Weight Loss Thread

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GuardianX

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Stop the cardio and lift real weights or you’ll just look like a smaller out of shape version.

I mean I can't argue there, I look like a slightly over-weight meth addict right now ROFL. I worry that I'm going to gain fat weight back and not muscle if I stop cardio altogether.

My pushup and situp game sucks though so I'm trying to build abs and muscles to reasonably do pushup and situps appropriately, form wise. I can DO them...but I feel like I cheat to do them, I have to weight my feet to do situps but I can do situps with a 25 lb kettle-bell weight under my chin. For pushups I feel better but my core feels sloppy so thats why I'm working core as much as that plan says.
 

Captain Suave

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He literally said he wants abs and no love handles. Cardio and push ups aren’t gonna give those results. He needs to build muscle.
Abs and no love handles are 90% just having low bodyfat, which is best achieved by diet.

Lifting for strength and hypertrophy is great for a suite of reasons, but aerobic fitness is also a fine goal and if GuardianX GuardianX wants to do cardio he should absolutely continue. People freaking out about losing muscle if they get their heart rate up are adopting worries from elite bodybuilders trying to push additional ounces of lean mass onto already maxed out frames running grams of steroids a week. None of us is there and we don't need to worry about it. By far the most important thing is to maintain a moderate to high level of overall activity through whatever means you will do consistently. I swim vigorously for an hour at a time 4-6 days a week and I've built a bunch of upper body mass while on a significant caloric deficit. My resting heart rate is in the 40's and I feel fucking fantastic.

Human bodies are incredibly adaptive.
 
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Fogel

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Cardio is less about losing weight and more about exercising your heart, so you should always get in at least 2 to 3 days of cardio. Just do it after your weight routine, not before. Studies show cardio limits muscle gain if done just before weight lighting. Doing it after will also help as recovery as it gets blood flowing through your muscles to aid in repair.
 
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zombiewizardhawk

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He literally said he wants abs and no love handles. Cardio and push ups aren’t gonna give those results. He needs to build muscle.
Bodybuilding isn't going to do that either, only genetics and being super lean (actual leanness depending on genetics) is going to do that.

I mean I can't argue there, I look like a slightly over-weight meth addict right now ROFL. I worry that I'm going to gain fat weight back and not muscle if I stop cardio altogether.

My pushup and situp game sucks though so I'm trying to build abs and muscles to reasonably do pushup and situps appropriately, form wise. I can DO them...but I feel like I cheat to do them, I have to weight my feet to do situps but I can do situps with a 25 lb kettle-bell weight under my chin. For pushups I feel better but my core feels sloppy so thats why I'm working core as much as that plan says.
Stopping cardio probably won't do that, especially if you are putting in a solid effort on the weight lifting and whatnot. I think cardio is very important for overall fitness, though, and is definitely worth keeping in the routine unless you have some very specific goals where it won't matter.

The muscle gains and looking more shredded instead of like an overweight meth addict will come, it just takes time.

Situps are way easier with something to hold your feet down but as you keep doing them they'll get easier to do without needing any weight on them. I personally don't think there is any shame in having slightly sloppy form or cheating a little bit while getting started (not sloppy form that cranks up injury risk, obviously).

I'll try to throw together a layout for a week that I think might be a little better than that AI plan you've been doing tomorrow before I head in to work.

Edit: As for myself, i've been sitting steady at 180ish for quite a while now. I think i'm going to finally suck it up and plan out a proper diet to start this weekend/next week and try and force myself to stick to it and hopefully start gaining some more weight. I do notice myself getting more muscular looking, though, and lately i've gotten comments from several people about it too, so I know i'm still making progress but I want more.
 
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TomServo

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Cardio is less about losing weight and more about exercising your heart, so you should always get in at least 2 to 3 days of cardio. Just do it after your weight routine, not before. Studies show cardio limits muscle gain if done just before weight lighting. Doing it after will also help as recovery as it gets blood flowing through your muscles to aid in repair.
When I got serious at age thirty it was 5 days a week of rotating muscle work followed by 30 mins of cardio right after lifting. Then my recovery shakes. Went from 6 1 243 to 205 whole gaining lean mass.

