Ok I am 22 years old 5 foot 6 inches weigh 225 but don't look it.I'm trying to up my skills in both at grappling (sambo) and boxing but i am currently trying to get at least to my best weight which is 165-170. The problem is i suffer from lower back pain,I am really not flexible and my calfs feel as if they weigh a ton and i get shin splits whenever i move to fast(running and walking at a certain speeds).I have tried a lot of different things but they don't work and I'm tired of trying things that may not work.So i am hoping someone out there has some experience with these problems and can offer some advice.

Also i am naturally stocky but i have short arms so i kinda want to stay as lean as possible and increase both my endurance and stamina plus strength without bulking up to much.Also i would love to gain enough flexibility so that i can add kicks to my arsenal because right now the only kicks i can do are a roundhouse and low kick and with some effort a really slow front kick that lacks power

Lower back pain
Sore muscles
Shin splints
Lack of flexibility

You know what that sounds like? It sounds like someone who's overweight and out of shape. You know what would get rid of those problems? Losing weight and getting in shape.

You say you're trying to up your skills in SAMBO and boxing. Does that mean you want to get in shape to train in these arts or that you're currently training?

You don't mention what your diet is like. I'd bet dollars to donuts that it's terrible. I'd bet you eat fast food at least 5 times a week. I'd bet you don't eat breakfast. I'd bet you drink a lot of soda and don't drink hardly any water.

You say you've tried lots of different things, but you don't say what or for how long. I bet you haven't stuck to anything for more that 3 weeks.

How do I know these things? I used to be a fatty like you. Fatties are amazingly good at convincing themselves that they've "tried everything." That's what all those fatasses on "The Biggest Loser" say, but when you actually get down to the nitty-gritty, "trying everything" means joining a gym and going for a week until you give up, or doing the Atkins diet until you just had to have that plate of spaghetti & meatballs.

Diet & exercise work. Running works. Swimming works. Lifting weights works. Spin class works. Tae-Bo works. The thing is, nothing will ever work as quick or as easy as you'd like it to.

Getting in shape hurts. It means sore muscles and shin splints and tired backs and sweat and vomiting.

Eating better sucks. It means fighting off sugar and carb cravings and saying no to beer and hot wings with the boys, passing on that birthday cake at work while everyone else stuffs their face.

Since Ka-Bar hit the overall, I will take the shin splints and address them.


Zensah Leg Sleeves will lessen the pain(ifit does not sompletely get rid of it) while you are running. My Wife has shin splints and she uses them while she is training and running her triathlons. They are the only thing that has worked for her.

http://www.zensah.com/men.html

Give them a go, I don't think you will be disappointed.

your right i am over weight you asked about my diet

about 4 months ago i started eating smaller portions and about 4 times a day to increase my metabolism.I don't eat after nine.And i try to stay away from bread pasta and the like
I gave up soda and if its not water its either orange juice or apple juice made using the jack lalanne juicer.
I basically gave up red meat and only eat white meat and fish
]this is a according to what my doc told me to do.

i lost 25 pounds this way

I have taken to stretching in the morning but i still see no increase in my flexibility. I have been doing this for about 3 months

i have seen difference in lung capacity as i can breath a lot easier.

I am currently doing the boxing but i want to get in better shape before i try the sambo.

I box for about 45 minutes to an hour 5 times a week the problem is that i am putting on muscle and i want to remain as lean as possible. I also went from 17% body fat to about 13%(my trainer calculated using the U.S. Navy body fat formula)

so while i am losing weight muscle is taking its place and im trying to find a way to counteract that. I want excercise that will help me stay lean but increase my strength and core muscles to protect my lower back i was thinking of doing pilates.

I hope this explains my situation a little better an what i am trying to achieve but you are right Ka-bar it is a constant struggle and weight management has always been a problem for me. But i aint stopping to were i need to be both as a martial artist and just plain healthy.

also searcher66071 thanks for the suggestion i will have to check it out.

the problem is that i am putting on muscle and i want to remain as lean as possible. I also went from 17% body fat to about 13%(my trainer calculated using the U.S. Navy body fat formula)

so while i am losing weight muscle is taking its place and im trying to find a way to counteract that. I want excercise that will help me stay lean but increase my strength and core muscles to protect my lower back i was thinking of doing pilates.

