Fat boy needs to loose alot of weight, wouldn't mind working into BB

[Apok34]

Hi,

I'm looking for a little guidance. I'm 25, over 350, and motivated to get my fat self into some shape. I'm on a bit of a budget and limited in space. I was looking at doing high rep, low impact weight lifting with low impact cardio.

When I was in College I did the Atkins diet and ran about 2-5 miles a day with great weight loss results. This time around I really want to make it a permanent life style change and tone my body while losing.

I work from home so I can't go to a gym. My real problem areas are my chest, core, and arms. I don't know much about whats out there, like I said, I'm on a budget and limited in space. So I've been eyeing up the Bowflex classic and an exercise bike.

The real staple of this proposed transformation is going to be my diet. I've done Atkins and have had great success, but I'm looking long term and I know its not all that great on your heart.

I feel lost with all the information out there and a Co-worker pointed me here. So what should I do?

[Apok34]

bump

[cm45]

Hi,

I'm looking for a little guidance. I'm 25, over 350, and motivated to get my fat self into some shape. I'm on a bit of a budget and limited in space. I was looking at doing high rep, low impact weight lifting with low impact cardio.

When I was in College I did the Atkins diet and ran about 2-5 miles a day with great weight loss results. This time around I really want to make it a permanent life style change and tone my body while losing.

I work from home so I can't go to a gym. My real problem areas are my chest, core, and arms. I don't know much about whats out there, like I said, I'm on a budget and limited in space. So I've been eyeing up the Bowflex classic and an exercise bike.

The real staple of this proposed transformation is going to be my diet. I've done Atkins and have had great success, but I'm looking long term and I know its not all that great on your heart.

I feel lost with all the information out there and a Co-worker pointed me here. So what should I do?

If you are 350lbs you should for the time being concentrate on eating healthy, and doing cardio until you can get to healther weight were you can actually perform weight training exercises properly.

Read those two links about nutrition. In general you want to to eat only whole grains, vegtables, legumes, and grilled chicken or fish. For Cardio at your weight you should be doing atleast 60 minutes per day of cardio. Build your way up from light cardio (e.g walking) to intense cardio (e.g. running). The most important thing is to be consistant if you eat healthy and exercise your body will have no choice but to change!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=527284

[MadSam1990]

You need to a lot of cardio with bodybuilding exercises, it helps to burn the fat, you need to speed up your metabolism, eat 6 times a day but smaller portions, you go to a restaurant, you order the usual but 1/4 the quantity.

Hot showers slow up your metabolism, watch your diet, do exercises at home, pushups, start with 1 if you can't do them, you need to train, it will happen, do cruches...

If you ever feel like you're going off the wagon, reach for people close to you or here, or just send me a message ...

Good luck

[Apok34]

thanks for the replies!

[jetlynk]

Hi,

I'm looking for a little guidance. I'm 25, over 350, and motivated to get my fat self into some shape. I'm on a bit of a budget and limited in space. I was looking at doing high rep, low impact weight lifting with low impact cardio.

When I was in College I did the Atkins diet and ran about 2-5 miles a day with great weight loss results. This time around I really want to make it a permanent life style change and tone my body while losing.

I work from home so I can't go to a gym. My real problem areas are my chest, core, and arms. I don't know much about whats out there, like I said, I'm on a budget and limited in space. So I've been eyeing up the Bowflex classic and an exercise bike.

The real staple of this proposed transformation is going to be my diet. I've done Atkins and have had great success, but I'm looking long term and I know its not all that great on your heart.

I feel lost with all the information out there and a Co-worker pointed me here. So what should I do?

P90X can even download it for free. All you need then is to get a chin up bar some weights or bands and your good to go. Mostly body weight training and its also a good cardio burn.

[lpjdavis]

i found that slow and fast walking up and down hills is a good start, try to walk fast up the hill then slow down it, drink plenty of water too.

[Kirra]

I'd just lift heavy and eat clean if I were you.

