Obese and not sure what to do - which program is best for me?
cancearth
Posts: 12 Member
Should I focus on strength training or cardio? Can I burn fat and build muscle simultaneously? 30 year old male, 6'2", down to 374 from 430 and finally feel good enough to hit the gym. Been doing light cardio for the last week and random weight lifting with no real idea of what to do or what to target. This is all obviously very new to me.
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Replies
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This is a goodie! http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
Add some walking too
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Thanks! I didn't really know what to do when I first started going to them gym so I just walked on the treadmill at a moderate pace for 40 minutes and then spent 20 minutes on an elliptical trainer. It's a definite start but I know I need to do more.1
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Do both! At your size it's possible to add muscle when you start lifting, but it might not last that long. However, strength training is important to retaining as much muscle as possible while you lose.5
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You do want to do some strength training, so that as you loose mass, you limit the amount of muscle mass lost (and the lean muscle burns more calories)1
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Do both! At your size it's possible to add muscle when you start lifting, but it might not last that long. However, strength training is important to retaining as much muscle as possible while you lose.
Is there anything specific you can recommend? I was browsing the link provided by L1zardQueen and none of them seem entirely suited for someone in my situation, or really at my weight.
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Do a mix of both. I started around 300 and I mostly did strength training initially. Once I added cardio type exercises the weight melted off. The big thing is finding exercises you enjoy so you stick to it.0
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Since you go to a gym can you afford to see a personal trainer for 1-2 sessions to set you a program? They can check form etc. Many people only see a trainer every x weeks to help with resetting programs, tracking measurements. Otherwise have another look at strong lifts, not too many exercises, video instructions for form, app to track progression- yeah it will get boring but by that time you should have a good foundation to work form.0
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Do both! At your size it's possible to add muscle when you start lifting, but it might not last that long. However, strength training is important to retaining as much muscle as possible while you lose.
Is there anything specific you can recommend? I was browsing the link provided by L1zardQueen and none of them seem entirely suited for someone in my situation, or really at my weight.
I've done Stronglifts. It should be fine for you.0 -
A few things I did that hopefully can help you: Get a trainer or if that isn't doable perhaps a group fitness class. Motivation is bigger than a lot of people realize especially when you are starting out. Paying for something also made me more accountable. The scale is initially important but as time passes it matters less and less. If you want to see true results find some outfit that is tight and put it on the same day each week and you will see your real progress. As far as food/calories go I'd ask the doctor for a ballpark number and work from there. Don't buy into those junk fads about shakes etc. It is important to eat when you are hungry but also eat smart. Nothing will destroy calorie counts like a bag of chips etc.
A typical day goes something like this for me:
Morning Workout: HIIT with a trainer/Hot Yoga/Running
Breakfast: Eggs/Avocado/Blueberry - 500 calories.
Snack: 2 servings of Carrots - 70 calories
Lunch: Zucchini pasta with non-breaded chicken strips or home made vege soup - 500 calories.
Snack: Orange or Apple - 70 calories
Dinner: Chicken w/ rice etc etc. - 750 calories
Snack: Whatever I want to hit my number - 260 calories
I tend to eat pretty clean food wise which I have found controls my hunger and most days I find myself adding calories at the end of the day during heavy workout days to not fall short. Good problem to have.
Overtime I stopped looking at this as a diet and a burden and just a normal way of life that I actually enjoy.
You can do this. Just stick to it!3 -
Should I focus on strength training or cardio? Can I burn fat and build muscle simultaneously? 30 year old male, 6'2", down to 374 from 430 and finally feel good enough to hit the gym. Been doing light cardio for the last week and random weight lifting with no real idea of what to do or what to target. This is all obviously very new to me.
First - CONGRATULATIONS - a 56 pound weigh loss is AWESOME!
Second, in my experience you cannot burn fat and build muscle at the same time. I assume you already know that losing weight is 90% about what you eat and 10% about how you exercise, right? Problem occurs when you begin losing weight your body wants to lose muscle (survival mechanism) - so unless you do some weight training, you will lose muscle and fat. ( I lost 24 pounds and half was muscle weight).
