Building muscle too fast...looking to tone only (and lose weight)

[Wnt2bFit]

This is my first time on these boards so I'll tell you guys a little about me.

I am 5' 7" and 250lbs so I am not a small guy to start out with. I have had 5 knee surgeries and damage to my ulna nerve which have had varying effects on my being able to workout and exercise. I never really thought about what I would eat and losing weight was never an issue when I got off my lazy behind and exercised. But I let myself down and am hoping to pick myself up again. My long term goal is to get down to 185lbs with some good solid muscle.

My goal coming to these forums is to learn how to lead a more healthy life and hopefully get myself back on track and fit again. I would like to become tone and lose fat and not have a heart attack in the process.

I thought bodybuilding general chat would be the best place for me to start because you guys know a lot about bodybuilding and may know why I gain muscle so quick.

Not saying this is a bad thing, but my goal is to be thin and fit and not too muscular (as in competition size). I want to tone my muscle, but every time I work out it seems that my muscles grow at a faster rate than they should.

I like to do low weights (25lb dumbbell) exercises. I will do 3-4 sets, of 20 reps, in a row with a very small break in between if any. I was hoping this would help tone me down, but instead my muscles seem to keep growing underneath the fat. Hence I seem to be getting fatter.

I don't take steroids or any other enhancing pills. I was doing Hydroxycut and a OneADay vitamin. That's it. My muscles just seem to grow too fast.

Should I stop lifting altogether and only do cardio? If so, what is the best cardio exercise to do with bad knees?

Thanks in advance for any comments and suggestions.

[Fonz]

muscle too easily? ill take your word for it. so i guess if you wanna lose that fat you gotta burn more than you consume. this means make sure your diet is clean and cut calories and burn more calories (exercise). keep lifting cuz it raises your metabolism allowing you to burn more fat. but lift heavy. there is no evidence that lifting light with high reps will get you tone. This calorie deficit while working out will also slow muscle growth maybe even reverse it. Eliptical and stationary bike are the best cardio exercises for you since they dont cause you to put too much weight on your knees.

[thunder10]

^good post. I would not stop lifting, you will be happy once you lose the fat that you have some building blocks to work with. Plus it does help raise your metabloic rate. Just make sure you are doing plenty of cardio and eating clean.

[Wnt2bFit]

Thanks for the tip. I will try using larger weights instead. I am also going to try and do more cardio too. I will be traveling a lot for work and hopefully the hotels will have decent exercise rooms.

If I use the larger weights, should my goal be to get up to the same number of reps that I have been previously doing with lower weights? Right now I do 3 sets of 20 reps with dumbbells at 20lbs. Should I work to get back to the 20 reps at 25lbs and then keep pushing for more weight after that?

[matty]

you should keep your reps down to 8 per set, 3 sets

[Wnt2bFit]

Thanks.

I began using larger weights and went out and bought an Olympic curl bar so I could get some bigger weights on.

I've lost 5lbs so far and have begun to see a big difference in muscle as it burns the fat off.

I am hoping to begin a small HIIT routine by the end of this week. I am just trying to strengthen my leg muscles some more to handle my extra weight. It has been a long time since I have done runs and my knees are not as strong as they used to be.

I was going to do the bike first, but I got the okfrom my PT to do a little running.

As far as HIIT goes, running at 90% is really based off the individual, right? What is 90% for one person might be 60% for someone else. I don't want to be trying to hit someone else's mark and end up straining something.