fat to muscle !

D

Dpilkington

New member
Is it possible to turn 36% body fat into muscle because im getting nowhere with cardio.

Im almost down to my normal weight an i dont wanna drop no lower but i will have to to get rid of the fat, why wont this fat go....

Is the atkins diet good for that !
 
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You can dramatically change your body fat percentage without impacted your overall body weight.

The easiest way to think of it is you have to increase your lean muscle mass by doing everything that makes that happen.
And you need to decrease your fat by doing everything that accomplishes that.

To Increase lean muscle: resistance exercise 3x a week, ample amounts of lean protein in your diet, post resistance exercise protein shake.

To Decrease fat: monitor overall caloric intake, participate in High Intensity Interval Training 3 x a week..cardio only on off days.

Cardio only burns fat for the length of time that you participate in that exercise. So if you do cardio for 1 hour then the benefits only last for 1 hour. High intensity interval training increases you metabolism for over 24 hours...which means you burn calories and fat for that long. it is a way better way to spend your time.

let me know if you need any further input.

Mike
 
Mike M. said:
You can dramatically change your body fat percentage without impacted your overall body weight.

The easiest way to think of it is you have to increase your lean muscle mass by doing everything that makes that happen.
And you need to decrease your fat by doing everything that accomplishes that.

To Increase lean muscle: resistance exercise 3x a week, ample amounts of lean protein in your diet, post resistance exercise protein shake.

To Decrease fat: monitor overall caloric intake, participate in High Intensity Interval Training 3 x a week..cardio only on off days.

Cardio only burns fat for the length of time that you participate in that exercise. So if you do cardio for 1 hour then the benefits only last for 1 hour. High intensity interval training increases you metabolism for over 24 hours...which means you burn calories and fat for that long. it is a way better way to spend your time.

let me know if you need any further input.

Mike
Click to expand...

So what days should i lift weights on and how long and what days do i do cardio on ? because to lose fat you have to burn 3500 calories, but some days if im not excercising, wont i put weight on.

Also wich is better light long excercise or fast intense. Because i keep switching, one day i go on the internet and look it up someone says light because it burns fat and intense only burns the carbs an other people say intense because you melt away the fat.

I just dont know wich way to go or what to do...

Thank you for your help, im actually becoming obssessed with having ahealthy lifestyle. I was 17 stone last year i just want the fat gone now.

Thank you !
 
Here's the thing, in general it's faster and more efficient to lose fat first, then gain muscle (or vice versa). You can do both, but basically you're doing something like an alternating diet.

Fat loss days - low calorie, lower carb, high protein. (I'm not sure on the lower carb, I've just seen it mentioned and involving glycogen levels and stuff. I don't really worry about this personally, but it's supposedly optimal). No weight training on fat loss days.
Muscle gain days - do your resistance/strength training these days. Do a full body strength workout. Eat more calories (even above maintenance), lower fat, high protein, more carbs. Again, I'm not 100% sure on the details of the higher carbs/lower fat except that the insulin is supposed to promote good things for your muscles.

Overall you should be near maintenance or in a small deficit when you average together your fat loss and muscle gain days. Honestly, I feel cardio is optional. If you want to do it, great, if not... you'll be getting your strength workouts and you should be fine.

My own schedule is only 2 strength days a week, with an optional third day. So mine is Monday, Thursday and sometimes Saturday. (Or sometimes Monday, Friday and no Saturday). Hope that helps!
 
3 days a week...Lift weights and perform HIIT.
4 days a week....do cardio

By building lean muscle you will increase your metabolic demand and fat burning furnace. High intensity interval training also massively accererates fat burning for well beyond 24 hours after you finished. Nice Right?

Type of strength training - Not high reps...do rep ranges of 6-8.
example program...
Push day, pull day and leg day.

Push day - chest, shoulders and triceps.
Pull day - back, biceps and abdominals
Leg day - quads, hamstrings and calves
Base upon your experience, pick 2 exercises for each body part. Perform 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions..45 seconds rest between each set. Increase the weights each when ever you can so that the last set in each exercise is really tough to complete.

High intensity Interval training - on a recumbent bike or illiptical trainer warm up on an easy setting at a relaxed tempo for 3-5 minutes. Then, increase the tempo and the resistance and go flat out 90% of your max for 30 seconds. Then bring the resistance down and the tempo down and recover for about 3-4 minutes...or until you could talk to someone with out gasping. REpeat 5 times. Work up to 8 times as you get fitter.

Mke sure you have a whey protein shake with fruit juice after this type of work out. About 20 grams of protein and 40 grams of carbs from juice. This will accelerate your muscle growth and replenish your glycogen stores. Cell energy stores.

