# Looking to get in shape.



## nasher27 (Mar 21, 2009)

Hey everyone, my friend and I are 16 years old, and lately we've started lifting weights in a friend's home gym.

Up until this Spring, I've been part of my high school's football program, where in the off season they've tried to get us to weight train. I became familiar with most weight lifting techniques there, but I've never been motivated by that program to get in shape, so I quit after this previous season. I took a break up until now, doing absolutely nothing to stay in shape. My friend asked me recently if I wanted to go lift weights at another friend's home gym. I said I hadn't lifted in forever, but what the hell, I went anyway. It felt nice to get back into the gym, and since then we've gone three times this week, doing random upper body workouts, with a few lower body ones. Yesterday, I told him that if we really wanted to get serious, we needed to construct a program. He seemed up to it, so I searched the internet for ways we could efficiently maximize the time we spent in there. My searches lead me to this site, which I've found a few great guides and resources.

Using a very basic calculator (can't post link because I don't have 5 posts), my approximate Body Fat % is 16%. It told me my Body Fat % by just asking me solely for my weight and waist. I cannot tell how accurate this is, because I'm 16 and am still growing. Another reason I'd say it's inaccurate is that it seems too low. I would say that I'm mildly overweight, certainly not obese, however. I do not know my friends, but he is far better off than me, and he still runs/plays soccer frequently.

I plan on working out with my friend 3 days a week, following a basic full-body weight lifting guide I found on this site, incrementally increasing the weight as the weeks go by. Always followed by 20 minutes of cardio after every work out.

I'd just like to know if there is anything else I need to be aware of, and I'm mainly looking for any good tips on lowering that Body Fat %.

Thanks in advance, I look forward to hearing back from you all.


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## Arnold (Mar 21, 2009)

*Welcome to our bodybuilding & fitness community*

nasher27 welcome to IM! 

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## Built (Mar 21, 2009)

Hi there! You've been doing some reading - thank you so much for posting after doing so!

Your reward, of course is... wait for it... MORE READING!  
Click the "start here" link in my sig, see if there's anything you can use in there. Straight up, we're going to ask about your diet, so read that part well.

Good luck, and I'm very proud of you for doing this.


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## nasher27 (Mar 21, 2009)

Thanks for the replies Prince and Built.

As for the homework:

1. My main goal is to first lose weight and get to a healthier body fat level. Then probably start building.

2. My diet can be pretty varied, but I'll track it for a week starting Monday.

3. I'm pretty much going to follow the basic workout you described in that thread. My friend's home gym has everything I'll need, including a treadmill and elliptical machine for cardio, so I'm set.

Again, thanks for all the help.


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## Built (Mar 21, 2009)

You are most welcome. 

OH - please take "before" pix and measurements. HIDE THEM - nobody needs to see these now, and you REALLY don't need to look at them. But a year from now you'll want to show them to everybody!


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## nasher27 (Mar 31, 2009)

Alright, I've got my weekly average for my diet.

Calories: 1,770
Fat: 57.8g
Carbs: 227g
Protein: 87.7g

For some reason, it has been so hard to get to my friend's home gym last week and this week also. Last Monday I was recovering from food poisoning, and Wednesday my friend could not go. We went Friday, and it was pretty productive. This week, my friend (who has the home gym) was sick, so we could not go. Tomorrow he supposedly cannot let us in either. So it looks like I'm stuck with only working out Friday again this week. 

I really hope I can keep to the schedule starting this next week and so forth.


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## Built (Mar 31, 2009)

Okay, unless you're a 120 lb chick, your calories are far too low!

What do you weigh?


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## nasher27 (Apr 1, 2009)

Yeah they did seem a little low. I was 159, last time I weighed 2 weeks ago. 

It was hard to get a good estimate, many of the foods I eat were not on there, so I wouldn't really call that accurate.

I do not eat very much, though. I have a small breakfast (like one bowl of cereal, or an apple). My lunches are pretty small and varied I would say also. My dinners on most nights, however, are usually large home cooked meals, so I would definitely say I get most of my nutrition from them.


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## Built (Apr 1, 2009)

How tall are you?


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## nasher27 (Apr 1, 2009)

5'6"


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## Built (Apr 1, 2009)

That's a good weight for your height. Are you sure you don't want to just try to recomp for a bit?


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## nasher27 (Apr 1, 2009)

I'm sorry, but what does recomp mean?


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## Built (Apr 1, 2009)

recompose - it's a very slow process newbies get to employ with some efficacy. You eat at maintenance, and train hard. Your body slowly adds muscle and slowly drops a little fat.


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## nasher27 (Apr 1, 2009)

Alright. What would "eating at maintenance" entail for me?


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## Built (Apr 1, 2009)

You need to find this out for yourself, bud. Whatever it takes to neither gain nor lose.

Read the link in my sig.


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## OuiSwim (Apr 2, 2009)

A general way to find maintenance calories is to take your weight and multiply it by 12 or some BS like that.

Calorie Control Council | Healthy Weight Calculator

That's a decent link for finding your maintenance calories, best of luck!


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