# Need alot of help



## Tom_B (Sep 5, 2004)

Ok about 2-4 months ago I was on a 1500 calorie a day diet to maintain my weight. Then I went on vaction with my friend and his patents and his mom convienced me that with all the exercise I do I could probably eat anything without gaining any weight, so I took her advice and pig out on everything in sight of complete junkfood (probably about 3500 calories give or take) and through out the week I gained 5 pounds of water weight (I was 125 pounds) that I got rid of in one day when i went back on my 1500 calorie diet. the after listening to you guys I took your advice and decided to go on a bulk and I ate 2100-2300 calories a day and lost a pound (was 119) so I decided to increase my calories to 2800 and then I gained 3 pounds (122) so someone told me it was more than likely water weight, so try eating that much for another week, so I did and I didn't gain anything so I figured I might have gained a pound or so but lost some water weight through the week so it kinda evened out. But I weighed myself today and I was still 122. So I have no idea at all what number of calories i should start eating, I already find it hard enoguh to get the 2800 calories in me and I don't want to gain any water weight, which is gonna happen if I start eating more.


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## atherjen (Sep 5, 2004)

question- how tall are you? you seem quite light for a male. 

nevertheless it sounds as though you need to be eating above the current 2800 calorie level that your at... but not all foods that you eat have to cause water retention(due to more carbs, as it water is stored along with the glycogen). Depending on your intake of EFA's and protein you could perhaps add more to there. 
Put up an outline of your diet and Im sure we can tweak some things for you. 

So are your goals to continue to gain LBM? (muscle)


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## Tom_B (Sep 5, 2004)

I'm 5'8 and 15 years old (i'll be 16 soon) and yep my goals are to keep gaining LBM for 20 pounds then I'm gonna cut to lose 10 pounds of fat, considering I ahve no idea what my bodyfat% is, if anyone could give me an estimate from my pics I'd apprciate it lol
I have some different meals, It all depends if I work that day or not (I work at our family's chinese retsaurant)

Breakfast: 
Quaker regular no sugar added instant oatmeal 
2 glasses of vanilla soy milk. 
1 small Banana. 
1 scoop Whey Protein
1/2 cup of All Bran

Snack #1 (when I'm working)
1 cup of chicken fried rice
3/4 cup of fat free strawberry or Banana yofurt
1 cup of whole strawberries
1 scoop of protein Powder

Snack #2 (When I'm not working)
3/4 cup of fat free strawberry or Banana yofurt
1 cup of whole strawberries
1 scoop of protein Powder
Lunch #1 (when working)

2 ounces of skinless chicken breast
1 oroweat Carb Counting tortillas Wrap
1 apple
1 TBSP of unsweetned Peanut Butter

Lunch#2 (when not working)
1 oroweat Carb Counting tortillas Wrap
1 apple
1 can of Chunk Light Tuna

Snack
8 Breton Multigrain whole wheat thin sliced cracker
2 TBSP of unsweetened peanut Butter
90G of Fat free Cheese

Supper#1 (when working)
1 oroweat Carb Counting tortillas Wrap
1 can of Chunk Light Tuna
3 cups of Broccoli/Celery
2 ounces of chicken

Supper#2 (not working)
2 cups of broccoli
2 ounces of chicken
85.5 strings of whole wheat Sphagetti
3 TBSP of Light Parmesan Cheese

Snack
8 egg whites
2 TBSP of Becel Canoil or Sunflower oil
1 orange or Appel
Totals
Working Calories - 2775
fat - 82G (17 sat)
Carbs - 259G (55 G of Fiber)
Protein - 276G 

Totals:
Not Working
 Calories- 2752
Fat - 69G (15Sat)
Carbs - 292 (59 G of fiber)
Protein - 268G

Working
Calories - 2770
Fat - 82 (17 sat)
Carbs - 259 (54 grams of fiber)
Protein - 274


I work 2-3 x a week

I lift Weights 4x a week doing p/rr/s and I do cardio 5x a week, and Pilates 3x a week So I get no "rest days"
I also eat my last snack about 1-2 hours before bed if that matters


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## NJ-Surfer (Sep 5, 2004)

You need to rest more to gain size. Your fitness level is great but to gain size you need to cut way back on your cardio and give your body a few days of rest. Look at professional cyclists or marathon runners, those guys take in mass amounts of calories per day and gain no weight because they burn sooo many calories. 