I hope this explains my situation a little better an what i am trying to achieve but you are right Ka-bar it is a constant struggle and weight management has always been a problem for me. But i aint stopping to were i need to be both as a martial artist and just plain healthy.

also searcher66071 thanks for the suggestion i will have to check it out.

"Lean" I don't think that word means what you think it means. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/lean_2?view=uk What do you mean when you say lean? Why are you anti muscle? It's pretty normal to put on muscle when you start exercising. Most people would consider it beneficial. You say you want to increase your strength. You won't get far with that if you don't put on muscle.

your right i am over weight you asked about my diet

about 4 months ago i started eating smaller portions and about 4 times a day to increase my metabolism.I don't eat after nine.And i try to stay away from bread pasta and the like
I gave up soda and if its not water its either orange juice or apple juice made using the jack lalanne juicer.
I basically gave up red meat and only eat white meat and fish
]this is a according to what my doc told me to do.

i lost 25 pounds this way

I have taken to stretching in the morning but i still see no increase in my flexibility. I have been doing this for about 3 months

i have seen difference in lung capacity as i can breath a lot easier.

I am currently doing the boxing but i want to get in better shape before i try the sambo.

I box for about 45 minutes to an hour 5 times a week the problem is that i am putting on muscle and i want to remain as lean as possible. I also went from 17% body fat to about 13%(my trainer calculated using the U.S. Navy body fat formula)

so while i am losing weight muscle is taking its place and im trying to find a way to counteract that. I want excercise that will help me stay lean but increase my strength and core muscles to protect my lower back i was thinking of doing pilates.

I hope this explains my situation a little better an what i am trying to achieve but you are right Ka-bar it is a constant struggle and weight management has always been a problem for me. But i aint stopping to were i need to be both as a martial artist and just plain healthy.

also searcher66071 thanks for the suggestion i will have to check it out.

1) Limit juice to once a week, I would cut it out completely. Juice is almost pure sugar, and there's nothing good in juice that you can't get from eating fresh fruit.

2) Good on you for staying away from empty calorie carbs. But are you replacing them with good carbs? Veggies, legumes, sweet potatoes, quinoa, oats, lentils, barley, etc.?

3) There nothing wrong with eating lean beef once or twice a week. It's a good source of iron & protein, and not nearly as bad for you as it's made out to be. Just enjoy in moderation.

4) There is nothing wrong with gaining muscle. More muscle means it's easier to burn fat and keep your metabolism at a higher rate.

5) There is NO WAY in hell you're anywhere close to 13-17% BF at 5'6" and 225 lbs without being a professional bodybuilder. I don't care what your trainer says. An educated guess would place you at 35% or higher, even if you are big or muscular for your height.

I mean lean in the sense of not having myself appear like a no neck muscle guy.I want to build muscle but not look like i am trying to become some miniature arnold.I want to develop muscles that will help me fight and not ones that are for show.So if you know any exercises that will help.

As for my diet yeah i am eating a lot more veggies ,and does the beef have to be cooked a certain way like chicken has to grilled like were can i find a good diet recipe book or website what would you recommend.I'll see about getting a water displacement test for a more accurate percentage

Your fears are unfounded.

i guess but its something that i kept seeing in the gym i went to guys who had all this muscle but really couldn't do anything with it and i just saw that as such a waste and thought it should be something to avoid.

Crossfit and the testicular fortitude to do it until you puke and then keep going.

That's a product of how they train, not too much muscle. Train for strength, power, speed etc rather than hypertrophy at any cost and you'll be fine.

man I was working out the other day and suddenly I turned into a huge muscle guy without warning!

I don't know why every guy who wants to get into fitness always has to throw out the disclaimer that they don't want to be to huge or bulky. It takes lots of work to get that way. It won't happen over night. I don't know where you are seeing guys with all this muscle who can't do anything. chnces are they can lift a ****-ton more than you. I hear haters make this argument against body builders all the time.

seriously,
congrats for trying to do something besides make excuses. All the fatties I know just laugh when I don't eat the crap they do, or when I talk about working out after work. Listen to what ka-bar said i'll repeat it again because I was gonna say it before i got to his post. Media lies! fruit juice= not so good for you (for loosing weight). red meat=not the devil, just go lean and avoid that 37oz big texas chloesteral special.

for back pain keep stretching. A lot of back pain is caused by tight hamstrings focus on that area. At my peak flexibility I stretched 3x a day for 30 min. w/ no negative side effects. I'm not recommending you do that, just maybe a little more in the evening. whatever you can handle. Ask people you train with about it.

back extensions and reverse situps-thats what we call em' (lying face down flat on your belly lifting your upperbody up) are great for lower back pain it really helped a friend of mine get rid of his.

