First, a little background.
When I was in college(approx 6 years ago), I played a lot of pickup basketball. My diet sucked, I drank a lot of beer, but was still a bean pole (5' 9", 145-150lbs). After I graduated, I got married, got lazy, quit drinking, but continued my crappy diet. Now I'm 5'9", 180lbs. So I've got to think that it's all about my metablism.
It's time to get back into shape.
Here are my priorities, in order:
- increase cardiovascular endurance
- slim down/burn fat
- add muscle definition (i.e. shape - abs, arms, chest, shoulders)
- strengthen core muscles
- add muscle mass (arms, chest, legs, shoulders, etc.)
SIDE NOTE: it's unrealistic to think I will change my diet. That's just the way it is.
My biggest problem is time. As I said, I'm married, but I also have a 2 year old. My wife works a lot of evenings, so the only time I can consistantly dedicate to getting back into shape is in the morning, before work. I live in the northeast, so outdoor activity is not an option - I have to be to work by 7:30, and it's too cold and too dark at 6:00am to be on the trails. So I'm probably going to be joining a gym. Problem is, they open at 6. So basically, I have an hour to work with.
So, my plan is to do cardio work for 1 hour, 5 days a week. This will primarily be on the tread mill and stationary bike. This should definitely increase my endurance, and hopefully it will also burn away some fat. My goal is to get down to 165. I'm hoping I can do this in 2 month's time, but I don't know how realistic that is.
From there, I'll continue the cardio 2 days a week, and hit the weights 3 days a week. Initially it will be with lighter weights and more reps to get some definition, then I'll move onto heavier weights and fewer reps to add some size.
All this will be in addition to any biking I do.
Thoughts? Is this a good plan? I'm going to meet with one of the "trainers" at the gym once I join... but I'm not sure how knowledgable they are.
When I was in college(approx 6 years ago), I played a lot of pickup basketball. My diet sucked, I drank a lot of beer, but was still a bean pole (5' 9", 145-150lbs). After I graduated, I got married, got lazy, quit drinking, but continued my crappy diet. Now I'm 5'9", 180lbs. So I've got to think that it's all about my metablism.
It's time to get back into shape.
Here are my priorities, in order:
- increase cardiovascular endurance
- slim down/burn fat
- add muscle definition (i.e. shape - abs, arms, chest, shoulders)
- strengthen core muscles
- add muscle mass (arms, chest, legs, shoulders, etc.)
SIDE NOTE: it's unrealistic to think I will change my diet. That's just the way it is.
My biggest problem is time. As I said, I'm married, but I also have a 2 year old. My wife works a lot of evenings, so the only time I can consistantly dedicate to getting back into shape is in the morning, before work. I live in the northeast, so outdoor activity is not an option - I have to be to work by 7:30, and it's too cold and too dark at 6:00am to be on the trails. So I'm probably going to be joining a gym. Problem is, they open at 6. So basically, I have an hour to work with.
So, my plan is to do cardio work for 1 hour, 5 days a week. This will primarily be on the tread mill and stationary bike. This should definitely increase my endurance, and hopefully it will also burn away some fat. My goal is to get down to 165. I'm hoping I can do this in 2 month's time, but I don't know how realistic that is.
From there, I'll continue the cardio 2 days a week, and hit the weights 3 days a week. Initially it will be with lighter weights and more reps to get some definition, then I'll move onto heavier weights and fewer reps to add some size.
All this will be in addition to any biking I do.
Thoughts? Is this a good plan? I'm going to meet with one of the "trainers" at the gym once I join... but I'm not sure how knowledgable they are.