You can do both
 
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ToeMissile

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Nice, I appreciate it. Any feedback is helpful.
I stole the exercises from this video, with a little modification as I don’t currently have a bench. I like the plan as it’s pretty easy to knock out in 20-30 min in the morning after my kids leave for school. I just try to do as much as I have time for every other day. Seems like a solid overall workout for general health and getting a solid base


Edit: found it
Don’t remember which exercise, but they don’t flash the info on screen so I think I just guessed on the reps that they use in the video. Obviously adjust weight/reps to your level of fitness
SetExerciseReps AReps BWeight
1Push ups1210body
1Dumbbell row (2-arm)141025
2Dubbell lateral raise1597.5
2Squat1210body
3Lying dumbbell curl1087.5
3Lying dumbbell skullcrusher1087.5
3Stiff legged deadlift1087.5
 
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Cad

scientia potentia est
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Abs and no love handles are 90% just having low bodyfat, which is best achieved by diet.

Lifting for strength and hypertrophy is great for a suite of reasons, but aerobic fitness is also a fine goal and if GuardianX GuardianX wants to do cardio he should absolutely continue. People freaking out about losing muscle if they get their heart rate up are adopting worries from elite bodybuilders trying to push additional ounces of lean mass onto already maxed out frames running grams of steroids a week. None of us is there and we don't need to worry about it. By far the most important thing is to maintain a moderate to high level of overall activity through whatever means you will do consistently. I swim vigorously for an hour at a time 4-6 days a week and I've built a bunch of upper body mass while on a significant caloric deficit. My resting heart rate is in the 40's and I feel fucking fantastic.

Human bodies are incredibly adaptive.
And watching the big muscle guys barely able to run up a flight of stairs without being winded is just embarrassing.
 
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TJT

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Nah dawg. You workout so you can still eat like an absolute pig and still look decent.


I would legit die eating that much a day. Holy shit.

I almost never eat dinner. Which has been my habit now for 30 years. Seeems skipping a meal a day and absolutely never snacking unless some weird event is all you need to do in most cases.
 
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zombiewizardhawk

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Nice, I appreciate it. Any feedback is helpful.

This took way longer than I was thinking it would and so I started getting lazy towards the end but it's at least something i'd consider to be a decent amount of work while not being crazy. Assuming you're relatively new to lifting and whatnot (or even if you're not), i'd say the main priorities are getting used to how hard you can push yourself and how hard you need to, and developing solid mind-muscle connections. Cranking out 40-50 sloppy half-assed pushups is completely different than pushing out 15-20 proper form perfect reps, same for every other exercise. This is specifically important for areas of struggle like your chest (chest is one of my biggest weakpoints, too).

If you're still sore going into your next workout of that area then you could either turn it in to an extra rest day, or a choose your own adventure/easy day where you work on the muscle groups that aren't sore or do light weights and low to moderate effort.

Disclaimer: This might be terrible, it's not a routine i've personally tested or anything and i'm not a professional trainer. That said, I think it's a good starting point, and you can easily tweak it by adding a little more or less work to specific muscle groups as needed. Also, that Dr. Mike video linked above is not bad and full body workouts are definitely a good alternative to upper/lower or push/pull/legs type splits.

Disclaimer 2: Probably best to start at the lower end of set amounts and work your way up as your body adapts and/or you figure out how much you can handle. Don't want to end up crippled for a week or anything.
Day 1: Upper -

Dumbbell Chest Press. 2-4 sets, 6-15 reps.

I recommend experimenting with set and rep counts for a little until you find what works best for you/what you prefer. Try to focus on the mind-muscle connection with your chest instead of your shoulders/arms/anything else doing the majority of the work. Full range of motion for nice deep stretch at the bottom.

Dumbbell Rows. 2-4 sets, 6-15 reps.

My preference is on a bench as your program recommends, but split stance is a close 2nd. I love rows and always try to go as heavy as I can. Only time I drop the weight generally is if i'm low energy or am forced to use lighter weights but I just never feel like I get as much work when i'm using lighter weights and higher reps (probably 90% mental, 10% not pushing myself quite as far as I do with the heavier weights).

