NEW YEARS RESOLUTION WEIGHT LOSS THREAD

[Speedy1975]

Originally Posted by CFD

Weekly or bi-weekly readings are sufficient and recomended rather than daily, I also hop on the scales every morning when I wake up, why I don't know just habbit I guess. If I remember right you check body fat using a bio-electrical monitor, is that right. Also curious to know how many days a week do you workout.

Yeah, bio-electric BF monitor.

I work out 3 days a week M W F with weights first then cardio.

Usually do a 30-45 minute walk on Sat/Sun or both.

I've got some pinchers I need to bust out tonight and see what they say. How do yo use those? I remember being confused on how hard to pinch.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

Yeah, bio-electric BF monitor.

I work out 3 days a week M W F with weights first then cardio.

Usually do a 30-45 minute walk on Sat/Sun or both.

I've got some pinchers I need to bust out tonight and see what they say. How do yo use those? I remember being confused on how hard to pinch.

I know I mentioned this before but I don't trust those fat monitors . I know they are good to track progress on some but for most who weight lift or do any exercise that gain muscle the readings become less accurate, muscle contains high quantities of water which show up as fat on those types of monitors.

I don't know if this would fit into your schedule but when cutting this trategy may help with those stubborn last few pounds. Your walks have many benefits but don't really do much for fat loss. This is something that may work for you. When weight lifting you do not get much of a calorie burn during the workouts it is usually accumulative in the hours after when your muscles are recooperating. Cardio is the opposite you don't get much after the workout but during. If you could continue your workouts and cut down on the cardio post workout to about 15 min or so , on your non lifting days do the cardio, this will help boost metabolism even more, give a substancial calorie burn more days a week and allow your muscles more recoop time after workouts as well as get the post workout nutrition to your muscles quicker. If you really want to burn more cals try some HIIT training on your cardio sessions. You still should allow 1-2 days for recooperation so you couls still keep a leasurely walk but should take one full day off. On your cardio days you couls slightly drop cals but keep up your current nutrition on lifting days. It's a tough schedule but will show results, just a thought.

[Speedy1975]

When the weather eases up I plan to add a 30-45 minute walk in the mornings on an empty stomach on non-lift days. That worked pretty good for me last year and is what the body building judge I worked with suggested. Empty stomach low intensity cardio for 30-45 mins.

I figure in another week or two the weather will be good for that. I keep my heart rate around 125 - 130 when walking so it's right in that fat burn range.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

When the weather eases up I plan to add a 30-45 minute walk in the mornings on an empty stomach on non-lift days. That worked pretty good for me last year and is what the body building judge I worked with suggested. Empty stomach low intensity cardio for 30-45 mins.

I figure in another week or two the weather will be good for that. I keep my heart rate around 125 - 130 when walking so it's right in that fat burn range.

A lot of people say low intensity cardio is good for fat burning but studies show that higher intensity is better and HIIT is the king. You can burn more cals doing 15-20 min HIIT than an hour of low intensity and HIIT does help buid muscle as well. I'd rather do the 20 min HIIT and spend the other 40 doing something I like and burn more calories to boot. If you look at programs like P90x etc they lean towards HIIT and do shred fat.

[Speedy1975]

I'll stick to the low intensity. I typically burn about 200cals currently at each cardio training session.

When I used to do heavier cardio and burn 800 cals there was no discernible difference in effects for me other than starting to look stringy like a runner rather than thick and athletic telling me it was burning too much muscle.

Low intensity is also what ever single competing body builder at my gym does as well. These doods drop fat quick.

Like I've said before everybody's different so that may work for some. Just not what I've seen personally.

[ablackburn99]

Originally Posted by CFD

I have several weight lifting workouts that were designed by pros, I have had good results with them and would be happy to post them. Several pages back is one that I found to be excellent, it is based on a 4 day split. How many days a week can you devote to training, I have some for 3 day splits and some full body workouts.

I'm willing to work out 6 days week, as long as I have enough time to recover. Normally when I used to lift I would try to do...

day 1 Chest/triceps
day 2 Back/biceps
day 3 rest
day 4 shoulders
day 5 legs/abs
REPEAT

But this was after lifting for awhile and I wasn't really trying to lose weight.

[Speedy1975]

Originally Posted by ablackburn99

I'm willing to work out 6 days week, as long as I have enough time to recover. Normally when I used to lift I would try to do...

day 1 Chest/triceps
day 2 Back/biceps
day 3 rest
day 4 shoulders
day 5 legs/abs
REPEAT

But this was after lifting for awhile and I wasn't really trying to lose weight.

That routine isn't bad, but I prefer a push pull routine. For example do chest and biceps on the same day. Shoulders and back the same day. Legs and Triceps the same day.

Think of it like this...you want maximum weight pushed to gain muscle size. Your triceps are already tires from chest by the time you get to them. Same with biceps after back.

Oh, and the bodybuilder guys told me to quit doing abs. They said that losing fat is what shows the 6 pack and that doing ab work makes your abs wider which you want to avoid to keep the V shape from the shoulders.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

I'll stick to the low intensity. I typically burn about 200cals currently at each cardio training session.

