Is This a Good Lifting Program To Start Out With?

[Proudiddy]

So, i've posted off and on in the workout warrior threads over the years.  Those of you who posted in that thread know that I mostly followed the beachbody programs Insanity and FocusT25.  Now, going on 33, I feel I need MORE.  I always follow the same cycles with those programs...  i start out strong, but i just can't maintain it.  It becomes redundant and just exhausting, mentally and physically.  Usually about a month or so in, I actually dread doing the workout becausr it just feels so static at that point - same room, same moves, same tv, same video, same people staring back at me...  and eventually i start missing days and i'm done.

So, last year, doing insanity sporadically, mixed in with some basketball and very, very occasional weights, I went from 203 to 164 from about March to August.  It was mostly due to diet, imo...  but, come around the holidays, I completely fell off the wagon again and i'm back up to 200.

So, my thinking is, by doing weights 3 days a week, and cardio at least 5 (i'm thinking 20-60 mins cardio 5 days a week), i will burn fat faster as i add more muscle than at-home programs can give me.  I've read the science behind it over the years and i know that putting on muscle helps burn fat at a faster rate than doing primarily cardio-based programs.  I may supplement occasionally with those beachbody programs still for cardio days, but i don't want to be forced to rely on them because they burn me out so fast.  So, i came across this article on bodybuilding.com:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw21.htm

The first program is the one i want to do.  BTW, I'm not looking to become massive, but rather lean out and just get shredded.  I'm guessing 160 to 170 of lean mass and just overall increased strength is ideal. So, with a sound diet, and following that program, do you think that program is sufficient enough to achieve that goal?  I'm asking because i tried to do Kris Gethin's 12 week trainer from the same site last year, but with 4 kids and other responsibilities, i just couldn't make it to the gym 5+ days a week...  so, if i can achieve my goals with this 3 day a week program, that would be awesome.

[Kevin Greene]

[Lumps]

Ok so let me point out some things. First of all forget the idea of burning fat really fast while building muscle fast. It doesn't work like that. Add in the fact you'll be eating really clean and what will happen is you will burn out, and over train. You'll be tired but will lose weight. Muscle takes calories to build. I would eat an abundance, lift 3 days a week and do cardio for 2. Just make the sessions more intense.

Monday - Chest/back

Tuesday - Cardio/Abs

Wednesday - Legs/Shoulders/Forarms

Thursday - Cardio/Abs

Friday - Arms

Sat - off

Sun - off

 

Keep a clean diet with lots of carbs in the morning, protein throughout the day, healthy fats at night, lift heavy and put form before weight. Do 4 exercises each muscle, 4 sets each. Focus on the staples - Deadlift, Squat, Bench press, Military.

If you feel really tired or over trained, eat more food. You can also take Thursday off if you can workout a weekend day.Once you feel your overall strength is increased after 6 months or so, eat clean, lift lighter weights at higher reps to maintain and slowly drop body fat.

[PandaPancake]

[Jase]

People always say Starting Strength but IDK. Hit all of the basic compound lifts at least once a week. 

[imminent rogaine]

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 9:27 AM, Proudiddy said:

So, i've posted off and on in the workout warrior threads over the years.  Those of you who posted in that thread know that I mostly followed the beachbody programs Insanity and FocusT25.  Now, going on 33, I feel I need MORE.  I always follow the same cycles with those programs...  i start out strong, but i just can't maintain it.  It becomes redundant and just exhausting, mentally and physically.  Usually about a month or so in, I actually dread doing the workout becausr it just feels so static at that point - same room, same moves, same tv, same video, same people staring back at me...  and eventually i start missing days and i'm done.

So, last year, doing insanity sporadically, mixed in with some basketball and very, very occasional weights, I went from 203 to 164 from about March to August.  It was mostly due to diet, imo...  but, come around the holidays, I completely fell off the wagon again and i'm back up to 200.

So, my thinking is, by doing weights 3 days a week, and cardio at least 5 (i'm thinking 20-60 mins cardio 5 days a week), i will burn fat faster as i add more muscle than at-home programs can give me.  I've read the science behind it over the years and i know that putting on muscle helps burn fat at a faster rate than doing primarily cardio-based programs.  I may supplement occasionally with those beachbody programs still for cardio days, but i don't want to be forced to rely on them because they burn me out so fast.  So, i came across this article on bodybuilding.com:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw21.htm

The first program is the one i want to do.  BTW, I'm not looking to become massive, but rather lean out and just get shredded.  I'm guessing 160 to 170 of lean mass and just overall increased strength is ideal. So, with a sound diet, and following that program, do you think that program is sufficient enough to achieve that goal?  I'm asking because i tried to do Kris Gethin's 12 week trainer from the same site last year, but with 4 kids and other responsibilities, i just couldn't make it to the gym 5+ days a week...  so, if i can achieve my goals with this 3 day a week program, that would be awesome.

I feel you on struggling to find time for the gym. I was doing well, then our first kid...then a broken wrist. I am so out of shape. When I was in shape, I really preferred fewer workouts but for each to be a total body workout. I'd focus on big lifts OHP, Hang Clean, Squat, Front Squat, Bench and variations of all. Then I work in ancillary stuff.

I found it really helpful to track my growth. I'd use 3x5 as my measuring stick and just track how much I could do at the end of every month. Workouts weren't limited to 3x5, that is just what I used as a constant for tracking.

Cardio in the gym is worthless. Do sports or run outside and do intervals. I like to find a track and see how long it takes me to run a lap at ~95% effort. Run a lap at that pace, jog or walk for a predetermined amount of time, do another lap etc etc.

For example:

Run a lap in 1:30. Jog or walk for 2:00. Run a Lap in 1:30. Jog or walk for 2:00.

