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Captain Ryan - 30 Jan 2006 00:20 GMT

I'm finding it difficult to find unbiased information about health on
the web. It seems every site is hawking some kind of pill, service, or
book. It's been probably 7 years since I've done anything with USENET,
but I'm back in search of answers to what should be easy questions :)

As of a month ago, I have some free time in which I've decided to work
on shaping up. I'm 6'0" 220 lbs and 24 years old. The last time I was
on any kind of regular workout schedule was 5 years ago, but I didn't
know what I was doing so while I was down to 160 lbs, I had no muscle
tone (I was working out every day and not eating any
protein...apparently that's bad). So now I wake up, eat a bowl of
cereal and usually some kind of fruit, go to the gym 5 days a week
where I spend 20 minutes on an elliptical machine and 20-30 minutes
with weights (alternating between uppers and lowers each day), then
have some kind of protein bar or some kind of meat. I've also been
trying to fix my diet a little bit. After more than a month of this
schedule I've seen absolutely no difference in appearance or weight.
What could I be doing wrong?

I quit smoking 6 months ago. I do drink 2-3 cups of coffee/day. I
spend several hours a day in front of a computer.

Also, in terms of nutrition, what's a good site out there that provides
good information about waht to eat/what not to eat/substitutes and such
without trying to sell me some gimmick product?

Any information would be appreciated.

Ryan

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The Queen of Cans and Jars - 30 Jan 2006 01:14 GMT

> I'm finding it difficult to find unbiased information about health on
> the web. It seems every site is hawking some kind of pill, service, or
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
> Any information would be appreciated.

Start here: http://stumptuous.com/cms/displaysection.php?sid=4

There's also a lot of good information on Krista's site about training.
It's generally targeted towards women, but most of it's applicable to
men as well.

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Cheese - 30 Jan 2006 02:03 GMT

> I'm finding it difficult to find unbiased information about health on
> the web. It seems every site is hawking some kind of pill, service, or
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> Ryan

To maintain 220 pounds at your current height, age and exercise level
you're probably consuming ~2487 calories per day. If you'd rather be at
a weight around 185 pounds you'll need to shave ~217 calories from your
diet to bring them closer to 2270/day.

If I were you I'd be distributing the nutrients in those 2270 calories
each day as 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fats. The proteins would be
lean and not all animal based. The carbs would be primarily complex and
the fats would be mostly unsaturated. I would also avoid High Fructose
Corn Syrup, Tran-Saturated Fats and artificial sweeteners as much as
possible.

If I were trying to "shape up" I'd quit the cardio and spend the entire
40-50 minutes using free weights. I'd also exercise muscle groups on a
4 day rotation leaving a minimum of 3 days for the muscle group to
recover before working it again.

Day 1 - Chest/Triceps
Day 2 - Shoulders/Back
Day 3 - Abs
Day 4 - Legs
Day 5 - Chest/Triceps(Different exercises than Day 1)
Day 6 - Rest (Enjoy your Saturday)
Day 7 - Rest (Enjoy your Sunday)
Day 8 - Shoulders/Back (Different exercises than Day 2)
Day 9 - Abs(Different exercises than Day 3)
Day 10 - Legs(Different exercises than Day 4)
Day 11 - Chest/Triceps(Same as Day 1)
Day 12 - Shoulders/Back(Same as Day 2)
Day 13 - Rest (Enjoy your Saturday)
Day 14 - Rest (Enjoy your Sunday)

Continue ...

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Cheese

http://cheesensweets.com/contact/cheese

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Captain Ryan - 30 Jan 2006 17:39 GMT

Thanks for the detailed reply. I seem to be getting that ~2200 cals
40/40/20 information from a couple sources, so it sounds good to me.
I'll give it a shot. As far as the actual weight training, I find that
when I go to the gym I find it difficult to really push myself. I run
out of energy after maybe 20 minutes (of course that's after 20 minutes
of cardio) of really not very intense lifting. Also, I'm somewhat
incompetant and go to the gym alone so don't really do anything with
free weights (I wouldn't know how). I tend to just stick to the round
of Cybex machines, alternating between legs and arms/chest each day.
So there are only so many different excersises for each group that I
can do.

Ryan

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A Ross - 31 Jan 2006 13:50 GMT

> Thanks for the detailed reply. I seem to be getting that ~2200 cals
> 40/40/20 information from a couple sources, so it sounds good to me.
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Ryan

I see someone already gave the link to Krista's site, but another good
one to try is http://www.exrx.net. Check out the beginners' page.

From personal experience, I find it easier to lift first, then do
cardio. You may also find that a small snack a half hour before gym-time
may help you to keep your energy levels up.

It also helps to have a plan when you go. I keep workout logs, which
help me to stay on track with my goals and provide a history of my
accomplishments. It also illustrates my tendency to procrastinate and
backslide...

Good luck to you!

Amy

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