[killerz_land]

P90X can even download it for free. All you need then is to get a chin up bar some weights or bands and your good to go. Mostly body weight training and its also a good cardio burn.

i would say this ^^ .... while maintaining a proper diet. If you cant do 90 days with proper diet and completing the program then your not committed enough

[Parajoe]

But seriously, it depends. Based on the general principle that it's a lot harder to progress when cutting than bulking, I like to recommend that when someone's cutting, they choose a program one level of advancement above where they're currently at. So if you could do daily linear progression on a bulk, go for a program that has you increasing weight/reps only once a week. If you could do weekly progression on a bulk, go for a program that operates around monthly progression, and so on. Sound reasonable? 5/3/1 is a monthly progression, so if you're an intermediate it'd probably be a good, steady program to work with while cutting.

Pulled this from another thread I just read. Lift heavy, eat below maintenance, and get a good multivitamin. You can do everything else mentioned in this thread, but you won't be building any muscle, when your done you'll be a skinny fat dude with a **** load of extra skin. I recommend All Pro's Routine because it has you doing a lot of work. The more muscle you have, the higher your maintenance calories are, basically you burn more calories sitting at the desk.

[Apok34]

Pulled this from another thread I just read. Lift heavy, eat below maintenance, and get a good multivitamin. You can do everything else mentioned in this thread, but you won't be building any muscle, when your done you'll be a skinny fat dude with a **** load of extra skin. I recommend All Pro's Routine because it has you doing a lot of work. The more muscle you have, the higher your maintenance calories are, basically you burn more calories sitting at the desk.

I like the quote, I just need a little clarity. So basically what your quote is saying is that I should do the same reps/weight everyday but one, right? Along with load of cardio and eating right. Also, what is 5/3/1, and a 5x5, I currently have a resistance band to work in my muscles so they aren't so sore when I really start to lift. Like I said, I'm new to this and I'm motivated to get healthy!

[Jasonpan]

As far as weight lifting goes...try All-Pros routine..its great for beginners, its working great for me....http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843

As far as diet goes...eat well...dont do any of those fancy low carb ****, etc. Just eat a high protein/mod carb diet with good fats. Just eat healthy in general.

Whatever yo do...DONT rely on just cardio...you need to start lifting asap..you will thank yourself later for it. If u ever need anything, motivation, help, anything...feel free to pm me....i was once in you shoes my friend.

[PeterGibbons316]

I wouldn't recommend any diet that you can't maintain for the rest of your life. I did the south beach diet a while back and it worked, but I was miserable. Slowly over time I went off of it and the weight just came back. It truly has to be a lifestyle change, and if you aren't comfortable with the new lifestyle then you should really find something else that works.

As far as a workout goes I would say that it doesn't really matter at this point. Find a way to have fun while burning calories - get your heart rate up a solid 30-45 minutes 5-6 days a week. Get a heart rate monitor if you can, that will help you to be sure you are keeping your heart rate up, but not killing yourself either.

If you have the time to lift weights before cardio then that would help as well. If you have room for a bowflex and a bike, then you probably have room for a power rack and a 300 lb. olympic barbell set, which would probably be better for you in the long run.

[SquirrelMaster0]

You need to a lot of cardio with bodybuilding exercises, it helps to burn the fat, you need to speed up your metabolism, eat 6 times a day but smaller portions, you go to a restaurant, you order the usual but 1/4 the quantity.

Hot showers slow up your metabolism, watch your diet, do exercises at home, pushups, start with 1 if you can't do them, you need to train, it will happen, do cruches...

If you ever feel like you're going off the wagon, reach for people close to you or here, or just send me a message ...

Good luck

Please fill me in on the broscience on how hot showers slow your metabolism.

[PeterGibbons316]

P90X can even download it for free. All you need then is to get a chin up bar some weights or bands and your good to go. Mostly body weight training and its also a good cardio burn.

At 350 lbs. I don't think that P90X is the right way to go. I certainly wouldn't recommend doing plyometrics, and I doubt he can even do many of the body weight exercises so I'm not sure how much benefit can be had from P90X unfortunately.

The fit test before starting P90X suggests that you be able to do 3 pullups, 15 pushups, 5" vertical, 1 minute wall squat, etc.
http://www.beachbody.com/text/produc...90xFitTest.pdf

[Apok34]

Thanks for the replies! One thing I'm really worried about, and I saw in the p90x review videos, were the people had alot of extra skin after weight loss. I'm 6'2 and around 350-370 I have always been big, but the past few years I've been rough on myself. In college I played Lacrosse and was 210. So life in general has changed grastically, I really appreciate the help.

