Thanks for the knowledges. These are things I did not know!!!!111
Need to lose body fat, not weight, stuck at 15.5%
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Thanks for the knowledges. These are things I did not know!!!!111
GonnaGetAbs
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I just read this entire thread, and its great, but I got a little bit overwhelmed. Would anyone mind summarizing some of the key points that were brought up?
I have been on a plauteau as well for 6 months or so. I got fed up and have put away my scale for a month, am focusing on eating 3 meals a day, and would like to find a way to remotivate myself to go to the gym. I would previously go and do only cardio for long periods of time, sometimes more than twice a day. Thats how I initially lost about 10 pounds, but I burned out. Now I hardly ever go to the gym, and when I do I can't do as much or I just hate it. As of today I'm going to start strength training. I thought I'd do5 exercises, 12 reps, 3 sets, and then maybe 20-25 minutes of cardio. If I don't change my diet, which is currently just maintaining my weight, will it possibly help me to lose fat? I would like to lose about 10 more pounds as well, but I'm more concerned about the body fat %. I have a handheld device which measures anywhere from 20.5% to 22% on a given day. I am female. About 135 pounds.
I have been on a plauteau as well for 6 months or so. I got fed up and have put away my scale for a month, am focusing on eating 3 meals a day, and would like to find a way to remotivate myself to go to the gym. I would previously go and do only cardio for long periods of time, sometimes more than twice a day. Thats how I initially lost about 10 pounds, but I burned out. Now I hardly ever go to the gym, and when I do I can't do as much or I just hate it. As of today I'm going to start strength training. I thought I'd do5 exercises, 12 reps, 3 sets, and then maybe 20-25 minutes of cardio. If I don't change my diet, which is currently just maintaining my weight, will it possibly help me to lose fat? I would like to lose about 10 more pounds as well, but I'm more concerned about the body fat %. I have a handheld device which measures anywhere from 20.5% to 22% on a given day. I am female. About 135 pounds.
Hmm, bit too long for me to do that. If you have specific questions pertaining to anything discussed here though, I'll gladly try my best to explain things.
We know nothing about you.
How many calories were you consuming when you were doing all this cardio?
5 exercises of what?
How often?
How often will you run?
You must be in a caloric deficit to lose fat. If the exercise accomplishes this and you eat the same amount of calories consistently, sure.
GonnaGetAbs
New member
I guess I'm mostly still unsure about which to take. Because I still have some weight to lose, should I be focusing more on cardio to lose it faster? Or is it okay to do mostly strength and have the calorie deficit needed to lose weight come only from my diet?
[/QUOTE]We know nothing about you.
How many calories were you consuming when you were doing all this cardio?[/QUOTE]
Well, when I was doing that I was a little bit crazy. I'd try to stay around 1500, but if i went over even a little bit, I'd get mad at myself, and really limit myself the next day, sometimes only eating 500 or 800 calories a day. Currently, I don't measure my food to avoid the same consequences, even though I know they're not smart. I just try to stick to 3 meals a day. Since I'm currently maintaining, I figure if I start working out again, it will more than likely put my in a caloric deficit. If I don't start losing again, I guess I'll have to start counting again.
[/QUOTE]5 exercises of what? [/QUOTE]
I figured I'd just pick 5 machines, and try to hit different body parts. But maybe thats not the best way to go about it? Haha.
[/QUOTE]How often?[/QUOTE]
I'd like to shoot for 4 days during the week, and one weekend day.
[/QUOTE]How often will you run?[/QUOTE]
I was planning on doing it each time I go to the gym.
[/QUOTE]You must be in a caloric deficit to lose fat. If the exercise accomplishes this and you eat the same amount of calories consistently, sure.[/QUOTE]
GonnaGetAbs
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I guess I don't know how to quote parts of a post. Anyone care to explain, please?
At the stage of the game you're at in terms of fat mass and assuming your goal is to look 'cut', weight training should be top priority for you right now. Nothing crazy... 2-4 days per week is fine. Given your history with rigidity and extremeness, I'd stick with the low end of that scale.
The goal is not to get the heart rate up when lifting. It's not to destroy yourself to the point where you're sore. It's not to be shaking when you leave the gym.
It IS to do just enough to preserve the muscle you currently have... possibly even add a bit. That's it.
And this goes a long way in establishing that defined look you're most likely after given your username. Definition comes from losing fat while maintaining or even adding muscle. Many people forget about this latter part and it gets them to a lighter weight... but a place they're still not happy with in terms of the reflection in the mirror... and that's why arbitrarily basing progress based on weight alone is real silly in my mind.
