OK, so for those that don't read the new member section. I'm new here, names brendan! Anyway, thought I would put up my current, and intended, routine for you guys to give me some tips or thoughts on. I will put my full diet info on the nutrition section soon, but will put the basics down here.

Firstly, my goals: I am what I would consider considerable overweight, others say im not, but I know I am and thats why I'm here! My stats:

Age: 21
Height: 185cm (6"1')
Weight: 100kg (220lb)

My overall goal is to get to around 170-175lb, so there is a lot to lose, and to bulk from there. I don't plan on bulking to any massive degree. I plan on playing AFL (Australian rules football) next year, so am looking for strength as well as speed and mobility.

I have noticed people on this forum talking about cutting and bulking. Excuse my ignorance, but I am assuming is it wise to have a different diet and workout plan for losing weight and then change the diet and weights routine for bulking? I understand the diet part but am unsure on the weights part.

I am currently on an 1800 calorie a day diet, but after reading some of your posts and using the resources you have suggested, I think I should be consuming more than this. Would that be correct?

Anyway, I have been going to the gym for around 2 months, with the basic routine as follows:

Routine:
45degree Leg Press 3x10
Squats w/ Dumbbells 3x10
Bench Press 3x10
Shoulder Press 3x10
Lat Pull Down 3x10
Weighted Crunchs using pull down machine 3x10

Mon: routine, 20 minutes stationary bike, 20 minutes elliptical cross trainer
Tues: 30min stat bike, 1hr 'RPM' class (basics class using resistance bikes)
Wed: routine, 20min stat bike, 20min c/t
Thurs: 30min stat bike, 30min c/t
Fri: routine, then play indoor soccer match that night (40min of intense sprinting!)
Sat: rest
Sun: spend 1hr on the oval doing basic football practise, involving constant jogging/running.

Thats what I'm currently doing. Though I haven't really recieved the results I want. Am I not eating enough? Therefor putting my metabolism into starvation mode? I have noticed a large increase in my aerobic capacity when playing sports, but overall weight lose is not that much. What is a realistic weekly weight loss goal? is 2-3lb ok?

I will show you my planned routine later, as it is written down at home (im at work now!).

Let the constructive criticism begin!

You are right, that 1800cals a day is too low for your stats. I get a base BMR estimate of 2200cals a day. If I use a 1.5 multiplier for your activity level, that cranks you up to 3300cals a day. That'd be for maintenance. Knock 10-20% off that for a cutting diet.
Even if I knock it down ot 1.4 for a little more sedentary lifestyle, that's still 3100 cals maintenance.

However, real world tracking of your diet on a site like www.fitday.com for 2 weeks, and then tracking your weight to see if it changes...is a better way to get a real maintenance intake. because we're all unique, we all handle calories differently.

as for your training: looks like a decent attempt at a full body routine, but it can use some tweaking. mostly it was your diet causing a lack of noticable gains in mass or loss in fat. in 2 months, you'll see some results in the mirror, especially since you're not extremely overweight.

Read this: http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle....4-073-training

Its a great total body training program you can use to tweak your current routine.
45degree Leg Press 3x10 - do less of these. heavy squats are better. instead you'll do some kind of deadlifts
Squats w/ Dumbbells 3x10 - start learning barbell squats and go heavy once comfortable
Bench Press 3x10 - great, but rotate with incline bench press, and use dumbbells sometimes, not just the barbell.
Shoulder Press 3x10 - try military press with a barbell sometimes too
Lat Pull Down 3x10 - do pullups, assisted pullups if necessary until you can do your own bodyweight
Weighted Crunchs using pull down machine 3x10 - try hanging leg raises, and don't forget to work the obliques

Add in some barbell rowing too. most of my changes are based on that article anyways.

Also, don't try to cardio off the weight. 20-30 mins of intense cardio should be all it takes, not 60 mins. do some googling on interval cardio, probably similar to your RPM class. on tuesday, skip the 30mins of pre-biking and just take the hour class if you enjoy it.

Where do the weights figure in the week?

Perhaps too much cardio. Lay it all out as a weekly schedule and let me look at it again.

Regardless, you're lifting routine is insufficient. See if you can get your hands on "New Rules of Lifting." It's a very good book and goes into more than just the what, it also explains the whys.

If you can't find it (look online as well, it's worth it), then look here:

Essential Reading

I'd recommend Homegrown Muscle as a very good starting point for a new lifter and you are a new lifter. Two months is not long at all. I've been at it for a little less than a year and I'm still considered a newbie.

weights are monday, wednesday, friday, where he inserted "routine" it took me a minute to find it too

Yep. thats it. should have made it clearer!

Thanks for the help, and thanks for the links malkore. I'll check em out and get back to you with my changes!