Starting my journey to lose weight and get active-with pictures(updated daily)

[anaconda]

ahah, im all for that. so how long you been training in bjj?

almost 2 1/2 years now. It has prevented my from lifting because whenever I have free time, Id rather train!

I will start lifting again this summer when I dont have so much to do hopefully.

 

[will-million]

almost 2 1/2 years now. It has prevented my from lifting because whenever I have free time, Id rather train!

I will start lifting again this summer when I dont have so much to do hopefully.

what belt did you get to in that time? I heard any sort of martial arts is rather addicting, I cannot wait

 

[will-million]

day 4-may 8
chest and shoulders(light/high reps)

chest
flat dumbbell press sets/4 reps/30,25,20,15 weight/35,40,45,50
incline dumbell flye sets/3 reps/15,15,15 weight/45,35,30
pec-deck flye sets/3 reps/12,20,25 weight/205,155,135
cable cross overs sets/3 reps/30,30,30 weight/30,30,30
vertical machine press sets/4 reps/12,14,16, weight/95,80,70

shoulders
overhead dumbbell press sets/4 reps/30,10,8 weight/30,50,40
shoulder press machine sets/3 reps/20,15,12 weight/70,80,80
dumbell lat raise(drop set) sets/2 reps/(15,12,10)(15,10,8) weight/(12,10,8)(12,10,8)

cardio-HIIT
10 minutes on cross trainer
Level 10
0-1:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
1:30-2:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
2:00-3:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
3:30-4:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
4:00-5:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
5:30-6:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
6:00-7:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
7:30-8:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
level 4-cool down
8:00-10:00 on a speed of 25-35 rpm

notes
Today was definatly a long and tough workout. I wanted to quit, but I continued to work and try to my best. After the drop sets for the lat raises, I felt like I was going to puke. I fill my water bottle of 591 ml up about 4 times during a workout, and I definatly need it during cardio. Although it is short time, I still find it very hard. Next week I will increase the itme by two minutes. Cardio was the hardest its ever been today, because my whole body was exhausted from previous workouts. Looking forward to sunday(active rest).I havent been eating any fast food or drinking anything other than water and skim milk, and this coming from a guy who used to eat fast food up to 12 times a week on average and drink soda more than water.

 

[anaconda]

what belt did you get to in that time? I heard any sort of martial arts is rather addicting, I cannot wait

I got my blue in just under ten months and I'm nipping at the heels of the purple I guess. Although it could be a year from now, its not exactly up to me lol. I dont feel much better than I did a year ago but law school and a part time job lead to me training less and eating more (especially around exams) so I gained almost 20 lbs and my cardio has gone downhill. I'm looking forward to this summer so my load will be a little lighter (I hope!)

 

[anaconda]

day 4-may 8
chest and shoulders(light/high reps)

chest
flat dumbbell press sets/4 reps/30,25,20,15 weight/35,40,45,50
incline dumbell flye sets/3 reps/15,15,15 weight/45,35,30
pec-deck flye sets/3 reps/12,20,25 weight/205,155,135
cable cross overs sets/3 reps/30,30,30 weight/30,30,30
vertical machine press sets/4 reps/12,14,16, weight/95,80,70

shoulders
overhead dumbbell press sets/4 reps/30,10,8 weight/30,50,40
shoulder press machine sets/3 reps/20,15,12 weight/70,80,80
dumbell lat raise(drop set) sets/2 reps/(15,12,10)(15,10,8) weight/(12,10,8)(12,10,8)

cardio-HIIT
10 minutes on cross trainer
Level 10
0-1:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
1:30-2:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
2:00-3:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
3:30-4:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
4:00-5:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
5:30-6:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
6:00-7:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
7:30-8:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
level 4-cool down
8:00-10:00 on a speed of 25-35 rpm

notes
Today was definatly a long and tough workout. I wanted to quit, but I continued to work and try to my best. After the drop sets for the lat raises, I felt like I was going to puke. I fill my water bottle of 591 ml up about 4 times during a workout, and I definatly need it during cardio. Although it is short time, I still find it very hard. Next week I will increase the itme by two minutes. Cardio was the hardest its ever been today, because my whole body was exhausted from previous workouts. Looking forward to sunday(active rest).I havent been eating any fast food or drinking anything other than water and skim milk, and this coming from a guy who used to eat fast food up to 12 times a week on average and drink soda more than water.

