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2005/07/31, 09:42 PM
Hi. First, I think I should start off with some background. I am 6'4" and 239 as of today (7/31). I started this year at 280, and my goal is to get down to 225 by Sept. 1st. I just started heavily exercising (running 2-3 miles a day, benching, flys, squats etc).
I really have 2 goals to accomplish: 1) my weight to 225 and 2) get muscular while retaining flexibility.
I have gone on the half diet (eating half of usual..roughly 1700 calories a day +/- a few). I would like to start lifting more so I can get some definition. I really want to focus on my chest. I do bench presses (85lbs by 10 sets of 5) and fly's (20lbs and 1 set of 20 reps and 2 sets of 15 reps). I do this 2X a day (run the 3 miles over the 2 sessions) Should I start to add the incline forms of these 2 exercises? Push-ups don't work with my as the hurt my shoulder, and being a baseball player, it is not condusive to being able to play.
Which leads to my 2nd question. How can I retain my flexibility in the arms/chest area so that I can still play?
Thanks a lot for any imformation that you could give me. I am really at a loss. Everyone I talk to doesn't have the answers and you all seem very knowledgable in this area.
Chris
P.S. Is my goal to get to 225 form 239 in a little over a month unattainable? I know it will be hard, but can I pyhsically do it?
Thanks again.
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2005/07/31, 10:11 PM
I'd suggest a couple of things and the first would be the diet. That's way too few calories for your body weight and the weight you are going to lose is going to come right back on if you aren't really locked in to what you're doing. You don't have to be that restrictive if you spead your meals out over the day. I catch stuff all the time 'cause I go in to work with a bag full of food. Your weight training isn't nearly hard enough at that body weight. Want a challenge? I work out with a lady that's considerably less than one third your weight and does what you are doing. :) That was not meant to be offensive by the way. You can get to where you want to go but it's going to take more effort.:)
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Mike
in Pensacola Now.
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2005/07/31, 10:12 PM
I would say that your goal of losing 14 lbs in a little over a month is highly unreasonable, to say the least. To get definition, that means that you want to maintain whatever muscle mass you have, not destroy it. Sure, you could eat half of what you normally eat, and quite easily lose that 14 lbs. But here's the catch. Your metabolism will come to a screeching halt as it's body is being told it's no longer receiving enough calories to maintain what it already has. You will break down lean muscle tissue, as well as fat. As you break down lean muscle tissue, I highly doubt you would be able to sustain the definition that you're wanting. Not only that, but you say you're only working your chest. You should work out your whole body if you're going to weight train at all, if you don't you could injuries etc... not to mention if in the rare occasion you didn't manage to totally destroy your muscle and actually gain some it would look kind of weird to a lot of people as it would be unproportional to the others... though I doubt it would get too weird your body has a kind of system it uses to not allow muscles to get too big. What I would do is... if you want to keep the weight off after you lose it, because once you do, you're just going to be really hungry and eat a lot and just end up putting it all back on and mostly it would be fat and you would be even more disappointed than before taking part in the "half" diet. Take it slow, lower it by 250 calories, if you really wanna stretch it lower it 500 calories than what it takes to fuel your body. Make sure to eat this in 6 to 8 if you can equally portioned meals that are low in fat and carbohydrates. The reasoning behind this is if you don't have any carbohydrates, your body will begin to tap its fat stores and use that for calorie burning. Obviously you would want more protein in your meals than fat so you could build and maintain the muscle tissue you currently have, and get the "definition" that you so eagerly seek. Optimum ratio would be at least 3 times as much protein than fat. So with these restrictions, your caloric intake would be more than lowered, so maybe you wouldn't have to make that many modifications in your diet right now. Do it this way, and you'll be able to lose those 14 lbs in 2-3 months if you really eat clean and properly like I suggest. And your body is going to be thanking you too because you'll be able to keep that weight off :big_smile:
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2005/07/31, 10:16 PM
Zenkei18 - you must have been posting about the same time I was and you said it better.
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Mike
in Pensacola Now.
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2005/07/31, 10:18 PM
If you're lowering it by 500 calories it would take a little more than 3 months if you do EVERYTHING right... lowering it by 1000 would probably be a bit riskier and might lose some muscle tissue if or you so you should only do it you're really dead set on losing the weight. It would still take about 2.5 - 3 months doing it that way.
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2005/07/31, 10:31 PM
I was born in Pensacola how is it now :)
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Quoting from mikencharleston:
Zenkei18 - you must have been posting about the same time I was and you said it better.
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2005/08/01, 09:23 AM
Thanks a lot guys. Yea, I know my weight lifting isn't a fraction compared to what some can do on here, but I play baseball and if I get to big and my muscles get to tight, I won't be able to play. Thats why I do not lift that much. DUring the winter months, I about double the weight.
I also work out the other areas, I just stated those I did for chest, because I was looking for other exercises for chest. I also work on my tris, bis, forearms, legs and squat.
So my goal is unnattainable (health wise). I figured that, but figured I would ask here to make sure.
Thanks a lot guys for the advice, and hope to be reporting back with a success story in 2-3 months.
Chris
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2005/08/11, 12:31 PM
Hi, id also like to add a few facts. firstly, a muscle can do only one of 3 things..it can either get bigger, get smaller, or stay the same size. to get really cut u have to make it bigger (and of course lose the fat). running alone is enough to lose the fat. the bigger the muscle and lower the fat, higher the definition.
the age old myth which says that u have to do higher reps with a smaller weight to get definition...load of rubbish(that will of course help to lose the fat, but thats it). i read this from a reliable source, but i cant remember where, probably mensfitness.com Good Luck
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