When I used to do heavier cardio and burn 800 cals there was no discernible difference in effects for me other than starting to look stringy like a runner rather than thick and athletic telling me it was burning too much muscle.

Low intensity is also what ever single competing body builder at my gym does as well. These doods drop fat quick.

Like I've said before everybody's different so that may work for some. Just not what I've seen personally.

This may be a little lengthy but with the above examples you gave is the perfect time to explain my reasoning behind making the suggestions I do to you as well as everyone else. I once heard some advice and it was something like look at the people that have the type of body you want and train like they train. Look at long distance runners, thin, lanky no real muscle to speak of and they do long distance low intensity and that's what they train for. Now look at sprinters muscular especially in the lower body those guys have huge legs, how do they train, short high intensity bursts. Look at fighters, lean and muscular regardless of weight class(some heavy weights excluded) Most of their training is with weights and high intensity cardio of some sort.They burn fat like crazy and build muscle at the same time.This is the basis for HIIT. Now look at their diets, these guys eat thousands of calories a day. When you were burning 800 cals a day it would have been fine if you supported it with adequate calories. You probably didn't 'cause you were cutting, so you lost weight by burning your muscle for fuel because of insuficient carbs. Do you know why people say low intensity is better, the theory is that if you do low intensity and bring your heart rate to your "fat burning zone" you will burn more calories from fat which is true, When you do high intensity you burn more calories from carbs which is also true. The thing is it still boils down to cals in versus cals out, doing high intensity may be it from carbs you still burn way more calories. My belief is that rather than trying to diet away the fat burn it off with more exercise But you need to support that with proper nutrition to support and maintain muscle growth. Now it is said that you should keep cardio sessions to no longer than 1 hr at a time. Doing low intensity cardio fo an hour you might burn 200 cals not a big return for the time spent, longer than that you become catabolic and there goes your muscle. So what do you do High intensity interval training. In 20 min you can burn up to 400 cals or so and as long as you properly feed your workouts you will build muscle which turns you into a fat incinerator. From what I've seen you put in a lot of time and effort and that's what it takes but you havn't quite found the right combination.Most of the pro's have found that and that's why they have the results they do, that plus good genetics. I am a firm believer that you work harder and eat more, rather than work easy and eat less. You won't see overnight changes but the changes are solid rather than bounce all over the place. When you talk about pro's bulking and cutting these guys devote their lives to training and to do what they do you have to train like they do it's that simple.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by ablackburn99

I'm willing to work out 6 days week, as long as I have enough time to recover. Normally when I used to lift I would try to do...

day 1 Chest/triceps
day 2 Back/biceps
day 3 rest
day 4 shoulders
day 5 legs/abs
REPEAT

But this was after lifting for awhile and I wasn't really trying to lose weight.

Six days a week is rather much when lifting heavier weights, 4 day splits seem to work well.

I believe post # 1056 has the routine I mentioned and find it good as it combines 2 days strength and 2 days hypertrophy and does well with adding strength and size. I may also have a similar workout but more intense by Charles Poloquin if you might be interested I could look for it. If your just getting back into it I have a three day split that I use in conjunction with this, usually when I'm cutting 'cause it gives two days for cardio without taking away from weight lifting and sufficient time for recovery, I may have posted that somewhere if not I can dig that out too.

[dianeokie]

I hop on the scale everyday just to get a look, but only record it once a week as I agree it can fluctuate a bit day to day. I think a weekly check is good same time of day, first thing in the morning before eating or anything.

Hope everyone is doing it this way. This is really the best way to check your weight if possible. Also, if you are using a balance beam scale (the old fashioned kind), make sure it's balanced on zero before you step on.

[SSMOKINHOT]

Originally Posted by CFD

A lot of people say low intensity cardio is good for fat burning but studies show that higher intensity is better and HIIT is the king. You can burn more cals doing 15-20 min HIIT than an hour of low intensity and HIIT does help buid muscle as well. I'd rather do the 20 min HIIT and spend the other 40 doing something I like and burn more calories to boot. If you look at programs like P90x etc they lean towards HIIT and do shred fat.