What type of home gym and cardio machine should I get? I was looking at Sears and they have some that aren't too pricy but the problem I'm running into is wight requirement. Also, are any of the workout dvd programs worth a damn?

[PeterGibbons316]

http://www.google.com/#q=power+rack&...989c6c17f79c85
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&h...abca7ded92a1c3

Start with those. If you look around a bit you might be able to find some on ebay/craigslist for cheaper. Last time I was in Dick's they had a decent power rack, bench, and barbell combo that seemed reasonably priced, but I can't find it on their website.

[brownss]

It seems to me that you're leaning towards purchasing a 'machine' type thing for your strength training part of your lifestyle change. Get into the bodybuilding mindset from the get-go, just on a longer cut than others. Think more along the lines of weight sets than machines with pulleys, etc. The best two things you could possibly do for yourself right now (equipment-wise) are:
1) like petergibbons stated earlier, get a power rack. this is a place you can do many different types of exercises with a barbell. bench press, squats, etc. will be the core of your lifting program.
2) most importantly, you NEED to get a set of dumbbells. you can do just about every exercise you will need to do for a long time with these. DB press, curls, etc., you can find an exercise with dumbbells for just about every muscle group.

weight training on a GOOD PROGRAM will help immensely in raising your metabolic rate and getting you looking better. remember, diet AND exercise are what will get you to where your goals are. Do research about both of these things. NO fad diets. you'll need to have a healthy balanced diet, just below maintenance in order to build the body of your dreams. And by balance, I mean no cutting out a certain macro. no low fat diets, and especially no low carb diets. carbs will help you have the simple energy you need to perform work (cardio and weight lifting). Low carb diets WILL help in the short term, but will never work long term, as your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism will go down to snail speed and store all the fat it can. a 40-40-20 protein-carb-fat ratio should be a good goal for you.

as for the working out, you should start out on at least a 3 day a week program, like some of the ones mentioned earlier. cardio should be done every day (the cardiovascular system has an amazing ability to recover, enabling you to be able to do it daily), starting our at about a half hour and building up to an hour a day. this cardio time can be split up if you cannot handle the volume in one session. Splitting up the cardio in half (i.e. 20 mins morning 20 mins evening) also gives the metabolism an extra spike during the day at the second cardio session.

I do recommended, as any medical professional would, to get a screening from your doctor before starting.
Good luck man, just ask for any advice you may need. dont tell yourself you dont have time to lead a healthy life, just MAKE TIME- you need to.

[rdferguson]

I like the quote, I just need a little clarity. So basically what your quote is saying is that I should do the same reps/weight everyday but one, right? Along with load of cardio and eating right. Also, what is 5/3/1, and a 5x5, I currently have a resistance band to work in my muscles so they aren't so sore when I really start to lift. Like I said, I'm new to this and I'm motivated to get healthy!

Hi Apok. Since I was the one being quoted, I'll try to put this into context...and not make things even more confusing while I'm at it.

Really, you don't personally need to know what 5/3/1 and 5x5 are. In the thread the quote was pulled from, these were strength programs being discussed, with the 5x5 program being an intermediate strength program, and 5/3/1 being an advanced strength program.

All the quote is really saying is this: in terms of strength and conditioning, a beginner can progress most rapidly, and intermediate can progress a little slower, and an advanced trainee can only progress at a very slow rate. To optimise your rate of progression, you must eat for progression. For strength training, this means eating more food than you require to maintain bodyweight. Because you're aiming to lose weight, you won't be eating this way, in fact you'll probably be eating 1,000kcal/day less than you would for optimum strength development. As a result, your rate of progression will be slower, so you'll need a program that accounts for this.

It doesn't necessarily mean to just keep doing the same weight and reps. Rather, in your situation you should push progress as rapidly as possible. When you can no longer progress every day, switch to a program that works around weekly progression. All Pro's Simple Beginner's Routine (which I personally think is more advanced novice/early intemediate than complete beginner) is a good example of this, and you'll see that it doesn't have you doing the exact same thing all week. Instead, you have your designated exercises. On Monday you do them for 8-12 reps at a certain weight. On Wed, you do the same reps, but at only 90% of the weight. On Fri, same reps again, but only 80% of Mon's weight. The following week you increase the reps per set (so if you did 2x8 for everything last week, this week would be 2x9, and next week would be 2x10) or you increase the weight slightly and move back down to 8 reps.