Careful not to overtrain man. Thats very common when starting a new program. Thats also part of the reason people are recommending a 2 or 3 day split. It gives your body more time to rest and more time to get used to working out.

As for the HIIT on the elliptical (Im guessing thats what you mean by cross trainer) I have a suggestion you can try if you like it. When I do it I normally do like 5 min on 10, jogging and getting warmed up. Then when I do my sprints I do 30 sec sprints, but I also put the resistance up to 16 or even 18 if I feel really energetic. It really kicks my ass more than just going faster myself and it really gets your heart pumping. Try it out you might like it.

 

[will-million]

I got my blue in just under ten months and I'm nipping at the heels of the purple I guess. Although it could be a year from now, its not exactly up to me lol. I dont feel much better than I did a year ago but law school and a part time job lead to me training less and eating more (especially around exams) so I gained almost 20 lbs and my cardio has gone downhill. I'm looking forward to this summer so my load will be a little lighter (I hope!)

yeah, well at least you still have the energy and desire to go and train. Instead of losing your love for the martial art, you still want it. I applaud you for being ambitious, my friend. Is your BJJ class more of the old stuff, or is it alot of the eddie bravo-new era philophy like the rubber gaurd and twister side control?

 

[will-million]

yeah, ill try it out, so you do 30 second sprints and how long of a rest? and for how long?

 

[anaconda]

yeah, ill try it out, so you do 30 second sprints and how long of a rest? and for how long?

30 sec all out sprint on the higher difficulty and then one min rest. If its not enough you can rest 1:15 in the beginning or even 1:30. The goal is to work yourself so hard in those 30 secs that you need a min of rest. I try to do ten of them, which takes 15 min (5 min sprints, 10 min rests) but if I get tired I just jog for like ten minutes and finish.

 

[anaconda]

yeah, well at least you still have the energy and desire to go and train. Instead of losing your love for the martial art, you still want it. I applaud you for being ambitious, my friend. Is your BJJ class more of the old stuff, or is it alot of the eddie bravo-new era philophy like the rubber gaurd and twister side control?

Just a normal school, somewhere in the middle. Not an old school gracie school so we dont do any self defense stuff, but then we still focus on the fundamentals and basic concepts that make jiujitsu work.

 

[will-million]

oh, so its basically what i do now?but on a higher difficulty and more intervals and less rest time

 

[will-million]

day 5-may 9
back and traps(heavy/low reps)

back
t-bar row sets/3 reps/8,6,4 weight/95,105,115
lat pulldown sets/4 reps/8,8,4,4 weight/120,120,130,140
dumbbell row sets/3 reps/10,6,6 weight/45,55,55
dead lifts sets/4 reps/8,6,6,4 weight/95,115,135,155

traps
dumbbell shrugs sets/4 reps/10,10,10,6 weight/50,55,60,70
barbell shrugs sets/3 reps/6,6,6 weight/135,185,185

cardio-HIIT
10 minutes on cross trainer
Level 10
0-1:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
1:30-2:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
2:00-3:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
3:30-4:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
4:00-5:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
5:30-6:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
6:00-7:30 on a speed of 30-40 rpm
7:30-8:00 on a speed of 90-100 rpm
level 4-cool down
8:00-10:00 on a speed of 25-35 rpm

notes
today i used my i-pod when i worked out and it worked like a charm. It got me pumped, but I still didn't push much weight. Dead lifts are one of my weaker excersizes, so i gotta work on them. Cardio felt easier, but i sweated more than usual. Week 1 is almost over and i feel great.

