Need to lose body fat, not weight, stuck at 15.5%

[pcm2a]

No, the bicep exercise does not have to be the same each time. Really arm work isn't all that important while dieting for most people.

You don't put much emphasis on the arms in your full body workouts, how will I maintain my current arm strength. For example, if 1 year ago I was doing a small barbell curl with 10s on either end, now I do 3x10 with 20s or 25s on the end. My muscle is definitly bigger than a year ago. I don't want to lose any of that.

I would keep it to 2 sets for biceps and 2 sets for triceps.

Same thing goes for the triceps. A year ago I might could have done one set lifting my own body weight with my triceps (a dip), now I could do this last and just hang there and still lift myself up. If I bought one of those weight vests I would use it on that exercise. I don't want to lose that as I switch my workouts.

What are you planning on doing for abs? My suggestion would be to rotate movements; flexion, extension, rotation, stabilization.

There are several different machines for abs (that use weights, 2 of them free weights). I do not know specific names but I might could find (or take) a picture of them. You have your standard flat one where you can put your legs down, up, or in the air (uses free weights). There is another like that but it is inclined. A third you stand on and lift your legs up (with free weights). Another that I enjoy you get on your knees on it and twist to lift the weights. Hurts my sides real good.

As far as just regular situps, they end up hurting my back long before I would ever feel it in my stomach. Like a full crunch where your bringing your legs up and doing a situp I could do for quite sometime, so I don't do them very often.

Weight your crunches, for example, so you're limited to 10 reps or something like that.

Again I go back to my bicep question. I am lifting a tremendous amount more with my abs now than a long time ago. Scaling this back would make me lose some of that strength right?

Romanian deadlifts have little to no knee flexion... are you aware of this?

I see people doing these and some bend the knees and some don't. If I hold a heavy weight and bend my knees some and tried to hold it there it would hurt after a bit. With that said I'm going to give them a shot tonight and see how it feels. I was more worried about if it hurts my knee so I put on less weight and then not getting the full benefit of the exercise out of it.

If you can do leg presses and leg curls, you can certainly do romanian deadlifts.

When I do leg presses and leg curls (legs straight out and bringing them down) I don't do much weight to not aggrivate my knee. Both of those with light weights were even approved by my doctor, but not legs downand lifting the weight up.

Why do you like using machines?

I don't really have a preference for free weights, versus cable, hammerstrength. I just picked, for example, hammerstrength decline so I don't have to get on hte upside down machine to do them. I also noticed that you had no decline in hte workout, which is why I added it in on the incline day.

Do you have a reason why you stuck with the old 3x10 or did you just read it someplace and buy into the concept?

I worked with a bunk trainer for a few sessions 3-4 years ago, and thats what he showed me so I just always stuck with that. He told me 3x10 or 10,8,6. I am glad to try out a different set makeup.

Here's an important bit of advice: You should never be struggling to the point where you fail. Failure, as in, you don't or barely complete the last rep (this isn't really failure but close enough) is not your goal. Failing does not mean you are working the muscles good.

Thanks for that advise, it is very helpful. I always assume exactly the opposite. Blow it out on every set, give me one more, come on, come on.

Extra questions:
What does the military press work out?

With less emphasis on the chest exercises now, only doing one to hit each area, will I maintain my current chest strength? I mean my chest isnt ripped or anything but it's nice and there is definitly visible muscle there. I'm assuming that doing the right sets with the right amount of wait on just 2 or 3 chest machines is suffiecient to grow (or sustain during dieting) the muscle?

I have my food and exercise spreadsheets well under way...

 

[BigMOFO]

Does the "don't reach for failure" tip apply to the last set or is it just for the intermediate sets?

 

[fitroy]

Muscles dictates metabolism...

if you want to get rid of more fat you must get stronger and faster. That translates to training more like a sprinter. Lifts weights in the lower rep range maybe 6-8 reps per set and perform some super sets in your routine. Forget long slow cardio, you would be wasting your time, do intervals not more than 10-15 minutes after each strength session. Keep your calories high to fuel this type of training (1800-2200). The fat will melt away!

 

[Steve]

You don't put much emphasis on the arms in your full body workouts, how will I maintain my current arm strength. For example, if 1 year ago I was doing a small barbell curl with 10s on either end, now I do 3x10 with 20s or 25s on the end. My muscle is definitly bigger than a year ago. I don't want to lose any of that.

