Doctor says I don't need to lose anymore weight :(

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  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,238 Member
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    Does this look like a decent program for me to start with? If so, how do I decide what to set the weight for?

    Since you asked I will chime in with my opinion.
    1. Dumbbell chest press (works chest)
    Lie on a bench, elbows bent 90 degrees out to sides; straighten arms up and return.

    This is a good exercise since you have dumbbells since it works not only the chest by the triceps as well.
    2. One-arm dumbbell row (works upper back)
    Stand with legs hip-width apart and place one hand on bench, opposite arm holding weight; draw elbow up toward ribs and lower.

    Another good exercise, but if you can find a way to do chin-ups/pull-ups they are better, but work with what you have. This also works the biceps.
    3. Biceps curl (works biceps)
    Stand with arms extended, palms up, and curl weights toward shoulders.

    4. Triceps extension (works triceps)
    Stand with legs hip-width apart. Lean forward from waist, elbows bent 90 degrees at your sides; straighten arms behind you.

    5. Lateral raise (works shoulders)
    Stand with arms down by your sides, palms in; raise straight arms to shoulder height.

    All three of these are what are called isolation exercises. I would personally not suggest them as beginner exercises as they are more, in my opinion, exercises to deal with specific weaknesses. If you have small biceps and want to bring them more into proportion with the rest of your muscles then they have a place. In particular the lateral raise. I much prefer a standing shoulder press http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-aVuyhvLHU which will work your whole shoulder, arms in the triceps and upper back in the traps even. where the Lateral raise will really only work the deltoids and little else.
    6. Basic squat (works legs/butt)

    7. Front lunge (works legs/butt)

    Both excellent exercises both with bodyweight and weighted. Weighted they work many muscles alone with the legs.
    8. Bicycle (works abs)
    Lie face-up on floor, bend opposite elbow to knee, then switch sides.

    I would rather suggest planks and side planks holding for 30 seconds and working up to 90 seconds or more. When you can do that you can look at other exercises.
    9. Superman (works lower back)
    Lie facedown on floor and lift opposite arm/leg; switch sides.

    Good lower back exercise.

    What were the recommendations for sets and repetitions? I personally would put the leg work first as it can be more demanding in terms of concentration.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Here's a great beginner's routine which incorporates compound lifts:

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843

    The only isolation exercise he included was curls, his rationale being that most guys would throw them in there anyways. You can finish the workout in about 40 minutes - a bit longer in weeks 4 & 5 when you get to the higher rep ranges, but still less than an hour. In each exercise, you establish the weight you're going to lift by experimenting until you find the weight you can do 10 reps with (it's okay to start light - better too light than too heavy, especially when you're learning proper form). It will be different for each exercise.

    I agree with the other advice above in this thread (although I didn't know men actually referred to it as "toning"!); lift 3x/wk, set your protein intake at 1g per pound of lean body mass and eat at maintenance calories. If you want to establish your calorie intake, refer to Dan's "roadmap" post here:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Do the calculations to obtain your TDEE, then just eat at that level - don't take a "cut" from it as he advises for those wanting to lose weight. No, don't eat your exercise calories back - if you calculated your TDEE right, they're already factored in.

    Try that for one five-week cycle of the workout and check your results. It helps greatly if you have a set of skinfold calipers or other reliable method to check your bodyfat percentage so you can ensure that your BF% is going down. If you're lifting and keeping your protein intake up, you should be shedding bodyfat. It takes time, but it'll happen.
  • trustymutsi
    trustymutsi Posts: 174 Member
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    Wow... apparently my body fat percentage is 26.2%. Is that bad?
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Wow... apparently my body fat percentage is 26.2%. Is that bad?
    It is what it is...at least now you have a starting point to compare to. Even though the tape measurement method isn't terribly accurate as far as actual BF%, it gives you a metric you can compare against. Start working out and re-measure once a month. If your BF% is going down, what you're doing is working; if not, time to revamp your strategy and try something else.
  • Linda_Darlene
    Linda_Darlene Posts: 453 Member
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    The operative word is 'need', you may not need to lose weight but if you want to lose the spare tire you have to lose more body fat.

