light weights. Use this time to perfect your form in the compound lifts like squats, bench press, overhead press, rows, pull-ups, dips, etc.

Don't worry so much about isolation work, including abs. You won't get a lot of bang for your buck with that stuff when you are trying to lose weight anyway. Also, having visible abs is mostly a product of low body fat percentage, not doing a lot of ab exercises, and compound lifts probably work the abs better than most ab exercises.

This is good as well. I have to consider 1) I cannot perform the majority body weight exercises (yet). I sometimes switch from bench press to modified push ups. 2) I do not have a spot, and therefore I generally stick to dumbbell exercises. I think I can introduce rows, I need some more workouts for my back. Those are pretty big muscles (aka calorie burners). I am going to do more research.

[rudebwoy]

First issue is to drop the weight.

Guys I know who dropped serious weight, dropped the meat intake.

I would do more cardio.

Eat more small meals.

When you hit the optimal weight level or your goal, then start pushing the weights. Numbers don't matter at this point.

[ScrapperTL]

A lot of great advice on Exercise and Nutrition already in this thread, so I am not going to pile on.

My $0.02: Stick to your guns.
Either keep posting in this thread at least once a week or pick someone to PM your progress to.

The dirtiest secret the fitness industry wants to hide from you is simply:
Most Workout and Diet Programs work for their intended goal.
People for some reason or another just stop doing the Program before they reach their desired success.

Sometimes it takes years to reach your goals.
So What?
Once you reach your goals, your going to realize it is not only obtainable but that you want to strive for harder accomplishments.

The quitters without any grit never get to experience this joy.

[Anarchist101]

New questions I would like opinions on.

So, I have recently hit another stall, so I am making changes yet again. I am hovering between 203 and 206 for the last 3 weeks now. So here are some things I am adding ontop of what I already do.

Firstly, I decided during the week, I would have 2-3 servings of fruit a day for two reasons.
A: I notice I get really hungry around 10am and 3-4pm. Morning is not so bad because I have both my largest and most well balanced meal at lunch (11:30).
B: My coworkers keep bringing me sweets for fixing their computers. Nothing too bad, just some cinnamon hard candies that are straight up refined sugar at 25 calories a piece. I was consuming 6 or 7 of these a day at one point (again, no gain, no loss 203-206). Although I don't feel I consume enough to make a difference in my weight loss, I definitely feel it is a culprit. So I am craving sweets because of this.

So my compromise has been 1-2 servings of random fruit (like a nectarine and clementine) in the morning. Then 1 grapefruit in the afternoon. This has effectively cut out all temptation to grab from the candy bowl. Do y'all think this is a good compromise for craving sweets? What do y'all think is the best way to deal with this? The main thing here is I definitely feel hunger coming on, and since I know I have to wait for 1 - 3 hours before my next meal, I get the urge to overeat at meal time. This effectively cuts that out, while (I would suppose) giving me healthier options than sweets.

Secondly, my neighbor, a good friend of mine and also trying to lose the fat, bought a Skulpt Chisel thing. We have both decided to use it take accurate measurements of our body fat percentage (bfp), and measure it every week. Consequently it gives you a tailored weekly workout after every scan depending on areas needing it the most. So now I am going to the gym 4 times a week to perform those exercises it lists. My friend feels we should be able to lose 2% body fat per week ( I think that sounds exaggerated in my opinion).

So these two things I have added to my regime. I think the second one is basically, more exercise is never a bad thing since I am doing it on top of the other things I have already mentioned. However the first one I won't know if it makes a difference until about 2 weeks have passed.

[birthday cat]

(03-08-2017 04:21 PM)Anarchist101 Wrote:  

So these two things I have added to my regime. I think the second one is basically, more exercise is never a bad thing since I am doing it on top of the other things I have already mentioned. However the first one I won't know if it makes a difference until about 2 weeks have passed.

There are many situations where more exercise is a bad thing, such as over-training or working out ineffectively until you discouraged that you aren't making progress and eventually quit.

These are my suggestions:

1. Pick one day per month to weigh yourself, take a picture in the mirror, and measure your body fat. Do all that on one day of the month (or less frequently) and then put the scale and body fat thing in the closet.

2. Stop trying to do a million different things and focus more on being consistent. Sleep well, drink a lot of water, eat well, and workout at least 3 or 4 times per week. I know this isn't what you want to hear but you show a lot of signs of the type of person who goes all-in on losing weight until they stop making progress for a short time and then they give up on making further progress. Working out 3 times per week for 50 weeks per year is always better than working out 7 times per week half the year and 0 times per week the other half of the year. Consistency is the most important word for you now.