How much bigger is your muscle? Or does it only look bigger? Did you measure?

Arm strength is maintained by doing compound lifts heavily. Your biceps 'fire' with all pulling motions and your triceps fire with all pressing motions.

Same thing goes for the triceps. A year ago I might could have done one set lifting my own body weight with my triceps (a dip), now I could do this last and just hang there and still lift myself up. If I bought one of those weight vests I would use it on that exercise. I don't want to lose that as I switch my workouts.

See above.

In addition, you are to throw a couple of sets of arms in at the end of each day. How much more do you want to do? It doesn't take much at all to maintain while dieting.

There are several different machines for abs (that use weights, 2 of them free weights). I do not know specific names but I might could find (or take) a picture of them. You have your standard flat one where you can put your legs down, up, or in the air (uses free weights). There is another like that but it is inclined. A third you stand on and lift your legs up (with free weights). Another that I enjoy you get on your knees on it and twist to lift the weights. Hurts my sides real good.

As far as just regular situps, they end up hurting my back long before I would ever feel it in my stomach. Like a full crunch where your bringing your legs up and doing a situp I could do for quite sometime, so I don't do them very often.

Yea, so I'm telling you you can ditch most of that crap and focus on more functional movements. I'd stick with the rotation I outlined above.

Again I go back to my bicep question. I am lifting a tremendous amount more with my abs now than a long time ago. Scaling this back would make me lose some of that strength right?

Volume doesn't maintain strength. Intensity does. Does this make sense to you?

I see people doing these and some bend the knees and some don't. If I hold a heavy weight and bend my knees some and tried to hold it there it would hurt after a bit. With that said I'm going to give them a shot tonight and see how it feels. I was more worried about if it hurts my knee so I put on less weight and then not getting the full benefit of the exercise out of it.

Let me know how it goes. You don't have to bend your knees.

I don't really have a preference for free weights, versus cable, hammerstrength. I just picked, for example, hammerstrength decline so I don't have to get on hte upside down machine to do them. I also noticed that you had no decline in hte workout, which is why I added it in on the incline day.

I'd pretty much always opt for free weights over machines. You can read in the stickies why... I believe in the words of wisdom thread.

I worked with a bunk trainer for a few sessions 3-4 years ago, and thats what he showed me so I just always stuck with that. He told me 3x10 or 10,8,6. I am glad to try out a different set makeup.

I'm glad you're glad.

Thanks for that advise, it is very helpful. I always assume exactly the opposite. Blow it out on every set, give me one more, come on, come on.

Yup, that's definitely not the goal in almost all cases.

Extra questions:
What does the military press work out?

Shoulders, a little chest, traps, and triceps. Your core is stabilizing your the entire time as well, assuming you're doing them standing.

With less emphasis on the chest exercises now, only doing one to hit each area, will I maintain my current chest strength?

You keep going back to strength. You should get stronger doing things how I propose. Tons of volume doesn't make you stronger. Sure, you got stronger, but that was a very suboptimal road.

Powerlifters are the strongest guys on the planet and they're blasting their muscles from all different angles with a bunch of exercises.

You need to realize that if you do flat bench press, both your clavicular and sternual portions of your pec contract. Notice I didn't say upper, middle outer, mid, etc. Muscular contraction is muscular contraction. Blasting 20 more times just for some supposed benefit from hitting different angles is rather silly once you realize the actual physiology of it all.

And again and again... volume doesn't create/maintain strength. Intensity (i.e., weight on the bar) does.

I mean my chest isnt ripped or anything but it's nice and there is definitly visible muscle there. I'm assuming that doing the right sets with the right amount of wait on just 2 or 3 chest machines is suffiecient to grow (or sustain during dieting) the muscle?

Your muscles aren't going to just go away. I don't like that you say 2-3 chest machines.

If you were starting to see the light completely, you'd realize by this point in the conversation that 3 sets of 5-8 reps of flat barbell bench press would be sufficient at maintaining your muscle/strength.

I have my food and exercise spreadsheets well under way...

Food scale?

 

[Steve]

Does the "don't reach for failure" tip apply to the last set or is it just for the intermediate sets?

All sets. Failure on occasion is okay. Doing it often, especially while dieting is no good.