 

[Andy Rickert]

I may be beating a dead horse... but you know there is a workout log section in S & P right?

 

[will-million]

I may be beating a dead horse... but you know there is a workout log section in S & P right?

haha too late now

 

[will-million]

rolled my ankle playing basketball yesterday, so im not going to the gym today

 

[NutFlea]

Great recommendation, I'm actually going to pick up this book. The reviews are pretty phenomenal:

Amazon.com: Starting Strength (2nd edition): Mark Rippetoe,Lon Kilgore: Books

This is a great book -- I highly recommend it. Rippetoe is a great coach! He's running a Q&A thread here: Mark Rippetoe Q&A - Strength Mill Forums

Check it out to see what Rip has to say as people send in videos of themselves lifting for his advice/feedback.

And I'll just go ahead and repeat what so many people have already said, only because I want you to have great success: BIG COMPOUND MOVEMENTS! Forget about isolating calves, biceps, triceps, hamstring curls, etc. Instead: deadlifts, squats, standing overhead presses, bench presses, dips, cleans, pullups, etc.

Also, I know it gets a lot of flack here in these forums, but Crossfit.com is a great program that works well for people with broad fitness goals. It's scalable for all abilities. Check it out.

 

[NutFlea]

yeah, ill try it out, so you do 30 second sprints and how long of a rest? and for how long?

Any cardio you do will be effective, up to a point. I'd recommend trying to incorporate a tabata-style cardio workout once each week for maximum results. Read about it here: RossTraining - Articles

It's short but kick-ass. The main idea is a 2:1 ratio between work and rest periods. That could mean 1 minute hard + 30 seconds rest, or 20 seconds hard + 10 seconds rest, whatever you like.

 

[elbowsmash]

for the man that wants to do isolation lifts
even dr's are turning around
from web md
7 most effective exercises (this list is not perfect, but its still better than your exercise routine)
1. walking
2. interval training
3. squats
4. lunges
5. pushups
6. ab crunches
7. bent over row

now this article is probably written for obese people by dr's, and the head of the american council of exercise, so alot of sherdoggers will have different routines that are more fine tuned for their bodies. but notice the lack of isolation lifts. there is none (except maybe crunches).
time for you to get rid of your wacky routine. funny, or rather its good that the medical community is turning around on the squat, which they thought was dangerous. most now realize with good form, its safe. they are starting to even use the lift in physical therapy.

7 Most Effective Exercises


7 Most Effective Exercises
Experts offer their favorite moves for making the most of your workout time.(continued)
3. Squats.
Strength training is essential, the experts say. "The more muscular fitness you have," says Cotton, "the greater the capacity you have to burn calories."
And our experts tended to favor strength-training exercises that target multiple muscle groups. Squats, which work the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteals, are an excellent example.
"They give you the best bang for the buck because they use the most muscle groups at once," says Oldsmar, Fla., trainer David Petersen.
Form is key, though, warns Petersen.
"What makes an exercise functional is how you perform the exercise," he says. "If you have bad technique, it's no longer functional."
For perfect form, keep feet shoulder-width apart and back straight. Bend knees and lower your rear, says Cotton: "The knee should remain over the ankle as much as possible."
"Think of how you sit down in a chair, only the chair's not there," suggests Gotlin.
Physical therapist Adam Rufa, of Cicero, N.Y., says practicing with a real chair can help.
"Start by working on getting in and out of a real chair properly," he says. Once you've mastered that, try just tapping the chair with your bottom, then coming back up. Then do the same motion without the chair.
Gotlin sees lots of patients with knee pain, and says quadriceps weakness is the cause much of the time. If you feel pain going down stairs, he says, strengthening your quads with squats may very well help.

 

[will-million]

had a nice day off, played some basketball and went for a walk, post pictures, weight and measurements tommorow

 

[will-million]

very tired, will post tommorow

 

[will-million]

not a whitebelt anymore