3. Stop trying to learn a million different things and focus on learning to do a few things well. I'm not sure where you are getting a lot of your information but a lot of it is wrong. For example, one minute sprints. It isn't really a sprint if you can do it for a full minute. 50 meter sprints are a good option for you now. Another example, all the dumbbell and isolation lifts. You aren't going to lose weight or get strong with that stuff. Compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, rows, pull-ups, bench press, military press, and dips are the lifts to focus on now. You can do all of those without a spotter and without much additional equipment if you do your homework and learn to do them correctly.

4. Your workouts should be a balance between doing things you enjoy and things that will help you lose a lot of weight such as long fast-paced walks or hikes, short sprints, some sports like basketball, etc.

5. A little fruit isn't going kill you. The biggest improvement you could make to your nutrition and supplement plan is getting rid of the protein shakes, pre-workout and post-workout stuff. That stuff is overrated and is much better for guys who are trying to gain weight. Real food is better and more filling. You don't want to drink a lot of calories when you are trying to lose weight so cut out the milk and protein shakes. Also, real food won't make you retain water like all the caffeine, sodium, and creatine in that stuff will.

[Anarchist101]

(03-12-2017 02:08 PM)birthday cat Wrote:  

There are many situations where more exercise is a bad thing, such as over-training or working out ineffectively until you discouraged that you aren't making progress and eventually quit.

These are my suggestions:

1. Pick one day per month to weigh yourself, take a picture in the mirror, and measure your body fat. Do all that on one day of the month (or less frequently) and then put the scale and body fat thing in the closet.

2. Stop trying to do a million different things and focus more on being consistent. Sleep well, drink a lot of water, eat well, and workout at least 3 or 4 times per week. I know this isn't what you want to hear but you show a lot of signs of the type of person who goes all-in on losing weight until they stop making progress for a short time and then they give up on making further progress. Working out 3 times per week for 50 weeks per year is always better than working out 7 times per week half the year and 0 times per week the other half of the year. Consistency is the most important word for you now.

3. Stop trying to learn a million different things and focus on learning to do a few things well. I'm not sure where you are getting a lot of your information but a lot of it is wrong. For example, one minute sprints. It isn't really a sprint if you can do it for a full minute. 50 meter sprints are a good option for you now. Another example, all the dumbbell and isolation lifts. You aren't going to lose weight or get strong with that stuff. Compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, rows, pull-ups, bench press, military press, and dips are the lifts to focus on now. You can do all of those without a spotter and without much additional equipment if you do your homework and learn to do them correctly.

4. Your workouts should be a balance between doing things you enjoy and things that will help you lose a lot of weight such as long fast-paced walks or hikes, short sprints, some sports like basketball, etc.

Although I always like other opinions to consider. A couple of these things I am going to have to respectfully disagree with you on.

Firstly, I am not stacking abunch of random things at once. Everything I have mentioned has been added at an extremely slow pace. There were a lot of things I tried, but got rid of, because they were to intense at the moment, or simply did not fit. For example, the pre/post work out formula has been shelved due to the simple facts that I am currently losing weight until I reach a goal. Also, because of my schedule, I am never at the right place at the right time to insure I can just take it (aka home). But it will be there for the future.

Secondly, protein shakes have taken on a more "meal-replacement" theme over the last 3 months, because it works. Although I see, and have read about liquid calories, the shakes do keep me full during meals I would otherwise skip due to lack of time. I.E. breakfast. Even a couple of people have recommended on this thread for doing this.

Finally, the goal is building habits. I tried over the holidays a sort of "extreme-ish" regime over a two week period. A time restriction which I imposed myself, simply to see what would happen. While it worked, it was extremely mentally taxing, and reminded me that good habits need to be added slowly and in a way that fits my current lifestyle. Because by the end, I definitely could not have stuck to it.

I'll end with a final example. Steelx's eating regime he posted in this thread is something I can see myself doing at most 2 days a week. I definitely don't think I could do 7 days a week (atleast that is what it sounds like he advises). However, it seems simple enough that if it wasn't to time intensive and proved easy to plan, that 2 days a week could morph into 4-5 days a week over a 5 week period. Then I consider it habitualized, and yet another good habit made.

[Steelex]

Every day with the eating is a struggle my friend.

I eat 5-7 full meals a day and sometimes it's fucking soul crushing. There are days I fail. There are weeks that I fail.

After a few years building myself with food and iron, nothing has become a habit, except for the grind.

[rudebwoy]

5 - 7 small meals.

Full meals is a lot for your body to burn off.

[Steelex]

Bro I'm eating 6000 plus calories a day, working my way to 265. Ain't no small meals.

You gotta eat if you want to grow.

[birthday cat]

Anarchist101 - I agree with you on a lot of things especially your goal of building habits. Some other things like protein shakes are small details and if protein shakes work for you then don't change anything.

My comments about trying to learn too many things are directed at your ideas for fitness and work out programming because less complexity usually generates more results and some of the things you have written are incorrect.

