Hey there,

I know there's a few threads about this, but I'd rather get it all cleared up in one. I've looked at other threads, but thought I'd start this one and see if someone could answer all three of my questions. So here we go.

Having been overweight for some time now, I've decided that I'm going to start working out / dieting at the beginning of March. I'm male, aged 21, 6'2" and weigh 220lbs. Although I'm overweight, I've got the right 'frame' to build up my muscles, although my main reason is to lose weight, so cardio will be my main focus from the start.

It's all good to say I'll start riding so many hours a day, but I already do physical work and I am active for about 8 hours a day, so I wanted to know a few things:

1) When doing cardio, what is the best schedule to work to? I'm going to be bike-riding as I've got a recurring knee injury which means I can't run for longer than 1 minute without aching it and the doctor said bike-riding should strengthen my ligaments in my knee, although he didn't say how long I should do bike-riding for. So, 2 hours every other day? 1 hour every day (well, 5 out of 7 days)?

2) When I do start weight training, what are the best reps to do? 12x3? I'm also looking to toning up my stomach/pecs and what would you suggest the best non-weight workout for the stomach and pecs? Press-ups and sit-ups?

3) Finally, my diet. In all honesty I don't like healthy food; well not your fruit and vegetables. I know the 5-a-day fruit is supposed to be good for you, but I don't eat fruit. Does pure apple/orange juice count as the 5-a-day? Also, I drink juice and not fizzy drinks when I'm working. Would it be better if I just drank water or should I stick to my juice? 1 part juice, 4 parts water?

Thanks for taking time to read this and I hope to get some good responses before I start losing weight.

Hey there fusion, welcome aboard

First things first - I am very inexpeirenced as well. However, the forum here is flourishing with fantastic articles that tell you everything you need to know without overwhelming you silly.

There is a thread which is sort of a guide point I personally used (and still do) and like to point people to; it's found HERE. It is a collection of articles and posts by respected and educated forum members designed to teach you about how calorie deficits work, how to incorporate exercise and strength training successfully to contribute to a healthy lifestyle, how much you should eat - every single articles in that thread, I can't stress enough, you really gotta read. Without those articles I would still be clueless - they definitely helped me.

Good luck mate.

Thanks for the welcome, and also thanks for the thread link. Will definitely look into it.