Advice on getting started / training?

[Ruicub]

Hi Guys,
I usually am a big reader here on the forums, but recently I've decided to change my life and aside from just reading about big muscle guys I want to be a big muscle guy.

Now I'm overweight and I understand I'm not going to go from flab to 22 inch arms over night. Its gonna take years, but hey its a new decade might as well have a goal for it, right?

As far as stats I know I'm 5'10" and 275lbs. Now I started going to the gym in late January and I've managed to drop about 30lbs. Though I still sometimes think that I may not be getting things right at the gym.

I guess the goal of this posting is ideally to find someone who is willing to be a trainer of sorts. Doesn't have to be local, but would be nice. Over the web training is what I'm more expecting. I'm just looking for advice to see if my routine I'm doing now is working, if my form is alright, etc. etc.

As far as my routine goes, I'm splitting my workout week (Mon-Friday) as so: Monday and Wednesday: Upper body (Chest, Arms, Back) and Tuesdays and Thursdays: Lower Body (Legs, Abs). 5 sets, 15 reps, low to average weight. I'm doing what I assume is Endurance training.

My goal is to get down to about the 200lbs to 230lbs range and then building back up in muscle mass. Now, from what I've read that would mean I would be switching from Endurance to Strength training which would involve 1 Rep Maxes.

Now I've been using iFitness on my iPod Touch to record my progress at the gym. I use it to plan out if I'm increasing weight or changing exercises due to the data I've collected.

I hope to hear some advice for this Newb. Maybe I'll be a muscle cub eh? Anyhow, thank you for your time.

Ruicub.

[inm]

Well Done on your achievement so far. as an ex-flabby, I can tell you you've crossed the line to the bright side

The classic advice is to start training with weights Right Now. Aerobics is the far second best way to loose fat (and you want to loose fat, not just any weight). Get someone to teach you the basic excercises - squat, deadlift, bench press, pull ups. It will cost you some money, but will save you lots of trouble down the road. Avoid bad technique at all cost!

concentrate on those while you loose fat - you can't really develop muscles while being in a calorie deficit, but it will get you stronger, and get your body accustumed to overload when you start eating above maintenance.

t-nation.com is a great overall site. they also prefer using weight exercise circuits to the treadmill, and you'll learn a lot by reading the articles there, even if they are not relevant yet.

[BIGJOEY]

Congrats on your decision and what you have achieved so far. I would make a few suggestions. while ipod programs are good to a point they do treat each person the same with reguards to their metabolic cycle. your split is ok for now but it will have to change at some point as the body does adapt very fast usually 2.5-3 weeks to a training program. i did notice that you made no menchion as to your current nutrition as this is 85% of weight loss and building muscle. While arobeics are good you need to do a moderate cardio program in the am before your first meal of the day. This may cause you to adjust your morning schedual but it will help you achieve results faster. on cardio keep your heart rate at 65% nothing higher. so for a tread mill machine that would be 3.0-3.5 speed about 4.0 angle for 30 minutes. Running or and form of exercise while your heavy will over stress your knees. for now low impact will be safer for your joints. This will help you burn off some more fat. One thing please realize that this is a process and it took you time to gain weight the same is in loosing it. If you want more help or more detailed info let me know.