Is it even possible?

[A.Anaka]

Long story short. My city has a contest for a firefighter calendar in which we pose sort of like a woman oriented sports illustrated swimsuit edition. I am currently 205 lb's at 5'11, Slightly overweight, as I am not quite chubby, but certainly close. I am wondering 2 things. Is it possible to get into great shape by September and if it is, any suggestions as to what kind of routine to best achieve this goal? I have some experience in getting into shape as I have done Body for life a couple of times but lately have been neglecting my health more than I should. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[281mustang]

What exactly is "great shape"? Just losing weight and putting on a small amount of muscle?

 

[AJ Hidell]

Can you clarify first whether you are male or female?

 

[spisco85]

Male or female your goal should be performance not looks. With performance looks will follow. Excellent diet and good workout will do anything.

 

[A.Anaka]

Male, 22 y/o, 200 lbs, 5'11 ft, Mostly want to lose a crap load of fat fast but have been getting quite a bit of conflicting information. some say only cardio 20 intense minutes a day, obviously no crap food, 6 meals a day. Others tell me eat healthy but as much as possible and lots of weight resistance with low reps but high weight.

Currently I have been doing cardio every other day and weight training in between.

 

[marineman]

I would up cardio to every day but mix it up a bit. Go for a jog one day, then swim laps at the pool the next. This will keep it interesting and provide a more well rounded regimen.

I would keep up with the weights as well 2 or 3 days a week. If you google Mark Rippetoe you will find some information about his book (starting strength) as well as links to the work out routine that he uses in that book. It is a great program that you can get done in roughly 30 minutes a day 3 days a week.

Mix all that with proper diet and there's absolutely no reason you can't be in great shape by september.

 

[Ms.Medic]

Male, 22 y/o, 200 lbs, 5'11 ft, Mostly want to lose a crap load of fat fast but have been getting quite a bit of conflicting information. some say only cardio 20 intense minutes a day, obviously no crap food, 6 meals a day. Others tell me eat healthy but as much as possible and lots of weight resistance with low reps but high weight.

Currently I have been doing cardio every other day and weight training in between.

Personal trainer,,,unless your just self motivated.....


Or....Wii Fit,,,,,its awesome.


lol.

 

[AJ Hidell]

Male, 22 y/o, 200 lbs, 5'11 ft, Mostly want to lose a crap load of fat fast but...

It's good to see that you know to aim for FAT loss, and not weight loss. A good fitness program will result in more fat loss than weight loss. I don't know how many times I've been in the gym and some hausfrau is on the Stairmaster complaining about how she has been unable to lose any weight in three months of working out. I ask her how her clothes are fitting now, and they always admit they've lost a couple of dress sizes. It's like there is a total mental disconnect there that doesn't allow them to realize progress unless they see it on the scales, no matter that they have totally reshaped their body. Muscle weighs more than fat, so resistance exercise will often result in no net loss on the scales.

...have been getting quite a bit of conflicting information. some say only cardio 20 intense minutes a day, obviously no crap food, 6 meals a day. Others tell me eat healthy but as much as possible and lots of weight resistance with low reps but high weight.

Cardio... as much as you can handle. The 20 minute thing is the minimum requirement for cardio conditioning. It is not a limit that you need to fear exceeding. For fat burning and serious cardio conditioning (pulse lowering), you need a lot more than 20 mins, three times a week. Half an hour to an hour a day, five days a week is not at all unreasonable for that goal. It's almost impossible to overdo cardio. Bicycle and treadmill are good, but the Stairmaster is arguably the best all around device for cardio. It tones the legs and gluteals unlike anything else, while burning maximum calories.

Another good cardio option is to enroll in a karate school. If it is a good program with a good instructor, they will wear you out for a solid hour a day. It's hard to find a better cardio workout than the martial arts. At the same time, it works wonders for your flexibility. Even if you learn nothing about self-defense, you certainly haven't wasted your time!

Resistance... moderate weight and high reps is for toning and conditioning. Doing that in continuous cycles, with only very short rest periods, adds to your cardio, so this is probably what is best for your situation. Heavy weights and low reps is for maximum muscle gain. Ideally, a program involves a mix of the two techniques to keep the muscles from adapting and memorizing the routine, which stunts your gains.

If you're going to do cardio five times a week, then you might as well split up your weight training to do that five days a week to. Large muscle groups one day, then smaller muscle groups on alternate days. Or you can split it up with upper body one day and lower body on alternate days. Whatever feels good for you. If your schedule prohibits you from working out five days a week, then you'll have to work all muscle groups on the same day. The important thing is to have at least 24 hours of recovery time between workouts of the same muscle group. Unlike cardio, you can overdo weight training and kill your gains. There are several resources online that will personalize a weight program for you for free simply by filling in your statistics and goals. http://www.freetrainers.com/ is one of them. I'd start there to get a foundation to work from. They also cover nutrition, which was my lowest scores in nursing school, so I'll leave that to someone else, lol. But you're definitely on the right track with 6 small, high protein portions a day. If you are not fueling the muscles properly, your progress will be seriously impeded.

You're looking at a good two hours in the gym each workout, at the least. Bring some Gatorade with you because hydration is extremely important for optimal muscle function and growth.

Good luck!

 

[A.Anaka]

Thanks a lot for all the advice, I really appreciate it. I'll keep you all posted as to my progress as the months carry on.

 

[281mustang]

Male, 22 y/o, 200 lbs, 5'11 ft, Mostly want to lose a crap load of fat fast but have been getting quite a bit of conflicting information. some say only cardio 20 intense minutes a day, obviously no crap food, 6 meals a day. Others tell me eat healthy but as much as possible and lots of weight resistance with low reps but high weight.

Currently I have been doing cardio every other day and weight training in between.

Maximum hypertrophy occurs between 8-12 reps, although every now and then it's best to switch up the rep range above and below the amount to recruit different muscle fibers that are stimulated at different rep ranges. A couple basics are-

Don't overtrain, train muscle groups that are involved in the same compound movements(ie. chest/tri's/shoulders one day/bi's/lats one day, legs one day, ect). Just one or two days recovery time isn't enough, there are many different variables that come into play with recovery(size of muscle trained, intensity, genetics, nutrition, sleep, ect) but never train muscles that are sore, an intense quad workout could take over a week to recover. The only exception being cardio if you're more worried about fat loss/cardiovascular fitness/vo2 max than muscle mass in your legs.

Switch up your workout about every month or so and change your excersises and everything else you can think of. Your body doesn't want to gain muscle because maintaining it increases calorie expenditure, so it will adapt to the program and your gains will virtually cease(ie. you'll hit a "plateau") Here is a list of excersises http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

Nutrition, nutrition, nutriton. Eat lots of meat, fish, pountry, ect. and complex carbohydrates anytime other then post workout(look up the glycemic index of certain foods, it's the rate at which it's absorbed) and dairy products before you go to sleep. Casein protein clots in the stomach so by the time it gets into the small intestine it takes a long time to absorb giving you a steady supply of protein while you're sleeping. Also, it's much better to eat many small meals then eat a few large ones, without getting to technical it basically helps raise your metabolism. Your body also grows when you sleep, so sleep as much as possible. I might get into pre/post workout nutrition later but I'm tired of typing for now.

 

[WarDance]

It depends on what you want to do. Endurance athletes go with low weight and high reps. Back when I was at my peak I would lift light weights for 4 sets of 25 reps. Your muscles turn out looking less bulky but more functional for use over distances.