kbsub

For the first time in 2 years , used to be a regular a few years back and want to really maximise my time in there now , now 45 so gotta take it steady but want to lose about a stone am now 13 st 2lbs and 5' 10", and I have a few questions for the Gym Rats on ere

1, What do I go for the weights or cardio machine's ? ( or a bit of both )

2, If I go for cardio do I set the machine for "fatburn "( 65% of max heart rate ) or "cardio " ( 85% of max heart rate ) I want to get fitter but lose weight at the same time so dont want to lose any muscle

3, Do I limit my calories on a day to day basis or just eat good low fat food ?

4, Given my age and recovery time , how many times a week should I visit the gym ( I am usually ok the day after but stiffen up the day after that and gets the muscle aches two days after as well ) Was thinking Monday / Thursday or Mon / Wed /Fri


5, Have read that its best not to eat before a workout ( i.e. empty stomach) as your body will use fat as the energy source , anyone agree with this ? if not whats a good pre meal workout ? as I work nights the sessions will be within an hour of getting out of bed at 11am ( so could go on a empty stomach )


Having read loads of books on the subject I feel I have had to much information over the years and keep trying different things , but I really want to get it right this time , hopefully lose about 2LBs a week and get fitter at the same time without looking like Arnie

TIA

Kevin

Richard_P

Hard work to look like arnie!

1, What do I go for the weights or cardio machine's ? ( or a bit of both )

More muscle will burn more calories anyway, so weight routine can be used to lose weight. I'd say do a bit of both for a balanced routine.

3, Do I limit my calories on a day to day basis or just eat good low fat food ?

I'd say be more careful with what your eating and try to eat protein after the gym to get the most from your workout. Doesn't sound like you want to take it too serious?

4, Given my age and recovery time , how many times a week should I visit the gym ( I am usually ok the day after but stiffen up the day after that and gets the muscle aches two days after as well ) Was thinking Monday / Thursday or Mon / Wed /Fri

Monday/wed/fri is what I try to aim for, If you unable to do much on the wed after a monday workout you'd be better going on the thursday.
Are you strecthing your muscles off after the workout? normally you would feel stiff and sore the day after.

5, Have read that its best not to eat before a workout ( i.e. empty stomach) as your body will use fat as the energy source , anyone agree with this ? if not whats a good pre meal workout ? as I work nights the sessions will be within an hour of getting out of bed at 11am ( so could go on a empty stomach )

I think you shouldn't eat in the hour or 2 before a session. On an empty stomach having not eaten anything for the day you may end up feeling ill.

If your trying to lose weight then your diet is the main thing to look at. It takes a lot of exercise to burn off a couple a pounds of fat so best not to eat it in the first place!

SPEN555

Yeah,

Don't train too hard as it's easy to end up looking like arnie lol!

Amazing over the years I have found people comment they don't wanna get too big and so think they can just take it easy and get into shape.

You generally have to bu$t your *** off to gain a pound of muscle as your body is inherently lazy and does not want to grow. Except those ba$tids who are genetically gifted and put 20lbs of muscle on

super_si

dont get hooked like me

Need goals before any advice can be given to be fair.

Si

kbsub

Goal is to lose a stone and get fitter , not into bodybuilding but dont mind lifting weights to burn more calories and get more muscle to burn even more calories
But i need to know the best way to go about it , i.e. just lift weights or just cardio , if its cardio is it 65% or 85 % ?? max heart rate
or as i was thinking today =

30 mins hitting the weights then 30 mins cardio @ 65% max heart rate

super_si

diets the key with anything
Eat sloew burning carbs, brown basically.
Fitness 3 times a week. Not my area to get any more advice really

S

ozzy

Personally, I would leave cardio and weights to seperate days or at least different times of the day. You can't get much benefit with just 30 mins of each.

If you want to combine fitness with core strength do circuits. Some sprinting with lots of sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, etc.. They are by far the best method of combining fitness with muscle conditioning and endurance.

Adding muscle and keeping it means eating more (of the right) food it doesn't mean it will consume more calories per se. A larger muscle will need more energy, which should mean burning more calories. It won't necessarily turn you into a fat burning machine. As Si says, that's almost all down to eating the correct diet.

Stefan

Tiggs

you need to eat slightly less calories than you should need (whether thats more or less than now...you need to work out)

Clearly you need to eat better if you are currently wolfing down crap and booze.

You aerobic workout should be hard.....the "fat burning" zone is often an excuse for people to go easy......i'm just back from a cardio session that was 50 mins well over my "fat zone"........i am loosing weight on it though. If you can only do 30mins check out HIIT....i do alternate days of cardio doing 50 mins of normal and then 25 mins of HIIT the next day

Weights 3 times a week is fine, 30 mins is enough if you keep your exercises simple.

If you have to combine weights and cardio do weights first.

On your off days adding a little jog or cycle wont hurt....i try and do some cardio every day.

Key = Calories & cardio for the fat loss....but not to low on calories or you will drop muscle as well as fat......get a % meter - i have lost 2 lbs of fat a week for 8 weeks now with NO lean loss.

ozzy

HIIT stuff is just my idea of circuit training. Basically you go *****-out, have a rest, and then go for it again. Repeat 3 - 4 times depending on what type of circuit you do. e.g. could be a sprinting session, hill reps, bodyweight circuits, spinning class, anything works.

If you want to see any improvement, then you heart rate must be at least 70% of it's maximum (quick sum is 220 - your age). 70 - 85% is a good area to work in as you can maintain that rate for longer periods. Above this and you'll tire very quickly, so you need to kep that for intervals. Anything below 60% and your basically wasting your time IMHO.

Stefan

Mick

iTrader: (1)

Look at the physiques of various athletes...

Do you want to look like a marathon runner? - loads of cardio, not much in the way of heavy weights...
Obviously Arnie at other end of spectrum...

You will feel a bit of muscular soreness at the beginning of a training programme - but if you are not lifting at your limits then I find it quite beneficial (when re-starting training as I have done innumerable times ) to train light again when the muscles still haven't fully recovered as more a stretch session with the same excercises. 3 sessions a week is optimal for starting training and as others have mentioned muscle is a metabolising cell - it will burn calories even whenyou are sleeping...
The other thing is watch what you eat - good food fine... Snacks crisps, chocolate, beers at night watching telly - all end up round your waist!
As for body-building type training - it is possible to STOP when you reach a desired level, but as Si says it does get adicitive - If you spend that long in the gym you find you develop friends with the same interests and cannon ***** for shoulders, arms bigger than your neck, 6 pack abs don't seem extreme anymore and having lifted X weight for Y reps last session - you don't want to regress...

But above all do something!

All the best - it's your choice

Mick

kbsub

Thanks for the advice but are you stalking me ?