Forgot to note that my weight training sets on most of the dumbell and barbell lifts are 3 sets of 5 reps. Machines I do 3x10. I usually complete a lifting workout in 30-45 mins.
-
ODT Gun Show this Saturday! - Click here for info and tickets!
Cardio or weight training?
- Thread starter Patronus
- Start date
I'll submit that its anything but boring when you're wondering whether your last bench rep is going to go up or you're going to have to call a buddy over to take the weight off your trachea.
My abs look a lot like that already....well... I THINK they do...hard to tell with the protective wrap I keep on them. 
I spend 2 hours a day working out 4 times a week average. More time is not in the cards but smarter, more effective use of THAT time is a serious goal. Two days I'm at work for 16 hours and working out is not possible. The other remaining day I'm out of town and the best I could do is walk/jog at the school my wife goes to. I might be able to find a local gym and pay day rates but her schedule is so erratic I'd likely get started and get a call from her to be picked up. So I just don't even try that day. A lot of the decision in my "program" is working it into my schedule. I am trying to figure out if I should be focussing more time on the weight training portion or the road work. On the bike I can do the road work in 30 minutes or less. Should I add that 30 minutes to the weight training? Do I have the discipline to DO that? Oh..scratch that last.
The BowFlex is going to be the best I can do for a whiule. Then it still won't be free weights. When I trained on free weights it was always with a spotter. I work out alone in my basement and will NOT risk free weights without one. I'd like to move up to a newer machine, whether BowFlex or other but it will definitely not be free weights. And spending 30-50 bucks a month for a gym membership isn't happening either.
The diet I was on took me from 240 to 180 in 6 months. The only failure of the diet is me not sticking to it lately. It includes a lot of prepackaged, low fat meals with lots of wonderful sodium, gluten and flavor.
Defining my goal is kind of the hard part. Part of me wants to do the insane Arnold thing but realistically it will never happen. Keep in mind I am 49. Mostly I want to eliminate body fat to 10%, rip up, with modest bulk. Starting from 275 gives me a decent depth of chest and width to start with but it takes a lot of work to sculpt off the flab and reveal the buff dude beneath. That's what I'm working on. I'm down from a 42 to a 32 pant size but I want 30(maybe a 28). From an XXL shirt to a large, but I think it wouldn't hurt my feelings if my chest, shoulders and bikes forced me back to an XL(as long as it's not to cover a gut). Overall I'm liking the progress but I think I may be plling almost as hard as I'm pushing if you get my meaning. If the cardio really IS causing a cannibalizing of muscle then I need to drop it and focus. Maybe 2 hours devoted to weights alone would be the way to go. I know I have some trouble spots that need more attention(anterior deltoids and forearms for instance). But P90 and Insanity are mostly cardio(I think) and they produce some awesome physiques.
I appreciate the input and I'll be PMing you Armedinatlanta. You obviously know what your doing.
This may be more ambitious than I can expect but evetually I'd like to have proportions close to this:
View attachment 213939
I spend 2 hours a day working out 4 times a week average. More time is not in the cards but smarter, more effective use of THAT time is a serious goal. Two days I'm at work for 16 hours and working out is not possible. The other remaining day I'm out of town and the best I could do is walk/jog at the school my wife goes to. I might be able to find a local gym and pay day rates but her schedule is so erratic I'd likely get started and get a call from her to be picked up. So I just don't even try that day. A lot of the decision in my "program" is working it into my schedule. I am trying to figure out if I should be focussing more time on the weight training portion or the road work. On the bike I can do the road work in 30 minutes or less. Should I add that 30 minutes to the weight training? Do I have the discipline to DO that? Oh..scratch that last.
The BowFlex is going to be the best I can do for a whiule. Then it still won't be free weights. When I trained on free weights it was always with a spotter. I work out alone in my basement and will NOT risk free weights without one. I'd like to move up to a newer machine, whether BowFlex or other but it will definitely not be free weights. And spending 30-50 bucks a month for a gym membership isn't happening either.
The diet I was on took me from 240 to 180 in 6 months. The only failure of the diet is me not sticking to it lately. It includes a lot of prepackaged, low fat meals with lots of wonderful sodium, gluten and flavor.