I am not a trainer, or medical professional, and I would second the suggestion to schedule a session with trainer. At your weight you are smart to consider low impact exercises (walking, cycling, elliptical, swimming, etc).
Your doing awesome!!1 -
lenkearney wrote: »Should I focus on strength training or cardio? Can I burn fat and build muscle simultaneously? 30 year old male, 6'2", down to 374 from 430 and finally feel good enough to hit the gym. Been doing light cardio for the last week and random weight lifting with no real idea of what to do or what to target. This is all obviously very new to me.
First - CONGRATULATIONS - a 56 pound weigh loss is AWESOME!
Second, in my experience you cannot burn fat and build muscle at the same time. I assume you already know that losing weight is 90% about what you eat and 10% about how you exercise, right? Problem occurs when you begin losing weight your body wants to lose muscle (survival mechanism) - so unless you do some weight training, you will lose muscle and fat. ( I lost 24 pounds and half was muscle weight).
I am not a trainer, or medical professional, and I would second the suggestion to schedule a session with trainer. At your weight you are smart to consider low impact exercises (walking, cycling, elliptical, swimming, etc).
Your doing awesome!!
Thanks so much. The kind words from everyone on here really mean a lot to me.
It's really hard for me to figure out a good workout regimen because my fitness level doesn't exactly mesh with my weight. For instance, my first day in the gym I was able to do 20 minutes at a jogging pace on an elliptical trainer with very little effort. And when I sat down to bench press, I of course started low and slowly increased the weight to 240lbs total before it became a struggle. I'm one of those really in shape obese guys, you know? Thick, but very solid everywhere except my core.
I'll look into a personal trainer, but if the cost is as expensive as I think it might be I doubt it will be an option for me.
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A few things I did that hopefully can help you: Get a trainer or if that isn't doable perhaps a group fitness class. Motivation is bigger than a lot of people realize especially when you are starting out. Paying for something also made me more accountable. The scale is initially important but as time passes it matters less and less. If you want to see true results find some outfit that is tight and put it on the same day each week and you will see your real progress. As far as food/calories go I'd ask the doctor for a ballpark number and work from there. Don't buy into those junk fads about shakes etc. It is important to eat when you are hungry but also eat smart. Nothing will destroy calorie counts like a bag of chips etc.
A typical day goes something like this for me:
Morning Workout: HIIT with a trainer/Hot Yoga/Running
Breakfast: Eggs/Avocado/Blueberry - 500 calories.
Snack: 2 servings of Carrots - 70 calories
Lunch: Zucchini pasta with non-breaded chicken strips or home made vege soup - 500 calories.
Snack: Orange or Apple - 70 calories
Dinner: Chicken w/ rice etc etc. - 750 calories
Snack: Whatever I want to hit my number - 260 calories
I tend to eat pretty clean food wise which I have found controls my hunger and most days I find myself adding calories at the end of the day during heavy workout days to not fall short. Good problem to have.
Overtime I stopped looking at this as a diet and a burden and just a normal way of life that I actually enjoy.
You can do this. Just stick to it!
Thanks for the response! Congratulations on your weight loss as well.
My girlfriend and I are in this together, and her friends are also helping us out so a support group is already in place. It couldn't hurt to look into a class though, so I'll do that.
I don't really trust my doctor for nutritional advice after he told me to only eat 800 calories a day, and even if I eat all my calories for breakfast then that's it - nothing else that entire day. Needless to say I don't use him for anything but refills on my prescriptions now, haha.