Take a look at Lance Armstrongs site for example :http://www.lancearmstrong.com/greenbook.html 

Quote: riders in "Le Tour" intake 9,000-10,000 calories per day and lose 4-7 pounds over the course of the race!  

At your age and at your fitness level your a calorie burning machine, viva le tour!!


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## Tom_B (Sep 5, 2004)

lol  god 9000-10,000 calories a day and they still lose weight? that's insane. So ya I guess I burn alot of calories during I day, but I have no idea how much, and how much i should eb eating without retaining water, cause I already eat alot of protein/EFA's o well hopefulyl someone can tweak some stuff for me and maybe add some more considering I need more calories now..fun


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## NJ-Surfer (Sep 5, 2004)

Read Lances site and it talks a lot about calories burned and weight lost. Unless your willing to double your current caloric intake I would suggest less cardio and more rest. So:

a) eat more
b) less cardio more rest

If I were you I would choose b)


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## BulkMeUp (Sep 5, 2004)

NJ-Surfer said:
			
		

> You need to rest more to gain size. Your fitness level is great but to gain size you need to cut way back on your cardio and give your body a few days of rest.





			
				NJ-Surfer said:
			
		

> Read Lances site and it talks a lot about calories burned and weight lost. Unless your willing to double your current caloric intake I would suggest less cardio and more rest. So:
> 
> a) eat more
> b) less cardio more rest
> ...


Does this advice sound familiar, Tom???

I have said the same before and so have soooo many others. But i understand you cannot suddenly give up the cardio as you have been doing it for soooo long, on your own admission. So maybe that is what you should start working at. Towards reducing the cardio. As your calorie intake is being used up by the cardio and preventing lbm increase.


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## Tom_B (Sep 5, 2004)

well i still wanna do cardio at least 4x a week, I did cut back to cardio for 5x a week to give my legs 2 days rest so they wouldn't retain water (I train my legs alot between Pilates, Weights and Cardio) and I consider My Pilate/Ab night as my "rest days" just cause it's relaxing and it's not that intense. I can't cut back on exercise, I like it too much it's time where I can just relax and get away from reverything and focus on myself, hell I even walk 10-30 minutes after the majority of my meals and snack just to relax and get ym mind away from things.
So I guess really I need to start eating more, so about how much more should I be eating?..


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## Tom_B (Sep 5, 2004)

ok what if I try this
Still do the amount of exercise I'm doing but increase my calories to 3,500 doing the 40/40/20 spilt (I think thats too much protein but I don't what else to put it in) 
Then as for the water weight problem could I eat 3500 calories all week then on Saturday (the day before I weigh myself) I eat 2300 calories to get rid of all my water weight for my weighing the next day then go right back to eat 3,500 calories without worrying about water weight cause my body will be use to the carbs, or will I just gain all the water weight back?


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## Emma-Leigh (Sep 5, 2004)

*It is a mental thing...*



			
				Tom_B said:
			
		

> ok what if I try this
> Still do the amount of exercise I'm doing but increase my calories to 3,500 doing the 40/40/20 spilt (I think thats too much protein but I don't what else to put it in)
> Then as for the water weight problem could I eat 3500 calories all week then on Saturday (the day before I weigh myself) I eat 2300 calories to get rid of all my water weight for my weighing the next day then go right back to eat 3,500 calories without worrying about water weight cause my body will be use to the carbs, or will I just gain all the water weight back?



Tom. You have to start to prioritize. Think realistically about your life, your health and your future.

What are you going to achieve by prolonging this procedure of weight gain? The crux of the matter is that you need to get yourself to a healthy weight. There can be no argument against that - The stress you are putting your body under by maintaining yourself in this semi-pathological state is not going to be worth it in the long run. Your body will eventually "give up" and you will be faced with a multitude of health problems that will FORCE you to change your life drastically... Something I imagine creating somewhat of a psychological challenge for you if you are not careful.

