Hi Everyone,
Figured it was time to commit to telling everyone my goals, dreams & the reality of my training and diet and put myself under a little pressure to stay the distance!
I know you folks like detail so this first post is going be a long one with as much information as possible, so here goes!
My name is Stewart (S2art) I'm from Norwich UK, 45yrs old (for some time this year i've convinced myself that I was 46! married, 2 kids, I run my own business which take up a lot of time and have in the past been very fit (running marathons) but always always Skinny. I have a picture of me running a marathon many years ago which shows exactly how skinny I was!
Marriage, family, career all helped me gain weight, significantly the wrong kind, mostly around my belly and face! Late in 2007 I visited my wife at work and one of her colleagues commented that I had put on a lot of weight (nice friend!). I was shocked to be honest, but it made me think I should do something about it. So I started counting calories and getting back out onto the road jogging again.
I kept a weekly record of my weight from Christmas 2007 I started at 208lbs, pure fat! my weight gradually fell week by week lb by lb. I hit my goal for weight loss and got down to 179lbs in July.
I stayed at that weight by counting calories, running and doing a few sit ups and crunches at work in my office, but I wanted to do more. All my life I have been "Skinny" I wanted to be able to take off my shirt in the summer and feel confident about my own appearance, not to strut around with the 20yr olds but to simply feel I was living a healthy and worthwhile lifestyle that I could feel personally proud about. This is where the local gym comes in.
Sorry if this is going on a bit but it's as much for me to read and remind myself the why as it is for public viewing!
I now wanted to put some weight back on but muscle not fat! I was given a magazine to look at taking protein supplements to try to build some muscles while I was running, it was a copy of Muscle and Fitness magazine and in it was a 12 week plan for beginners to work their way through to becoming confident with using weights and seeing some progress in bodyshape and physique.
That was enough for me to get me started at the gym and so I adopted the programme along with a meal plan that would give me the correct food types as well as manage the calories I required.
4 x 3 week phases each broken down into managable, understandable routines for the complete beginner, listed below.
(I'm currently in phase 3, end of week 1)
Phase one weeks 1-3: Basic full body workout 3 times a week.
Phase two weeks 4-6: Upper/Lower Body Split 4 time a week.
Phase three weeks 7-9: More detail here as this is where I am currnetly at;
Three day split (Push, Pull, Legs)
Monday/Thursday Push Muscles Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
2mins rest between sets, warm up set prior to each exercise @ 50% weight.
Chest;
Incline Barbell Press 3 x 8-10
Dumbbell Bench Press 3 x 8-10
Dumbbell Flyes 2 x 8-10
Shoulders;
Smith Machine Overhead Shoulder Press 3 x 8-10
Upright Row 3 x 8-10
Bent over Dumbbell Lateral Raise 2 x 8-10
Triceps;
Lying Barbell Extensions 3 x 8-10
Overhead Dumbbell Extensions 3 8-10
Phase 4 weeks 10-12
Four Day Split
Monday Chest & Triceps
Tuesday Quads, Hamstrings & Abs
Thursday Back, Biceps and Forearms
Friday Shoulders, Traps, Calves & Abs.
More details of these routines when I hit this phase in a couple of weeks.
Is anyone still awake with me here!
I have gradually been increasing weight but the gym is more aerobic than a bodybuilding gym so the biggest barbell available apart from the smith machine is 45kg, biggest dumbbell 32kg. Lots of machines for leg press etc so using these but trying to stay with free weights when ever possible.
Diet:
Sample Daily Meal plan below taken from today;
Pre-Breakfast; Protein Shake 30g
Breakfast; 45g Oatmeal, 250ml Skimmed Milk, 3xeggs 3x egg whites scrambled, 1 slice Granary bread.
Snack 1; Bagel with 1 tbs Peanut Butter(no added sugars) 1 tbs Jam.
Lunch 200g Turkey slice, 4 slices Granary Bread, Salad, Tomato.
Snack 2; Protein Flapjack, Apple
Pre workout 45g Oatmeal, 250ml Skimmed Milk, 30g Protein Powder
Post workout Sports Drink, 60g Protein shake, Sports Drink 500ml,
Protein Flapjack.
Dinner, 250g minced beef in homemade tomato sauce containing only onions and tomatoes, herbs and garlic, 100g wholewheat pasta.
Pre-bed snack 225g Cottage Cheese, 100g Pineapple pieces.
I use a really neat programme called Fitness Assistant which logs everything for me showing the macros and total calories, I also plug in my workout routine into it and the whole thing helps keep my focus on where I want to be.
Today I have had a total of 3749 Cals, Protein 1.7g per lb Fats 0.5g per lb and carbs 2.1g per lb.
I'm trying to increase lean muscle and control body fat. The last reading fro body fat was 15.6% having another reading taken tomorrow at the gym, fingers crossed!
Supplements; I'm taking Protein in the form of shakes, was taking Maximuscle Promax but have just switched to Relfex One Stop which contains amongst other things 5g of Creatine per serving.
I'm also, loading this week with additional creatine taken with fruit juice (included in the cals above!) so I have a daily total of 20g of Creatine.
Tonight I start taking
ZMA before bedtime which I'm told can help increase testosterone and also help with sleeping properly. ON the sleep subject I currently get about 6 hours sleep as my wife is a nurse and works early shift getting up at 5:30am most mornings, when she gets up, I get up!!! :-)
I'm building up courage to post some pretty awful pictures of me taken by my daughter a few weeks ago and will take some more pictures at the end of the 12 week programme.
I hope someone managed to get to the end, you deserve a prize!
Note to self; Don't you dare give up on this now!
Stewart
p.s. nearly forgot, i'm quite forgetful hence the avatar, going to move from Mr. Forgetful to Mr. Strong!
excellent first post for you thread stewart, awesome job describing your goals and what your taking in for calories, your on your way now, for sure there is no stopping you, get er done buddie, i`ll be keeping up to date on this thread, so i will catch you if you fall, and i wont let you fall bud,, keep up the great work and dedication..
