New Member.

[Rayjax]

Hi everyone, my name is Chris. I am re-starting Atkins after having lost around 120 pounds on it back in 2003. My fiance and I are both doing it this time, so it will be nice to have her support.

I'm hoping to dump down to 190 pounds or less so I can join the military, like I was going to do in 2003.

I have a pretty killer workout I have been doing if anyone is interested in it I'd be more than willing to share it in either PM's or in an appropriate forum. I will let you all know how I'm doing so far when I weigh myself on Monday.

Thank you for this most excellent support forum.

-Chris

[JohnSantos]

Re: New Member.

I have a pretty killer workout I have been doing if anyone is interested in it I'd be more than willing to share it in either PM's or in an appropriate forum.

Hey Chris, welcome aboard! I'd love to hear your workout, just post it in this thread for everybody to see. I'm a gym freak, always have been, and more ideas for pushing myself over the edge is always good.

[Rayjax]

Re: New Member.

Alright, heres my workout.

For the lifting, alternate your reps each week. First week do 10-12 reps for each set, second week do 7-10 reps for each set, third week do 3-5 reps fourth week 10-12 reps, etc for 12 weeks.

Make sure to warmup and do plenty of stretching prior to lifting. I typically do about 5 minutes on the bike to warmup

Monday
Bench 1x12 1x10 warmup
3xsets in rep range
Dips
3x sets in rep range (I use an assisted machine for now)

Standing shoulder press
3x sets in rep range


Tuesday(This day kills me every time)
Squats 2x12 warmup sets.
3x sets in rep range
Deadlift
3x sets in rep range

Wednesday
Lat Pulldowns 1x15
Pullups(I use an assist machine for this for now)
3x sets in rep range
Bent over row
3 sets in rep range

Thursday
Dumbell incline
3x sets in rep range
Dips
2x sets in the rep range
DB seated shoulder Press
2x sets in the rep range

Friday
DB Stiff Legged Deadlift
3x sets in the rep range
Bar front squat
2x sets in the rep range
Seated Row
3x sets in the rep range


I won't claim this workout as my own idea, I got it from a power lifter type guy named Mike Gill. His philosophy is do only compound movements(lifts that involve more than one muscle) for the first 12 weeks and to train each work set so it is difficult and so the last 2 reps of the last set are difficult to complete, but don't train to failure.

And remember, you're not gonna get huge off this workout, size is related to eating and genes.

This will help you put on a good base of muscle to build off of.

My cardio I got from my brother who's in the Navy.

Monday(Swimming)
100m warmup any stroke
50m Side Stroke x4
50m Freestyle x4
50m Backstroke x2
100m Freestyle
100m Cooldown

If this is confusing 50m side stroke x4 means do 50 meters of side stroke 4 times with rest between sets for a total of 200 meters.

Tuesday I do 30 minutes of low intensity cardio, usually on a stair stepper or bike.

Wednesday is Swimming, the same workout

Thursday is the same as Tuesday

Friday is the same as Monday.

Also on Tuesday and Thursday I throw in this ab exercise given to me by my brother.
2x25 situps
50 crunches
25 crossover crunches (each side)
25 (any twisty ab workout)

Neck exercises.(depends on what your gym has available, google these for something that works for you).

Make sure that when the cardio starts getting easy you up the intensity and/or length-distance on the swimming.

Its difficult, but if you don't bust your butt you won't see any results. All in all I'm in and out of the gym in an hour to an hour and a half depending on how busy the gym is.

[JohnSantos]

Re: New Member.

Nice, I normally did a T/Th/Sa routine with chest/back T, bi/tri Th and Legs Sa. Then pure aerobics on off days, with Mondays off. Can you do serious weights with Atkins? I've read about people adjusting carb loading right before the workout, and yet they stay losing weight somehow but never tried it.

When I do serious pump (I used to do 1100lb incline leg press, and also preacher curl 50lb bells) I'm normally on Body for Life type of carb/protein.

On Atkins I feel like I'm literally going to pass out after the first few reps of anything, and if I pickup weights, I always want to press to failure on one body part once a week. So amping it down is rough.

Haven't done dips since High School, will definitely try some of those out. Seated rows too. Right now I'm too fat for swimming, IMO.

thanks for the routine, I bookmarked it!

[Rayjax]

Re: New Member.

I've never had a problem with lifting on Atkins, the protein intake natural to the diet helps a ton in building muscle which in turn helps you burn fat.

We're both big guys, and swimming is a zero impact exercise, not only that its a total body cardio workout making it probably one of the best cardio exercises out there. Is it an embarassment thing? I get that too, but if we keep working at it we won't have to be embarassed about taking our shirts off anymore.

The key to this weight program is compound movements, so replace those leg presses with squats and deadlifts, and those curls with pull ups, the rows, and bench press. Those all work your arms. The leg day on tuesday is only two lifts, but I almost feel like I want to throw up every time I get done doing it its so brutal.

Also remember to make sure your form on these lifts is good before you pile on the heavy weights.

[JohnSantos]

Re: New Member.

Yeah, there's zero people that want to see my man-boobs at the pool. After I drop 50 lbs and they're not so pronounced, I'll give swimming a shot. Thanks for all the tips, hitting the gym in a couple hours in fact.

[Rayjax]

Re: New Member.

My secret is this. I drape my towel around my chest to hide my man boobs, then I get to the edge of the pool, toss my towel against the wall and jump in.

It works, lol.