I hope this helps...and of course this program should change in 6 weeks.

Mike
 
So i should do

3 days cardio high intense interval
3 days weight strengh training
1 day of rest

and i should eat healthy on both days but eat more protein on weight training days.
 
close,

What I would recommend would be 3 days of weight training and High Intensity Interval Training together, on the same day.

Your 3 days off can be your cardio/recovery days.

Eat 4-6 meals a day and eat at least .75-1.0 grams of protein/lbs of "ideal" body weight every day. If you want to be as an example 175lbs eat approximately 175 grams of protein, each day. On the weight/HIIT day add the protein/carb shake!

Make the rest fruits/vegetables, on workout days only (wts and HIIT) eat some healthy carbs 1-2 hours after your post workout shake. Ie. sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice etc.

Let me know if I can help further.
 
Thanks everyone for the help, really appreciate it. Ive collected 3 different tubs of whey protein so they should come in handy.

I also have a cross trainer/elliptical at home but it isn't as good as gym ones so it should be ok.

I usually have my protein shake at 11 at night because i do my weights late, most days im at college so when i get home im a little tired so i rest for 2 hours whilst i have dinner/tea then i start....

And ive just ordered a shake weight for the bottom of my arms. They look good.

Also is it best to do the hiit and weights 3 days then the light excercise 3 days or should i do weights an hiit one day light next hiit and weights next day and so on!

I will report back in a few weeks to show my progress and at the end of my weightloss/fatloss journey i will post pics..

Thanks again!
 
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DPilkington,

I would workout hard enough on the weights and HIIT days so that I really wanted a day off...thats the day to do some cardio...45 minutes at 60% of your maximum heart rate 220-your age X 60%.

I know you are tired but see if you can rally to work out before dinner...have your shake, and then 1 hour later have your dinner. It is best for weight loss that you don't eat within 3 hours of going to bed.

If you drink coffee...have a cup or an espresso before your workout to get you moving!

good luck...I know you will have some exciting changes to share soon!

Mike
 
So im trying to lose 36% body fat, build muscle but not lose weight. The only problem i have now is what to eat, obviously i cant diet now because if i do i will lose weight i dont want to end up seriously skinny fat.

The main problem is i dont know what foods to eat on what days and how much protein to eat an how much carbs or fat i should eat a day.

People have sent me a few meal planners but it doesn't really help.

Could someone come up with a day to day food guide of what foods i need for breakfast, dinner, lunch and snacks. Also i need to know the best foods that wont make me lose weight but will help lose fat an build muscle.

I will literally pay you for a guide or planner or table or a chart. And i will pay for the help !



And i will pay first...

Or does anyone know any good food guides i could buy ?
Also how many calories should i eat a day and how much protein should i eat a day ?


One final thing, what HIIT could i do in the gym ?
Thanks !
 
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So, I won't say this is the only way to go, but here's an example:

Breakfast - 1 whole egg, 1/2 cup of egg whites, mix in low fat shredded cheese and some veggies (onions, spinach, kale, broccoli - stuff you don't hate).

Lunch for non-workout day - lettuce wrap with meat & cheese. Can be lunch meat, can be left overs from another dinner. throw in some tomato, maybe some hummus.

Lunch for workout day - Whole wheat sandwich, with low fat meat & veggies.

Dinner for non-workout day - oven roasted veggies and meat, a roast, pork chops, chicken (Yum rotisserie chicken) etc. Or have a salad with the meat, and throw on some avocado (avocado is also good on the salads, or even in on top of the eggs)

Dinner for workout day - lean meat (chicken breast, pork, lean ground beef), starch - rice, sweet potato, beans (you can cook them in with ground meat for chili). Eat lots. This is your muscle building meal.

This is making your workout day higher carbs and protein, and your non-workout day higher fat and protein (I'm not sure how much this will actually matter, but if you have to pick, it's not going to hurt).

If you snack, have say a Clementine and some string cheese. (Or an apple & cheese, or some greek yogurt... something with at least a protein, and maybe some fat & carbs). Almonds are also a good snack.

As for how much... you want at least 150g of protein (I'm guessing based on your goals) each day. In terms of the actual amount of fat & carbs, I don't have a hard and fast # except the less calories and more fat on your non-workout days, and more calories and more carbs on your workout days.

Oh, and if you want to use your whey protein, then on workout days, have a snack with 1 scoop protein powder, some milk and some frozen fruit thrown in a blender.


Is that enough to at least get you started? You can always tweak it as time goes by.
 
Don't get initimated. Everyone is there to workout and are probably in their own zone focusing on their next lift. Remember that everyone had to have started working out at some point in their life, so everyone's been in your shoes.
 
This thread is a good one. Thanks to all for your info!
 
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