<><><>

Here's how I would apply all of this to you.

Firstly, congratulations on getting started on what will be along - but worthy - road ahead. Resistance bands are a nice way to get some initial conditioning into your muscles. Ideally, you'll want to start learning some more intensive resistance work soon, though.

Right now, you're probably going from sedentary/untrained to beginner. I wouldn't recommend a standard beginner's program to you, as they generally assume that you have a BMI of 20-25 and no health conditions. So I'd recommend a pre-conditioning phase, which could take anywhere from 6-12 weeks, and which your resistance bands will be of plenty of use for.

On top of R-band exercises, you can probably start with simply going from seated to standing repeatedly, which is the basis of an exercise called the Squat. Simply getting up out of a chair, focusing on using your hips and legs to move your bodyweight, and building up to 2-3 sets of 10 reps would be a good place to start, even if you can't get there straight away (perhaps at first you'll only be doing 10 sets of 2, with a minute rest between sets!). This might take a few weeks.

When you can achieve this, gradually take the chair out of the equation. Lower yourself with a little more control, and try to only just touch the seat before coming back up. Then, after a week or two, remove the seat completely and use your muscles to stop your descent and drive you back up to standing. Once you can do 2-3x15 bodyweight squats without the seat, it should be about time to start loading up your squats, at which point you'll be ready for a standard beginner routine, at which point my earlier quote will become more relevant.

Rather than any of the programs that have been talked about in this thread (p90x, Madcow's 5x5, Wendler's 5/3/1, or the programs I'll be mentioning below (Rippetoe's Starting Strength and All Pro's Simple Beginner's Routine), for you I'd recommend something more like the following for 6-12 weeks:

Workout A: Resistance Training - perform 2-3 days/week
- Bodyweight Squats (start with chair, progress to no chair) 20-30 reps total
- Push ups against wall/kitchen bench etc 10-30 reps total
- Resistance band row 20-30 reps total
- Resistance band shoulder press 20-30 reps total
- Resistance band pull down 20-30 reps total
- Resistance band chest press 20-30 reps total

If you need the extra assistance on squats and push ups, you can have the resistance band latched onto something above you/behind you. For squats, sit into the band, and as you go down the stretch of the band will assist you back up. For push ups, wrap the band around your chest and as the band tightens it will help you push away from the wall. Just make sure you secure the band to something strong and reliable.

To make the other resistance band exercises easier, decrease the distance by which the band has to stretch. To make the exercises harder, increase the stretch.

For all exercises, you could do 10 sets of 2-3, or 2-3 sets of 10. The latter is more ideal, and is where you want to end up, but the former may be where you have to start for some exercises.

Workout B: Cardio - perform 2-3 days per week
Start with walking, or, if you have a gym membership (or home cardio equipment), you might use an elliptical or some other piece of equipment you're comfortable with. Start out with 20min/session. Increase duration of exercise by 5min each week (so do 25min in week 2, 30min in week 3, 35min in week 4, etc) until you're doing 45-60min cardio. At that point, start increasing speed (or resistance, or incline).

Every time you train, drink 250mL water/15min.

When you finally start lifting weights, All Pro's (the routine I mentioned earlier) might be a good place to start. Another popular beginner's routine around here is Rippetoe's Starting Strength (you can google it), which is great for learning some basic exercises, but you will probably stall on it very quickly while aiming for weight loss, at which point All Pro's would be good to convert to, anyway.

[Apok34]

Hi Apok. Since I was the one being quoted, I'll try to put this into context...and not make things even more confusing while I'm at it.

Really, you don't personally need to know what 5/3/1 and 5x5 are. In the thread the quote was pulled from, these were strength programs being discussed, with the 5x5 program being an intermediate strength program, and 5/3/1 being an advanced strength program.

All the quote is really saying is this: in terms of strength and conditioning, a beginner can progress most rapidly, and intermediate can progress a little slower, and an advanced trainee can only progress at a very slow rate. To optimise your rate of progression, you must eat for progression. For strength training, this means eating more food than you require to maintain bodyweight. Because you're aiming to lose weight, you won't be eating this way, in fact you'll probably be eating 1,000kcal/day less than you would for optimum strength development. As a result, your rate of progression will be slower, so you'll need a program that accounts for this.

