I'm only 5-10 lbs overweight, but my body composition is almost entirely fat. Even though I feel good about dropping from 204 lbs to 156 - my chest, arms, and back muscles are severely underdeveloped. Struggling with depression my whole life, it's hard for me to find motivation within myself (in regards to literally every aspect of my life, not just fitness). But I'm going to try a new strategy: tapping into the power of spite to will changes into my life.
Being healthy and fit is something I want for myself, however my mental hurdles often convince me that improving my situation isn't possible. But there's a wedding coming up at the end of August, and my ex will be there lmao. So I'm going to see if I can trick my brain a little. If I struggle with making things happen for myself, maybe I can use the desire to "show them" to get myself going. After I stick to the routine for a few weeks, maybe I'll be able to use that to show myself, "Look what you've accomplished! You can make things happen if you really want it."
So, I have a resistance bar with bands that allegedly goes up to 300 lbs of resistance. I want to follow this beginner's routine on Reddit:
Workout A
- 3×5+ Barbell Rows
- 3×5+ Bench Press
- 3×5+ Squats
Workout B
- 3×5+ Chinups (or equivalent)
- 3×5+ Overhead Press
- 3×5+ Deadlifts
I'll add one biceps and one triceps exercise to this routine as well. I just want to keep it simple so I don't get discouraged after 3 workouts.
I know nutrition is equally important to exercise, but I'm going to introduce that into my life gradually. I'll be mindful of what I eat, but if I jump right into counting calories and focusing on macros, I'll end up giving up.
So, what kind of changes could I expect after 3 months of work? I've read that initial gains on untrained muscles can become noticeable within that timeframe. I'm not expecting to look like Tom Holland, but I'd love it if my back muscles became strong enough to help my posture look better. If my arms looked a little bigger in a short-sleeved shirt. If my chest muscles were a little visible and not just flabby boobies. Are those reasonable expectations? And I'm open to any other advice or pointers you may want to throw my way. Thanks!
congrats on losing that weight already man. you'll absolutely be able to change your body composition in three months. beginner gains are real.
would just caution you on a mistake quite a lot of beginners make - lifting to gain muscle while also cutting calories and doing lots of cardio to lose fat. youre probably better off if you pick one at a time. they're pretty contradictory.
like one of the other answers says protein is important for muscle building, but it's way way behind just pure calories. you'll struggle to gain muscle while losing weight. allow yourself to eat to at very least maintenance calories and ideally a small surplus while you're weight training, it'll also make the workouts much happier.
good luck jefe
Thank you, comrade. I'm sorry for the late response, but those are good tips. My diet is chaotic and kind of a free-for-all. Some days I eat more than maintenance, some days I eat less. It's definitely something I know I need to get better at, but I need to focus on one healthy habit at a time, while staying mindful of the other things I need to work on. Bi-polar sucks ass lmao.
I know I should eat at least maintenance calories, preferably a surplus of 200-500 calories/day. Gaining too much fat while I'm trying to gain muscle is something I'm concerned about, but I had a question. Even though I'm only 10-ish pounds overweight, I look heavier than I actually am because it's majority body fat. If I put on some more weight while gaining muscle, could the addition of visible muscle tone give a leaner look, despite the addage of pounds? Either way, I feel like my overall health and appearance would benefit more from gaining muscle than losing more fat.
i probably wouldn't expect to be leaner, necessarily, but if there's a bit more fullness to your muscles you can definitely get away with carrying more chub, when fat sort of forms to the shape of the muscle underneath it it just looks more pleasing and less noticeable, especially in clothes.
you can definitely do both during the year also - like spending two months gaining muscle and then a month losing fat would make sense & give better results than trying to do both at the same time