Newbies

[craigblitz]

Well I have seen a lot of new people on this board and a lot of questions of people asking help with their diets and etc and thought this thread might help get you started in the right direction. Remember everyone is different, it will take you a while to figure out what is best for you so be patient and do not be afraid to experiment for a couple of weeks. Again coming to these boards can cause information overload in a hurry so lets keep this very basic until you have some more time to read all these threads and get a better understanding of proper nutrition excercise and supps... I did not say diet intentionally :-).

Anyway here we go:

Excercise - Cardio
Yep you have to do it. Plain and simple you can not avoid it. Ahh yes this opens the great popular debate topic of which is better HIIT or steady state discussion in which there are 900 threads on. To be honest do what works for you. If you don't mind spending 30-60 minutes on a machine do it.... Hell even better do both. Just do something 4-5 times a week cardio related but try to do something you enjoy.

Excercsie - Weight Lifting
Ahh so misunderstood by so many people I think. A lot of people (especially ladies) do not want to lift weights because they think they will get huge and not lose weight. Well in most cases(some people are very blessed genetically) you will not put on huge amounts of muscle unless you spends years trying to do so and have a calorie increased nutrition plan. Building muscle is so good for the body, both for apperances and health. The fact is (well from what I have read) is muscle will help you burn more calories through the day and speed you metabolism. So what should you do what routine etc etc. Well no matter what you decide splits full-body make sure you are hitting all your major muscle groups. Repeat after me, I solemnly swear to work out my legs, again I solemnly swear to work ot my legs. With that said, hit chest, back, legs, arms, abs,calves, shoulders, at least once a week. Split it anyway you feel the need to at first but be sure to change it up. Another question high reps low reps? Personally I like doing things between 6-10reps on most excercises for 3-4 sets. Some muscles I do higher reps, but start out with that and go heavy as you can and I bet you add some new muscle quickly... actually enjoyt the newbie muscle gains while you can. The first couple of weeks of weight lifting you might not lose a lot of weight and gasp even might gain and couple of pounds but do not panic muscle is a good thing. Simple analogy do you want to be 220 pound person with 19% bf or 220 with 10% bf. See how weight doesn't really matter.

Nutrition - The bare ass basics
The most important thing you can do to get healthy and in shape is to get your diet down as perfect as possible. This will not happend over night ask some of the regs here they are still experimenting with theirs. But here are a few basic guidlines to follow. Remember rome was not built in a day make gradual changes.

Rule #1 - Do not starve yourself. Dumb Dumb Dumb. You know you can lose crazy ass weight by not eating but that weight is muscle not fat. Remember what we said about being a fat skinny person. This will cause that, and once you start eating again bam weight skies back on. Find your maintaiance level about 10-12 current weight and subtract 500-1000 calories a day. Never go below 2000 cals a day (in most cases). At first you will lose more then 2-3 pounds a week but after a couple of weeks shoot for this number.

Rule #2 - Eat Breakfast. Not some wuzzy multi-grain bar with a cup of coffe or some fat slobs 3 saugage/egg/cheese hashbrown breakfast, but a good breakfast with some complex carbs(oatmeal hint hint) and some protein. Get that Metabolism fired up first thing.

Rule #3 - Eat 6-7 times a day. Take your maintaince calories and divide it by 6 and consume that many calories per meal. I personally like to have a bigger breakfast so I adjust accordingly. Make sure to get about 1gram of protien per pound and eat your veggies!!! Avoid high processed carbs, white bread etc. Some people even freak out about potatoes, but moderation is key.

Rule #4 - If you must cheat... plan it. Some people can go months cold turkey of 100% clean eats and that is awsome. I can't. I plan a cheat day every 2 weeks. It keeps me saine I guess.

Rule #5 - Plan ahead. Planning your meals a day a week in advance is so key. It will help prevent unplanned cheats and will give you a good idea of what you are consuming. You might easily regonize hmm I am not getting enough protein today, or wohh way too many carbs etc.

Final Rule - If you mess up get your ass back on the sadle ad continue. You most lilkely will have an unplanned cheat or something will come up. Make sure you make good decisions when eating out and if you drop the ball pick it back.

Congrats on the decision to make a chnage and make yourself better. Sorry for the numerous typos in here but I wrote this over my lunch will eating some baby spinach, grilled chicken and brocoli :-)

Good Luck

[RichM601]

Someone is looking to get a sticky...

Good post!

[skelooth]

"Rome was not built in a day".

The only thing I really don't like about that saying, is that by the time rome was at it's largest, it was already crumbling at the edges.

[Broseph]

Rule #3 - Eat 6-7 times a day. Take your maintaince calories and divide it by 6 and consume that many calories per meal. I personally like to have a bigger breakfast so I adjust accordingly. Make sure to get about 1gram of protien per pound and eat your veggies!!! Avoid high processed carbs, white bread etc. Some people even freak out about potatoes, but moderation is key.

Why would you eat your maintenance amount of calories per day, if you are trying to lose weight? Most people reccomend cutting your maintenance by 500 calories, then eat 6 even meals a day. Example:

Your Mx cals = 2500 cals
2500 - 500 = 2000 to lose a healthy amount of weight
2000/600 = ~334 cals per meal, 6 meals a day.

[epote]

skel:

aint that obvious?

by the time you get the body you want your fourty and your body is already crumbling down

[Bradentothemax]

I think the best way is to eat your maintenance and then just exercise the rest off.. Will lose around a pound a week or so and preserve the most amount of muscle. It's not a race ya know.

[stahlhart]

skel:

aint that obvious?

by the time you get the body you want your fourty and your body is already crumbling down

Says you.

I'm stronger, more muscular, leaner, and in better physical condition now than I ever was in my teens, twenties or thirties.

C.K.

[skelooth]

It's not a race ya know.

How dare you say that during the month of May! Do you know how many early teen hearts you just broke, as they scramble to be cut for june? Granted they just started 3 hours ago, but hey! They're trying!