It doesn't necessarily mean to just keep doing the same weight and reps. Rather, in your situation you should push progress as rapidly as possible. When you can no longer progress every day, switch to a program that works around weekly progression. All Pro's Simple Beginner's Routine (which I personally think is more advanced novice/early intemediate than complete beginner) is a good example of this, and you'll see that it doesn't have you doing the exact same thing all week. Instead, you have your designated exercises. On Monday you do them for 8-12 reps at a certain weight. On Wed, you do the same reps, but at only 90% of the weight. On Fri, same reps again, but only 80% of Mon's weight. The following week you increase the reps per set (so if you did 2x8 for everything last week, this week would be 2x9, and next week would be 2x10) or you increase the weight slightly and move back down to 8 reps.

<><><>

Here's how I would apply all of this to you.

Firstly, congratulations on getting started on what will be along - but worthy - road ahead. Resistance bands are a nice way to get some initial conditioning into your muscles. Ideally, you'll want to start learning some more intensive resistance work soon, though.

Right now, you're probably going from sedentary/untrained to beginner. I wouldn't recommend a standard beginner's program to you, as they generally assume that you have a BMI of 20-25 and no health conditions. So I'd recommend a pre-conditioning phase, which could take anywhere from 6-12 weeks, and which your resistance bands will be of plenty of use for.

On top of R-band exercises, you can probably start with simply going from seated to standing repeatedly, which is the basis of an exercise called the Squat. Simply getting up out of a chair, focusing on using your hips and legs to move your bodyweight, and building up to 2-3 sets of 10 reps would be a good place to start, even if you can't get there straight away (perhaps at first you'll only be doing 10 sets of 2, with a minute rest between sets!). This might take a few weeks.

When you can achieve this, gradually take the chair out of the equation. Lower yourself with a little more control, and try to only just touch the seat before coming back up. Then, after a week or two, remove the seat completely and use your muscles to stop your descent and drive you back up to standing. Once you can do 2-3x15 bodyweight squats without the seat, it should be about time to start loading up your squats, at which point you'll be ready for a standard beginner routine, at which point my earlier quote will become more relevant.

Rather than any of the programs that have been talked about in this thread (p90x, Madcow's 5x5, Wendler's 5/3/1, or the programs I'll be mentioning below (Rippetoe's Starting Strength and All Pro's Simple Beginner's Routine), for you I'd recommend something more like the following for 6-12 weeks:

Workout A: Resistance Training - perform 2-3 days/week
- Bodyweight Squats (start with chair, progress to no chair) 20-30 reps total
- Push ups against wall/kitchen bench etc 10-30 reps total
- Resistance band row 20-30 reps total
- Resistance band shoulder press 20-30 reps total
- Resistance band pull down 20-30 reps total
- Resistance band chest press 20-30 reps total

If you need the extra assistance on squats and push ups, you can have the resistance band latched onto something above you/behind you. For squats, sit into the band, and as you go down the stretch of the band will assist you back up. For push ups, wrap the band around your chest and as the band tightens it will help you push away from the wall. Just make sure you secure the band to something strong and reliable.

To make the other resistance band exercises easier, decrease the distance by which the band has to stretch. To make the exercises harder, increase the stretch.

For all exercises, you could do 10 sets of 2-3, or 2-3 sets of 10. The latter is more ideal, and is where you want to end up, but the former may be where you have to start for some exercises.

Workout B: Cardio - perform 2-3 days per week
Start with walking, or, if you have a gym membership (or home cardio equipment), you might use an elliptical or some other piece of equipment you're comfortable with. Start out with 20min/session. Increase duration of exercise by 5min each week (so do 25min in week 2, 30min in week 3, 35min in week 4, etc) until you're doing 45-60min cardio. At that point, start increasing speed (or resistance, or incline).

Every time you train, drink 250mL water/15min.

When you finally start lifting weights, All Pro's (the routine I mentioned earlier) might be a good place to start. Another popular beginner's routine around here is Rippetoe's Starting Strength (you can google it), which is great for learning some basic exercises, but you will probably stall on it very quickly while aiming for weight loss, at which point All Pro's would be good to convert to, anyway.