    This
  • Linda_Darlene
    Linda_Darlene Posts: 453 Member
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    Wow... apparently my body fat percentage is 26.2%. Is that bad?
    It is what it is...at least now you have a starting point to compare to. Even though the tape measurement method isn't terribly accurate as far as actual BF%, it gives you a metric you can compare against. Start working out and re-measure once a month. If your BF% is going down, what you're doing is working; if not, time to revamp your strategy and try something else.

    This
  • UrbanWild
    UrbanWild Posts: 48
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    You say you "don't eat much processed junk at all." If you're eating any, and especially if it's carbs, that could be contributing to that tire. Try eating complex carbs instead.
  • trustymutsi
    trustymutsi Posts: 174 Member
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    I went with this exercise using 20 lb dumbbell weights.

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843

    I think I might add bicycle crunches to this as well.
  • Blmarlborough
    Blmarlborough Posts: 28
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    Eat what you're comfortable with. Just make sure you're getting adequate protein and healthy fats for your body and some of them good, complex carbs to fuel you through the day. If you feel a NEED to lose this "tire" eat at a 100 calorie deficit to lose this tire efficiently over time and help tone your muscles.
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
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    My Advice...


    Listen to your doctor... begin eating at maintenance level.. Change up your work outs with more weight training and less cardio.. This will cause you to gain weight in the form of sexy lean muscle.. That spare tire will be gone.

    ^^^ what he said!
  • ForeverIrish
    ForeverIrish Posts: 232 Member
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    My Advice...


    Listen to your doctor... begin eating at maintenance level.. Change up your work outs with more weight training and less cardio.. This will cause you to gain weight in the form of sexy lean muscle.. That spare tire will be gone.

    THIS:)

    I agree. What the scale and the BMI are reporting don't necessarily define you. Ask for help from people you see on this site that look like the results you want to achieve. They can point you in the right direction. A lot of men and women here are personal trainers that have been in the field a lot of years. I also checked out bodybuilding.com for help. There's a way to tailor a program for you that will help you either put on muscle or lose fat. Check that out--maybe there are a few ideas there that may help, too.

    Keep asking for help! Always ask for more than one person's opinion. Cultivate friendships on this site with people that have similar goals. We're all here to support one another. I've gotten such good advice here since I joined.

    I had lunch with a friend yesterday that's on some stupid fad diet that is limiting him to roughly 800 calories a day. And he paid money for this dumb thing!
  • trustymutsi
    trustymutsi Posts: 174 Member
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    Thanks guys!

    Man, getting a gram of protein per pound of my weight is going to be challenging. That's 189 for me. I definitely think I'm going to use a couple scoops of whey protein.

    Anybody got some good tuna fish recipes outside of using mayo? I hate mayo.

    Also, I can't find a good replacement for a workout bench. Can I replace bench presses with pushups? If so, I assume I should just do as many pushups as possible for reps?
  • trustymutsi
    trustymutsi Posts: 174 Member
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    One more question for everyone:

    This is the workout I posted earlier, that I'm using: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843

    It says I should do a heavy workout my first day, then a 10% lighter workout, and then a 20% lighter workout.

    My fear is that the 2 lighter workouts won't be enough. Should I just do heavy all week?

    Also, when I'm doing 20 lbs for each hand weight, I can barely manage to finish a set of 8 reps for some of the exercises, but it's a little easier for others. Do I need to change the weights for every exercise? It takes a bit of time to change them, and I'm afraid that will give me too much of a break. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    Should I just do heavy all week?

    If you are new to lifting then yes, as heavy as you can manage whilst maintaining proper form all week. Once you get more advanced your body's ability to recover becomes more of an issue and you can then worry about heavy / medium / light days.

