Have a few questions after 9 years of not lifting

[BigFatty56]

Hello all,
Short preface about me: I'm a 36 year old male, 6'2", large frame with 8" wrist, and 330 lbs. I used to lift for many years as a young athlete, later joining the military for 8 years and used to work out fairly regularly. I've always been "country strong" as my friends called it and maintained under 20% weighing between 240-260 lbs. I got out of the military and stopped working out due to pain from previous injuries. its been 9 years and I've gained a lot of fat, and lost muscle. With the fear of diabetes in my family and other health related issues I've decided to get back into lifting and want to regain a lot of my strength back.

I joined a gym been lifting a few weeks already, am meeting with a trainer next week and he asked me to think about what my goals were. My original thought process was to work on size and strength with 30 min cardio 4 times a week, build more muscle to help burn some calories and increase my strength to give me the confidence of wanting to return to the gym habitually. Then move into toning and weight loss after about 12 weeks.

after my weight assessment, my results came back as: 120 lbs muscle, 120lbs fat, 36% muscle mass%, and 42 BMI.

My questions (sorry it took a while to get here): for 6'2" and large frame, is 120 lbs a lot? should I even focus on increasing muscle mass at this point or will any gains from lifting and toning be enough? It's obvious I need to lose weight but I also want to get stronger and build muscle while I'm at it. For you experienced lifters, what do you think my best course of action would be to focus on with my trainer considering I'm 36 and the poor condition I'm in. Thanks all and sorry if it was long.

[air2fakie]

Don't worry about the muscle/fat weight/%s since they likely aren't that accurate. Regardless, even without a pic it sounds like you're severely obese given your height/weight, BMI & lack of activity.

You shouldn't focus on increasing muscle since that likely would involve eating at a surplus & further weight gain. You should be eating at a calorie deficit, lifting under a proper novice program, & doing cardio for your health. Given where you're at, you likely will gain some muscle & strength in the process as an added bonus, but your focus doesn't need to be there right now.

Eat less, lift, keep protein high. And get checked out by your doctor. If you stick with it for the long run, given your advantageous frame, you realistically could be a muscular & lean by the time you're 40. Good luck!

[joewattie]

I joined a gym been lifting a few weeks already ... My original thought process was to work on size and strength with 30 min cardio 4 times a week, build more muscle to help burn some calories and increase my strength to give me the confidence of wanting to return to the gym habitually. Then move into toning and weight loss after about 12 weeks.

I think your middle paragraph kinda answered your questions. Just get started, see where it takes you and make adjustments as needed. Enjoy your newbie gains. Then, in your case, muscle memory will kick in. If you find you're gaining weight cut back on calories a bit. Other than that enjoy the ride and see where it takes you.

Then there's the obvious: Cut back on the alcohol if that's applicable. We all eat junk food, donuts, cookies, candy, chips ad infinitum. Enjoy your meals, cut back on the junk if that's applicable. See where the obvious takes you first then fine tune as needed.

Good luck and have fun.

[LFreemanBB]

To be Honest your first goal should be fat loss, you're just getting back into the gym properly after years off so more than likely you will gain muscle while losing bodyfat, once you're at a healthy bodyfat percentage you're going to feel 1000x times better and are going to have an easier time putting on size and strength with insulin sensitivity being in a lot better place as well...

[x-trainer ben]

To be Honest your first goal should be fat loss, you're just getting back into the gym properly after years off so more than likely you will gain muscle while losing bodyfat, once you're at a healthy bodyfat percentage you're going to feel 1000x times better and are going to have an easier time putting on size and strength with insulin sensitivity being in a lot better place as well...

This is my opinion also.
And get that diet under control!