So you were doing butt loads of cardio and eating ridiculously in a nutshell. I don't mean for that to sound harsh but sometimes being blunt is necessary.
You were frustrated with your plateau. You didn't end up reaching your goals.
This right here is why. Without a doubt in my mind.
Hopefully you learn from your mistakes. Mistakes are great if you make use of them to propel yourself forward. From what I see on the net, few actually do this though.
Beating your body into submission, which is such a common idea this day and age, usually gets you no place good fast.
You certainly don't have to. For some it's best. For others it's not. For some it's necessary. For others it's not.
Losing weight is pretty easy when you really think about it. However, getting lean is a bit trickier. Lifting weights, as noted above, contributes to said leanness. Nutrition plays a big role too though and simply eating a caloric deficit isn't enough. Caloric control is of course important. But the types of food that comprise those calories are also critical. For instance, adequate protein and essential fats go a long way in not only health but also physique enhancement.
This doesn't mean you need to go whacky tracking stuff. You might want to start doing a bit of tracking until you get a good handle on this stuff. It's up to you. Only you know what you can handle. I'll say that your obsessive behavior/mentality before hurts more than it helps.
Have you ever trained with weights before?
GonnaGetAbs
New member
This has been really helpful already. Thanks, Steve.
Yes, definition is my goal, and I would like to get stronger as well. I assume they happen simultaneously. I'm going to start with 3 days, and I think I'll do cardio on alternating days, instead of the same day as strength.
You're right, I was beating my body into submission, and I lost weight at first, but because I couldn't do it anymore, I stopped, lost a lot of endurance and strength, and now I'm having to start over again. There is no way I will ever do that to myself again. It was torture. I hope I can learn from my mistakes too. I think I've stepped away from it enough that I can look at it objectively, and realize how stupid I was.
I'm still going to try not tracking calories at first, and see how it goes. Getting enough protein has been and is something I've struggled with. But I make a conscious effort to include at least one protein source with each meal. I eat a lot of yogurt (recently I switched to Greek yogurt because it has more protein). I love tuna sandwiches, or I put chicken on salad or in soup. For dinner I make sure I have either fish, chicken, tofu, or occasionally beef, but I don't like it that much. I prefer ground turkey. I think I've been doing better about it lately. I've been having fun coming up with recipes. As far as fats go, I do eat nuts as a snack, or sometimes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and I put avocado on my salad.
No, not really. I've done more body weight exercises than anything else. Here's what I did today at the gym. I chose 5 machines that were open. I don't know the names of any of the moves. One for Pecs and back depending on which way you're facing. One with a bar that you pull down to your chest. One for Triceps that you push down on to lift the weight. And one that used a rowing motion. I set each one to level 3, after some fiddling, and did 12 reps on each one, 3 times. After doing that I have a couple questions. I was watching other people, and they did it differently. They would do one set, rest, do another set, rest, etc. whereas I did one set on one machine, moved to the next machine and did one set there, then the next one, making a circuit. Is there a reason to do it one way over another? Is one way better? I don't like to waste my time just sitting around. It seems to me to make more sense to do something else before going back to one you already did, but maybe I'm wrong. Also, how do I go about picking which machines to use? Today I just went to the first 5, but that means that I didn't work my legs at all. I loved the way I felt when I left the gym. I wasn't shaky but I could tell that my muscles had been worked. I also did 10 minutes on the bike and the arc trainer. My next day won't be until Sunday unfortunately, but I'm looking forward to it. Then I'll probably go next Tuesday.
Sorry this is so long. I appreciate any comments from anyone who takes the time to read it all.
Yes, definition is my goal, and I would like to get stronger as well. I assume they happen simultaneously. I'm going to start with 3 days, and I think I'll do cardio on alternating days, instead of the same day as strength.
You're right, I was beating my body into submission, and I lost weight at first, but because I couldn't do it anymore, I stopped, lost a lot of endurance and strength, and now I'm having to start over again. There is no way I will ever do that to myself again. It was torture. I hope I can learn from my mistakes too. I think I've stepped away from it enough that I can look at it objectively, and realize how stupid I was.
I'm still going to try not tracking calories at first, and see how it goes. Getting enough protein has been and is something I've struggled with. But I make a conscious effort to include at least one protein source with each meal. I eat a lot of yogurt (recently I switched to Greek yogurt because it has more protein). I love tuna sandwiches, or I put chicken on salad or in soup. For dinner I make sure I have either fish, chicken, tofu, or occasionally beef, but I don't like it that much. I prefer ground turkey. I think I've been doing better about it lately. I've been having fun coming up with recipes. As far as fats go, I do eat nuts as a snack, or sometimes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and I put avocado on my salad.