Dumbbell Tricep Extensions. 2-4 sets, 6-15 reps.

I find it easy to get sloppy with the form on these and start using muscles other than my triceps so I always have to focus on making sure it's my triceps doing the work. Lighter weights and higher reps might be better on this one than going heavier and closer to 6 reps but again, comes down to personal preference and what clicks best with you.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press. 2-4 sets, 6-15 reps.

I prefer doing these standing myself as opposed to sitting or kneeling. Keep core engaged, can cheat a bit on the last couple reps by partially using your legs if needed.

Dumbbell Bicep Curls. 2-4 sets, 6-15 reps.


Can pick your poison on the variation, hammer curls, regular bicep curls, concentration curls, etc. I'd recommend mixing them all in, maybe on different days, because they'll all work slightly different muscles.

Optional: 2-4 sets of dumbbell lateral raises if you feel like you need to add them in.

Core finisher:

High Plank Dumbbell Pull-through. 10 reps.


Get into high plank position, one dumbbell close to stomach level and off to one side. Grab dumbbell with opposite arm and pull it to the other side of your body, while keeping it around your stomach region (don't want to pull it up around your chest). Focus on keeping your core engaged and maintaining a good plank. The difference you'll feel in your core when doing these right vs wrong is massive, or at least it was/is for me. You want a weight that is heavy enough that it's hard to move but not so heavy that you start hurting your shoulders or your form falls apart as you struggle to move it.

Low Plank Jacks. 20 reps.

Low plank position, resting on forearms. Keep forearms/hands seperated, focus on keeping core engaged. Hop your feet out and in like you're doing jumping jacks.

Rest 30seconds to 1 minute, repeat the pull-throughs into low plank jacks 2 more rounds. No rest between the 2 exercises, just between the rounds.


Day 2: Lower -

2-4 sets Squats, 6-15+ reps

Not sure what all you have access to and what level you're at with squats so this can vary. I only have access to dumbbells so I mostly do goblet squats although sometimes i'll do normal dumbbell squats even though it's a bit awkward just to get the higher weight lower reps in every now and then. The downside to dumbbells instead of barbells is that you are way more limited weight-wise but honestly as a beginner/even early intermediate that's probably not a real issue unless you're aspiring to powerlifting. Proper technique, slow eccentrics, and other small tricks can still get you quite a good workout with just some 'light' dumbbell weight.

2-4 sets Forward or Reverse Lunges, 6-15 reps

Not sure if there are any meaningful differences other than getting your body used to going either forward or backwards so i'd probably work on both unless you have issues with one (if so, it'd probably be with the forward lunges). I prefer going a bit lighter for more reps on lunges usually so that I can really focus on proper form and feeling it and to make balance etc. less of an issue but I do mix in some nice heavy sets on occasion.

2-4 Sets Stiff-Legged Deadlifts, 6-15 reps

Can do sumo or normal stances, can use one heavy dumbbell held with both hands, can use a dumbbell in each hand, however you prefer/whatever your current level allows. Can also mix in one legged deadlifts if you want.

If you're still feeling like you need a bit more after these you could add in a couple sets of bench step-ups (lateral or normal) with moderate/heavy weight, bench toe taps (stand on bench, one leg comes off and you squat down slowly to touch your toe to the ground. Goal is slow and controlled to just barely tap the floor, not stepping down heavy with all your weight. I like to do these without weight so I can really go slow and because it takes a solid amount of balance), lateral lunges (I hate these but they're good to do) squat jumps, standing long jumps, glute bridges (with or without weight) or anything else really.

Core burnout: 3 rounds

30 seconds bicycle crunches, 30 seconds flutter kicks, 30 seconds rest.

Day 3: Upper -

2-4 sets Dumbbell Chest Flies, 6-15 reps

2-4 sets Dumbbell High Rows, 6-15 reps


Gotta go quite a bit lighter than low rows/normal rows on these. Elbows stay out closer to shoulder height, basically just a reverse version of a chest press. Works more rear delts/traps than lats. Upper back matters too!