Why not just do the responsible thing? Take control of yourself and your future... 

Treat it like you are ripping of a band-aid and get it over and done with. Decrease your cardio - start by taking one day off and dropping it to 4 days a week. This is still more cardio than a lot of people who are CUTTING will do, so you definitely do not need more than this. This is especially so if you are doing other activities. Also, to maintain cardiovascular fitness you do not need more than this - so you can not really argue a reason for it. 

I would then seriously consider dropping it down to three days.

You will also not get around the issue simply by 'adding more food' - especially as you have issues with food in the first place. This will be somewhat of a challenge in itself as you will CONSTANTLY be fighting your desire to starve yourself!! Why live a life like that?

You need to tackle the problem and deal with your compulsions to exercise - not just try to treat the symptoms of your obsessive thoughts... Don't let your situation control you...



In all honesty, judging by what you are doing, I am not really sure you are psychologically READY to try to gain the weight. If you were, you would be doing more to try to help yourself...  For that reason I think you seriously need to ask yourself why are you trying to stay sick and what you are gaining by perpetuating this situation...


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## Makavelli (Sep 5, 2004)

i think you need to have more rest. and at your size and age why do you need to cut at all? just eat like crazy and bulk up.


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## Tom_B (Sep 6, 2004)

Emma-Leigh said:
			
		

> Tom. You have to start to prioritize. Think realistically about your life, your health and your future.
> 
> What are you going to achieve by prolonging this procedure of weight gain? The crux of the matter is that you need to get yourself to a healthy weight. There can be no argument against that - The stress you are putting your body under by maintaining yourself in this semi-pathological state is not going to be worth it in the long run. Your body will eventually "give up" and you will be faced with a multitude of health problems that will FORCE you to change your life drastically... Something I imagine creating somewhat of a psychological challenge for you if you are not careful.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I needed that your completely right. The entire reason i wanted to gain weight was not to get more muscle on me, it's because I need to, my body can't deal with it, that's why I wanted to be at 130pounds in the end so I'd be at the lowest of a healthy range of weight. But at the same time I don't want to gain weight, it's so hard for me thats why I was doing so much cardio cause I figured I could be burning off any fat I was gaining some any weight I wil gain will be muscle, I know that's impossible but I just didn't want to believe that. And your right I need to take priority about my life and I really don't want to go back to a hospital cause I know eventually something's gonna ahppen to my heart again cause I already get some chest pains.
I'm gonna try doing this -
Mon - 2000 calories (no dairy or anything)
Tues- Fri - 2800 calories
Sat - 2000 calories (no dairy or anything)
Sun - 2800 calories.
And I'm gonna cut my cardio down to 3x a week on non-weight training days
And if I still don't gain weight I'll add some more calories on the 2800 days, I know it'll be hard but it's the only way, and I got some great friends that will support me on this. I will gain weight, I don't care what I have to do but I will, my goal is to be the 130 within 7 months.


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## BulkMeUp (Sep 6, 2004)

Tom_B said:
			
		

> I will gain weight, I don't care what I have to do but I will, my goal is to be the 130 within 7 months.


Nobody is suggesting to gain fat weight, as you seem to be focussed on fat(in general). With the right diet AND provided you let your body use the cals to build muscle by not burning them up otherwise, you can get there in a more reasonable time. Generally it is suggested that you should put on 1-2 pounds a week. I Know for a fact this is possible as i have been skinny all my life and NEVER thought i could put on lbm. But in the past 6-7 months i have proven myself wrong and was able to put on a little over a pound each week. In total i put on 20 pounds in 6 months. So for you to go from 122-130 should be possible in under 2 months!

I understand you cannot give up the cardio instantly as you have been doing it for so long and like doing it. However as every one keeps saying, let your body rest and allow it to grow and put on some quality lbm. If you dont want to do the 'ripping off band-aid' as suggested Emma-Leigh, at least start by reducing the intensity level and duration slowly, say, reduce the time by 10% and go down a level every week. No one is saying cardio is a bad thing, it is just that you need to let your body recover and stop pushing it to the brink. 



