New Member, looking for workout/diet advice from the pros

[Seventh77]

Greetings folks!

First time here, so I hope this is the right spot for this.

I'm 30, and I'm overweight. I'm 5'11 200-205, size 38 waist. In high school/college I played hockey and was in decent shape, but I've had a desk job for the last 8 years and to be honest am probably in the worst shape of my life.

I work 7-5 every day and get home around 6:30. I have a Gym membership, but to be honest every time I go there I find myself not really knowing what the hell to do, and googling/reading fitness mags just has too many options and not enough clarity for someone in my situation. I work for the Dept of Defense, and travel a lot, and try to get to at least the treadmill at the hotels but to be honest by the end of the day I just end up wiped out. I support soldiers in the field and have been to Iraq and Bosnia, and part of it is that I feel friggin' useless around these guys because they're young guys in great shape and I'm the typical 30 year old engineer looking dude.

I can probably hit the gym 3-4 days a week max for an hour or so a night. My lower body is pretty muscular from hockey and mountain biking as a kid, but my upper body is just in terrible shape, no definition at all.

If anyone could give me some starter pointers as to what the best beginner exercises to do are, I'd really appreciate it. What I'd like to really focus on is upper body and arms/shoulders, while at the same time losing about 20 pounds and getting rid of the spare tire (and back into a whole wardrobe of size 34 clothes, heh).

I'm just not sure what the best exercises to do are. I'm not particularly strong and my knees/back are a bit whacked from 8 years of hockey, so stuff like deadlifts and squats just hurts like hell. Otherwise I'd love to be able to go into the gym each day with a "plan" and I think if I had a schedule of what I was heading there to do each day instead of wandering around the machines aimlessly, it would really help get me back into shape.

Any insight at all would really be appreciated. Cheers!

 

[roy2]

A great overview of weight lifting information is presented in this link:

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=484815

Try to read it over and get a basic understanding of the concepts listed (excercise descriptions on technique/form are also given). The 5x5 is very popular on this forum and IMO would provide a good template for beginning (or getting back into) weight training.

As for knee problems and squats and deadlifts, I cannot comment. Try talking to your doctor or a physical therapist. Squats and deadlifts will however give you most bang for your buck when it comes to weightlifting. They will provide a strong stimulus for growth and will allow you to keep your gym sessions short and efficient, which is what you mentioned you want. Try to stick to the 'big' excercises (squats, dl, bench, chins/pullups, military presses) and lose the 'frill' ones (flexor curls, exercise balls).

General tips:

-Start doing cardio at the gym. Try to be more active when not at work. When you're at work take the stairs instead of the elevator. All the little things you do will start to add up.

-Try to clean up your diet. If it means switching from Taco Bell to Subway, do it.

-Read read read the forums here. The weighlifting forum is my favorite, check out the diet forum for nutrition tips.

-Stick with it. Take things day by day and try to set short and long term goals.

Good luck.

 

[blut wump]

You're not overweight but you might need to put some work into your muscle to fat ratio.

Cardio is all well and good for making people smaller but you need to incorporate resistance exercise into your workouts. Good, solid compound exercises that work your body as an organism: bench press; overhead pressing; deadlifting or variants if the knees are a problem; squats or variants if knees are a problem; 90 degree rowing. You need to try to fill out your frame and grow some muscle. It's ever-more important as we age.

 

[silver_shadow]

I'm the typical 30 year old engineer looking dude.

lol @ this! i'm 27 and an engineer myself!

anyway, the link that the bro above posted is a great starting point. you really want to be able to do alot of free weight compound lifts. squats and deads are just a must for any fitness program and it would be a shame if you'd miss out on it.

maybe start light on these and make modest increments every week. most likely you will be able to build up some strength.

 

[blut wump]

Trying to squat on knackered or degenerated knees can be difficult. Box-squats, however, can be a saviour in that circumstance.