What's your HIIT workout like? My schedule (up at 4am and on the road by 4:30) doesn't allow for much activity in the morning but maybe I can squeeze a quick HIIT workout in.0 -
Appreciate it. It was a lot of work these last 16 months but man was it worth it. My trainer changes it up a lot but I tend to see about two 10 minute burst of exercise with short breaks in the workouts. The one today for example was alternating every minute on the minute between leg press type workouts, jumping jacks and kettle bell squat thrusters. The nice thing about HIIT is you can almost make it what you want it to be using just your body and a few simple things like kettlebells. The fact that your girlfriend is doing it with you is huge as you will push each other. Maybe look at doing a slightly longer session where you go as hard as you can for a minute while she rest/motivates you then alternate. It's a great way to start and build up to 30 second breaks etc. without initially overdoing it. When I'm on my own I do something for 21 minutes like this: Burpees for 1 minute, Wall sit with weights for a minute, bear crawl lunge for a minute and alternate until I hit 21 minutes with short breaks between. Search youtube for HIIT workouts as there are a lot of good stuff on there. There is nothing wrong with modifying to be safe as it is still a win because you exercised. Initially though you may want to do more low impact workouts. A power/vinyasa/astangha yoga video is a great way to get a serious sweat and burn without having a lot of forward impact motion. DDP yoga is another good one for guys. Watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448 The Yoga will get your body more lean and more than anything improve breathing which will let you take a lot of other workouts to another level such as HIIT.
I do have to stress a major point that the poster before said in that diet is most of it for weight loss. 800 calories seems really low but isn't unheard of in some type 2 diabetes cases when under regular observations. My doc said the same thing but a nutritionist told me 2,200. A nutritionist would be a better route to go as they will go beyond telling you to eat X amount of calories with no explanation and actually teach you how to eat for a normal life and make calories work for you where it is second nature and not a chore. It's not impossible if you lean more toward cleaner foods. I love potatoes and eat 4 red potatoes a day and combined with 3 oz. of chicken and a small dab of butter I've got a 550 calorie lunch that leaves me stuffed. But don't tell half of MFP that because potatoes are evil yet my scale, blood sugar and BMI says different. Moderation!0 -
lenkearney wrote: »Should I focus on strength training or cardio? Can I burn fat and build muscle simultaneously? 30 year old male, 6'2", down to 374 from 430 and finally feel good enough to hit the gym. Been doing light cardio for the last week and random weight lifting with no real idea of what to do or what to target. This is all obviously very new to me.
First - CONGRATULATIONS - a 56 pound weigh loss is AWESOME!
Second, in my experience you cannot burn fat and build muscle at the same time. I assume you already know that losing weight is 90% about what you eat and 10% about how you exercise, right? Problem occurs when you begin losing weight your body wants to lose muscle (survival mechanism) - so unless you do some weight training, you will lose muscle and fat. ( I lost 24 pounds and half was muscle weight).
I am not a trainer, or medical professional, and I would second the suggestion to schedule a session with trainer. At your weight you are smart to consider low impact exercises (walking, cycling, elliptical, swimming, etc).
Your doing awesome!!
Thanks so much. The kind words from everyone on here really mean a lot to me.
It's really hard for me to figure out a good workout regimen because my fitness level doesn't exactly mesh with my weight. For instance, my first day in the gym I was able to do 20 minutes at a jogging pace on an elliptical trainer with very little effort. And when I sat down to bench press, I of course started low and slowly increased the weight to 240lbs total before it became a struggle. I'm one of those really in shape obese guys, you know? Thick, but very solid everywhere except my core.
I'll look into a personal trainer, but if the cost is as expensive as I think it might be I doubt it will be an option for me.
Good for you, and I DON"T want to harsh your mellow.
AND!! 65% BW bench press is a great beginner number. So that's the equivalent of a 180lb man doing a 115 BP
You're in better than average condition for your size.
Again. Not trying to harsh your mellow. Start slow. Pick a solid program... or two if you want to go every day.
Stronglifts/Starting strength and C25K are the easy answers. Along with a 5-10 min a day Plank progression program.
Use your GF and other friends to help you develop good form. If you've got questions, bring video back here.
Don't go chasing boutique routines and programs like HIIT until you've spent 4-12 months working on the basics.
