Galahad's

     As you lose weight, especially since we are focusing on that aspect before really getting into working out, you will possibly look skinny, lack the definition that you may desire and, perhaps, have loose skin. This chapter will explain what to do about all of that without becoming a beast.

 

     Once you reach your weight loss goal following this method, there shouldn’t be a lot of work to tone up except for maybe the loose skin problem. Just keep doing more of the same and you body should become lean and clean.

 

     Now that you’re at your ideal weight, you can also increase your calorie intake closer to your BMR, if you would like. Still, keep a bit of a deficit in your diet, but that is only until your body looks more like your end goal. Once there, try to eat at your BMR. It’s different if you’re looking to get really big.

 

     You can expedite this process by following the bulking exercise plan for a while and then returning to this one. You will not lose muscle mass when you switch back because the workout will help you maintain, you’ll keep cutting fat as you go and you’ll be lifting a higher weight than you were to drop pounds in the first place.

 

     When overweight, your skin gets stretched. As your skin stretches, and as you age, it loses some of its elasticity. It’s like stretching out an elastic band very tightly, leaving it that way for a very long time and then releasing it. It will not contract back to its original size and will be looser. This is quite like your skin after fat cells are drastically reduced.

 

     Some of it will firm up over time, maybe even all of it. It will just take a while. If you have been carrying a lot of excess weight and then lose it quickly, it could take about 2 years for your skin to snap back as far as it is going to. Keep working at it. The more you keep at this fitness plan, the better your chances are for complete success.

 

     Another way to rid yourself of this problem is to fill the void with muscle to stretch the skin across it. That could require some serious bulking and result in a body type that is not what you are working towards. It’s okay to go with bulking a bit if you want to be toned, but you do not have to. The reduction of fat and the workout routine stimulating lean muscle growth will get you there.

 

     Whether you want to just tone or build some serious muscle, when it comes to loose skin, you have to give it time and keep on working. Sometimes it’s just that it was a matter of losing the weight quicker than the skin can return to normal. So just keep it up.

 

     Unfortunately, though, there is also the chance that it will not return to its former glory. Sometimes the skin has just been too stretched for too long and can’t come back from it. The only option to rid yourself of it, at that point, is to have elective surgery. In Canada, a portion of the procedure is covered, but you’ll still be looking at a bill of about $1500 or more for the rest. It’s also quite the healing process. It takes a long time and the use of compression garments that will add to your medical bill. Although it is not the best option, it is an open one and, for some people, necessary to get rid of those skin flaps.

 

     One of the good things about this fitness plan is that you do not need to break up your workouts throughout the week into dedicated muscle groups. You’re not overworking your muscles. Your focus is on lean growth and toning, so your cardio and those high reps of lower weights are ideal for doing that for you.

 

     Here is a sample workout just to give you an idea of some things you could be doing. It’s not a workout plan. You should vary things up and add more to your routines as you learn or create different exercises, but some people do not know where to even start. That was my problem in the beginning.

 

     Let’s start with a timeframe for an hour long workout...

• 5 minute stretch/warm up

• 10 minutes light cardio

• 30 minutes strength

• 10 minutes core

• 5 minute stretch/cool down

 

     Your stretching/warm ups and your stretching/cool downs should encompass your entire body. Start at your neck and go all the way down to your feet. Neck, shoulders, back, arms, wrists, chest, sides, midsection, hips, legs, knees and ankles. That list is how I break it down in my mind to know that I have covered everything. Even though it is not technical to the body areas, it works as a reminder.

 

     Cardio is easy. Just get moving. Jog, run, walk, bike or jump some rope. There are a lot of options, just keep it light. Do enough to get your heart rate and body temperature up. You should be starting to sweat before you are done, but not be exhausted. If you do want to add in some hard cardio, do it at the end of your workout before your stretch/cool down.

 

     Weight working can be very confusing and intimidating when first stating out. The best weights are free-weights. Those are your dumbbells, barbells, plates, kettlebells and medicine balls. They force you to initiate more muscles to compensate for balance and stability. Machines are more isolated and assisted.

 

     If you find going to the gym to be a little nerve-wracking, feel free to start off on the weight machines until you get more comfortable there. I know that when I first started going, I was quite nervous seeing all of the huge guys working out with the dumbbells. You don’t have to be huge to use free-weights and it doesn’t matter how much you can lift. Your workout is to get you to where you want to be, which, for most of us, is not the same as where they want to be.

 

     Another good thing about the machines is that they are typically set out as a circuit. You can easily change their resistance, change the position of features to fit your body and go from machine to machine in little time. If you follow the circuit, you’ve basically done a full body workout.

 

     On the machines, you will probably be able to work with a bit more weight because you are isolating the muscles that machine is geared towards working. With free-weights, the lessened amount that you can push or pull is due to adding in those additional muscles that aren’t used as much and that are not worked nearly as hard by the machines. Yes, though, you can choose to always use the machines and never go to free-weights as long as you are getting your entire body worked throughout the process.

 

     Free-weights are more complicated. The machines are set up for you. You go there, can easily see how to use them and just do it. Weights, you have to set up a bit and learn how to work everything. There are so many exercises and there are even variations of movements on those same exercises that make them different.

 

    Confused yet? For example, you can do a bicep curl, and then turn your wrist just 90° and you’ve changed to a hammer curl which works your body differently. If you turn it an additional 90°, you’re changing some of the muscles used again.

 

     Mainly, there are two main types of weightlifting movements that you can do. Isolated movements focus the effort on few muscles. These exercises are used to target larger muscles within a group.

Compound movements activate more muscles and work them differently in one motion. Compound movements are great for all-round muscle development and isolation movements are better for shaping. I recommend a combination of both within your routines.

 

     Using exercises that I’ve already talked about, examples of isolated movements are bicep curls and hammer curls. To simply turn these into a compound movement, start in the hammer curl position and rotate your wrist to the bicep curl position on your way up. Then rotate your wrist back to hammer curl position on your way back down. Grab a dumbbell and give these a try. You should notice the difference between the isolated and compound movements.

 

     When working out, be sure to hit all of your major muscle groups. This can easily be broken down into three general areas. They would be upper body, midsection and lower body. To paint a bit of a clearer picture, be sure to work your arms, shoulders, chest, back, core and legs. Most people tend to break these up throughout their week. With this type of workout, you do not have to hit every group every day, but you can. It’s a matter of preference and tolerance.

 

     One vile and very common misconception with weight loss is that it can be targeted by working certain areas. If you want to get rid of belly fat and expose those chiseled abs, you work your core. That is so far from being anywhere near accurate. Just as your body accumulates fat where it is easiest for it, it loses the fat in the same manner and it occurs over the whole of your body. Working your core will develop and grow those abs, but it won’t specifically get rid of the fat around your midsection. You can target muscle growth, but not fat loss.

 

     To recap, just get more active. Get moving to add cardio and lift high reps of lower weight when strength training.

 

     This physical aspect is really the hardest part of the entire process. It can be very difficult to get going and it is so easy to make excuses. It is often easiest to start at home before making a commitment to go to a gym. Once you get started though, it then becomes hard to stop.

 

     If you can, find a buddy so you are committed to another person, as well, and would let down more than just yourself. Find a gym that is very convenient for you to get to during prime times, like on the way to/from work or close to home or your favorite haunts. While working out, music really does help to optimize your output abilities by helping you focus on you and what you are doing.

 

     Get going.