How do you start weight training if you are an obese man?
Follow our step by step guide...
- Join a local gym
- Familiarise yourself with the equipment and exercises
- Measure your starting point. Weight, waist measurement etc..
- Set some goals
- Find your daily maintenance calorie level and set eating goals
- Find your daily macro recommendations and set up an eating plan
- follow and commit to our free training program
- Track your workouts in order to progress
- Track your metrics
How do I select my first gym?
There are a few things to consider when selecting a gym. Location, price and facilities are all going to play a major part but one thing that is often overlooked is the vibe! Some commercial gyms have a very corporate feel and it is hard to get excited about going there every day. Other gyms can be extremely busy and seem more like a social club.
The safest bet is to opt for something in the middle. It needs to be clean and functional but also promote a relaxing, unintimidating atmosphere.
Before you commit to a contract at a local gym, take a tour and make sure that it has a good selection of cable machines, some squat racks, lifting platforms, free weights, a functional area and some cardio equipment.
Familiarise yourself with the gym.
It can be a bit daunting at first. Especially if you are overweight and there are a lot of eyes on you. It is worth remembering that most of them are really respecting you for having the guts to make a change. The ones everybody are really laughing at are the posers that spend more time taking selfies than working out.
The majority of gyms will offer an induction with equipment demonstrations. If yours doesn't, watch how other members are using the equipment first.
On your first attempt, start with a very light load and slowly pyramid up until you can only manage around 10 reps. Make a note of the weight that you are using so that you know where to start next time.
You can do this on a tracker (GymGoalPlus is a great option and easy to use) or with a pen and paper.
Watch youtube videos and read blogs about weight training. Immerse yourself in the culture and learn the reasons why you are performing each exercise as well as the motion.
This will allow you to adapt programs to suit the equipment available or your goals.
Set your starting point.
Before you commit to a regular program, make a record of your starting point. Do not just go by body weight as this is not the best indicator of health.
Measure body fat with callipers or on a machine if your gym has one. Measure your waist, neck, thigh, upper arm and chest and make a note of the numbers.
It is a good idea to take a 'before' picture as well. This can be motivational when you start and to look back on when you are a few months into your journey. Keep this photo on your fridge and add up-to-date photos as you go so that you can see your progress.
Set your goals.
Now that you have your starting point you can set your goal. This can be a dress size that you want to achieve, a waist size, or a body fat percentage.
Try not to be too vague and don't just rely on 'overall appearance' as a goal as this does not give you a clear target to aim for.
Once you have set your goal, set a time scale within which you want to achieve that goal. If it is a year away, break the end goal down into smaller monthly targets so that you can stay on track.
How to find your maintenance calorie level.
To lose body fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit each day. To make sure we are in a deficit we need to know our maintenance level (the basic calories we need each day to function) and the calorie content of each meal that we eat.
The easiest way to track calories and find our maintenance levels is via a fitness tracking app. A popular option is MyFitnessPal as it is totally free, has a large database of foods from all around the world and is easy to use.
If you enter your age, height, weight, sex and activity levels into the app it will estimate your daily maintenance calories. From here you can set your deficit level (this will depend on your weight and how quickly you want to lose body fat) and track your daily intake.
Find your daily macro requirements.
If you are looking to burn fat at the same time as building muscle, you will need to monitor and track your macros. Protein should be your priority here.
Aim for around 1gram of protein for every lb of lean bodyweight (your overall body weight minus your body fat %). If you struggle to get this through food, use a protein supplement such as whey or protein isolate.
Healthy fats and clean carbohydrates should make up the rest of your diet. Healthy fats will come from oily fish, red meat, avocados, olive oil and nuts. Carbohydrates should be fruit, vegetables and whole grains.
You can use MyFitnessPal to track your macros as well as your calories.
The Best Workout For Obese Men to Follow
We are not going to over-complicate things to start with. Heavy compound lifts are great for muscle building and releasing growth hormones but, if you are restricted by mobility, it can be hard to do these with good form.
The training split below is great if you are new to the gym, overweight and looking to transform. It is a three day, full-body split allowing for an active recovery day between each workout.
Day 1
Seated chest press 4x12
Lat pulldowns 3x12
Bicep preacher curl 3x12
Lateral raises 5x15 superset
Rear delt flyes 5x15 superset
Seated leg press 4x15
Standing calf raise 4x20
Day 2
Tricep pushdown 3x15
Pec dec 4x8 - Very slow negative movement
Cable row 4x12
Bicep rope curl 4x12
Leg extension 4x10
Leg curl 3x10 - Very slow negative movement
Seated calf press 4x12
Day 3
Preacher curl 3x12
Walking lunges 2 mins AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
Standing calf raises 3x20
Before starting the training plan.
Make sure that you can commit for at least 12 weeks to the plan. Have all of your supplements in place including a good multivitamin, take all of your starting measurements and make sure you know your way around the equipment.
It is a good idea to spend your first session at the gym learning how to use the various machines and finding your starting weight.
This will save you time in the long run and allow you to hit the ground running with the training.
