Hello,
I've been learning about fitness for the last oh...11 years or so. The more I learn, the more I'm amazed at how little I know, but there does seem to be some expertise in this group. I'm hoping to tap into it now.
I'll save my life story for later, and try to give you the basics. Currently, I'm 29 years old and male. (While I know I'll age, I do plan on staying male for the duration of my life
) In 1991, I weight 280 lbs. I lost 80 lbs in 3 months. Over the course of the next 3 years, I gained 202 lbs. Since 1995, I've steadily (but extremely slowly) lost weight, and am at 300 lbs as of this post, with no yo-yo'ing whatsoever since I regained the weight.
I've been eating healthier and exercising more in the last 7 years, but in terms of the lifestyle I was living when I gained the 200 lbs, 'healthier' and 'more' are extremely relative. Suffice it to say, I've been burning more calories than I've been consuming, so even though I've got a long way to go, I'm doing something right.
I'm back in the gym, and have been for about 6 weeks. I think I'm on the right track, but would like some validation, some correction (if needed) and some advice.
I'm doing weight training at least twice a week. One session I focus on upper body, doing curls, pulldowns, dips and pushups (assissted, of course), bench press, shoulders, straight-bar curls, and other assorted excersizes. The other session I focus on lower body, doing squats, extensions, curls, calves, leg press, and other assorted excersizes. I'm focusing on 8-10 reps each set, w/ 3-4 sets of each excersize, increasing weights the 2nd and 3rd sets, and decreasing on the last set.
I'm also doing an aerobic excersize every day. I was doing treadmill first, but to get my pulse up high enough (130) without physcially hurting my body, I had to walk 10 minutes, run 5, walk 10, run 5, and walk 10. Frankly, I don't like it. I sat down at a recumbent bike at the gym a week ago, and I really enjoyed the workout. I do 20 minutes at a fairly low level (2 or 3 on our LifeCycle bikes), and my pulse stays right at 130 the entire time, and I feel great doing it. I can carry on a conversation with others, and I feel great when I get off of it.
So, here are my issues:
Issue #1:
Should I increase to 25 or 30 minutes? I don't think it would be a problem (other than the fact that one of the gyms I work out at limits your workout to 20 minutes during peak hours). From what I've read so far, since my main goal is burning fat, I want to keep my pulse around the 130 range, and not raise it to the point where I'm burning carbs instead of fat. I've also read that gains over 30 minutes are minimal. How about frequency? I have no problems getting to the gym 6-7 days a week. Is it ok to do an aerobic workout that often? As these excercises become easier to do, what do I need to do to maintain the same level of cardiovascualr and fat burning benefits? Increase the speed/resistance of the device? Increase the duration past 30 minutes? Nothing?
Issue #2:
Do I need to cross train aerobically? Is there a signifigant disadvantage to just doing the bike 6-7 days a week If I need to cross train, how many devices should I use? I never feel right on the eliptical trainers. I can do the treadmill, but my body gives out before my endurance does. That should, of course, get better.
Issue #3:
Do my weight workouts seem to be in order? Again, my primary goal is to lose weight, but overal fitness is important. I'm well aware that the more muscle I put on, the more calories my body will burn in the course of a day to support that mass. As I get stronger, should I focus on increasing reps, increasing weights, or both?
Issue #4:
I have some questions on replinishing my body after a workout. I've read that it's really good to eat a piece of fruit or two after a workout, and that not having some way to replinish your body after working out will force your body to burn muscle mass instead. Is this accurate? If so, should I be doing this JUST after the weight training sessions, or after the aerobic sessions as well? (And to clarify, if I do a weight session and an aerobic session on the same day, I do them at different times...usually aerobic during lunch, and weights at night.)
I'm sure I'll have many more questions, but these are the ones that are on my mind most right now to which I haven't found specific answers elsewhere on the net (that I trust).
Thanks in advance!
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