			
				Tom_B said:
			
		

> ok what if I try this Still do the amount of exercise I'm doing but increase my calories to 3,500 doing the 40/40/20 spilt (I think thats too much protein but I don't what else to put it in)
> Then as for the water weight problem could I eat 3500 calories all week then on Saturday (the day before I weigh myself) I eat 2300 calories to get rid of all my water weight for my weighing the next day then go right back to eat 3,500 calories without worrying about water weight cause my body will be use to the carbs, or will I just gain all the water weight back?



You are very focused on your diet. which is a good thing. But maybe you are a bit over focused on it, IMO. I say this as i dont remember comming accross your weight routine in the training section, eve though you keep saying that you are doing weights. If you are training with weights to a good intensity, you should be quite tired to do much more. But seems like weight training is a low priority for you as you are able to do so much more in addition to it. So may i ask what is your weight training routine like? Do you have a journal to keep track of its progress?? and what is your final goal (weight/bf%)?

Remember at your age you have a great advantage over most of the rest of us. You have a naturally higher testosterone level. But it will not last forever. So make the best use of it NOW to get a great body.


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## Tom_B (Sep 6, 2004)

Ya, that's my problem I'm so scared that instead of gaining muscle I'm gonna gain fat, that's why i do so much cardio, I figured that I could keep my fat gains really low, but at the same time I'm eating away at muscle too probably... And the reason I said 7 months is that I'm not sure if I should gain weight untill I'm 140pounds then cut for 10 pounds, or just gain some weight till i'm 130 pounds. I'll know once I reach 130 pounds. And I plan on reducing my cardio to 3x a week, just I'm gonna start to walk around some more, so I can still feel like I'm doing my cardio but it won't be as intense.

As for my exercise routine, it's currently this - 
Weights - p/rr/s (30 reps for power, 45 for rep range and 15 for shock, I don't rest inbetween sets)
Tues/Thurs - Back - 4 exercises
                - Shoulders - 3 exercises
                - Biceps - 2 exercises
Wed/Fri -   - Chest - 3 exercises
                - Legs - 6 exercises
                - Triceps - 2 exercises
Abs - I work them 2 days then I give them a days rest, then 2 again etc.
30x Advanced Twisting leg ups
30x JAcknife
30 The accordian
30x oblique crunches
30x crunches

Pilates - Using a resitance band
Sat-Mon I do about 20 - 30 mins of pilates followed by abs, if it's an ab night

Cardio 5 x a week doing HIIT
I alternate inbetween Skipping where I skip for 3 minutes then for 1 minute I do these weird walking in place things that works your abs and I do this for 16-18 minutes. Then on the next day I use an elpitical traing where I go at a medium pace for 1 minute then I go fast for 1 minute etc. I do this for 15 mins followed by a 5 min cooldown where I go inbetween slow/medium

My new plans are gonna be to eat
2000 calories on Mon
2800 calories on Tues-Fri
2000 calories on Saturday
2800 calories on Sun
Everything the same except I'll be adding 5 reps to each different weight training week (power will be 35, rep range will be 50 and Shock will be 20) and doing cardio 3x a week on the non weight training/Pilates days
Hopefulyl I'll gain some weight and if not I'll keep adding calories onto the 2800 calories day.
I'm tired of bullshiting I need to gain weight so that what I'm gonna do, I'll force myself not to do cardio, I'll force myself to eat more if I have to..I'm tired of all this I just want to get it done and over with so I'm not always worrying about if I've gained an weight or not.


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## bulletproof1 (Sep 6, 2004)

dude just put on some weight and build some mass. then go on a cut and get rid of what fat you put on in the process. your discipline with cardio is admirable so cutting wont be a problem for you. you will thank us when the chicks cant keep their hands off your guns.


