started going to the gym, need advice

[User Name missing]

My wife and I just started going to the gym. Could I get some suggestions on what type of vitamins/supplements I/we should look into taking. My main focus is to loose weight, so I’ll be doing a good amount of cardio, but also I’ll be doing some weight training. I’m more particularly interested in stuff that will boost my metabolism but mostly for faster recovery. Right now my arms and pecs are damn sore and we have inches of snow coming tomorrow. TG my wife bought me a new snow blower, but I still have a lot of shoveling to do! I do a lot of biking during the summer, so my lower half isn’t affected……..although I feel a bit like jello once I get off the treadmill……

 

[robmedina]

If you have a significant amount of belly fat I would suggest doing more weight resistance than cardio. I ran a marathon in 2008 and gained 25lbs. I did a push/ pull program 4 days a week and did a high protein diet and lost 80lbs- no cardio at all- and one day ran on my treadmill and did 4 miles in 27 minutes without ever doing any cardio previously.
Good luck!

 

[Ronv]

Do they have an instructor at your gym? I think that would be a good starting point along with your physician.


RonV

 

[User Name missing]

the gym has went through a recent management change. It was previously a womens only gym then recently went co-ed. So they are in the process of getting trainers and classes lined up along with expanding equipment. So no personal trainers as of yet, but my wife and I both will be getting a free session once things get a roll'n. A friend of ours has been going there for about a year and she recently got my wife involved, in which I've been trying to get her to go to a gym for awhile now. Plus the owner cut me a pretty good deal, so I signed both of us up.

 

[fangotango306]

eat smaller meals more often.....i lost 3" of gut on my last deployment which was only 4 months, doing an hour of cardio a day and just eating better. lots of fruit , and tuna and chicken was pretty much all i ate. if you drink soda/energy drinks and you can stop you will drop like 10lbs quick too.

 

[straycat]

Do they have an instructor at your gym? I think that would be a good starting point along with your physician.


RonV

^^^ What he said, Bro!!! You gotta be careful when doing something like this as well, so start with a trainer.

 

[goodie85]

If you have a significant amount of belly fat I would suggest doing more weight resistance than cardio. I ran a marathon in 2008 and gained 25lbs. I did a push/ pull program 4 days a week and did a high protein diet and lost 80lbs- no cardio at all- and one day ran on my treadmill and did 4 miles in 27 minutes without ever doing any cardio previously.
Good luck!

fully agree if your going for weight loss you might as well train to turn it into muscle....and since you do bike you shouldnt really need to work on the legs what you really need to work on is breathing and lung endurance...also remember (i was told this by my hockey coach and i play for shattuck st.mary's in Fairbualt, MN) Push ups and Sit-ups.... 2 of the best things for your upper body they work your arms chest back and your core.....very very good things for you

 

[Mark_88]

Along with what everyone else has added...

Forget nutrients and suppliments...they tend to do more harm than good...vitamins only if you do not eat a balanced diet...otherwise you could end up with overdoses...

Now, does your club offer fitness testing to determine your resting heart rate, max heart rate, and Base Metabolic Rate?

You can find more info here http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/bmr-formula.php

This is actually critical to determine how many calories your body needs daily, and you can work your caloric intake around that so that you can lose weight by simply exercising more (burning more calories) and taking in only what you need to sustain bodily function.

If you can find a College or University in your area that that offers a Phys-Ed or lifestyle management courses you might be able to get free comprehensive testing because they take in guinea pigs so the students can practice...

 

[feellnfroggy]

If your really pushing yourself and you can eat right, alot of the guys I served with used ripped-fuel, it speeds up the metabolism to help burn fat. But start off with about half the suggested usage. and make sure to eat healthy. Talk to one of the trainers at the gym. and a good multivitamin as well.

 

[The_Dealer]

It's all about eating right. working out doesnt do anything if u are still eating like you were. no candy, eat alots of fruit. limit your red meat, fish is good if u eat fish. eat more salads with lite dressing, hell even throw some bacon bits or something on it. just watch what u eat and come up with some low calerie low carb meals

 

[pontiacfieroguy]

i highly recomend creatine. it causes your muscles to retain a little water wich speeds up recovery and increases gains tremendously. back in highschool i wrestled and trust me that is easily the most strenous exersizes that exist so maby find out if there is a wrestling club in your area and see if you cant work out with them a few days a week. when i started wrestling in 9th grade i was about 230 and within the first couple weeks i was down to 210 and when i had my body fat tested to start it was close to 25 percent wich was terrible and the last time i was tested at the start of senior year i was down to 7.5%. and you got to remember muscles burn calories not fat so the more muscle you build the faster the fat will burn.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Vanessa and I started going to the gym a a little over a year ago. Wasn't really getting the results we were looking for. She wanted to lose weight and tone up. I wanted to lose my gut and gain strength/muscle.

A few months ago Vanessa started working out with a trainer. She's lost 25 pounds since then. The main thing was counting her calories. I don't have a trainer, but started counting my calories too and lost 20 pounds.

To calculate how many calories to eat:

Take your weight x 12 and divide that by 20% (x .2)

Take that number and subtract it from the weight x 12.

Example:

200 lbs x 12 = 2400
2400 x .2 = 480
2400 - 480 = 1920

Limit your calories to 1920 a day.

The important part is to spread those calories between 4 - 5 meals.

Eat smaller amounts more times a day. This stimulates your metabolism and helps you lose weight.

I counted calories for a while, but then stopped because I got a pretty good idea of how many calories I was consuming.

Even my wifes trainer will admit that counting calories is the biggest factor in Vanessa losing the weight.

Also, be careful with supplements;

Creatine is great, but remember to stop taking it for a week after 4-weeks. Also note that since it makes your body retain water you'll have weight gain from the water retention.

Also take protein to feed the muscles. I was using whey isolate protein (4everfit) from Vitamin World, but switched to the muscle milk protein to gain more mass.

The whey isolate was a good lean protein, but not idea for guys wanting to get bigger. The muscle milk powder proteins have a lot more in them to help guys looking to gain mass.



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I started using a trainer last week. Tomorrow is my 2nd session. I was making the kinds of gains I wanted and need someone to spot and help push me that extra rep.

Good luck.

 

[SnC RangeR]

drink green tea lots of vitamin c and helps promote weight lose.

 

[That Baker Guy]

i highly recomend creatine. it causes your muscles to retain a little water wich speeds up recovery and increases gains tremendously. back in highschool i wrestled and trust me that is easily the most strenous exersizes that exist so maby find out if there is a wrestling club in your area and see if you cant work out with them a few days a week. when i started wrestling in 9th grade i was about 230 and within the first couple weeks i was down to 210 and when i had my body fat tested to start it was close to 25 percent wich was terrible and the last time i was tested at the start of senior year i was down to 7.5%. and you got to remember muscles burn calories not fat so the more muscle you build the faster the fat will burn.

Creatine is all water weight, it doesn't make you strong. It makes you gain weight and it dehydrates you very quickly I took it in hs to.gain weight it worked but when I stopped taking it lost all the weight, weigh protein is the best it makes muscle and is healthy you drink it after you work out and you recover way faster

 

['99 EB Explorer]

I tried the Isagenix thing last summer. No excersise beyond work and I lost 15lbs in a week. And no, it hasn't come back yet either. Only problem is the price of the month long program.