 

[Steve]

if you want to get rid of more fat you must get stronger and faster. That translates to training more like a sprinter. Lifts weights in the lower rep range maybe 6-8 reps per set and perform some super sets in your routine. Forget long slow cardio, you would be wasting your time, do intervals not more than 10-15 minutes after each strength session. Keep your calories high to fuel this type of training (1800-2200). The fat will melt away!

I wonder if you actually read any of this thread?

 

[pcm2a]

Info on my cardio routine (and heart rate). Heart rates are either taken by the machine, and I also have a wrist watch that reads it (battery is going dead though). Maybe I need to be making changes to this as well.

On weight days I normally did 10-15 minutes cardio at the end. This would be treadmill, elliptical, bike, or one of the other machines like that (don't know the names). And it probably is what your considering slow long cardio, heart rate in the 110-125 range.

On non-weight days I normally do 1 hour of cardio. This is the same "slow long cardio". I will go slow, heart rate in the 95-105 range for 10 minutes, then faster for 10 minutes, 110-125 range. Usually after 20-30 minutes I switch to another machine.

My workplace has a gym in it, and on Tuesdays, Thursday, and Fridays when I am in the office I go at lunch and walk o the treadmill for 45 minutes and watch tv. This is separate from my above routine. I also walk the dog at least every other day for 20-30 minutes, at a slow walk pace.

How should I change my all cardio days, lunch time cardio, and after weights cardio to strip away the last of the belly fat. Six pack here I come?

 

[pcm2a]

How much bigger is your muscle? Or does it only look bigger? Did you measure?

I did not measure a long time ago so it could be bigger, or only loog bigger due to fat loss. I guess stronger was a better term than bigger.

I'd pretty much always opt for free weights over machines. You can read in the stickies why... I believe in the words of wisdom thread.

I got quite a few stickies to read though.

Volume doesn't maintain strength. Intensity does. Does this make sense to you?
You keep going back to strength. You should get stronger doing things how I propose. Tons of volume doesn't make you stronger. Sure, you got stronger, but that was a very suboptimal road.

This was the information I was missing, and it makes sense. So I got stronger, but not any faster and wasted a lot of time going crazy in there.

I don't like that you say 2-3 chest machines.

Is there a better way to say it? I could have said that I do BB flat bench, DB incline, hammer decline, hammer wide chest, etc.

Food scale?

No I was just tracking each item and it's calories for review. I don't have a food scale yet and will have to go out and buy one. Are they pretty cheap at walmart? Also, how will I weight stuff like yogurt? I could easily weigh some of my meals like breakfast, dinner, and my lunch if I take it.

I think if I could weight at least all of one days food on my "normal routine", and see the real calorie count that might tell us quite a bit.

Do you put a beer on the scale? only 99 calories in a bud select.

 

[BigMOFO]

All sets. Failure on occasion is okay. Doing it often, especially while dieting is no good.

hmm....I've been lifting to failure for a while now while dieting. Could it be the reason why I'm not seeing much gains in strength lately?

 

[Steve]

This was the information I was missing, and it makes sense. So I got stronger, but not any faster and wasted a lot of time going crazy in there.

Precisely

Is there a better way to say it? I could have said that I do BB flat bench, DB incline, hammer decline, hammer wide chest, etc.

I'm saying you don't have to blast your chest from all those angles.

No I was just tracking each item and it's calories for review. I don't have a food scale yet and will have to go out and buy one. Are they pretty cheap at walmart?

Depending on what you consider cheap, yes.

20 bucks or so for a digital scale that weighs in grams and ounces.

Also, how will I weight stuff like yogurt?

Depends on what you're talking about. You obviously don't have to weigh single serving foods. That package will have all the info you need. So if you buy yogurts by the single packets, don't bother weighing.

However, if you buy the big, multi-serving tubs of yogurt, you simply put a bowl on your scale, turn it on, and put the amount of yogurt you're shooting for in the bowl.

Do you put a beer on the scale? only 99 calories in a bud select.

Hahahaha

Nope, I do nothing but beer but use it to get drunk.

 

[Steve]

hmm....I've been lifting to failure for a while now while dieting. Could it be the reason why I'm not seeing much gains in strength lately?

Most certainly.

I don't have time to delve into the details at the moment but I highly suggest reading this article written by a buddy of mine who really outlines it well:

 

[pcm2a]

Most of the foods I'm eating are single serving foods with labels on the package. Eggs, bacon, yogurt, beans, some of the fish, etc. The pork chop I ate for lunch wasn't so it needed to be weighed. Does that mean on eggs, bacon, yogurt, etc it is ok to just go by the packages calories like I have been doing? Or is there some other information I need to get off the package along with the calories for this experiment?