The purpose of the fitness industry is to sell products, gym memberships, personal training and supplements. The purpose is not to get you healthy and this is one of the reasons that most of the information coming from the fitness industry is either wrong or inefficient. This pisses me off because I understand the psychological struggles that overweight people go through both from helping others and from personal experience a long time ago.

Here are a few things that I disagree with in this thread. Some of these might be opinions but I get most of my information from guys who get paid to train pro athletes so most good trainers will agree.

(1) Forget about 1 minute "sprints". I guess people can define "sprints" differently but an Olympic sprinter can maintain maximum speed for probably no more than 8 seconds so an overweight person "sprinting" for 1 minute isn't reasonable. Sprint 50 meters or less, walk back to the starting line, take a minute to catch your breath if you need to, repeat. You should probably do these at 80 or 90% percent until you have done enough to know that you can handle the intensity and impact on your joints.

(2) Doing ab exercises 6 days per week is not necessary and will eventually have a negative effect on your other lifts. Having a six pack is mostly due to low body fat percentage and spot reduction does not work.

Strong abs can be obtained with a limited amount of ab exercises or without ever doing ab exercises at all. Compound movements such as sprints, squats, overhead presses and pull-ups do a lot to strengthen abs when these movements are executed correctly. My personal experience is that overhead pressing and L-sit pull-ups are enough for me to forget about any ab exercises.

(3) If you want to do ab exercises then do wheel rollouts, planks or hollow body holds. Crunches and sit-ups are not natural movements and they amplify the common back and posture problems that many people have from sitting too much. See this video from Chris Duffin.

(4) High-intensity full-body exercises produce a hormonal response that can help you add muscle and reduce fat. I'm not saying that squats will double your testosterone levels but heavy compound lifts will initiate a hormonal response that will benefit you in many ways. However, you will need a lot of practice with these lifts before you can do them with heavy weight. Isolation exercises are usually a waste of time for an overweight beginner who is trying to lose weight because they don't provide any benefit that a compound exercise doesn't already provide to a greater degree.

(5) A spotter is not needed for the majority of barbell exercises and a beginner doesn't need a spotter for any barbell exercise because he shouldn't be going heavy on bench press yet. Some barbell exercises can be replaced by dumbbells but the dumbbell versions are more difficult to execute properly and 99.9% of beginners perform all these exercises incorrectly so most strength coaches recommend that beginners use barbells.

(6) I'm sure the Skulpt Chisel has some useful functions but programming for an overweight beginner is not one of them. Spot reduction does not work. Isolation exercises aren't needed for an overweight beginner who wants to lose weight. A machine can't suggest any exercises that are better than sprints and compound lifts like squats, presses and rows.

In a different thread, Hannibal posted an excellent article from Stan Effirding who is a pro powerlifter and bodybuilder. That article is more about strength training and bodybuilding than losing weight but a lot of it still applies. Think about how you can get really good at the small amount of things that will generate 99% of results.

[Anarchist101]

(03-15-2017 02:35 PM)birthday cat Wrote:  

Anarchist101 - I agree with you on a lot of things especially your goal of building habits. Some other things like protein shakes are small details and if protein shakes work for you then don't change anything.

My comments about trying to learn too many things are directed at your ideas for fitness and work out programming because less complexity usually generates more results and some of the things you have written are incorrect.

The purpose of the fitness industry is to sell products, gym memberships, personal training and supplements. The purpose is not to get you healthy and this is one of the reasons that most of the information coming from the fitness industry is either wrong or inefficient. This pisses me off because I understand the psychological struggles that overweight people go through both from helping others and from personal experience a long time ago.

Here are a few things that I disagree with in this thread. Some of these might be opinions but I get most of my information from guys who get paid to train pro athletes so most good trainers will agree.

(1) Forget about 1 minute "sprints". I guess people can define "sprints" differently but an Olympic sprinter can maintain maximum speed for probably no more than 8 seconds so an overweight person "sprinting" for 1 minute isn't reasonable. Sprint 50 meters or less, walk back to the starting line, take a minute to catch your breath if you need to, repeat. You should probably do these at 80 or 90% percent until you have done enough to know that you can handle the intensity and impact on your joints.

(2) Doing ab exercises 6 days per week is not necessary and will eventually have a negative effect on your other lifts. Having a six pack is mostly due to low body fat percentage and spot reduction does not work.

Strong abs can be obtained with a limited amount of ab exercises or without ever doing ab exercises at all. Compound movements such as sprints, squats, overhead presses and pull-ups do a lot to strengthen abs when these movements are executed correctly. My personal experience is that overhead pressing and L-sit pull-ups are enough for me to forget about any ab exercises.

(3) If you want to do ab exercises then do wheel rollouts, planks or hollow body holds. Crunches and sit-ups are not natural movements and they amplify the common back and posture problems that many people have from sitting too much. See this video from Chris Duffin.