2-4 sets Your Choice of Pushups, 6-20 reps

I'd recommend either power push-ups (clapping pushups but you don't have to clap, just explode up enough that you can pull hands off the ground) if you can do them fine, and if not then either hand-release pushups or explosive pushups (nice slow eccentric and then explode up hard, just without actually taking your hands off the ground). Main focuses on mind-muscle connections, maintaining your core and nice proper form, and slow eccentrics with powerful concentrics.

2-4 Sets Upright Rows, 6-15 reps

Optional - 2-4 Sets Your Choice Biceps Curls, 6-15 reps

Core Burnout - 3 rounds

30 seconds double crunches (I like to hold the weight this way), 30 seconds supermans, 30 seconds rest.

Day 4: Cardio/rest -

Rest day, can do cardio if your heart so desires, especially if you aren't throwing in cardio after the workouts on the normal days.

Day 5: Upper -

Repeat day 1. Can mix-match core exercises of choice.

Day 6: Lower -

Repeat day 2. I'd swap the order though and do deadlifts first and squats last (because fatigue should be impacting your later sets, whichever exercise it ends up being. This way both get some priority work). Can mix-match core exercises of choice.

Day 7: Cardio/rest --

2nd rest day/cardio day, whatever your body needs/heart desires.
 
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TheNozz

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ToeMissile

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COUNT YOUR FUCKING CALORIES
Yes. Also, I don't have a problem with people using medication to help get themselves out of a hole, so to speak. This should of course should be done in conjunction with improving habits/lifestyle.
 
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Captain Suave

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Honestly, mass use of Ozempic is probably a big plus for society. Less obesity and attendant reduction in metabolic disease will have a massive knock-on effect on our health care costs. I expect it would also really hurt the processed food industry.

Yes, doing it the right way through natural dieting is preferable but that just obviously doesn't work at scale otherwise we wouldn't be here.
 
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Armadon

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The problem with being fat is it is a long term plan to lose the weight. People can't do long term because we are an instant gratification society. Ozempic is the instant gratification so it needs to be cheap or society will just keep getting fatter. I don't care if ozempic ends up killing people long term because that's on the weak minded people who can't control themselves and want the instant gratification.
 
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Cad

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Honestly, mass use of Ozempic is probably a big plus for society. Less obesity and attendant reduction in metabolic disease will have a massive knock-on effect on our health care costs. I expect it would also really hurt the processed food industry.

Yes, doing it the right way through natural dieting is preferable but that just obviously doesn't work at scale otherwise we wouldn't be here.
CDN media
 
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zombiewizardhawk

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Honestly, mass use of Ozempic is probably a big plus for society. Less obesity and attendant reduction in metabolic disease will have a massive knock-on effect on our health care costs. I expect it would also really hurt the processed food industry.

Yes, doing it the right way through natural dieting is preferable but that just obviously doesn't work at scale otherwise we wouldn't be here.

I doubt the healthcare overlords let their billions of profits and all the control/power they have go away just because fatness goes down.


Bought a bunch of stuff at the grocery store to start a proper diet this week... It was a lot easier to get to around 3k calories when I was eating hotdogs and frozen burritos than it is trying to do it with more healthy foods. Hopefully it gets easier after a few more days cause I probably need to squeeze in 1 more meal than I have these last 2 days. Would love to hit 190-200 without much of the gains being fat by end of the year.
 

Cutlery

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Just more protein powder and mix with whole milk.

That should cover the deficit.
 
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moonarchia

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I doubt the healthcare overlords let their billions of profits and all the control/power they have go away just because fatness goes down.


Bought a bunch of stuff at the grocery store to start a proper diet this week... It was a lot easier to get to around 3k calories when I was eating hotdogs and frozen burritos than it is trying to do it with more healthy foods. Hopefully it gets easier after a few more days cause I probably need to squeeze in 1 more meal than I have these last 2 days. Would love to hit 190-200 without much of the gains being fat by end of the year.
Whether it's fat or muscle is going to depend on your exercise regimen.