Defining my goal is kind of the hard part. Part of me wants to do the insane Arnold thing but realistically it will never happen. Keep in mind I am 49. Mostly I want to eliminate body fat to 10%, rip up, with modest bulk. Starting from 275 gives me a decent depth of chest and width to start with but it takes a lot of work to sculpt off the flab and reveal the buff dude beneath. That's what I'm working on. I'm down from a 42 to a 32 pant size but I want 30(maybe a 28). From an XXL shirt to a large, but I think it wouldn't hurt my feelings if my chest, shoulders and bikes forced me back to an XL(as long as it's not to cover a gut). Overall I'm liking the progress but I think I may be plling almost as hard as I'm pushing if you get my meaning. If the cardio really IS causing a cannibalizing of muscle then I need to drop it and focus. Maybe 2 hours devoted to weights alone would be the way to go. I know I have some trouble spots that need more attention(anterior deltoids and forearms for instance). But P90 and Insanity are mostly cardio(I think) and they produce some awesome physiques.
I appreciate the input and I'll be PMing you Armedinatlanta. You obviously know what your doing.
This may be more ambitious than I can expect but evetually I'd like to have proportions close to this:
View attachment 213939
eh,. different strokes. I absolutely don't ever want to look like the dude in that^ photo.
I run for mediation and fitness. If I couldn't get 6-8 miles/day in I'd go nuts.
I workout out at least 5 days a week and I have been going more for mass building. My reasoning is the more muscle you have the more calories you burn, don't worry about getting to muscular I haven't met anyone that has had that problem "naturally". I have been getting huge over the past 6 months (not all muscle) I ate something every chance I could, and all my lifts have shot up so now Im starting to try and lose weight. I have been trying something that I read and it has been working pretty good so far, I have cut out nearly all sugar intake and have not eaten any fried foods I drink as much water as possible, I carry a gallon of water with me and chug it if I start to feel hungry in between meals. Sry for the rambling but this has been the easiest dieting I have tried in a week in a half I have gone from 260 to 250.
It depends on your goal for the end state and your current fitness level. Being muscular from lifting looks great in the mirror and definitely better than being obese. But the feeling of vitality and 'health' requires aerobic capacity training. The body uses several sources for fuel, to include fat, sugar and even lactic acid. What your body does at different aerobic and anaerobic conditions determines what fuel is used. Long slow runs at about 60% of your aerobic capacity will make fat disappear faster than you can take before and after pictures of yourself. Your body uses the slow converting fat as fuel. People think they have to go balls out, but the faster you go, your body shifts to glucose as the fuel. A nice long casual run where you're able to hold a conversation and even laugh will burn fat very quickly, and trains your body to burn fat. I do 3 long slow runs, almost embarrassingly slow where I'm getting passed. I do this in a fasted state with no food in my body, no sugars. My body has to burn the fat. I'm teaching my body to use that fuel source more efficiently before it moves on to the glucose. This is how most long distance runners who compete (not participate) but compete cause the body can't store enough sugar to fuel for the entire race. The bi product of that is.. you drop weight very very fast. I'll only do one speed day, and pack my body full of sugar cause I know that's the fuel source that's gonna be used. I've found that having a goal for what you're doing is a great motivator. I would never drag my ass out for 20 miles if it was just to be in better shape. Pick an event, something to shoot for and something you can measure your progress against. The human body is incredible. If you want to be strong, do as it asks and it'll get strong for you. If you want to be able to run marathons, it'll accommodate you as long as you help it. Good luck and I'm happy you've seen life can be better if you challenge yourself
Good point. Part of my fitness goal is to be viable for SHTF survival. That's why I started this thread in Survival and not Sports. I hope to be able to function over long periods of time on the move and under load(pack of up to 40 pounds). Like most prepping though, you have to prep for today as well as whatever tomorrow may bring. So getting buff for the life I hope to live is as important as getting fit for the life our dear sweet government seems hell bent on making us live.
having enough wind to move from point A to point B is key to survival. Back in the day, we trained with minimum 75 lb ruck at 12 miles with a 3 hour standard. The smaller guys were sucking wind from the weight the bigger guys were sucking wind from the speed.. the middle of the road bodies were dipping copenhagen