No, not really. I've done more body weight exercises than anything else. Here's what I did today at the gym. I chose 5 machines that were open. I don't know the names of any of the moves. One for Pecs and back depending on which way you're facing. One with a bar that you pull down to your chest. One for Triceps that you push down on to lift the weight. And one that used a rowing motion. I set each one to level 3, after some fiddling, and did 12 reps on each one, 3 times. After doing that I have a couple questions. I was watching other people, and they did it differently. They would do one set, rest, do another set, rest, etc. whereas I did one set on one machine, moved to the next machine and did one set there, then the next one, making a circuit. Is there a reason to do it one way over another? Is one way better? I don't like to waste my time just sitting around. It seems to me to make more sense to do something else before going back to one you already did, but maybe I'm wrong. Also, how do I go about picking which machines to use? Today I just went to the first 5, but that means that I didn't work my legs at all. I loved the way I felt when I left the gym. I wasn't shaky but I could tell that my muscles had been worked. I also did 10 minutes on the bike and the arc trainer. My next day won't be until Sunday unfortunately, but I'm looking forward to it. Then I'll probably go next Tuesday.
Sorry this is so long. I appreciate any comments from anyone who takes the time to read it all.
You are welcome.
Yes.
This is a fine idea. I'll discuss more of what to do below.
Glad to hear. Not only is it not maintainable... but it also does screwy things with your body in terms of hormones that lead to plateaus. Over-stressing the body is something you have to be very cognizant of. The less weight you have to lose and the more extreme a diet... the finer of a line you walk.
I think this is a good idea in your case.
Protein is certainly an important nutrient in the context of preserving muscle. If you don't believe you are getting enough, supplementing your diet with some whey protein powder certainly wouldn't hurt.
Before getting to them, I'd like to make a few comments on the above:
1. You're just starting out so it really doesn't matter all that much what you do. Just getting a feel for resistance training is a good start.
2. If you're not going to start with free weights, it is something you should strive for in the future. Free weights are better than machines in almost all cases.
3. When you're working your entire body, once you get the 'feel' of this stuff, you shouldn't be using the same level of resistance for each exercise. You'll be able to use much more resistance on exercises that call on more muscles to execute (e.g., ) than you could on an isolation movement such as a .
Both work the muscles of the leg but the squat calls on much more of the body to execute and therefore leads to more strength.
4. Related to above, you want to focus primarily on compound exercises vs. isolation exercises. Stuff for your biceps and triceps might feel great but they aren't real beneficial given your stats and goals, for instance. You could throw a handful of stuff in at at the end for isolation movements, but don't go crazy.
5. Since you're training 3 times per week, you have two choices. One, you could do a full body routine 3 times per week or two, you could do an ABA split where A = upper body and B = lower body.
With the full body routine, you'd focus on doing 1-2 compound movements for each major muscle group per day. (quads, hamstrings, chest, back, core, shoulders). Not every day needs to be identical but there shoudl be some rhyme to your reason. Simply going in and doing anything that's 'open' won't cut it.
I like the idea, personally, of making two different full body workouts and alternating between them each week.
Workout A might look something like this:
Quad exercise - 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Hamstring/Glute exercise - 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Rowing exercise for back - 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Chest exercise - 3 sets of 6-8
Isolation stuff throw in at end for arms and core
Workout B might look something like this:
Hamstring/Glute exercise - 2 sets of 12-15
Quad exercise - 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Chest exercise - 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Vertical Pulling exercise - 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Space these workouts out as best you can over each week. MWF would be ideal.
Week one would be ABA
Week two would be BAB
In the beginning, picking exercises you are comfortable with would be most important and a very, very strong emphasis on learning proper form should be made. Once you're comfortable enough after a number of weeks, you can start focusing on increasing the intensity based on how you 'feel'. If an exercise feels easy and you feel you could complete many more reps than what is prescribed, you know it's time too add resistance.
This is all examples, of course. Nothing is written in stone and there really isn't a right/wrong.
6. You want at least one day each week where you have nothing but rest.
7. A very important concept is what you eat fuels what you do. So many people get this wrong. They bump activity way the hell up and cut caloric intake way the hell down. Our bodies don't like this very much and it's quite often how people end up plateaued.
