Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Want to lose weight and gain muscle? Here's my take

EleqTrizi'T · 02-24-2005, 10:38 AM

Ok, I've posted about the progress I've personally made in the past. Some of you might remember that post, some don't... For those that didn't see it, here's a short recap...

It's been a little over a year now. March 1st, 2003 I started "the plan".... lose weight, gain strength, eat right, stop drinking.

The starting stats...

Weight: 295lbs.
Fat %: 45.7
Bodyweight (w/o fat): 135
Fat weight: 160
Waist: 44"

As of today, June 1st, 2004....

Weight: 245lbs
Fat %: 25.5
Bodyweight: (w/o fat): 182.5
Fat weight: 62.5
Waist: 34"

The update as of Feb 14th:
weight: 266
fat %: 25.1
bodyweight w/o fat: 199.2
fat weight: 66.7 lbs
waist: 34"

I'm actually down to 258 at this moment, but I have no other measurements. But I'm still a big guy, but I've packed on 17 lbs of muscle in just over half a year. Not too shabby, especially since I took a few months off due to injury.

You know, I'm no expert, but here are *my* simple truths if you want to be succesful....

Losing weight -------
1) Count your calories. It's THE ONLY WAY to understand why your diet sucks. Every fad diet that works does so because the food you intake basically boils down to lower calorie intake, including Atkins and South Beach. When you count your calories, you quickly discover that flour, sugar, and fructose foods are incredibly calorie dense and hardly satisfying. When you start counting your calories, you realize you can still be satisfied and full if you simply eat better.

2) Figure out your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Your RMR is the amount of calories you would burn doing NOTHING but watch TV all day long. It's good to know, because you'll have a more realistic target. My RMR is 2230 calories per day. I can eat a LOT of good stuff, and even more good stuff when I factor in calories burnt by aerobics and weights.

Your RMR can be figured out by a lot of personal trainers, but if that's not a real option for you, there are some websites with an RMR calculator that are probably within 10% of a good number.

Gaining Muscle -----
1) Use free weights whenever possible. Period. It won't matter one iota if you can curl 90lbs on a machine curl bar, if you can't pick up a 50 lb box. It won't help you to bench 220 on a machine if you can't get that cabinet that just fell on you off of you.

This includes leg exercises. Instead of using a machine to leg press, squat, or grab some light weights and lunge.

2) Push!!! I had a friend who'd been going to the gym faithfully for 5 years. But he gained little and just thought he was a hard gainer. But he just wasn't giving it all he got. Now this needs clarification.... he honestly thought he WAS giving it all he had. Truth was, he just didn't know what true grunt was.

Here's my simple recommendation: Make a goal, then make a deal with yourself. If you did 6 reps of 30 lb curls yesterday, tell yourself that if you can't get up 8 reps today, you'll go spend an extra 15 on the treadmill. Use your own laziness as a motivator.

One more thing... don't hurt yourself. My rule of thumb is don't spend more than 5 seconds trying to move a weight.

3) Keep a log. Seriously, just like calories, keep a log of the reps and weights.

4) Setup a plan. This requires reading. For me, I do chest/tris, back/bis, legs. I don't stick to a schedule. I simply wait for a muscle to stop being sore, and the NEXT day hit it again. It's more important to allow for proper recovery, or you're cheating yourself. Tearing down an already torn up muscle is silly.

In between recovery, I do more aerobic.

5) Yank! Some of you may of heard of this before, but you really need to explode out of gate when you lift. The initial yank should have some serious torque behind it, and the rest of the movement is just keping the momentum going until the rep is finished. THIS DOESNT MEAN CHEATING.

Some people you see will just do these really slow, controlled movements. I don't agree with this. We can fight about this in replies if you like, but it's really hard to grunt when you're moving like a slow dance.

If you can't quite wrap your head around yanking, get a really low weight, like 5 lbs, and curl it to your chest as fast as you can. POW! Now try that with your normal weight.

Supplements -------

I use protein shakes. I have used creatine and glutamine in the past as well. Anything other than these three is suspect, and your own personal use of them may not be necessary, period. This requires reading, get yourself educated, before making the decision to use anything.

Me -------
I'm currently in the last stage of my overall plan. I hope to slim down to 220 by June or July. I'm thinking of starting a blog, complete with before pics and after. I know I can do this, cause I've already lost massive amounts of weights in the past, and I'm already doing it again. Does anyone think there would be readership for such a thing?

