Posted: 5/15/2010 7:37:16 AM EDT
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Ok, so I've been hitting the gym for about 3 years now, went from 6' 170 to 230lbs. As my old lady says "I'm freaking huge" but I can't for the life of me get all cut up! Any advice?
Taken hiking about 2 weeks ago 
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Don't take this the wrong way but you're not huge and you severely lack any semblance of muscle definition. It's going to be a rough go at it for you but hard works trumps most. Good luck. I go to the gym for 2 hours a minimum of 3 times a week for the past year, prior to that in Afghanistan I went on average 2 hours 6 times a week (for about 6 months), and the 1 1/2 years prior to that 1 hour 3 times a week, what more can I do? For the record I went from 6' 1" 150 lbs when I joined the Navy, to a fatty 210, then dropped all the weight to get to 170 then started bulking up. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong! I eat right for the most part, so I'm pretty sure my diet isn't the problem? |
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I had help from my friends that read all the magazines and stuff so I cant really tell you the specifics. Plus I worked out in the gym in high school until I was 25 so I quit 11 years ago. Anyway. I would lift 3 times a week doing max weights/low reps isolating muscles first and at the end of my workout they had me going back through at the end with lower weights and compound movements. I think thats what they called it. Of course truckloads of protein and cardio helped thin off the baby fat. |
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Don't take this the wrong way but you're not huge and you severely lack any semblance of muscle definition. It's going to be a rough go at it for you but hard works trumps most. Good luck. I go to the gym for 2 hours a minimum of 3 times a week for the past year, prior to that in Afghanistan I went on average 2 hours 6 times a week (for about 6 months), and the 1 1/2 years prior to that 1 hour 3 times a week, what more can I do? For the record I went from 6' 1" 150 lbs when I joined the Navy, to a fatty 210, then dropped all the weight to get to 170 then started bulking up. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong! I eat right for the most part, so I'm pretty sure my diet isn't the problem? I agree with Mountain Snipe. You're not huge. Obviously your diet is a problem because you have a lot of body fat. You're taking in way more calories than you are burning. You say you are in the gym working out for 2 hours. The amount of time spent there means little. How intense of a work out are you getting in those two hours. I can go to gym for 2 hours, drag ass, and do 2 exercises. Or I can go for two hours, do 10 exercises for 4 sets each, with little rest in between. How long are your rest periods between sets? How much of that time is spent doing cardio? What is your cardio routine? 3 days a week is far from enough if you want to get ripped. In two hours,your work out should look something like this to get proper intensity. Weights: 8 to 10 exercises (4 sets each): 1 1/2 hours (use supersets to help maximize your intensity and time) Cardio: 20 minutes Abs: 10 minutes Do that at an intense level for 6 days a week, for 2 months while monitoring your food intake and you will be ripped. |
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I typically do 3 sets of 12 of various upper body workouts (back chest and arms) and try to keep a quick rotation, I do 30 inclined situps, 30 reverse situps, 2 sets of 30 inverted crunches, 35 squats with a 75 lbs bar, sprint 1/4 mile, run 1 mile (used to run more, I developed/still have horrible shin splints) or sometimes I ride a bike, stairmaster, whatever to freshen it up.
My diet typically consists of a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwichs for lunch, and some sort of meat/veggy/starch combo for dinner. Maybe I'll try doing a bit more at the gym, I keep a pretty good sweat going after the first 15 min, but I guess more could help? Thanks for helping me sort my thoughts fellas! 
Re-reading above maybe I need to go back to my only high-protein diet that I used to lose all the weight in the first place, but I'm worried about losing muscle mass I already have? |
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It is your diet. You are going to have to do some research. Start here: |
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It is your diet. You are going to have to do some research. Start here: This, work on the diet, not near enough protein, complex carbs, ect...you should eat smaller meals every 2 1/2-3 hours or so to keep your body/metabolism going.. Bodybuilding.com is the arfcom on these topics should find plenty of nutrition and cutting threads. |
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Cuts start with diet. Next is cardio and after that, resistance exercise.
