Strength training/bodybuilding

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Gnarf,

Calories in must be less than calories expended. That's the only way to lose weight. As long as you maintain that, any exercise program will do. That said, cardiovascular exercising is the absolute best thing to start with for losing weight. With a back injury the safest exercise is swimming. followed by walking. Don't even think of lifting weights before talking with your doctor.

Bahir,

DoTW obviously has made up his mind. He has probably received advice from someone local that he believes has more credability than people who use assumed names on a fantasy web site.

 

I'm not a fan of the whole body building thing and I've never seen the inside of a gym, but I totally support Disciple in taking action to boost his self-confidence.

Also, I think the people here have valid points. If you want to try to rather drastically change your body, you have to understand it.

 

Yeah, I kinda figured. His loss though...

(although if he takes a look at any bodybuilding site (such as (bb=bodybuilding) bb.com, abcbb.com, T-nation) my point will be proven, and there is no one who disputes the use of compound exercises for overall muscle gain)

 

Woah, woah, let's not let that degenerate in a flame war...

I've taken what you said into account, Bahir, and I'm taking a day off between exercising, so basically, I'm training on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Yesterday was somewhat of an extra, just to test the improved version, though I know I shouldn't have done it.

I've also taken a look at the program you've posted, and I'll definitively include those in my training routine - in fact, I'm using the time off between exercices to familiarize with those new exercices.

Rest assured, I wouldn't have asked for advice if I didn't indented to listen to it.

 

Another piece of 2 cents from me:

Listen to your body. Each person responds to training in different ways and what works really well for one person might not work as well for another person. Some people do best by having really long training sessions and small gaps between exercise to keep the heart going, whereas other people get better results by just doing a really small number of exercises. A lot of this depends on your general body size, your normal metabolism, level of fitness, propensity to get injured etc etc.

Keep it up.

 

Good, good. Let us know how things work out.

Good. You really want to get the form down early, or it might come back to haunt you later, when you are using heavier weight, as injuries. That's why, in my own opinion, high reps (10-12+) is good to use for beginners, because it allows you to work in a controlled manner and focus on form rather than to struggle with each, heavy rep.

If you are unsure about how to do an exercise, check here, at bodybuilding.com or on youtube (but try not to look at the powerlifter going for some personal record, those are usually not pleasant to watch )

 

DoTW: I did not mean to flame at all. I was trying (probably unsuccessfully) to use a little humor to make a point.

You really don't know us. You can't see if we are in good physical shape or not -- perhaps the only thing we know about weightlifting is what we find online (reading Bahir's post, I don't personally believe that). Getting bad advice in weightlifting can cause a lot of damage and you simply have to use your judgement in who to trust.

Having a person local that you can talk to and count on is usually more credible than any anonymous entity on line.

That said, it is great that you are working out. Please don't let anyone discourage you. Good luck!

[ June 17, 2007, 02:14: Message edited by: T2Bruno ]

 

What, if I'm in good shape or if I have some knowledge about bodybuilding?


Anyway, yeah, talking to someone face-to-face is probably better, and the best place to do that would probably be in a gym. Incidentally, that would also be the best place to work out unless you have a squat rack or cage at home(you don't want to get stuck under a weight if you are alone).

 

So if Heavy lifting is likely out, then maybe staying on the family farm might not work for me...

 

@Gnarff: First of all, a doctor's opinion about your back condition and physiotherapy will most likely help a lot. There are back supporting braces for spinal injuries that a doctor or a physiotherapist could recommend, you should go and find about your options. Second, you have to be very conscious of the way you lift stuff. Do it the right way.

I know it difficult to watch the way you lift and move all day long doing farm work, I've worked as a helping hand, but maybe you could pull it through. It's a big decision, all the more so when it's not only lifting heavy stuff but your family farm. If I'd really get fanatical about heavyweightlifting and athletics but I'd have my back injured, I'd try anything that might help, so I'd go see a doctor about what could be done and most likely go to physiotherapy.