02-24-2005, 10:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
EleqTrizi'T Insane	Want to lose weight and gain muscle? Here's my take Ok, I've posted about the progress I've personally made in the past. Some of you might remember that post, some don't... For those that didn't see it, here's a short recap... It's been a little over a year now. March 1st, 2003 I started "the plan".... lose weight, gain strength, eat right, stop drinking. The starting stats... Weight: 295lbs. Fat %: 45.7 Bodyweight (w/o fat): 135 Fat weight: 160 Waist: 44" As of today, June 1st, 2004.... Weight: 245lbs Fat %: 25.5 Bodyweight: (w/o fat): 182.5 Fat weight: 62.5 Waist: 34" The update as of Feb 14th: weight: 266 fat %: 25.1 bodyweight w/o fat: 199.2 fat weight: 66.7 lbs waist: 34" I'm actually down to 258 at this moment, but I have no other measurements. But I'm still a big guy, but I've packed on 17 lbs of muscle in just over half a year. Not too shabby, especially since I took a few months off due to injury. You know, I'm no expert, but here are my simple truths if you want to be succesful.... Losing weight ------- 1) Count your calories. It's THE ONLY WAY to understand why your diet sucks. Every fad diet that works does so because the food you intake basically boils down to lower calorie intake, including Atkins and South Beach. When you count your calories, you quickly discover that flour, sugar, and fructose foods are incredibly calorie dense and hardly satisfying. When you start counting your calories, you realize you can still be satisfied and full if you simply eat better. 2) Figure out your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Your RMR is the amount of calories you would burn doing NOTHING but watch TV all day long. It's good to know, because you'll have a more realistic target. My RMR is 2230 calories per day. I can eat a LOT of good stuff, and even more good stuff when I factor in calories burnt by aerobics and weights. Your RMR can be figured out by a lot of personal trainers, but if that's not a real option for you, there are some websites with an RMR calculator that are probably within 10% of a good number. Gaining Muscle ----- 1) Use free weights whenever possible. Period. It won't matter one iota if you can curl 90lbs on a machine curl bar, if you can't pick up a 50 lb box. It won't help you to bench 220 on a machine if you can't get that cabinet that just fell on you off of you. This includes leg exercises. Instead of using a machine to leg press, squat, or grab some light weights and lunge. 2) Push!!! I had a friend who'd been going to the gym faithfully for 5 years. But he gained little and just thought he was a hard gainer. But he just wasn't giving it all he got. Now this needs clarification.... he honestly thought he WAS giving it all he had. Truth was, he just didn't know what true grunt was. Here's my simple recommendation: Make a goal, then make a deal with yourself. If you did 6 reps of 30 lb curls yesterday, tell yourself that if you can't get up 8 reps today, you'll go spend an extra 15 on the treadmill. Use your own laziness as a motivator. One more thing... don't hurt yourself. My rule of thumb is don't spend more than 5 seconds trying to move a weight. 3) Keep a log. Seriously, just like calories, keep a log of the reps and weights. 4) Setup a plan. This requires reading. For me, I do chest/tris, back/bis, legs. I don't stick to a schedule. I simply wait for a muscle to stop being sore, and the NEXT day hit it again. It's more important to allow for proper recovery, or you're cheating yourself. Tearing down an already torn up muscle is silly. In between recovery, I do more aerobic. 5) Yank! Some of you may of heard of this before, but you really need to explode out of gate when you lift. The initial yank should have some serious torque behind it, and the rest of the movement is just keping the momentum going until the rep is finished. THIS DOESNT MEAN CHEATING. Some people you see will just do these really slow, controlled movements. I don't agree with this. We can fight about this in replies if you like, but it's really hard to grunt when you're moving like a slow dance. If you can't quite wrap your head around yanking, get a really low weight, like 5 lbs, and curl it to your chest as fast as you can. POW! Now try that with your normal weight. Supplements ------- I use protein shakes. I have used creatine and glutamine in the past as well. Anything other than these three is suspect, and your own personal use of them may not be necessary, period. This requires reading, get yourself educated, before making the decision to use anything. Me ------- I'm currently in the last stage of my overall plan. I hope to slim down to 220 by June or July. I'm thinking of starting a blog, complete with before pics and after. I know I can do this, cause I've already lost massive amounts of weights in the past, and I'm already doing it again. Does anyone think there would be readership for such a thing?