I am in the process of slimming down before I get into a muscle-gain phase.

I was in a motorcycle accident a few years back which left me with some pins and screws in my right ankle. If I put too much stress on it, it hurts me for days. I also get a lot clicking/grinding in my knees when I bend down carrying a lot of weight.

I'm currently 6'3", 310lbs. I am in the process of getting down to 210lbs. I used to work out quite seriously some years back (I am 30yrs now). I still have a lot of muscle - pretty much all over but especially back/arms/legs. I want to do weight training with the intention of helping with weight loss and also minimizing any muscle loss during the weight loss stage. The two places I most want to gain/tone are chest and abs. I know it won't show until the weight is gone, but I'm trying to do as much as possible to get a nice surprise for my hard work at the end I know gaining muscle is very hard or almost impossible (correct me if I am wrong) during weight loss but I hope that working out will help prevent as much loss as otherwise and help with the loss.

Can anyone recommend a workout for me? I go to the gym usually quite late at night (I work a lot during the day), so I have a full range of weight and cardio equipment available. I do suffer from light/moderate asthma and overdoing it on the cardio can bring it on. Given that and the bike accident - what do you guys suggest?

Also, for the actual lifting - can someone suggest techniques? I dont have a spotter. When I used to lift seriously (about 10 years ago) it was for maximum mass gain. I haven't worked out in probably 7 years - my arms are still 19" around (with not much fat). I don't really want to get huge - just cut and toned and add a medium amount of muscle mass. Is it advisable to lift until failure or should I go with lighter weights and more reps or sets?

For cardio I always liked the rowing machine but my back/traps are already quite large and if I did rowing as cardio I fear I may put my proportions out of whack. Lower body is proportional to upper but I can say the one area I am lacking is chest/abs.

Any suggestions are much appreciated! Go easy on me folks I've been out of the game for 10 years

Wow, me and you WERE very similar. I was 300lbs, and lost 100lbs but also lost ALOT of muscle. Karky posted this on one of my topics as a full body workout:

Testosterone Nation - Total-Body Training

Well first of all, rowing machine cardio isent gonna put alot of muscle on, its just not high enough intensity to make any muscle gains, besides, you will be in a calorie deflict anyways. And about that, it is possible gaining muscle while dieting, but very hard (though its easier for someone who is a beginner to weightlifting, and with 10 years off, you could consider yourself a beginner in a way)

About lifting to faliure. I never lift to faliure, and without a spotter i dont think its a good idea. But lift to near faliure, the last rep on the last set should be very tough, and should be very near faliure.

The link wgr provided is a good one, full body routines are good. Your goal is weight loss, so some cardio on the off days might be good too. I would start off with 3 days a week weights and 2 days a week cardio, and then see how it goes, if its no problem you can increase cardio to 3 days a week. Since your ankle has been busted, maybe someone low impact is a good idea? such as swimming, or a rowing machine.

About your injury.. It could become a problem with lifting, so i suggest seeing your doc before you do this, and stop if there is any pain!

And with weightloss, diet is key! Read around the nutrition section and make a thread there if you got any questiones or you want someone to critique your diet