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## BulkMeUp (Sep 7, 2004)

Looks like you have quite a routine laid out there. I know you dont want to give up the cardio, but I would suggest that you start to reduce the cardio/aerobic activity until you start to see some lbm gain, rather than increase your cals to 3500 as you suggested in another thread. Make your weight training the No.1 priority in terms of time spent exercising and intensity. Maintain a journal to keep track of you progress of your weights.


			
				Tom_B said:
			
		

> Ya, that's my problem I'm so scared that instead of gaining muscle I'm gonna gain fat, that's why i do so much cardio, I figured that I could keep my fat gains really low, but at the same time I'm eating away at muscle too probably... And the reason I said 7 months is that I'm not sure if I should gain weight untill I'm 140pounds then cut for 10 pounds, or just gain some weight till i'm 130 pounds. I'll know once I reach 130 pounds. And I plan on reducing my cardio to 3x a week, just I'm gonna start to walk around some more, so I can still feel like I'm doing my cardio but it won't be as intense.


If you are about 120#, going upto 140# (increase of 20#)and deciding to cut 10# implies a 50% fat increase! If your diet is in order and you are hitting the weights intensely (making regular progress with increasing weights) seems unlikely you will put on 10#(a 50% increase) of fat. However monitor your weight and bf gains weekly to see if you are on track to your goal. and dont freak out if one week happens to be out of line.

Anyway, as suggested by bulletproof1, you can always burn the excess fat on your cut cycle as you are very very adept at the cardio stuff. Cardio and cuting are two things most people love to hate!

Also dont limit yourself to numbers and stop at 140 as you are 15, it is likely you might grow taller (depending on genetics, of course). In which case you might have to put on more lbm to avoid looking skinny.

For some inspiration, take a look at this guy who is in your age group. http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=51316


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## Tom_B (Sep 7, 2004)

I'ts gonna be hard but I know i gotta stop with the cardio to I'm gonna reduce it 3x a week and instead throught out the week just walk an extra 20 minutes, and if I'm still don't gain LBM then I'll cut that too. The reason why I wanted to cut for 10 pounds is because I have no idea what my body fat% is, I got it done at a gym and it said 5%, but the guy had no idea what he was doing, so if anyone could give me an estimate based on ym pics I'd appreciate it. Also my goals aren't too be big, I want too still look somewhat kinny but Lean at the same time, and I'm not too sure if I'll be growing any taller, my uncles are all really tall, but right now at 5'8 I'm the tallest in my family (sad I know) but I seem to be getting taller, I can only hope lol
Also thanks for the link, that guy really toned up his body in 8 months


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## BulkMeUp (Sep 7, 2004)

Good decision on reducing the cardio. Look at it this way, if you dont like the way things are shaping up, you could always increase it again. But give the weights a serious try and try to let go of the cardio. Attempt to slowly change your mind from 'i gotta do that cardio' to 'i gotta hit those weights'. And make the weights a priority. With a really good and intense workout you would burn a lot of cals anyway. 

Keep a journal/diary of your weights and track its progress. seeing progress always helps motivations. 
Set a goal on what you want to look like (weight/bf). Use that as a mental image when you workout. I do that all the time. When i am doing my set. i imagine the image of my body part that i am exercising to be body part of someones pic that i saw. and No, this is NOT a gay thing to do. It really helps me in being focussed during the set and not letting my mind wander.

Dont focus on the bf too closely. From what i have seen, the only people that would tend to do so are the ones training for a competition in the near future. From your pics i would def guess that you are 8%bf or under. But on the otherhand it is difficult to judge peoples height,weight,bf..etc from pics. Could be the guy at the gym took one look at you and decided that there is no way you could be over 5%, or he was just a plain idiot. If you want, get a weight/bf scale. These things are inaccurate to calculate bf, but consistant and will help track changes. Let the mirror make the final decision as to how you look and ask yourself if you feel good about how you look.

If you are unsure, post some pics and members are sure to give you some unbiased opinion and not the sugar coated version your friends are likely to give you are they would tend to tell you what you want to hear rather than they way it is.