This type of workout is easy to tailor to your fitness level and easy to track as you progress.

Good Luck. Let us know some of your successes and struggles as you hop back on the horse. I am getting ready to do the same

 

[Proudiddy]

5 hours ago, imminent rogaine said:

I feel you on struggling to find time for the gym. I was doing well, then our first kid...then a broken wrist. I am so out of shape. When I was in shape, I really preferred fewer workouts but for each to be a total body workout. I'd focus on big lifts OHP, Hang Clean, Squat, Front Squat, Bench and variations of all. Then I work in ancillary stuff.

I found it really helpful to track my growth. I'd use 3x5 as my measuring stick and just track how much I could do at the end of every month. Workouts weren't limited to 3x5, that is just what I used as a constant for tracking.

Cardio in the gym is worthless. Do sports or run outside and do intervals. I like to find a track and see how long it takes me to run a lap at ~95% effort. Run a lap at that pace, jog or walk for a predetermined amount of time, do another lap etc etc.

For example:

Run a lap in 1:30. Jog or walk for 2:00. Run a Lap in 1:30. Jog or walk for 2:00.

This type of workout is easy to tailor to your fitness level and easy to track as you progress.

Good Luck. Let us know some of your successes and struggles as you hop back on the horse. I am getting ready to do the same

 

Yeah, I actually started trying to get back with some goal-oriented cardio about 3 weeks ago.  I haven't done it the last week because the kids started school back and we had multiple things going on as a result - for instance, our youngest child got dropped off by the bus in a completely different neighborhood on her first day of kindergarten and was found crying by another student who then called the school, who then called me... SMH.  I was pissed.  We then had a meeting with the principal and staff the next school day, we then had a checkup appt for our 9 month old, so it's just been constant things popping up...  But, what I have started doing is running a mile as fast as I can, as I find it a good measurement of my fitness.  I end up doing intervals during it as I try to sprint, then jog, and then being out of shape, walking, then sprinting again.  I figure it's a good entry-level way to start getting the juices flowing again.

I also plan on starting the gym tomorrow for 3 days a week, and being that the link I listed was a bit convoluted, I may or may not use that, and just add basic big lifts in like you talked about.  I'll definitely update as I progress!  Appreciate the feedback and ideas, buddy!

[imminent rogaine]

9 hours ago, Proudiddy said:

Yeah, I actually started trying to get back with some goal-oriented cardio about 3 weeks ago.  I haven't done it the last week because the kids started school back and we had multiple things going on as a result - for instance, our youngest child got dropped off by the bus in a completely different neighborhood on her first day of kindergarten and was found crying by another student who then called the school, who then called me... SMH.  I was pissed.

Wow. I think I might be a little upset about that, too.

[Proudiddy]

On Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 4:58 PM, Jase said:

People always say Starting Strength but IDK. Hit all of the basic compound lifts at least once a week. 

 

On Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 2:57 PM, 15 said:

this, and make sure you're eating your body weight in protein every day. 

 

On Monday, September 12, 2016 at 11:01 PM, Lumps said:

Ok so let me point out some things. First of all forget the idea of burning fat really fast while building muscle fast. It doesn't work like that. Add in the fact you'll be eating really clean and what will happen is you will burn out, and over train. You'll be tired but will lose weight. Muscle takes calories to build. I would eat an abundance, lift 3 days a week and do cardio for 2. Just make the sessions more intense.

Monday - Chest/back

Tuesday - Cardio/Abs

Wednesday - Legs/Shoulders/Forarms

Thursday - Cardio/Abs

Friday - Arms

Sat - off

Sun - off

 

Keep a clean diet with lots of carbs in the morning, protein throughout the day, healthy fats at night, lift heavy and put form before weight. Do 4 exercises each muscle, 4 sets each. Focus on the staples - Deadlift, Squat, Bench press, Military.

If you feel really tired or over trained, eat more food. You can also take Thursday off if you can workout a weekend day.Once you feel your overall strength is increased after 6 months or so, eat clean, lift lighter weights at higher reps to maintain and slowly drop body fat.

Thank you all for the feedback and advice, especially your post lump...  i have no idea how i missed your post until now, but thank you for it.  I know about the idea behind eating more, maintaining, and losing with caloric intake.  I'm thinking about trying to eat at maintenance as i lift, and if i feel too tired, then increase it and just play it by ear.  And i get what you're saying about the lifting not leaning you out on its own, but i've read numerous articles in men's health and such where studies have shown once you build muscle, it starts to incinerate fat stores.  In the same vein, once you go into fat guy mode like i have seasonally every year, what makes it a lot harder to get back off compared to how easy it is to put on, is that fat basically invites more fat and makes it easier to multiply. 

So, i know it definitely isnt going to be an overnight deal.  The Gethin trainer i briefly followed, he didnt even count calories, he just would say eat a fistful of meat, and a fistful of noodles lol, so I might go that route.

Regardless, i'm just thinking that getting back to the weights is going to get the testosterone flowing again and help get me back in the healthy mindset overall.  In the past, i know the better i looked, the better i felt.

Oh, and i think i'm going to start woth this program instead, at least as an intial guide...

[Proudiddy]

9 hours ago, imminent rogaine said:

Wow. I think I might be a little upset about that, too.

Yeah man, it's been hectic and I was yelling at the lady who called from the school asking how do they make that mistake?  But, at the end of the day, some good people stepped up and looked out for her, THANK GOD, and she wasn't out there long.  But, I let them know i was still disappointed and disturbed by the what ifs.  It was unacceptable...  i felt like never sending her back once i picked her up, but like i said, she was safe and that was all that mattered to me.  We also got some new safety nets put in place as far their policies go, so hopefully it doesnt happen for anyone else.