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Have you ever walked up to someone at a gym and asked them why they're there? What are their goals? Odds are, it's highly improbable that you could guess right off the bat. Gaining strength, looking good, losing weight, and even socializing are but a few reasons why people make the gym an everyday habit.
In the past, I was satisfied with doing twenty push-ups, a few crunches, and some running. Attending a gym was a cliché I never intended to adopt. Then again, I had very little confidence with threads of self-esteem hanging on for dear life and I wasn't exactly satisfied with how I looked. I was 6’0”, 190 pounds. I wasn’t obese or even excessively overweight but I packed a gut, some man boobs, and some wonderful love handles on my back. A friend of mine suggested (might I add on several occasions) that I work out with him. After much deliberation, I finally accepted his offer and started a membership at a gym a few blocks from my house.
A new setting coupled with anxiety was my enemy amongst the gym’s population of body builders and women with thin wastes and pseudo bright blond hair. On the first day, I met my friend at around 6am and luckily for me, the gym was relatively empty at this hour. My friend was a gym addict, being a practitioner of weight lifting for over four consecutive years. It is safe to say that he knew what he was doing so I was gifted with a free trainer. I followed his routine, which was “biceps and back” that day, which started with cardio on a sit-down bike.
Then it happens. You come to terms with the realization of how out of shape you are when the easiest cardio exercise can be the hardest. Pedaling with a resistance of only eight seemed like hell for me while my friend had a resistance of fifteen and wasn’t even breaking a sweat. After nearly passing down (might I once again add in a sitting position), we concluded our cardio session and proceeded to begin our weight lifting with pull-downs. I attempted 100 lbs. and succeeded by panting my way through the process of pulling and letting go. My friend demonstrated correct form, although old habits are hard to break.
Curls were next. For this, we used free weights, specifically barbells that were custom in weight. I chose a forty, as it was all I could lift at the time. That is when it happened. The world around me became dark, fading into a cold silence tied to a very uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Before nearly blacking out, I threw up my breakfast. Since it was only 6:30am, there wasn’t much of an audience for my puking fiasco although the embarrassment still lingered. The staff and my friend both told me this is normal and that I should drink plenty of water and probably call it a day as far as weight lifting, which I did of course.
Over time, I developed plenty of stamina which prolonged my workouts and finally showed results. I slowly adopted my friend’s workout routine (listed below) and adapted it to increase my strength at a faster rate. However, it took plenty of old fashioned trial and error to get where I am today. In the beginning, I followed my friend’s routine like a rulebook, whether or not he was with me during the workouts (he later got a job as a personal trainer at a different gym so he started going to a gym farther away). Later on, when I felt that I had reached my body’s peak, I was unable to produce the same results I had done when I first started. I had gained about 5-10 pounds of muscle when my friend had introduced me to weight lifting but eventually, my body adapted. I needed something new so I tried a suggestive from someone I had met at the gym. Working out everything in one day, which, for awhile, produced new results and built up an even higher stamina but stressed out my body and left me in the same position I was in before.
I returned to the six-day routine my friend set me on but this time (being a year later), I constantly modified it so my body doesn’t get used to a routine of any kind. I had done massive amounts of cardio thinking I would lose weight but I ended up burning muscle. After cutting down on cardio, I found that paced walking on a treadmill for 45 minutes causes more weight-loss than the 4-5 miles I had been running at 7-8 mph. I added a few other exercises I observed people doing to my stockpile. Eventually, to my dismay, I changed my diet to cut down on a lot of fatty and sugary foods, and started consuming more protein, veggies, and fruit. Soda, one of my worst enemies (I was acne prone and soda irritated my acne for years), was permanently excluded from my diet. Water became my best friend from then on.