So before you get started, set your mind on what you want to look like. I found some more links for you.
Here is a guy who is 15yo, started at 5'7"/127# in feb and now 5'8"/140#. Take a look and decide if you want to look similar to him. http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=52529

But personally, i think you would look awesome if you looked like this guy who is also 5'7" started at 125 and 2 years later is 172#  http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=51910 
If you decide to make him your goal, then we are talking about putting on 50lbs of lbm. Assuming you are able to put on 1lb/week, you will be bulking diligently for the next year at least! So you see it is a long term goal. But the final decision is yours as to which direction you want to go.


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## Tom_B (Sep 8, 2004)

Thanks again, I know I definetly wen up in my strength and muscle endurance, cause I ahve a machine that has 6 different resitance levels, when I first got it the 2nd level was a really good workout for me, now I use the 3rd level for rr, the 4th for P and the 5th for S, hopefulyl I'll reach the 6th level soon  (lol if onlt I had of been eating enough calories back then I woulda saw alot more gains).
thanks for estimating my bodyfat% for me cause I had no idea what I was at, I knew I wasn't 5% cause the guy at the gym was a complete idiot, he took a caliper and just measured my side on my stomach, no where else so I knew it wasn't accurate.
lol I do the exact same thing while exercising I picture how I want to look and why I'm exercising, or I picture the complete opposite of what I want to look like and it helps motivate you 
I want to look more like the first guy, just a little leaner, lol i could never bulk for more than a year, i'd go crazy without my cardio. Hopefulyl I can see results as fast as them, but I'm prepared to wait a while.
Thanks again for evereything BulkMeUp


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## BulkMeUp (Sep 8, 2004)

Tom_B said:
			
		

> Thanks again, I know I definetly wen up in my strength and muscle endurance, cause I ahve a machine that has 6 different resitance levels, when I first got it the 2nd level was a really good workout for me, now I use the 3rd level for rr, the 4th for P and the 5th for S, hopefulyl I'll reach the 6th level soon  (lol if onlt I had of been eating enough calories back then I woulda saw alot more gains).


So you are not doing any actual weights? I am not trashing the machine you are using. Machines are good for beginners. I started with machines and once i got adequate strength and confidence, i moved onto the free weights. If you are not using weights, i strongly suggest you consider moving onto them.


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## Tom_B (Sep 8, 2004)

what's the difference between the two? Resitance is resitance isn't it?
www.totalgym.com
thats the machine I have is it any good?


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## Emma-Leigh (Sep 8, 2004)

Tom_B said:
			
		

> what's the difference between the two? Resitance is resitance isn't it?
> www.totalgym.com
> thats the machine I have is it any good?


Not all resistance exercises are 'created equal'.

With that type of system you miss out on the neuromuscular co-ordination building effects of free-weight training. That is, free weights TRAIN your nerves and your muscles to co-ordinate contractions which help your body move more effectively every day, prevents injuries, aids in strength and helps you to learn how to focus and isolate target muscle groups.

Free weights also have the benifit of training your stabiliser muscles. The smaller muscle groups that are not targeted by isolation exercises. These stabilsers are what helps keep your body in the correct form while you are performing lifts, and are vital to keeping you injury free as well!!

Lifting free weights also gives you much more of a metabolic and anabolic stimulation!! By doing large multi-joint, compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, pull-ups etc, you are moving/engaging large muscle masses. The more muscle you work - the more of a metabolic effect you will have on your body (this means increased 'partitioning' of nutrients to your muscles for repair and growth, increased mobilisation of fat stores during the post-exercise period - Or EPOC and an increased metabolism for the rest of the day). You also get hormonal responses with heavy free-weight lifting that you would not get with that type of resistance machine - responses that will help your muscles grow (anabolism)!!

Basically, they are better all round.


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## Tom_B (Sep 8, 2004)

crap guess I'm gonna have to get some free weights lol, what would I need to do get to do all the proper exercises, cause I'm gonna have to buy all the free weights since, I can't find a ride down to the gym at 5:30 - 6:00am lol..


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## Emma-Leigh (Sep 8, 2004)

Tom_B said:
			
		

> crap guess I'm gonna have to get some free weights lol, what would I need to do get to do all the proper exercises, cause I'm gonna have to buy all the free weights since, I can't find a ride down to the gym at 5:30 - 6:00am lol..