Thanks! So just to clarify, I do have experience lifting. I think I am going to have to get a gym membership, just going to be awkward with all the Jersey Shore guys..... of course living in jersey what do you expect. From what I've been reading, I should try to get to the point where I'm doing 60 mins of cardio a day and then weight training 3 times a week. From my research, the more muscle I have the more fat I burn, correct? So the goal is to turn as much fat into muscle. I started with some light resistance band training Monday and plan on continuing on a 3 day a week routine. I read that I should work into my diet and not just crash in, as to not increase the likelihood of failure, is this correct? Now with my job I do alot of walking, probably about 2-3 miles a day, but its erratic. Should I do my cadrio in the morning or in the afternoon, same with weight training? When I was in College my coach had me do Yoga, I played goalie so flexibility was key, is that viable or useful, I'm really looking at doing more then just go run/jog.

Thanks again for everyone that has helped me feed my brain so I can power my body.

[rdferguson]

Definitely sounds like you're on the right track. Don't worry about the Jersey Shore guys (I know, easier said than done). Most people don't go to the gym because they think they're body's perfect just the way it is, most people go to improve their physical health and appearance. They've just been at it a little while longer than you.

I think weight training's a little more important than cardio for FAT loss, but the end goal of 3 days/week strength training and 60min/day cardio sounds good. Muscle definitely is a major driving force for your metabolism, so yes, increasing muscle mass will increase your metabolic rate. Technically, the fat doesn't turn into muscle, but for all intents and purposes we may as well say it does.

I defintiely agree with working into your diet. Focusing on small changes every day/week/month will ease you into it. Going cold turkey off the average Joe's McDiet can work, but I've personally found it takes 6 weeks to stop craving certain foods. Without a good strategy to make sure that you get your fill on the foods you should be eating, that's a lot of time for things to go wrong. So I'd rather focus on learning 1 new healthy recipe/week, and make a couple days worth of lunches with the new recipe.

2-3 miles of walking, even if erratic, is still going to be good for general health and keeping active. I'd aim to do actual cardio training at one point in the day and resistance training in another (eg one before work and the othe after), but if it's more practical for you, you can do your cardio immediately after strength training. Time of day is not very relevant, but I wouldn't train on an empty stomach, or within a couple hours of going to sleep. Make sure you have at least one meal before and after training.

Yoga won't do much metabolically, but if the instructor has you working your core correctly, and has you performing the exercises safely, it shouldn't hurt your efforts to lose weight. It may even improve your resistance training to some degree, which would be good. Once you've become accustomed to low-moderate intensity cardio for >30min straight, you might also look into some interval or circuit training protocols.

[PeterGibbons316]

Thanks! So just to clarify, I do have experience lifting. I think I am going to have to get a gym membership, just going to be awkward with all the Jersey Shore guys..... of course living in jersey what do you expect. From what I've been reading, I should try to get to the point where I'm doing 60 mins of cardio a day and then weight training 3 times a week. From my research, the more muscle I have the more fat I burn, correct? So the goal is to turn as much fat into muscle. I started with some light resistance band training Monday and plan on continuing on a 3 day a week routine. I read that I should work into my diet and not just crash in, as to not increase the likelihood of failure, is this correct? Now with my job I do alot of walking, probably about 2-3 miles a day, but its erratic. Should I do my cadrio in the morning or in the afternoon, same with weight training? When I was in College my coach had me do Yoga, I played goalie so flexibility was key, is that viable or useful, I'm really looking at doing more then just go run/jog.

Thanks again for everyone that has helped me feed my brain so I can power my body.

Do your cardio after weight training, and do something you enjoy. If it's walking, biking, jogging, swimming, yoga, whatever - look forward to it. If you wake up dreading your workout it won't stick. For a while my cardio workout consisted of me playing DDR for an hour every other morning. Whatever gets your heart rate up and has you burning calories. If you are going to be in the gym for an hour, you don't need to do an hour of cardio on top of that, 20-30 minutes is probably good.

Ease into your diet. In fact, when you start - don't change your diet at all. If you keep your diet and increase your activity you can probably get by without much change to your diet until you start to pursue bulking with a more serious approach. If the weight isn't coming off after the first few weeks then start reducing calories. If you are lifing heavy, make an effort to take in more protein in your diet as well.