    Personally, I would drop deadlifts down to 1 or 2 sets only. Trying to do 4 sets sounds like a good way to get injured.
    Also, when I'm doing 20 lbs for each hand weight, I can barely manage to finish a set of 8 reps for some of the exercises, but it's a little easier for others. Do I need to change the weights for every exercise? It takes a bit of time to change them, and I'm afraid that will give me too much of a break. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!

    Yes, change weights for every exercise so that your muscles are challenged. You need them to be overloaded to get the benefit of the workout and to progressively overload them as the weeks go by.

    You also need rest time between sets. It's not a cardio or metabolic conditioning workout where the idea is to keep your heart rate constantly elevated. The most important thing is being able to lift sufficiently heavy with good form.

    Finally, I don't think you should eat at maintenance. Your BF% is still quite high which you want to work on. I think having a deficit of 300 - 500 mixed in with good diet and weights will do you nicely. Your scale weight won't change hugely if your routine in on point but your body will start looking far better (as you are new to lifting you will experience newbie gains for a while...)
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    At 6'2" tall, 189 lbs is probably about right for you. Listen to the doctor.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    At 6'2" tall, 189 lbs is probably about right for you. Listen to the doctor.

    His BF% is 26 and he has 40" waist. Given it is mostly centered around his midsection there is a likelihood that there is a large amount of visceral fat going on.

    He doesn't need to worry about the number on the scale but he does need to worry about his body fat. BMI is a simple tool to estimate body fatness and whilst it works as an average in many cases sometimes it is not a useful application as in this case.

    It's not a disaster but it is far from ideal. I suspect he will be in a much better position at say 180lbs at 18% than 189lbs at 26%...
  • Jules2Be
    Jules2Be Posts: 2,267 Member
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    lol i weigh 182 at 5' 11" and spent a lot of the last 9 months lifting heavier. do it.

    Read Starting Strength, or get into Stronglifts

    Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Press, Overhead Press, and Back rows are basically all you need.
    Compound moves that use many muscle groups.

    My Abs have improved dramatically and i believe its from the Squats.

    good luck:flowerforyou:
  • SeaChele77
    SeaChele77 Posts: 1,103 Member
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    My Advice...


    Listen to your doctor... begin eating at maintenance level.. Change up your work outs with more weight training and less cardio.. This will cause you to gain weight in the form of sexy lean muscle.. That spare tire will be gone.

    ^^agree
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Does this look like a decent program for me to start with? If so, how do I decide what to set the weight for?

    http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/lose-weight/build-strength/strength-training-for-beginners/

    1. Dumbbell chest press (works chest)
    Lie on a bench, elbows bent 90 degrees out to sides; straighten arms up and return.

    2. One-arm dumbbell row (works upper back)
    Stand with legs hip-width apart and place one hand on bench, opposite arm holding weight; draw elbow up toward ribs and lower.

    3. Biceps curl (works biceps)
    Stand with arms extended, palms up, and curl weights toward shoulders.

    4. Triceps extension (works triceps)
    Stand with legs hip-width apart. Lean forward from waist, elbows bent 90 degrees at your sides; straighten arms behind you.

    5. Lateral raise (works shoulders)
    Stand with arms down by your sides, palms in; raise straight arms to shoulder height.

    6. Basic squat (works legs/butt)

    7. Front lunge (works legs/butt)

    8. Bicycle (works abs)
    Lie face-up on floor, bend opposite elbow to knee, then switch sides.

    9. Superman (works lower back)
    Lie facedown on floor and lift opposite arm/leg; switch sides.

    That sounds like a much better routine for you than 30DS
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    The operative word is 'need', you may not need to lose weight but if you want to lose the spare tire you have to lose more body fat.

    right.

    I didn't NEED to lose weight at 130 because I was in the "healthy range" but my healthy range is 101-136. why would I settle for 130?

    got down to 106 and was not happy, started lifting heavy and now I look better at 119 than I did at 106.

    lose fat, gain muscle...weigh the same as you do now, or more, and still look better!

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