Originally Posted by CFD

This may be a little lengthy but with the above examples you gave is the perfect time to explain my reasoning behind making the suggestions I do to you as well as everyone else. I once heard some advice and it was something like look at the people that have the type of body you want and train like they train. Look at long distance runners, thin, lanky no real muscle to speak of and they do long distance low intensity and that's what they train for. Now look at sprinters muscular especially in the lower body those guys have huge legs, how do they train, short high intensity bursts. Look at fighters, lean and muscular regardless of weight class(some heavy weights excluded) Most of their training is with weights and high intensity cardio of some sort.They burn fat like crazy and build muscle at the same time.This is the basis for HIIT. Now look at their diets, these guys eat thousands of calories a day. When you were burning 800 cals a day it would have been fine if you supported it with adequate calories. You probably didn't 'cause you were cutting, so you lost weight by burning your muscle for fuel because of insuficient carbs. Do you know why people say low intensity is better, the theory is that if you do low intensity and bring your heart rate to your "fat burning zone" you will burn more calories from fat which is true, When you do high intensity you burn more calories from carbs which is also true. The thing is it still boils down to cals in versus cals out, doing high intensity may be it from carbs you still burn way more calories. My belief is that rather than trying to diet away the fat burn it off with more exercise But you need to support that with proper nutrition to support and maintain muscle growth. Now it is said that you should keep cardio sessions to no longer than 1 hr at a time. Doing low intensity cardio fo an hour you might burn 200 cals not a big return for the time spent, longer than that you become catabolic and there goes your muscle. So what do you do High intensity interval training. In 20 min you can burn up to 400 cals or so and as long as you properly feed your workouts you will build muscle which turns you into a fat incinerator. From what I've seen you put in a lot of time and effort and that's what it takes but you havn't quite found the right combination.Most of the pro's have found that and that's why they have the results they do, that plus good genetics. I am a firm believer that you work harder and eat more, rather than work easy and eat less. You won't see overnight changes but the changes are solid rather than bounce all over the place. When you talk about pro's bulking and cutting these guys devote their lives to training and to do what they do you have to train like they do it's that simple.

AND


Okay...so my update...I am happy to report the scale that I used (and was upset for losing 5 lbs) was actually inconsistent. I have confirmation from a number of sources that my weight did not change so I am sitting at 140 still which I am happy about. I'm also happy to report that I now have a fridge in my room so I am able to make some of my own meals versus having to be at the mercy of what they offer at the chow hall. I also was able to get my protein powder (I use Syntha-6) so I have been using that every morning for breakfast after my morning workouts. Yesterday I did a 3.5 mile ruck march in modified battle rattle in the morning and then did Kenpo X (kick-boxing of sorts) at night. Must go shopping....my pants are falling off of me!!

[CFD]

Originally Posted by SSMOKINHOT

AND


Okay...so my update...I am happy to report the scale that I used (and was upset for losing 5 lbs) was actually inconsistent. I have confirmation from a number of sources that my weight did not change so I am sitting at 140 still which I am happy about. I'm also happy to report that I now have a fridge in my room so I am able to make some of my own meals versus having to be at the mercy of what they offer at the chow hall. I also was able to get my protein powder (I use Syntha-6) so I have been using that every morning for breakfast after my morning workouts. Yesterday I did a 3.5 mile ruck march in modified battle rattle in the morning and then did Kenpo X (kick-boxing of sorts) at night. Must go shopping....my pants are falling off of me!!

That's great, it seems you have found what works for you and that is a key to success.Now that you have some control over your diet keep doing what you have been doing until you are where you want to be, or if at sometime results stop, you can re-evaluate but once your body starts to burn fat it get's pretty efficient at it and the results show it. Good work

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by SSMOKINHOT

AND


Okay...so my update...I am happy to report the scale that I used (and was upset for losing 5 lbs) was actually inconsistent. I have confirmation from a number of sources that my weight did not change so I am sitting at 140 still which I am happy about. I'm also happy to report that I now have a fridge in my room so I am able to make some of my own meals versus having to be at the mercy of what they offer at the chow hall. I also was able to get my protein powder (I use Syntha-6) so I have been using that every morning for breakfast after my morning workouts. Yesterday I did a 3.5 mile ruck march in modified battle rattle in the morning and then did Kenpo X (kick-boxing of sorts) at night. Must go shopping....my pants are falling off of me!!

Pants are falling off =..proof! right there!






Workouts thursday:

3x

DB Split squat: 3x25 lbs. DB each arm 12,10,8 reps
Incline Dumbell Press: 3x,25 lbs. each arm 12,10,8 reps
Kettle Bell Goblet Squat: 3x,40 lbs. 20,15,10 reps
Dumbell side raise: 3x 15 lbs each arm 10reps each
Leg extentions:100,100,110 lbs. 20,15,10 reps
Ball Crunches: 3x30 12 lbs. each
Cable Tricep Extention Rope: 3x45 lbs. 12,10,8 reps
Vertical Leg raise: 3x15
Seated calf raise: 3x45lbs. 15,12,10 reps
Paramont Calf Raise: 3x 200 lbs 15,12,10 reps

cardio: treadmill, fastpace walk....20 min.

Still leaning out. Stepped my weights up with a few of my workouts by 5 lbs and calf raises quite a bit...........So.....I'm seriously sore right now! Sticking with my diet and taking my monthly progress pics in about a week! Its amazing how setting a date and taking progress pics helps your motivation.......gives you a deadline to meet! Hope everyone has a great weekend and sticking with the plan!

[infernoinandout]

I'm at another small plateau, been at 22 pounds lost for the last 7-9 days. Did a little extra cardio today and am tring to eat just a little more, i've only been eating average 68% of my rdi. I'm going to take it to 80% for a few weeks and see what happens.