[blessthefall]

Hi,

I'm on a budget and limited in space. So I've been eyeing up the Bowflex classic and an exercise bike.

if you can afford those, you can afford a gym membership...dont be embarrassed to go to the gym because your overweight.....think about it, everyone has to start somewhere..whenever i see someone overweight in the gym i have respect for them because atleast they are making an effort to make a change
none the less good luck

[tential]

if you can afford those, you can afford a gym membership...dont be embarrassed to go to the gym because your overweight.....think about it, everyone has to start somewhere..whenever i see someone overweight in the gym i have respect for them because atleast they are making an effort to make a change
none the less good luck

Either that or make the investment in free weights and buy dumbbells. I've been buying them non stop. As for going to the gym, a lot of people hate to step in a gym for a lot of reasons. Working out in front of other people, well, can make a lot of people self conscious I was like that too. Find someone to go with you if you are actually able to make it to the gym and after going like 4-5 times I pretty much go in there and do my thing and leave I don't notice nor care about what anyone else is doing.

[Protege385]

Hi,

I'm looking for a little guidance. I'm 25, over 350, and motivated to get my fat self into some shape. I'm on a bit of a budget and limited in space. I was looking at doing high rep, low impact weight lifting with low impact cardio.

When I was in College I did the Atkins diet and ran about 2-5 miles a day with great weight loss results. This time around I really want to make it a permanent life style change and tone my body while losing.

I work from home so I can't go to a gym. My real problem areas are my chest, core, and arms. I don't know much about whats out there, like I said, I'm on a budget and limited in space. So I've been eyeing up the Bowflex classic and an exercise bike.

The real staple of this proposed transformation is going to be my diet. I've done Atkins and have had great success, but I'm looking long term and I know its not all that great on your heart.

I feel lost with all the information out there and a Co-worker pointed me here. So what should I do?

Based on the title of your thread I thought you were talking about Mike Francessa. What a dissapointing thread.

[jetlynk]

At 350 lbs. I don't think that P90X is the right way to go. I certainly wouldn't recommend doing plyometrics, and I doubt he can even do many of the body weight exercises so I'm not sure how much benefit can be had from P90X unfortunately.

The fit test before starting P90X suggests that you be able to do 3 pullups, 15 pushups, 5" vertical, 1 minute wall squat, etc.
http://www.beachbody.com/text/produc...90xFitTest.pdf

This is true but there are also modifications to the exercises such as doing push ups on your knees and using a chair assist on pull ups. When I first began I couldn't do a single pull up without using the chair assist and after doing 9 push ups I went to my knees the first time I tried P90X (this was 2 years ago). As for Plyometrics yes that would be bad for the joints for sure at 350lbs but then they have the cardio X option instead of doing Plyo. Key is until the weight is brought down most things would have to be modified. We all have to start somewhere.

Jeremy Yost P90X Transformation <---- This guy was pushing 370 and he did it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCI7k4sZqsA

[psiconoclast]

The most important thing is that you are making the choice to do something about it.

Take it from a fellow traveler - I am 6'2" and was 320 at my heaviest (down to ~285 now, and still losing), the most important thing is just doing something.

What worked (and still works) for me is the elliptical machine. It's easy on my knees, and it gets the whole body moving, which probably has some additional benefits. I do 45 minute workouts, which (not coincidentally) is the same amount of time that an hourlong TV show without commercials tends to run. I keep an eye on the readouts, to make sure that I am actually doing my work (I've gradually but consistently increased my intensity, to the point where my workouts are close to double the output of when I started), and just bust them out.

In addition to the elliptical, I do crunches and some light resistance work.

Diet wise, I really agree with the above notion that it is important to eat the same way that you will keep eating for the rest of your life, instead of doing something crazy and unsustainable. I cut most of the obvious crap out of my diet, and am making sure to get plenty of lean protein and vegetables. I take a multi, and I do make protein shakes, especially if I don't have a decent meal lined up post workout, but the protein shake is a max of one meal a day, most of my diet is real food, which is how I like it.

A psychological trick that helps when I am having cravings, or when social situations put me in a restaurant, and I am tempted to order something that isn't in keeping with my goals is to imagine the "fit" me. I picture myself that way for a minute or two before I order, and it definitely makes it easier to make good choices. The monkey brain is funny that way, it does not mind feeding crap to an out of shape body, but (in my case, anyway) is more cautious with a body that is already in shape, go figure.

Good luck!