As others have said, reduce your portion size and cut your snacks and sweets down to zero or as close to zero as you can stand. Burn 200 calories or more every day with cardio. Low rep/heavy weight and high rep/low weight will both work. The trick is to do the exercises. I prefer the high rep/low weight approach because there's less chance for injury which would keep me out of the gym.. Others will disagree and that's fine. Do what you like, but do it! |
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Quoted:
I typically do 3 sets of 12 of various upper body workouts (back chest and arms) and try to keep a quick rotation, I do 30 inclined situps, 30 reverse situps, 2 sets of 30 inverted crunches, 35 squats with a 75 lbs bar, sprint 1/4 mile, run 1 mile (used to run more, I developed/still have horrible shin splints) or sometimes I ride a bike, stairmaster, whatever to freshen it up. My diet typically consists of a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwichs for lunch, and some sort of meat/veggy/starch combo for dinner. Maybe I'll try doing a bit more at the gym, I keep a pretty good sweat going after the first 15 min, but I guess more could help? Thanks for helping me sort my thoughts fellas!
Re-reading above maybe I need to go back to my only high-protein diet that I used to lose all the weight in the first place, but I'm worried about losing muscle mass I already have? I'm seeing too much sugar and bread here, not nearly enough protein. You won't lose any muscle, you'll build it, if you take in enough protein. |
| Looks like some overtraining. once a week per body part is enough, and get plenty of rest. Keep the workouts to under an hour and implement cardio (which sucks but is necessary). You look like one of those guys who you always see at the gym but never gets any bigger. Like the other guys said. Diet. Peanut butter sandwiches are a no-no. Bread is bad. Peanut butter is too high in fat to calorie ratio. Try to eat low fat foods (around 10% of total calories from fat). Stay away from the sugar. Eat plenty of whole protein sources such as chicken, and get your carbs from veggies. You should notice a change in your body shortly. |
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Quoted: Try to eat low fat foods (around 10% of total calories from fat). Stay away from the sugar. Eat plenty of whole protein sources such as chicken, and get your carbs from veggies. You should notice a change in your body shortly.
Good advice on the protein, veggies, and sugar, but I disagree on the fats. Healthy fats, such as nuts, olive oil, and fish oil are good for you. It's probably okay to get 40%+ of your calories from fat as long as they are healthy. If the OP restricts his diet to less than 10% fat and veggies, I don't see how he will get enough calories each day. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I typically do 3 sets of 12 of various upper body workouts (back chest and arms) and try to keep a quick rotation, I do 30 inclined situps, 30 reverse situps, 2 sets of 30 inverted crunches, 35 squats with a 75 lbs bar, sprint 1/4 mile, run 1 mile (used to run more, I developed/still have horrible shin splints) or sometimes I ride a bike, stairmaster, whatever to freshen it up. My diet typically consists of a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwichs for lunch, and some sort of meat/veggy/starch combo for dinner. Maybe I'll try doing a bit more at the gym, I keep a pretty good sweat going after the first 15 min, but I guess more could help? Thanks for helping me sort my thoughts fellas!
Re-reading above maybe I need to go back to my only high-protein diet that I used to lose all the weight in the first place, but I'm worried about losing muscle mass I already have? I'm seeing too much sugar and bread here, not nearly enough protein. You won't lose any muscle, you'll build it, if you take in enough protein. I would believe that cutting out some of the carbs would really help the OP lean out. Keep the healthy fats high. |
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Good advice on the protein, veggies, and sugar, but I disagree on the fats. Healthy fats, such as nuts, olive oil, and fish oil are good for you. It's probably okay to get 40%+ of your calories from fat as long as they are healthy. If the OP restricts his diet to less than 10% fat and veggies, I don't see how he will get enough calories each day. Quoted: Looks like some overtraining. once a week per body part is enough, and get plenty of rest. Keep the workouts to under an hour and implement cardio (which sucks but is necessary). You look like one of those guys who you always see at the gym but never gets any bigger. Like the other guys said. Diet. Peanut butter sandwiches are a no-no. Bread is bad. Peanut butter is too high in fat to calorie ratio. Try to eat low fat foods (around 10% of total calories from fat). Stay away from the sugar. Eat plenty of whole protein sources such as chicken, and get your carbs from veggies. You should notice a change in your body shortly. I personally try to stay below 10%. I have no problem getting enough calories. But my goals are most likely different than anyone else's. Whey Protein Drink X2: 560 calories Fat Free Refried beans X4: 420 calories Oatmeal 1/2 cup, with water: 150 Calories Banana: 121 Calories 8 oz Chicken grilled: 260 Calories Dried Soybean/Edamame: 120 calories Protein Bar: 230 Calories 1 Cup Broccoli: 31 Calories –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Total: 1892 Calores How many more calories do you want? I know it is different for everyone, but the above foods are a good example of low fat, low carb type things to eat. You could probably throw some olive oil or eat some peanut butter and still be under 10 % total fat when implemented along with the above foods. YMMV and all that happy happy horseshit |