Hey Guys can you give me some help *pics inside*

[mbcrump]

First off, I want to give you a brief history of where I was and where I'm at now (I'll keep it short). In June of 05 I weighed 226 and wore a size 42 pants. I got fed up with being fat and lost a pretty good bit of weight (today I'm at 180). I lost my weight doing 1 Hour of cardio a day (running on treadmill/eliptical) and doing 6 different weight lifting machines. Fast forward to Jan 06, I am happy with my weight but don't feel I have any real "muscles". I am doing the same exact workout except its more intense. I run solid for 45 minutes and walk 15, I still use the weight machines (like butterfly, lateral raise, etc) but I use more weight and more reps. I do not use any free weights and I'm wondering if thats my problem. Basically what I want is muscles to go with my new slim look and want abs. Heres some pics of my progress. Thanks to whoever can offer some advise.

http://webpages.charter.net/mbcrump/weight_loss/

 

[EnderJE]

First off, kudos to you for your goals and to your weight loss.

Second, there's a few stickies at the top that contain several articles and suggestions for weightlifting program design. Perhaps, you could take a look, try a few things, and then post a specific question?

Simply switching from machine to free weights and changing nothing else (diet, routine, intensity, and rest) will not help you much.

 

[cyrex]

I suggest getting a personal trainer for a month to teach you proper form on the compound lifts like Squats, Bench, Deadlift, Military Press.

If you want muscle, you absolutely need to start using the free weights. Machines are great for exercising a specific range of motion or the smaller muscles, but they don't do shit for the bigger ones.

Also, youw ill probably need to tone down the cardio if you want to gain muscle. I bet you've already eaten up at least 5 lbs of muscle

GREAT GREAT JOB so far, your pictures are amazing.
What has your diet been like?

 

[mbcrump]

Well my diet changed majorly. I cut out all cokes/sweets/fried foods and started eating foods that were baked or grilled. I only drink water/gatorade and a little milk.

I would love to have a personal trainer but the only thing is that I cannot afford one at this time. Me and my wife have had multiple items come up that is costing us a lot of money. After a few months, I should be able to get one though. I'm thinking april I can get one.

 

[cyrex]

Almost any gym worth anything will have at least a free consultation with a personal trainer. You should be able to afford at least 1 session where they just walk you through each of these exercises with free weights.

 

[mbcrump]

I didn't know that cyrex, I was under the impression that most trainers cost like 80 an hour.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Wow great job on the weight loss. At first the link opened up to your June 05 pic and I thought that was the 'after'

Anyway, like the others said, best to learn the compound lifts. If I understand you correctly, you're doing things like machine butterfly and machine lateral raise. Switching to dumbell fly and dumbell lateral raise won't do much.

Here's a good starting routine that's been referenced here in the past.

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=419466

 

[cyrex]

Or if you have the balls, (I definately wouldn't) you can go up to someone who looks to be in good shape when they are squating or deadlifting (I'll explain why below) and say "Hey my name is John Doe and I noticed you seem to know what you are doing with free weights. About 6 months ago I was very out of shape (toss in some numbers) and now that I've lost a good amount of fat, I'd like to put on some muscle. I'm not very experienced with using free weights, so I was wondering if you could spare some time sometime and teach me?

The only people that will say no are the jerks, and possibly if you happen to pick someone who is a personal trainer and they aren't able to do it for free. But then I know some personal trainers that help out someone in your position for a few sessions for free.


So why someone doing squats or deadlifts? Cause any yahoo gym rat does bench press from time to time. It is the most common free weight lift for guys. Right up there with curls. If someone is doing deadlifts or squats (not on a smith machine), they at least understand the value of them. Pair that up with someone who looks to be in good shape and you most likely have someone who knows what they are doing.

Also remember that with free weights (and even machines) form is more important the # of reps, # of sets, weight, etc. Form is by far the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of lifting. The reason is because with bad form you risk injury of yourself or someone around you (worst thing that could happen) or you may not make any improvements. So with form in mind, start out very slow. Very low weight. Using the bar only or 10 lbs dumbells depending on the exercise. If you notice, most gyms have mirrors everywhere. While this comes in very hand to check out the hot chicks walking behind you without looking obvious, they are there for a good reason, so you can watch your form. Once you have the form down, then start putting small amounts of weight on until you can only do 15 reps or so of an exercise with good form. Stay at that level until you feel 100% sure that you know what you are doing with the exercise, then you will be ready to begin your real weight training routine. This may happen in 10 minutes (curls), it may take 3 weeks (squats).

Again, if you can just get someone to help you out to learn the proper form and what types of lifts to be doing, that is the ideal scenario, otherwise you should read up on this forum and all over about free weights and how to use them. There is a good site that is geared towards women: http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php but only about 5% of the damn site is woman specific. Everything else is golden information for anyone that has something to learn about weight training.

 

[mbcrump]

I used the starting guide that Jim Ouini posted. I modified it a bit and I must say my legs are killing me today. So is my back. I guess that means its working right =). Anyways, thanks guys for all the help/suggestions. I'll update my pic when I get a little more muscle.

 

[d-dub]

Good progress - it must feel good to be in much better shape.

One thing I wish I knew earlier in my training is the importance of diet. You can train and train with a great workout setup, but if you arent feeding yourself the right foods to make the changes your progress will stall.

Instead of re-inventing the wheel I will just post this link:
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/7habits.htm

and try this: part 1
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/leaneating_1.htm
part 2: http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/leaneating_2.htm

I think these articles give you a good start on the basics. And remember, you dont have to change everything at once - make small achievable steps.

Cheers.

 

[Protobuilder]

GREAT JOB MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You've accomplished more than 95% of the population right there! LoL

There's so much info. on the internet that you can learn all you need to know, BUT . . . there's so much info. that it's easy to get overwhelmed and led down the wrong paths. Basically, as a total newcomber to the weights, don't don't don't get too complicated. Just keep in mind that the stuff on the net is often put out there w/out any real concern for who's going to read it. So stuff sounds interesting, etc., but it's really geared for more advanced lifters, or for people having certain problems, etc.

For you, I might recommend a few books: Bill Starr's "The Strongest Shall Survive" is a good strength training book. Check out http://www.startingstrength.com/home.html for a nice book on performing the basic lifts (squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press, and clean).

Here's a nice introduction to lifting thread that spells out some of the basics: http://www.clutchfitness.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=842&PN=1

And here's a VERY GOOD site: http://www.exrx.net/Beginning.html Just read here for a few hours and you're up to speed!

And of course, check out the stickies on pretty much any forum you visit, including this one. LoL

 

[textridave]

What was your diet during you weight loss?

How is the weight training going?

What worked and what did not for you?

Great Job.. Motivation for myself..

Thanks, D

First off, I want to give you a brief history of where I was and where I'm at now (I'll keep it short). In June of 05 I weighed 226 and wore a size 42 pants. I got fed up with being fat and lost a pretty good bit of weight (today I'm at 180). I lost my weight doing 1 Hour of cardio a day (running on treadmill/eliptical) and doing 6 different weight lifting machines. Fast forward to Jan 06, I am happy with my weight but don't feel I have any real "muscles". I am doing the same exact workout except its more intense. I run solid for 45 minutes and walk 15, I still use the weight machines (like butterfly, lateral raise, etc) but I use more weight and more reps. I do not use any free weights and I'm wondering if thats my problem. Basically what I want is muscles to go with my new slim look and want abs. Heres some pics of my progress. Thanks to whoever can offer some advise.

http://webpages.charter.net/mbcrump/weight_loss/