The road to where I am was a difficult one. It’s not easy to adapt to the gym life or staying fixed on a dieting routine for that matter. Driving back and forth, six days a week is an accomplishment anyone can be proud of, especially when you start looking great! The purpose of this article is to tell people that with the right motivation, you can look good and above all, feel good. I have gained plenty of confidence from working out and going there has become just as important and mundane as brushing my teeth and going to sleep. You don’t need any fancy acai berries or dieting pills. The motivation comes from the sole act of limitation and routine. I love chocolate, pizza, burgers, cake, the works and I still DO eat them but not in excess. After an entire year, it has finally paid off.
So what is my routine if you’re curious? Since it has worked for me, maybe it will work for you!
Schedule:
Monday - Biceps and Back
Tuesday - Triceps, Chest, and Shoulders
Wednesday - Legs and Abs
Thursday - Biceps and Back
Friday - Triceps, Chest, and Shoulders
Saturday - Cardio
Sunday - Rest Day
With this routine, each muscle group gets two days of rest. Wednesday, I still do abs every day, only on Wednesday, I do weighted abs exercises while every other day of the week I only do sit-ups. On Saturday, I usually run about 3-4 miles on the treadmill (or outside) to keep my stamina up. When running, specifically to lose weight, it's not about running as fast as possible. Run at a medium-level pace, 5-7mph (depending on height and length of your legs), to keep your heart rate slightly elevated. You want to burn fat, not muscle. I do a little elliptical and some bike followed by some dips, pull-ups, and abs. Nothing too fancy. Just light exercises. On Monday through Friday, I walk on the treadmill at a speed of 3.5mph for 20 minutes pre-workout and 45 minutes post-workout. Walking burns fat and calories surprisingly more than hardcore running does.
Although I don’t suggest it for beginners, I do take a creatine (caplet based, not powder) that leaves very little water retention so fortunately, I do not have to cycle off of it (although I suggest you do for at least 2-3 weeks if you plan on taking it). Creatine, in short, is a natural chemical in your muscle tissue that provides stamina to your muscles. By ingesting it in tablet or powder form, it basically helps your body produce more so you can get a few more reps out of your muscles per set. Like anything, too much is a no-no. I also take a multi-vitamin in the morning and at night as well as a green-tea supplement that targets excess fat. All have proven to be useful and all should NOT be taken in excess amounts.
My diet isn’t too extreme. First and foremost, I eat plenty of protein whether it’s protein-specific foods (shakes, bars) or meats (chicken breast, beef). My favorite “normal” food to eat is a spinach (also high in protein) salad topped with grilled chicken breast and fat-free Caesar dressing. I can assure you that it’s delicious as well as high in protein. It also contains roughly two or less grams of fat, with a whole plate! I usually drink protein shakes pre-workout and eat a protein bar post-workout. Eating fruits and veggies is also a must! I eat a couple of each a day. Last but not least, water! I drink at least half a gallon a day, not including the water I drink during my workout. With my diet, I eat 6-8 meals a day and am very careful not to A. Feel hungry and B. Eat too much. The objective is to have your metabolism constantly at work, which in turn, will burn excess fat. If you eat to stuff yourself, your body will store extra fat and if you starve yourself, your body will keep fat as a survival mechanism, at least for some time. Personally, I don't have the patience to count calories. As long as I have a system that works, I could care less about fats and calories, or organic foods and foods with preservatives. It's easier to find the right diet by experimenting. So here is what I eat:
100% Whey Protein Shake (20-30g of protein)
Snickers Marathon Protein Bars (21g of protein)
Chicken Breast Spinach Salad (roughly 10-20g of protein)
At least two fruits/veggies a day
½ - 1 gallon of water daily
Juice that is rich in vitamins (I drink V8 Fusion)
Do I break the rules and indulge? Of course! I still eat plenty of foods that are high and fat and sugar which are considered extremely unhealthy by the “experts.” However, you can still keep your body physically fit (without the “model diet”) by limiting your cravings for these foods. The problem, in my personal opinion, with people who are overweight is that they don’t limit these cravings so they still don’t burn enough calories to lose weight. If you want to lose the weight, you have to lose the cravings, at least for some time. So don’t worry, it’s not forever! |
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