So I'm goin moderately hard in this weight training program. I'm trying to build some upper body strength and burn fat. So what would the best way to do that be?

I'm trying to get a diet together, but I have no clue what I should have in this diet.

In our classroom we mostly have the weight machines. In our fitness lab that we can go to, there's a bunch of the bikes, treadmills and elliptical machines along with freeweights and the weight machines.

I'm pretty much weight lifting retarded, other than knowing how the machines work. I'm 6', and 235, technically "medium" build even though I'm fat. So, anyone have any suggestions?

 

you can either

A: diet and get skinny and cut
or
B: Bulk up.

you can't do both successsfully.

I'd work on getting your weight down to about 190 or so, then building up your muscle... then once you have the muscle mass you like, "cut" and lose more fat and work on toning.


not to say that you can't put weights into your workout routine.

I'm 5'11' and used to be 235-240, with weight traiing, cardio and diet, i got down to 182, with a small gut still. From there I started lifting weights pretty hard - I'm at 195 right now, a little more fat than at 182, but not much. Bascially, if you want to build lean mass ,you have to eat.

When i lost weight, i started on the elipticals b/c i was getting bad shin splints. If you can run, run. if you're tearing your knees and shins up, lose some weight doing hardcore elipticals.

I'd run if you can - running is gonna burn the most calories. Its not necessarily how far you can run, but how long and what pace. build up to maybe an 8 min mile pace, and run for 30 min -- that'd be a good pace, but will take effort to build up to.

 

I see... My stamina is totally the suck. I can do the ellipticals at a vigorous pace for a little while, but I'm terrible at running. I'm always out of breath after one 1/4 mile lap

Know of any ways to increase the stamina and endurance during the workout?

 

keep working at it.

inclrease the difficulty level of the ellipticals. if the scale is up to 20, i put it on 13-15

start out at your regul 25 min , move up to an hour straight when you can

control your breathing - so much of stamina is controlling your breathing. don't huff and puff, focus on iiiiiiiiiinnn step two three.... ouuuuutttttt step two three.


for running:
start jogging at a slow slow pace around the track for 20-30 minutes
eventually start picking the speed up

 

Never thought of increasing the level. I'm gonna try that one out today. The lab opens in about 90 minutes, so I'll give it a shot.

Thanks for those tips

 

no problem.

for the time being, you can still lift weight too, but don't focus on getting strong and buff... focus on getting proper technique, experiencing different exersizes, and toning - so that when/if you decide to lift hardcore you won't break youself.

 

I took the same approach that Manincamo did....I was 6'2 235....pretty chunky. I started dieting and doing a ton of cardio, and got down to 175, but I was really skinny at that point. From then, I cut back on the cardio, and began hitting the weights. At this point, I'm up to 205, and have a decent build. As Manincamo said, its pretty hard to lose weight and bulk up at the same time. You have to pick one....I'd go for the weight first and then bulk up afterwards.

 

Lots of it has to do with your "mental fatigue" when you run. Don't limit yourself. An example was when I was running on the streets...I was aiming for 5 miles, but by 1 mile i was ready to quit. But I say f-ck that and kept on running till I reached that 5 miles. It wasn't much physical fatigue as it was mental.

 

Yeah, the weight is most important to me. I was never fat until I moved back to CA from Florida. When I was living in Florida with my mom and her ex-boyfriend my punishment for getting in trouble was x amount of push-ups or sit-ups. Now at the time I hated that sonuvabitch for making me do it, but here I was in 4th grade and I was gettin ripped. lol

Moved out to CA again and I went to hell and never recovered. Mostly because my dad didn't give a shit if I got fat. I'm just so sick of it hindering everything I do. I feel so sluggish and drained of energy, so I've gotta change that. But I'm gonna be working on it a lot, so I hope I'll see some good results after a while.

 

oh yeah, but as for the diet... Anyone know some good diet habits for this kind of thing? Or any websites that would have info on it?