At that point, You'll be down another 50-100 lbs and you'll know what you like. and be in a position to better evaluate other programs.0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »
Good for you, and I DON"T want to harsh your mellow.
AND!! 65% BW bench press is a great beginner number. So that's the equivalent of a 180lb man doing a 115 BP
You're in better than average condition for your size.
Again. Not trying to harsh your mellow. Start slow. Pick a solid program... or two if you want to go every day.
Stronglifts/Starting strength and C25K are the easy answers. Along with a 5-10 min a day Plank progression program.
Use your GF and other friends to help you develop good form. If you've got questions, bring video back here.
Don't go chasing boutique routines and programs like HIIT until you've spent 4-12 months working on the basics.
At that point, You'll be down another 50-100 lbs and you'll know what you like. and be in a position to better evaluate other programs.
Curious about the SL recommendation. Would you suggest he start a few weeks in instead of from day 1? Seems that going from benching 240 to 45 (bar only) would be a major step backward, but how does SL accommodate this?
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Tacklewasher wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »
Good for you, and I DON"T want to harsh your mellow.
AND!! 65% BW bench press is a great beginner number. So that's the equivalent of a 180lb man doing a 115 BP
You're in better than average condition for your size.
Again. Not trying to harsh your mellow. Start slow. Pick a solid program... or two if you want to go every day.
Stronglifts/Starting strength and C25K are the easy answers. Along with a 5-10 min a day Plank progression program.
Use your GF and other friends to help you develop good form. If you've got questions, bring video back here.
Don't go chasing boutique routines and programs like HIIT until you've spent 4-12 months working on the basics.
At that point, You'll be down another 50-100 lbs and you'll know what you like. and be in a position to better evaluate other programs.
Curious about the SL recommendation. Would you suggest he start a few weeks in instead of from day 1? Seems that going from benching 240 to 45 (bar only) would be a major step backward, but how does SL accommodate this?
That's a Really good point. As with C25K(question came up a few weeks ago from someone who was running 8 minutes at a time) Pick the week before where you are at, With SL, maybe 2 weeks before.
So Maybe start around 160-180 instead of 45. Because volume and form still matter for a beginner. And Building that safe volume and form before really challenging weight is important.
I'm facing the same question in the next few weeks, because I'm going from a basic bodyweight regimen with some kettlebell supplementals, But I've never seriously done bar work.0 -
lenkearney wrote: »Should I focus on strength training or cardio? Can I burn fat and build muscle simultaneously? 30 year old male, 6'2", down to 374 from 430 and finally feel good enough to hit the gym. Been doing light cardio for the last week and random weight lifting with no real idea of what to do or what to target. This is all obviously very new to me.
First - CONGRATULATIONS - a 56 pound weigh loss is AWESOME!
Second, in my experience you cannot burn fat and build muscle at the same time. I assume you already know that losing weight is 90% about what you eat and 10% about how you exercise, right? Problem occurs when you begin losing weight your body wants to lose muscle (survival mechanism) - so unless you do some weight training, you will lose muscle and fat. ( I lost 24 pounds and half was muscle weight).
I am not a trainer, or medical professional, and I would second the suggestion to schedule a session with trainer. At your weight you are smart to consider low impact exercises (walking, cycling, elliptical, swimming, etc).
Your doing awesome!!
Thanks so much. The kind words from everyone on here really mean a lot to me.
It's really hard for me to figure out a good workout regimen because my fitness level doesn't exactly mesh with my weight. For instance, my first day in the gym I was able to do 20 minutes at a jogging pace on an elliptical trainer with very little effort. And when I sat down to bench press, I of course started low and slowly increased the weight to 240lbs total before it became a struggle. I'm one of those really in shape obese guys, you know? Thick, but very solid everywhere except my core.
I'll look into a personal trainer, but if the cost is as expensive as I think it might be I doubt it will be an option for me.
Does the gym you go to offer your first session free when you signed up? They can definitely show you around, help you get an idea of what to do, and also answer any questions you have.
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