I also went from 17% body fat to about 13%(my trainer calculated using the U.S. Navy body fat formula)
Tell your trainer that he or she needs to take some remedial math classes, stat. In your original post you listed your current weight as 225 lbs. In order to be 13% body fat at 225 lbs., you'd have to have 195.75 lbs. of lean body mass. That makes your stated goal of getting down to 165-170 lbs. ridiculous, since you'd have to lose about 30 lbs. of muscle to get there, and even that would be at 0% body fat, which is impossible.

At 5'6", unless you're some kind of genetic freak, you're likely to have more like 130-150 lbs. of lean body mass, especially if you haven't been on a program to gain muscle mass before. That would mean that at 225 lbs. you'd be at 33-42% body fat. Let's call it 140 lbs. and 38%.

That would mean that to get down to a reasonable 20% body fat you'd need to get down to 175 lbs.

The bottom line is that in order to set your goals properly you need to know where you stand. Get a REAL body composition test. Your trainer isn't doing you any favors by giving you false data. You could even start with one of those funky Tanita body fat scales. It will be +- 5%, but it will give you a starting point. And hey, it's possible that you ARE a genetic freak, and you really are at 13% body fat. In which case you already have a good body composition and don't really need to lose any weight. But you already know that's not the case, don't you?

Hey there.

I am about 6'2 and when I started training was at about 230 in pretty bad shape. Before that I trained with Bas Rutten's tapes and bodyweight workouts and I lost about 22 pounds this way to start training at 230. I started training mma on the 10th of Jan this year and I've had all sorts of great changes when it comes to fitness and weight loss.

I was totally one of those guys who thought he was trying, or had tried everything. I was all like "I train Internal Kung Fu, I will eventually get into amazing shape".
Thanks to the peer pressure of a very good friend, I started at the mma gym with him.
It took a few months to see any noticeable weight loss and I certainly worried about it. My fitness was soaring compared to before but the weight loss was very slow. After about 6 months of training the weight really started to come off. I have also gained a lot of muscle ( compared to how I used to be it's a ton ), but the weight loss is happening a lot faster than the muscle gain now. I've had so many comments about my weight loss it's getting really tiresome ( I never thought I'd say that! ).

If you are not lifting weights and doing some sort of weight lifting nutrition program you really don't have to worry much about your muscles getting too big. lol. Mine seem to have stopped at a certain size but now are getting harder all the time. It is a bit of an insult to the guys who have gotten to where they have. My friend who got me started in mma has been training his ass off to get to his size for the last 8 or so years. He trains like a total beast and he's a big mean dude, but nowhere near a hulking monster like the pro bodybuilders I've seen.

I am currently weighing in at 189. Was at 185, but an injury set me back a little. But at this point I'm not worried. My goal is to get down to about 170 and start a small weight training thing on the side. I train 3 times a week for 3 hours per session. I would put in more nights but transport issues mean this is how it is for now.

I had most of your symptoms and some of the posters assumptions about you were definitely right about how I was. I had chronic lower back pains, lack of energy, skipping breakfast, sore shins etc. I really thought I'd never lose this weight, but it really just came down to hard work. Don't worry about what other people are doing, just make sure you push yourself just a little bit past your "limit" every class and when it comes to the hard exercise never give up and push it, bitch ! :)

The only one who can truly make it happen is you. Just be patient with yourself ( as long as you're doing the work ).

I'm not a genetic freak so i posted the body fat info up to see if i was crazy or what.Since i have joined this website i have been changing some of my dieting habits because some of the information i had access through some of the professionals(trainer,etc)just seemed of and the internet isn't the best place for accurate info so i just thought i'd take advantage of the info from other people who most likely than not have gone through what i am going through.

I am probably going to have to ad an evening stretching session cause i usually stretch upon waking up for about 20 minutes and then before doing any heavy lifting(i work in replenishment so I'm always moving heavy things so i was constantly hurting by back from improper lifting)

As for my trainer i called the gym and canceled my contract with him no point in having anything that isn't going to help me.

Always remember to stretch each worked muscle section for at least 30 seconds!

I generally warm up, stretch, exercise, then stretch.