A good friend of mine was a farm boy (that's how I got to work there), and man he could lift loads and do serious series with his legs in the gym. So one thign you do is strentghen your legs, since the right way to lift is with your legs and not with your back. But do be careful.

 

Well, I went today and tried going one weight more than what I usually do. The reps went down from 10 to about 5. I also tried some of those lifting and squating exercises with dumbells. I got tired so fast... maybe 5 reps or less. Sounds like I'm using a muscle group that I haven't normally been using, so that's a good sign.

How long are your workouts usually? I'm exhausted in 30 minutes, 45 minutes tops.

 

Well, once upon a time, I was a volume kind of guy, so I used to spend two hours or more at the gym. I realized the err of my ways, and cut down the volume, and upped the intensity and weights. So now I spend about one hour to one and a half hour (the latter rarely) in the gym working out with weights, and then I usually do 30 minutes of cardio.

How long time I spend depends on what workout it is. On my power days, where I do compound exercises only, the workouts are pretty short (less than an hour) because I don't do too many exercises nor too many sets.

 

30-45 minutes is great at the beginning. As your strength builds it will take you longer to get the same quality workout.

It sounds like your doing quite well -- keep it up!

 

Walking is powerful. It requires no equipment, it (usually) doesn't cause any real injury, and you can do it for a long time even when you aren't in the best physical condition. Studies have repeatedly shown that, when doing cardio, your body doesn't start using fat instead of glycogen for fuel until after about the first 20 minutes of exercise. If you have the time, set aside thirty minutes to an hour twice a day for walking (with walking, more is almost always better). Later on, you can cut back the time spent and jack up the intensity (in other words, switch to running....but preferably for 45 minutes to an hour at a go) and get the same (or better!) results, but, since you're starting out you should work on walking at a pace just hard enough to make conversation a little uncomfortable for 45 minutes to an hour once or twice a day until you feel ready to do more. Even if you never move past this stage, you should still see good results.

 

Actually, I sometimes walk to relieve back pain. Especially when I have to sit for long periods, walking lets me stretch out and relieve the back pain.

At 300 lbs plus (despite the fact that people constantly guess me lower than that), I don't see Running any time soon outside of an emergency...

 

Well, if you want to lose weight, diet is still #1. Decrease the size of your meals, only eat healthy stuff (i.e no fast-food, candy, chips, fries, soda), eat about 5-6 small meals a day. Excess fat really puts a lot of pressure on joints, ligaments and the back.

 

Bahir is right. All the training in the world is completely pointless if you don't put as much, if not more, effort into eating the right stuff.

 

Hi DOTW,

You've hit on my passion here. I've been body building for the last 8 years. I have gotten much more serious about my workouts in the last 3 years. I could give you a long response, but I'll keep it (pretty) short:

* Bahir pretty much nailed it. The compound excercises will give you the most bang for your buck (bench press, dead lift, squat, power clean).
* Bahir also nailed the nutrition pretty well. Meat is going to give you the full amino profile as well as protein. If you don't want to eat a lot of meat (I don't) then try whey protein.
* bodybuilding.com. The forums are great. There are video clips of just about every movement you would do. Articles on nutrition, working out, specific movements, etc. Great resource. Check it out.

The most important thing: Take your time. Body building is a marathon, not a sprint. Personally, I think that the high rep/low weight approach that you are taking is PERFECT for starting out. You will give your joints and connective tissue a chance to catch up with your muscles, and reduce your risk of injury. Continue with that for 6-8 weeks, then move on to sets of 8-12, moving the weight up as you need. Biomechanics is really key. Bad form will cause injuries.

 

Boy oh boy, can I testify to that at this precise moment. Not good. I am in far too much pain right now, and it's not just "soreness". Heed my lesson well.

 

What did you do?

I think the worst injury I've gotten in the gym is when I was doing dumbbell shoulder presses and it felt like something snapped in my neck. The pain went away after about a week, but after that, I made sure I was always using proper form, especially on overhead pressing exercises.