(4) High-intensity full-body exercises produce a hormonal response that can help you add muscle and reduce fat. I'm not saying that squats will double your testosterone levels but heavy compound lifts will initiate a hormonal response that will benefit you in many ways. However, you will need a lot of practice with these lifts before you can do them with heavy weight. Isolation exercises are usually a waste of time for an overweight beginner who is trying to lose weight because they don't provide any benefit that a compound exercise doesn't already provide to a greater degree.

(5) A spotter is not needed for the majority of barbell exercises and a beginner doesn't need a spotter for any barbell exercise because he shouldn't be going heavy on bench press yet. Some barbell exercises can be replaced by dumbbells but the dumbbell versions are more difficult to execute properly and 99.9% of beginners perform all these exercises incorrectly so most strength coaches recommend that beginners use barbells.

(6) I'm sure the Skulpt Chisel has some useful functions but programming for an overweight beginner is not one of them. Spot reduction does not work. Isolation exercises aren't needed for an overweight beginner who wants to lose weight. A machine can't suggest any exercises that are better than sprints and compound lifts like squats, presses and rows.

In a different thread, Hannibal posted an excellent article from Stan Effirding who is a pro powerlifter and bodybuilder. That article is more about strength training and bodybuilding than losing weight but a lot of it still applies. Think about how you can get really good at the small amount of things that will generate 99% of results.

That's what I am talking about. I particularly like (1), (5) and (6). Like, others who have given great advice, this one is loaded with information that I can both relate to from experience, research and then you give your take on it which makes sense.

The sprints... I am going to try that, because I definitely want to work it into my regime. Although jogging/walking is great, there is an unparalleled agreement in the entire industry that HIIT works to boost metabolism through out the day.

The explanation about the skulpt device is definitely one I have wondered about. Since using it my weight has not dropped (still hanging around 203-205lbs), but my BFP has dropped to 24%. I definitely see myself using this stuff.

[Anarchist101]

Just posting a solid update:

Last week I weighed in at 194.8 so effectively 195lbs. I have a good feeling by Thursday I will be down to 194 due to how my weekend was.

Also, since losing the weight from my first post, my jogging time has increased. At first I said I could only jog for 9-11 minutes before I was too winded to continue. Now however, I jog around 20-23 minutes and walk the last 7-10 minutes. So the lost weight is starting to make a great difference.

I have had good streaks on weekends where my diet is kept below my 1900 calorie limit, and because of the next thing, I have been getting a massive number of steps (usually 13,000 - 16000 steps) on the weekends. Though I cheat, I do it reasonably, and the change in how many steps I get on weekends has proven to be a boon in breaking that 203lb plateau.

Also, I have been gaming pretty hard for the last 5 weekends usually Friday - Sunday at night and day. This is why my step counts have been getting super high. I also feel, on top of everything else, more energy during my runs and in the gym during my weight training. I think the two are just helping my testosterone levels or something really, because I have felt a lot more energetic during my workouts.

Finally, one of my life dreams is happening on Friday. I have an appointment with a nutritionist. This guy has helped Houston Texan's athletes, politicians and magazine models along with average folks like me willing to pay make completely 180's on their health. I had to make this appointment 10 weeks ago, because that was his first available slot. So I am stoked.

Probably the next update will be when I hit 185, first hard core goal.

[Jack_Smith]

(04-17-2017 11:24 AM)Anarchist101 Wrote:  

Just posting a solid update:

Last week I weighed in at 194.8 so effectively 195lbs. I have a good feeling by Thursday I will be down to 194 due to how my weekend was.

Also, since losing the weight from my first post, my jogging time has increased. At first I said I could only jog for 9-11 minutes before I was too winded to continue. Now however, I jog around 20-23 minutes and walk the last 7-10 minutes. So the lost weight is starting to make a great difference.

I have had good streaks on weekends where my diet is kept below my 1900 calorie limit, and because of the next thing, I have been getting a massive number of steps (usually 13,000 - 16000 steps) on the weekends. Though I cheat, I do it reasonably, and the change in how many steps I get on weekends has proven to be a boon in breaking that 203lb plateau.

Also, I have been gaming pretty hard for the last 5 weekends usually Friday - Sunday at night and day. This is why my step counts have been getting super high. I also feel, on top of everything else, more energy during my runs and in the gym during my weight training. I think the two are just helping my testosterone levels or something really, because I have felt a lot more energetic during my workouts.

Finally, one of my life dreams is happening on Friday. I have an appointment with a nutritionist. This guy has helped Houston Texan's athletes, politicians and magazine models along with average folks like me willing to pay make completely 180's on their health. I had to make this appointment 10 weeks ago, because that was his first available slot. So I am stoked.

Probably the next update will be when I hit 185, first hard core goal.

Nice work! Lean for Spring, motherfucker!