Noob introduction

[Jay-t]

Hi all!

 

I've been working on my fitness for almost three weeks now and I'm seeing some great results. I've lost an inch or so from my waist line and I'm not sure how much weight. Weightloss isn't my goal, strength and overall fitness is. Not to mention I wanna look better naked. I apparently have great genetics because I've always been able to eat what I want and not gain any weight. I've always weighed around 160 pounds at around 5'10. Until the last year. I hit 26 and I started noticing that my pants are a lot tighter and my energy level is decreasing. That's no good. I'm using ideas I found here and on other sites to form a plan. 

 

Diet:

Lots of meats and veggies. No dairy at all which is easy because I don't eat cheese or drink milk anyway. I've stopped drinking soda except for one 12 oz diet coke per day (Sometimes I don't even drink that). Sweet tea was harder to stop drinking. I am a native Georgian after all. I eat fruit or carrots for snacks and really try to limit the amount of pasta/bread I eat. Super tough but I'm doing okay so far. Beer is my weak spot. I love beer, I have cut back from a 24 pack a weekend to a 12 pack so...baby steps.

 

Exercise:

I'm following a 5x5 plan. Squatting 3 days a week and then mixing in deadlifts, overhead presses, barbell rows and bench presses. I started with an empty bar for each and add 5 pounds every work out. I always thought you had to spend hours in the gym every day to get results but just 45 minutes 3 times a week is really working for me. I'm having a TON of soreness though. I think the issue might be in my recovery. Maybe I'm not eating enough calories? 

 

A little more about me:

 

I'm a Biology-secondary education major and an avid board gamer. Video games are okay but board games/card games with friends is what really makes me happy. About once a month we meet up and spend the evening drinking and playing games like Carcassone, Munchkin, King of Tokyo and tons of others.

 

I can't wait to follow along with all of your journeys and to have you all follow along with mine!

[MrBaldyKins]

Hey there Jay-t. 

 

Sounds like we have very similar body types! I was always really skinny in highschool and got a lot of crap for it for most of my life until I decided enough was enough, and started into lifting. The 5x5 plan you are on sounds like strong lifts or some variation thereof, and those are fantastic ways to build up a good base of strength! 

 

Soreness CAN be a direct indicator of recovery, so you're definitely on to something there. The early part of working out can also just involve a lot of soreness in general as your body acclimates to the new stresses. I remember stairs in particular being a hated enemy. Are you tracking your calories? If so, good for you! If not, it's something to consider. It doesn't have to be something you do forever, but can be a great tool for long-term understanding of what and how much food to put in your body. Hard to say if you are or aren't eating enough without knowing what you're eating! I know I thought I was eating a ton in the beginning, and I was barely cracking 1800 calories a day when I tracked it. 

[Jay-t]

It is the stronglifts. It seemed simple and easy to follow while building good strength. My goals are actually kind of counter to each other. I want to gain strength as I go, but I also want some muscle definition on my body. I look like an average flabby guy. 

 

I haven't been tracking my calories but I should probably start doing that. I've been concentrating on eating good healthy foods instead of worrying about how much I eat. On my current plan I eat as much as I want of the good stuff and minimum amounts of bad stuff. 

 

My glutes and hamstrings were very sore the first few days but the last 2 or 3 workouts it's been the adductor muscles. I'm thinking that it's because I'm concentrating on not letting my knees cave in during the squats and deadlifts.

[MrBaldyKins]

Looks like you have things under control and are paying attention to the right things then! Keep it up. I'll be interested to see how you progress!