 

[BigMOFO]

Thanks Steve, the article was a real eye opener for me. What do you think about the author's 4 week build-up/build-down plan? good thing while on a diet?

 

[pcm2a]

One other late night food question about calories and carbs. Previously I just counted calories (not weight), but did not care about carbs. I would eat a subway, rice, potato, etc. For the past 5 weeks I have cut out the carbs, should I continue doing that? I can definitely say I enjoyed eating the breads/rice/potatoes more than not eating them...

 

[Steve]

Most of the foods I'm eating are single serving foods with labels on the package. Eggs, bacon, yogurt, beans, some of the fish, etc. The pork chop I ate for lunch wasn't so it needed to be weighed. Does that mean on eggs, bacon, yogurt, etc it is ok to just go by the packages calories like I have been doing? Or is there some other information I need to get off the package along with the calories for this experiment?

You should be plugging everything into fitday.com

This way we can see your calories, protein, fat, and carbs.

No, you wouldn't have to weight those single serving items. Meat yes. Things I always find myself weighing include meats, nuts, fruits, cheese, etc.

 

[Steve]

Thanks Steve, the article was a real eye opener for me. What do you think about the author's 4 week build-up/build-down plan? good thing while on a diet?

You mean the RPE stuff?

 

[Steve]

One other late night food question about calories and carbs. Previously I just counted calories (not weight), but did not care about carbs. I would eat a subway, rice, potato, etc. For the past 5 weeks I have cut out the carbs, should I continue doing that? I can definitely say I enjoyed eating the breads/rice/potatoes more than not eating them...

Just eat how you would normally eat. Low carb you just started so that's not how you ordinarily eat.

 

[pcm2a]

I realise that eating low carb is only been how I am eating for one month, but I don't want to go back to eating bread, potatoes, rice, and other high carbs items if it will just slow progress down. If it doesn't make a difference either way (the way I'm leaning) then of course I'll be glad to go back to eating those items

I'll also plug it all into the fitday sake to make things easy for everyone. Since most of the stuff is single serving I should be able to transfer it all over, except for a few things that I need to weigh. Hopefully I can pick that up scale tonight or tomorrow.

Do you have a good source for what I'm supposed to do once I have this gram amount and how to get calories/carbs/fat from that? For example, when I slap a peice of fresh fish up there from publix it's not going to come with any nutritional information. I can pull it off from some website, but it would be an estimation.

 

[Steve]

I realise that eating low carb is only been how I am eating for one month, but I don't want to go back to eating bread, potatoes, rice, and other high carbs items if it will just slow progress down. If it doesn't make a difference either way (the way I'm leaning) then of course I'll be glad to go back to eating those items

Well it's not an either/or thing. You have to understand there really are no rigid rules to all of this.

Low carb works well for some people. Not others. Calories matter first and foremost for everyone. We're all binded by the laws of thermodynamics.

What's best to eat in order to obtain this energy is really dependent on the individual.

When I'm setting up a diet, I worry first and foremost about eating adequate amounts of protein and essential fats. From there I fill in the gap. What that gap is comprised of depends on the person, tolerances, likes/dislikes, goals, etc.

For instance, if someone is highly insulin resistant, they're probably going to do better with a some sort of lower carb approach.

So have low carbs done anything for you positive? Negative?

You seem to hold onto ideas regardless of how they're impacting you in reality. That can lead to a lot of frustration. This whole process is about experimenting. Keeping what works. Throwing out what doesn't work. It takes an open mind and a willingness to test things out and let go of things. Invariably around here people get married to their preconceived notions and telling them there's a better way falls on deaf ears. You seem to be different but at the same time, you're still grasping for The One Way.

Do you have a good source for what I'm supposed to do once I have this gram amount and how to get calories/carbs/fat from that? For example, when I slap a peice of fresh fish up there from publix it's not going to come with any nutritional information. I can pull it off from some website, but it would be an estimation.

fitday will do this for you.

You might also want to check out

and

You'll always be estimating. There's no way to be exact. But without weighing, you're really winging it so now that you'll be weighing things should be much closer to reality.

 

[BigMOFO]

You mean the RPE stuff?

yup, thats it