Is there any way you can get to the gym at another time? 

Although you COULD set up a gym with some reasonable equipment there would be some expense involved - things like a set of dumbells/barebell (with the required plates), an adjustable bench, a pull up bar (or a tree limb  ) would not be cheap.... On top of that I would be concerned with attempting heavy lifts without the proper equipment ( eg: squats without a squat cage/rack) especially if you are not used to performing these lifts.


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## Tom_B (Sep 9, 2004)

well I suppos I could get a membership at my gym , and go sometime after supper, just it'd be really hard because of school/work, I'd have to complelty changed my routine, that's why I'd rather get a home set (and I don't have any friends that would want to come with so lol I be really uncomfortable there by myself.) But my "friend" that's pretty overweight went out and bought some dumbbells/weight plates/a Bench/a bar and i'm pretty sure it costed him like $150 so it's not that bad, and if I nned anyhting "special" Christmas is around the corner


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## BulkMeUp (Sep 9, 2004)

Tom_B said:
			
		

> what's the difference between the two? Resitance is resitance isn't it?


Nope, not really. What you are doing will develop strength, but not really recommended to build lbm.

I suspest that the reason you tend to put on fat instead of lbm is because you are not training your muscles to grow much with the present equipment. Besides if you do a REALLY intense workout with weights, you would be pretty wornout and would not be able to do the volume of cardio that you are presently doing for long.

Using the machines with weight plates is ok for beginners. Once you get the hang of it with proper form, move onto free weights. And you will really see a lot of improvement in lbm.



			
				Tom_B said:
			
		

> www.totalgym.com
> thats the machine I have is it any good?


Check out this thread about one guys experiences and opinions about resistance machines. http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=36200

And yes, if possible, reschedule you day if needed to go to the gym and hit the weights, or if you have the money and space you could buy your equipment.

I go to the gym after work. And yes in the beginning it can be a challenge, but you get used to the routine. Sort a training out that works for you. I do an upper/lower split. 2 weekdays(tue and thu) and the weekend (sat and sun). each session approx an hour. You dont have to exercise for hours on the end or go to the gym everyday. Rest days are important. Do the session quickly with good intensity. Remember 'intensity and form over weights and time'.

Also when picking a gym. It is adviseable to pick one that is close to work/school or home. so that you donot have to travel too much back and forth as that time and trouble can become a deterant, at least for some.

Dont forget to take a small notebook and pencil with you to keep track of your weights/reps/sets to track progress. I know you are diligent with numbers in your diet, so you should have no problem in tracking your training.


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## Tom_B (Sep 9, 2004)

Well I think my only option really is to gte my own set of weights, cause I have no one to drive me down to the gym, unless I walked there but I don't feel like walking home all sweaty and people staring at me lol. So I guess I'm just going to have to buy a bench,a barbell, curl bar,dumbbells and some weights, (hope i'm not missing anything) my friend's only came to about $170. Also thanks for that thread the exact same thing applies to me, I'm NEVER sore and I go full out, every session take me an hour to an hour and 15 mins, i guess that shoulda been a sign. Also the reason i was able to go full out on weights and Cardio is because I'd do my cardio in the morning, then weight train at night, there was like 12 hours between the two so I had energy by the time weight training came around 
Also I'm defiently gonna keep a record for my weight's, thanks for metioning it before I never would ahve thought about it before lol


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## BulkMeUp (Sep 9, 2004)

Tom_B said:
			
		

> cause I have no one to drive me down to the gym, unless I walked there but I don't feel like walking home all sweaty and people staring at me lol.


How about investing in a bike? May not work in winter, but you would get a bit of cardio out of it as well.


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## BulkMeUp (Sep 9, 2004)

Tom_B said:
			
		

> Also thanks for that thread the exact same thing applies to me, I'm NEVER sore and I go full out, every session take me an hour to an hour and 15 mins, i guess that shoulda been a sign.


