starting out a 4-ish month plan to get fit, let me know what you think of it!

[earthbear]

I wish they’d let us post images so I could just show u the neat little notes but I guess I’ll just have to copy and paste it all and hope the formats good

———————

started dec 18 with:

• weight: 138ib, 5’4
• 78.5 cm waist (in the morning; night is 81cm)
• 25 cm bicep circumference of raised arm + relaxed

———————

exercise routine:

• arm workout 1 / arm workout 2
• ab workout
• full body workout 1 / full body workout 2
• posture exercise / stretching

heavier, intense workouts are done twice a week while lighter workouts are done 3x a week, leading to 5 days of exercise per week

routine may change as my body changes and I may switch from one workout series to another overtime

——————

goal:
stronger, muscular arms / toned stomach / resolve chaotic, under-eating-then-over-eating issue / increase cal intake to actual needed amount / increase from 8ib dumbbells to at least 20ib by 5 month mark

———————

three stages to plan:
1. maintain calories + exercise
/ to reach normal calorie intake levels and build muscle in the process
2. less calories + lesser exercise
/ to slowly lower body fat percentage without risks of going back to under-eating and allow muscles previously built to show
3. maintain calories + stronger exercise
/ to reach the right calorie intake mixed in with a stronger exercising capability

​

maintenance = eating neither more or less calories than you burn

​

——————-

month 1:

week 1: maintenance cals, full routine with only 1 heavy workout day at the end of the week (just getting ur body used to working out)

week 2: maintenance cals, continue routine, with heavier body workouts for 2 days

week 3: maintenance cals, continue routine, with heavier body workouts for 3 days (ur just slowly building tolerance rn)

week 4: -200 cal, continue routine

———————-

month 2:

week 1: -200 cal, continue routine

week 2: -300 cal, continue routine

week 3: -300 cal, continue routine but cut back on intense days if fatigue comes back

week 4: -400 cal [if hunger and fatigue come back, maintain -300 instead], continue routine but cut back depending on situation

——————

month 3:

week 1: -500 / -400 cal, depends on situation - only do light days of exercise unless you feel u can do otherwise

week 2: -300 cal, back to routine but with only one intense day at the end of the week

week 3: -200 cal, continue routine

week 4: maintenance, continue routine

———————-

month 4:

week 1: maintenance, continue routine

week 2: maintenance, continue routine

week 3: conclude whether you want to cut back or not

week 4: unknown

———————-

month 5:
?? - conclude results

UPDATE: many people have been saying this is unnecessarily complicated, so I decided to make it a bit more vague and added a link the actual list of videos I follow through in the routine section. please know that I am fully aware some of these things may be wrong and that maybe cutting back only 200 cal is too little but I am just trying to find what’s best for me and I don’t want to risk under eating :.)

 

[sharonsmith]

@earthbear coming back now that you've updated things.

The videos you've selected are just fine for beginners.

My suggestions:

- Workouts: follow the workouts you've selected for 2-3 weeks, then reevaluate. How do you feel? Do you look forward to these workouts? Do you want more or less of something? Change as much or as little as you feel like.

- Nutrition: figuring out your maintenance calories is a reasonable first task - it should also take 2-3 weeks. It will involve tracking your food and getting on the scale. I also suggest looking at the quality for your nutrition. If you can focus on getting IN a serving of vegetables or fruit and a serving of lean protein at each meal...it will get you a long way in the right direction.

 

[nathan2018]

@earthbear Strongly suggest following a full body routine from the fitness or xxfitness wiki.

The idea of doing a period of maintenance, followed by a deficit, followed by maintenance is fine. Though 3 weeks is not enough time to build an appreciable amount of muscle at maintenance (you will definitely get stronger though, and I think it’s a good idea to start an exercise routine a bit before trying to eat at a deficit).

Your extreme swings in exercise time seem weird to me, but I get wanting to experiment with how exercise affects your appetite. Still, 10 min seems like way too little and 2 hours is a lot if you are relatively untrained (and following a standard lifting program). You may want to consider altering frequency instead (e.g. full body 2x per week on the low end and 4x per week on the high end.)

 

[earthbear]

@nathan2018 I updated it as best as I could based on what people have told me. Does it look okay now? I don’t plan to follow this to the T but it’s just a pattern I’m trying to follow

 

[maria37]

@earthbear You're not going to gain any significant muscle in a month. This is unnecessarily complicated and over too short of a time frame to do much. Like another poster said, the more complicated you make a new habit the less likely you are to stick with it.

 

[sharonsmith]

@earthbear This is really complicated and it doesn’t have to be. My thoughts — when you’re starting a new habit it needs to be simple and small or your won’t be able to keep it up.

 

[takkula]

@earthbear This is such a weird plan. Why are you doing 10 minutes of exercise one week, 20 minutes another, then jumping up to 1-2 hours? What exercises are you actually doing?

 

[goldladyslipper]

@earthbear What actual workout are you doing? You gave just said "arm workout" which makes it impossible to critique. Have you looked in the wiki for a recommended routine at all? It means you'll hit all the necessary muscles for a well rounded look and they're proven to get good results.

 

[dawn16]

@earthbear Everything looks okay but I would like to point out that save stretching for the end of your workouts. Because stretching in the start can definitely cause you to produce less power and may even cause injuries.
Other than that I’d say keep the lifting weights section together I.e. number 2 and 4 of your bullet points and workout on your abs after that.

 

[man_who_is_broken]

@dawn16 Instead of static stretching dynamic bodyweight movements or using a long pole or band are better as a warmup.

 

[anayat11011]

@earthbear If becoming stronger and building muscle is your goal, I'd strongly suggest reading the faq section here and the r/fitness wiki and choosing a program from there instead. I'd advise against trying to create a program yourself. They have programs that only feature dumbbells if you don't have access to a barbell or a gym.

In the wiki you'll also find the basics regarding nutrition when it comes to building muscle, but depending on what your current protein intake is like, you're most likely going to have to increase the amount.

I'd also recommend stretching after you're done working out, not before. There are other types of warmups you can do instead.

 

[rodneys]

@earthbear Are you only training upper body?

 

[earthbear]

@rodneys for now, I think I might stick to upper body only. On the daily, I also go on the swing for like one or more hours so I guess that could count as leg exercise, however I’m not really focused on toning my lower body as of now. I already kind of built my calves up over the summer because of marching band and stuff, though I could add some lower body workouts on the third month to test myself (if everything goes alright of course).

 

[rodneys]

@earthbear I would strongly recommend not focusing on only upper body. This is setting yourself up for muscle imbalances and injuries.

 

[earthbear]

@rodneys hmm, so if I maybe topped my routine off with squats/such, would this be a good way to balance everything?

 

[rodneys]

@earthbear A couple more things since you’ve updated. I still think you should seriously consider following a program instead of doing random YouTube videos. These videos aren’t well rounded or even between muscle groups—this plan is still VERY upper body focused. A pre planned program prepared by a trainer will be a lot more effective and reduce the risk of injury.

The most important thing is you HAVE to do longer than four weeks of maintenance. That’s not enough. I would recommend AT LEAST 8 weeks at bare minimum of maintenance. These short maintenance periods are actively going to work against your goals.

 

[rodneys]

@earthbear I agree with the above comment to find a trainer/program that can help guide you. This will make sure you have a well rounded program that hits all of your muscle groups