One is not right and the other wrong. They each serve different purposes and I'd be willing to bet that most anyone doesn't know why they do what they do in the gym, lol. They just move based on preconceived notions that they never think about or question.
Be that as it may, and mind you I'm responding as I read along, when I typed that hypothetical workout above, I had in mind that you'd be resting between each set. That's how I like to train and for the most part, given clients with similar stats and goals as you, it's how I train them too.
Remember, the goal isn't to break a sweat or get out of breath. That's what cardio is for. Weight training serves a very different purpose. This doesn't mean you won't break a sweat or you won't get out of breath. It simply means that rest can be a good thing between sets. For instance, it allows you to use more intensity and weight each set b/c you're going into it with rest. More weight = stronger stimulus to trigger your body to preserve muscle while dieting.
Circuit training certainly serves a purpose... and I use it with a bunch of my clients. But it's predominantly those who don't have a real concern for muscle loss or are training for a particular, low-rest sport.
See above.
If you still have questions after reading what I wrote above, feel free to ask.
GonnaGetAbs
New member
The only reason I chose machines is because they are more self explanatory with what to do, and if you're not sure, theres a little picture to help you out. If I were to pick up a free weight, that would be about as far as I'd get because I wouldn't know what comes next.
Ok, that makes sense. I'll try to figure out what I need for each exercise. Thanks for the videos.
Ok.
Thats all great! I also like the idea of a full body workout, so I'll start with that.
I understand. I'll take your advice and take a rest between sets. For my benefit!
Just a general question: Should I start weighing and measuring again to see if the strength training is making a difference?
GonnaGetAbs
New member
This morning I was 137 and 21.8% body fat. Those are both more than I thought. Should I just continue what I was planning on doing or will I have to add more cardio?
GonnaGetAbs
New member
I just got back from the gym. I did the 'A' workout. I like the feeling of getting the whole body in there. Before I just did arms, and nothing for legs. This is definitely better. I didn't feel quite as worn out as the first time I did weights. But maybe thats not necessary? Or should I add more weight? I know Steve said its not meant to be a cardio workout so maybe I won't feel the same when I'm done? It definitely helped to take rests between sets. I also alternated 5 minutes walking with 5 minutes running on the treadmill, 3 times, for a total of 15 minutes running.
I usually try not to weigh myself every day, but I'm going to for the next couple days because I'm interested to see what this does to my weight and body fat. But also because I had eaten a lot of bad food on Friday night and sat at a seminar all day Saturday, which might be why the numbers were higher than I expected this morning.
I usually try not to weigh myself every day, but I'm going to for the next couple days because I'm interested to see what this does to my weight and body fat. But also because I had eaten a lot of bad food on Friday night and sat at a seminar all day Saturday, which might be why the numbers were higher than I expected this morning.
Continue, monitor, adjust accordingly based on feedback from your monitoring. Stop analyzing and start doing.
Be conservative and learn proper technique and form. If an exercise/weight is easy to handle this week, add a slight amount of weight the next week. Pregressive overload is the goal which forces your body to adjust to handling heavier and heavier loads overtime.
You're worry too much about the Right Now. It's the long term process that makes the difference.
Make sense?
GonnaGetAbs
New member
Yes, it makes complete sense. And you're right, I spend way too much time analyzing and planning, and not enough just doing. Looking long term has been an issue for me, but I'm working on it. I was planning on asking at what rate I could expect to lose body fat, but I think I'll just keep going, and see for myself.
Huh?
Why?
Who are you talking to?
Are you suggesting that in all instances the weights should be low?
That's the right attitude.
In my heavier clients, 1% of body weight per week tends to be about right if their program is dialed in and they're consistently following it.
With lighter people, especially women, it hardly ever works out like this though.
GonnaGetAbs
New member
Just wanted to report on how its going. I've been using this plan for a little over 2 weeks now. I did a week, then I went home for the weekend, then I got sick on Monday, and didn't make it to the gym until Friday. And I've been following the plan since then. Even going back to the gym after being sick, I could still notice a difference in my strength. As Steve suggested, I have been very slowly increasing the weight that I use, and I love watching it go up. I definitely feel stronger. I do have a question though. Maybe its too soon to care about this, since its only been a couple weeks, but I thought I'd ask anyway. I seem to be losing more weight than body fat. I was 132 and 21% body fat this morning. Thats 5 pounds lost but only .8% body fat in three weeks. I'm wondering what that means? That I'm losing both muscle and fat equally? If anything is going to drop I would prefer it to be the body fat.
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