Initially you will be very sore, then as your body gets accustomed to the workout you wont feel it as much. It will come to a point where you will barely feel it, but that is at a later stage. However keep in mind, soreness is not really an indicator of intensity. It is more of an initial thing which will reduce with regular training. So once you get accustomed to the soreness and your body dosent feel it very much, dont overdo the trainning and overtrain yourself just to feel sore.


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## Tom_B (Sep 9, 2004)

well if i can find a way to hold out untill March I can get ym full driver's license and be able to drive down to the gym , besides me and bikes don't mix lol (haven't rode one in 7 years)
But untill then I'm gonna work out with this guy, his wife works at our restaurant and he's trying to lose some weight (he's 262 lbs) so I gave him a rough outline course of a diet and exercise, and he has a garage FULL of weights, it's insane how much he has, and intially he wanted me to work out with me so as long as he can drive me down to his house every morning I got myself some weights 
lol I always thought if you weren't sore then it's not working too well


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## jaim91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Ya, you're still fixated on the fact that you're definitely going to cut after the 20 lbs. Why? Why would you want to be at the lowest end of the healthy weight range?


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## BulkMeUp (Sep 10, 2004)

Tom_B said:
			
		

> well if i can find a way to hold out untill March I can get ym full driver's license and be able to drive down to the gym , besides me and bikes don't mix lol (haven't rode one in 7 years)
> But untill then I'm gonna work out with this guy, his wife works at our restaurant and he's trying to lose some weight (he's 262 lbs) so I gave him a rough outline course of a diet and exercise, and he has a garage FULL of weights, it's insane how much he has, and intially he wanted me to work out with me so as long as he can drive me down to his house every morning I got myself some weights
> lol I always thought if you weren't sore then it's not working too well


If you can wait until your circumstances change. then it is ok to hold out for a while. Investing in your equipment can be bit much, unless you are rich   

Good idea to give the weights a try with your friend/coworker. I train alone and prefer that. But most like a training partner. So long as both of you train more than you talk, you should be ok.   

Dosent your school have a gym? if not when you go to college, the campus might have one. So you may want to hold off buying weights for now. Also keeping the info from Emma-Leigh about a home gym in mind.

And dont get fixated on 'loosing' at present. set your goal/mind on 'gaining'.


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## Tom_B (Sep 10, 2004)

As soon as I can find a booklet I'm gonna start reading it and get my mom to sign me up for driver's ED, found out I only need to be 15 1/2 with my parents signiture to get my beginers.
I persoanlly like wrokign out by myself too, with some music going so hopefully the guy  won't want to dive me to his house at 5:30am then back after were done and then still go to work, so I'll buy some equipment from him (I forgot that he's go tons of shit, like 8 barbells, 10 dumbbells, 2 benches, a Bowflex TONS of weights etc.) and he'll probably give me a good deal.
Also my school's gym sucks ass and the day after I gradate I'm leaving this shit ass town so hopefully they'll have a good gym at the college I go too.
The reason I'mhelping this guy lose weight is because he's really sepressed about his weight, he's tried everything he knows, the lowest he ever got down to was 208 pounds, but he hit a plateau for a month and just quit, so I know how it feels to be depressed about your body, so as long as he's got the dedication to work his ass off I'll help him out.


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## jaim91 (Sep 16, 2004)

You should focus on yoru own health and well being before training someone else...it's like...taking a dose of your own medicine (i think that' the cliche i'm looking for)


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## Tom_B (Sep 16, 2004)

It's a good thing I did help him, because of it I got a bench, 2 dumbells, 170 pounds in weights and a barbell for $60 
Besides I like having another person i can talk to about that crap without them telling me I'm crazy or slapping me for telling them how many calories are in that brownie their eating  
first wekk went well for him he lost 4 pounds (probablt some water), so if by the end of his second week if he losese another 4 pounds will increase the calories lol


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## jaim91 (Sep 17, 2004)

lol....you didn't really read what i said


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## Tom_B (Sep 17, 2004)

lol no I did, I can concentrate on myslef and help others it's going really great, if anything it helps motivate me


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