HermitIX saidHi, I am new. I have never worked out before, not even in high school gym. So while I do have goals I am not sure how to meet them. I am 6’2” and 190lbs. My goal is to have noticeable improvement in how I look by March and to wear a revealing costume next Halloween.
I want to loose my belly and put on some muscle.
I plan to go to the gym 5 days a week
Day1: 30min treadmill, upper body machines
Day2: 1hr treadmill
Day3: 30min treadmill, mid section machines
Day4: 1hr treadmill
Day5: 30min treadmill, leg machines
I have a few questions and please forgive me if they are stupid but I really don’t know.
Are my goals reasonable?
Is my work out schedule ok?
What is a Rep?
What is a Set?
What should my diet look like?
I have heard the phrase “go to failure”, how literal is that? Should I literally do what ever machine I am on until what ever part of my body won’t complete the motion any more?
How long should my muscles hurt after a work out?
Your workout schedule's terrible. You need to be doing cardio after your weights or you'll deplete your glycogen stores and break down muscle to compensate for having no glucose in your system to run off of. You also don't want to do more than 20 minutes of cardio at a pop for the same reason. Doing cardio daily is a good idea: you'll get leaner.
For your weights, don't focus on "just machines" because you won't get enough variance. Get on a six-day routine:
Day 1: back and biceps, forearms
Day 2: chest and triceps, abs
Day 3: quads, adductors and abductors, calves
Day 4: shoulders and traps, forearms
Day 5: hamstrings, abs
Day 6: triceps and biceps, calves
This routine provides you enough time to recover so you don't over train. You'll want to do 16 or more reps (lift 16 or more times) for 4 to 6 sets (repeat 4 to 6 times taking 45 seconds to 90 seconds in between.) Don't sweat lifting light: you're at a stage where you can seriously injure yourself, not to mention the key to getting big is NOT LIFTING HEAVY.
Generally, you want to go from compound exercises to isolated exercises; ie. for quads you'd do squats, leg press, hack squat, and leg extension in this order because squats work everything focusing primarily on your quads, and leg extension only focuses on your quads. I'll send you a sample workout plan if you want.
Your goals are reasonable, but be aware you're not gonna look like an underwear model. You will be seeing improvements by March, and you'll hopefully be able to pull off fish nets for Halloween if you stay consistent.
Your diet should look like a minimum six meals a day with 40-50g of protein and 60g of carbs for each, you'll want to avoid high fat, but a little butter is ok, and don't be afraid to eat peanut butter because it gives you your essential fats. Make sure you're getting enough water, veggies, and fiber because all that protein will block you up something fierce.
Your post-workout meal should be your largest with 100g of complex carbs, 30g of simple carbs, and 40-50g of protein all to be eaten within 40 minutes of working out if you DID NOT do cardio, and 20 minutes if you DID do cardio. You may want to consider getting some
weight gainer and
protein powder, and mixing it up with 8oz of apple juice and water and taking it with you to the gym so you can suck it down right when you need it (I always bring mine in a small cooler LOL!)
Lifting to failure is exactly as what everyone else here has said: it's as many reps that you can do in perfect form. YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE LIFTING TO FAILURE for at least four months because you'll be running the risk of ripping a muscle or attachment, and it's an injury that may screw up any chances for you to continue training even after it heals.
Your muscles are gonna be aching for the first few months. What will happen is you'll get done with a workout, and feel fine for the next day or so, then it hits and it'll hurt like hell. You may hurt for as long as five days. To ease the pain and hasten the healing process, you'll want to exercise the affected area with very VERY light weight, and do as many as 4 sets of 30 reps; again, DO NOT lift to failure. If you do this on the first day you're sore, it'll greatly speed healing and make it a lot less painful. Ibuprofen will also become your best friend for the first few months that you're working out.
Feel free to bug me if you have any questions.
I have a killer smile and a british accent.)
)
