F the weights

[eileentee]

Hi There. I hope that heading got your attention. I love weight lifting and wanted advice from the Reddit fam. I have so many unorganized thoughts and emotions in my mind, I apologize if everything is unorganized.

1. I am 30 YO male, 310 pounds guy currently sucking big time in life and dating game. So I am trying to hit the gym 5 times (back, chest,legs, shoulders and arms) every week, without diet control untill I ease into this new routine. And it's very intimidating to step into the gym, like I have arrived somewhere I don't belong but interestingly its easy to destroy a whole pie of pizza myself, no one ever looks twice. Because of that I quit many times in past.
2. This time I came up with a easier routine that I felt I could stick to. Basically every day I do 3 exercises for that day's body part followed by abs and 10-15 mins of cardio. I am currently operating only using dumbbells to balance left and right, in 30-45 pounds range.

Here are my two questions:

1. Do you feel this route is insufficient and I should add more? I am trying to start dropping weight and drop 60 pounds in next 2 years.
2. Is it really necessary to keep overloading? And to what extent? I go to gym in morning and have full day ahead.

Also if you have any other tips/suggestions or need more information please comment.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gypsyjill88]

@eileentee

And it's very intimidating to step into the gym, like I have arrived somewhere I don't belong

Brother, the gym is a place for people trying to improve and take care of themselves. This is exactly where you belong and just because you maybe don't compare to other people who frequent that place daily you are still a part of it. I felt exactly the same and I can tell you not even 6 months later I felt like I owned that place. My impression was that people respect consistency and eventually people will notice your effort and support you. I made a bunch of new friends in the gym even, with guys I was working out next to for 6 months until we spoke the first words to each other.

This time I came up with a easier routine that I felt I could stick to.

I can't express how important this one is. I always say that the best routine is the one you can stick to. Be it a diet or a workout routine, if there is actualy enjoyment involved in it in some way (ofc it still sucks sometimes) then consistency becomes fairly easy. Stay critical and open for new things, try yourself out and amass a wide array of exercises you can do that you like. Helped me big time.

Do you feel this route is insufficient and I should add more? I am trying to start dropping weight and drop 60 pounds in next 2 years.

Depends on what you think is insufficient. If you stay on top of things, then you will automatically improve and adapt along the way. I was always intimidated by the vast amount of knowledge involved in fitness, health and diet that it always felt crushingly impossible to get behind. In reality, you just gotta start somewhere and not stop man. Just don't ever stop. If you keep going to the gym and give it your best, then you will succeed. Just keep showing up, even if all you do is a 5 minute warmup and some unenthusiastic exercises. EVERYTHING COUNTS towards your goal.

Is it really necessary to keep overloading? And to what extent? I go to gym in morning and have full day ahead.

I was at 230lbs/105kg in the beginning so my main goal was always losing weight and staying strong and lose as little muscle as possible. Eating enough protein and trying to stay in a caloric deficit of roughly 200 made that possible. I train hard, but I definitely very rarely train until the absolute breaking points. I still buffed up like never before so I think you don't need to worry. Learn to listen to your body, you will know when you hit a muscle correctly or not. Its all a learning process.

I believe in you mate. Don't forget, whether or not you will lose the weight fully depends on your diet. What you do in the gym has other great benefits of which some include weightloss, but its a lot more than that. Training hard will also sometimes make you gain weight through water retention, because thats what your muscles need. So keep all of this in mind and simply do one step after the other and I promise you it will pay off in 2 years. I think 2 years is a great timeframe to work with. Trust in the process.

Sincerely, another 31 yo guy

 

[dawn16]

@eileentee Big guy here with a ton of experience (gained and lost more than 200 lbs in the last 8 years)

First, you need to separate the goals.

Goal one is losing 60lbs. In a year that's about 1.25lbs a week which is not difficult at all. You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.

Goal two is improving your physical capacity. That's weight lifting and cardio training.

There are a million ways to do this. The most important thing is to be consistent. It is million times better to be consistently at a B level than do A+ to D every couple of weeks.

Consistency in nutrition and just showing up to the gym. Get your diet and hydration in check, and do really anything at the gym. Then worry about optimization

 

[deandrade]

@eileentee The most important thing is that you find something that you'll keep showing up for.

I'd suggest you focus on a few goals.

1. Get stronger so you can be more active easier.
2. Improve your heart and lung health / work capacity.
3. Lose weight.

For goal one you should aim for 3-4 strength focused workouts per week. Ideally compound movements like squats, lunges, deadlifts, bench press etc. Focus on the big muscles. Motivate yourself by tracking your 'personal best' for each lift and aim to improve over time. Personally, I'd probably do the same workout each day instead of a split.

Goal two is cardio. Do as much as possible but it doesn't need to be super high heartrate. Walking is good.

Three. This comes down to diet. If you want to have this until after you've got the first two down, that's fine but will be important eventually.

 

[trevorodhiambo]

@deandrade

Personally, I'd probably do the same workout each day instead of a split.

You need up to 48hr rest between working out same muscle group again. Rest IS important.

Three. This comes down to diet. If you want to have this until after you've got the first two down, that's fine but will be important eventually.

Id say this is most important. Diet is like 80% of the work. Id do this first over anything. Yes anything is better then nothing.... but diet is soooo important.

 

[amber101]

@eileentee Keep on Keeping on!
You got the first and most important thing down and that is “getting started “.