Atkins and Weight training

[Ctwizzy]

Hi,

Im 21, 5'9 180lbs.
No idea what my body fat % is (nor how to determine?)
Have yet to start training found these forums and decided id ask here.
My goals are to lose weight, and tone/firm up (not looking for HUGEness)

I used to weigh around 230lbs all fat, I then tried atkins, and since have been off and on (was on from june 2003 - jan 2004, june 2004 - August 2004) and now Jan till current. Kept going back to it as I found my body always gravitated up to 190, seems its happy at that weight, I however am not.

I also find while on atkins my cravings and general apetite are more controlled, and I dont feel guilty about powerin down eggs sausage and bacon on a regular basis.

But now im sitting at 180lbs and noticing that now that ive shed a lot of weight(albeit some muscle) I need to now tone and firm up as well.


Now I am not sure if this is true but I read that I wont be able to gain muscle while im doing atkins, and that I should be carbing up of a weekend (both of which the atkins community tells me is false).

At home I have a weight bench, and I run and play basketball at the Uni (as well as swimming sometimes).

Is starting a weight routine pointless while im on atkins?

What I was thinking of doing is following this regime

Sat/Mon/Wed
Quote:
6 weeks
Crunches 2x20
Squats 2x12
Leg Curls (or lunges) 2x12
Flat-Bench Press 2x12
Lat Pulldowns (or barbell rows) 2x12
Shoulder Press 2x12
Tricep Pushdowns (or overhead extensions) 2x12
Barbell Curls 2x12
Standing Calf Raises 2x15-20

The post also gives begginer routines for 7-12, and 13-18.
Basically I would do these workouts and on the off days I would just do cardio.

But is this all in vain if I will only be doing more damage than good?

Remember I dont want to get huge just fit and toned, right now im smaller but i can see im still flabby my stomach still has a belly, my chest is flabby and my thighs are massive. But 50lbs loss makes me look much smaller which is at least good for my self esteem.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ctwizzy]

I guess nobody wants to help..

 

[obiwan9962]

atkins can and will work for a while while training
but for better results a ckd is better
basically atkins induction for most days then a carb up day or two once a week

everyone's body is different
may work great for you and not for others
atkins worked for me initially then i had to switch

and re: atkins not everything is absolutely fact
some new light has been shed since he wrote the book

 

[future1]

if you want to tone then keep the carb low (dnt cut out)and have high protein diet to get a more vascular look. If you want to put on mass then eat carb but not too much of it.
When i used to bulk i used to take quite a bit of carb with protein but i end up putting fat as well. Then i tried to cut down on carb and increase protein and my body reacted very well to that and i end being much more defined. You need to have carb though to build muscle. If you just cut down carb then no way u will be able to build.
I think atkins diet is just for pure weight loss. If you keep a nice high protein level diet with small amount of carb throughout the week with a high rep workout and enough cardio then you shuld be able to acheive what u r after. hope that helps

 

[pintoca]

I have some comments as well:

1. I am not a big fan of restrictive diets, or those that take away a complete macronutrient (Carb-haters diet). My point here is fairly simple: They are not natural and are too temporary for people who needs to loose a lot of weight. I will always go dor something more balanced (albeit, Carb-moderated as well)

2. I don't think the sentence of "Gaining Muscle while on Akins" has any value. Math is simple, to gain muscle you need to be on a calorie surplus, to loose fat you need to be on a calorie deficit... for this reason is basically impossible to do both at the same time (though most beginners will experience both at the start of their programs). I don't believe that if you were on a caloric superavit, Atkins based, and training you will not gain muscle: Obviously, you will not loose fat either.

Moreover, for gaining muscle, Quality carbs are always the preferred source of energy.

3. While cutting, muscle gains are not your main concern and its not the aim of your weight training: MUSCLE PROTECTION is the reason why we lift while cutting, to preserve the muscle we have there already.

4. As for your training, any reasons you are doing so many reps/set? I would recommend, 3 sets (instead of 2) and lower the reps to 8-10... by doing this you can increase your working weights. Remember NOT to count warming up sets as real sets.

My 2 cents. If you want to research some more diets before plunging into a CKD type, feel welcome to ask.

Pintoca

2.