New routine, as current aint working

I'm kind of stuck in a rut with my routine, i don't really do any strength / weight training, and have recently stopped seeing or feeling any improvements in my weight loss or fitness levels.

At the moment I do:

2 1 hour sessions of Cardio work (Cross trainer, rowing machine, treadmill, Bike). I usualy stick 5 minutes of Ab work on the end of these.

2 1 hour cardio classes (Kick boxing & Boxercise).

And possibly A N Other 1 hour cardio session on a Sat morning.

All Cardio sessions are not HIIT but continuous 70 - 75% heart rate sessions.

My diet is pretty good, loads of fresh veg, loads of fresh steamed fish, chicken, bit of pasta, bit of rice, bit of red meat.

However the gym just doesn't seem to be shifting the weight like I feel it should be.

Come on someone suggest a new system to stick to at the gym to get me moving again.

Thanks.
 
Well time-wise thats plenty of exercise, I hate to say it but you must not be putting in enough effort during your sessions.

That or you are taking on too many calories. How many calories are you eatting?
 
Well lets take yesterday for example....

Breakfast I had breakfast cereal with strawberries (youngs?) With semi skimmed milk (Normal bowl size)

Lunch - fresh salad with chicken breast

Dinner - Lean mince beef bolognaise with penne pasta (I was a bit hungry so maybe this was just over 1 normal portion size).

Probably about 6 glasses of water, and 2 cupd of tea with just milk.

That is pretty much a usual day, excpet maybe I'll skip lunch (I know that isn't very clever)
 
start weight training. you lack lean muscle mass, and your constant cardio with low calories is just causing it to adapt so it can maintain your current level of fitness/weight.
diet isn't great
breakfast is missing a decent serving of protein
you had no mid-morning snack with protein
lunch is ok
you have no mid-afternoon snack with protein
dinner - pasta isn't great for you, espeically non-whole grain pasta, and especialy when you're trying to get lean. a whole grain, like brown rice, barley, oatmeal...stuff like that. leave potatoes, bread and pasta for bulking phases, or for your post workout meals only...when the body actually needs that sort of carb.

you also don't seem to have a bedtime snack with protein and healthy fat.
 
So do you think I should be including a whey shake or something with my breakfast?

What type of mid morning / afternoon snack do you advise?

This extra food won't make me put on more weight will it ? As thats the last thing I want to do?

Also what type of weight training? Things like barbell squats? Bench presses, shoulder raises / presses etc ?
 
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So do you think I should be including a whey shake or something with my breakfast?
It's best that you get your nutrients from foods, rather than through supplements. Include something like cottage cheese or eggs. Great sources of protein.


What type of mid morning / afternoon snack do you advise?
Fruits, nuts, cut-up vegetables, etc.


This extra food won't make me put on more weight will it ? As thats the last thing I want to do?
Creating a calorie deficit (burning more calories than you consume) will help you lose weight. elaborates on what that's all about, and with , you'll be able to calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), and in turn you will use that to determine your daily caloric needs.


Also what type of weight training? Things like barbell squats? Bench presses, shoulder raises / presses etc ?
Exercises that work all your muscle groups (back, biceps, chest, triceps, shoulders, abdominals, legs [quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves]). Take a look for a LONG list of exercises.
 
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That's too much cardio imo.

You need to get a plan, then a program, in that order.

What's your diet like?

I've seen your cardio workout, but if you want to maintain LBM, you'll want to get a full-body regimen in there also.

You definately need to eat more. You should start by adding protein and fat first. Let your body adapt to the calorie increase, then try to move some to complex carb sources and see how that affects your weight.

Keeping carbs off will allow lipolysis to remain active while boosting your metabolism. Then as you move some of the protein and fat calories over, you'll be able to see if there is a cut off where you stop losing fat.
 
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Wow thanks for all this.

This is now going to be my new routine...

Monday - Full body routine (Chest, shoulders, back, arms, Legs),20 mins HIIT
Tuesday - Kick boxing class
Wedensday - Full body routine (Chest, shoulders, back, arms, Legs) (diff' excercises to Monday) & 1 hour boxercise class
Thursday - Off
Friday - Off
Sat mornig - Full body routine (Chest, shoulders, back, arms, Legs) (diff' excercises to Monday & Wednesday) & Swimming
Sunday - 20 mins HIIT

I will also be adding loads of Protien to my diet and try and reduce bad fats (Spag bol, curry's etc). I am also using fitday.com to monitor my calories and esnure that I'm getting at least my minimum daily calories minus 500.

I am planning on hitting this routine hard for an 8 week cycle, and see where that gets me.

How does it sound? I'll keep you updated.
 
So do you think I should be including a whey shake or something with my breakfast?

What type of mid morning / afternoon snack do you advise?

This extra food won't make me put on more weight will it ? As thats the last thing I want to do?

Also what type of weight training? Things like barbell squats? Bench presses, shoulder raises / presses etc ?



No actually the more often you eat it will cause youre metabolism to speed up, just from digesting the food. You should try to eat 5-6 meals a day, keep youre prtoein intake high but not real high if you want to maintain youre muscle weight and lose youre fat weight. The fact is everyone is different,, what works for me might not work for you, so you might have to juggle around the percentage of fat/protein/carbs that may be in youre diet, until you find what exactly works for you.

But definatley double up youre meals (just make youre meals small), I know it sounds crazy but it works!!!

And I have always been a big fan of protein drinks, it is a more pure and quicker intake of protein (if you use a good brand) especially when you have a busy schedule!!!



As far as youre workout routine I believe you might be overdoing it as well on the cardio, I don't see why you do it more than 45 minutes if you re heart rate is elevated for the whole time 45 minutes should be plenty I would think! I would also try doing you ab workout before youre cardio!!!


But at least you are trying, and I am sure you will meet youre goals so good luck to ya!!!
 
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Overtraining?

I see it so often with my clients - perhaps you are doing too much?

I would advise you to re think your fitness goals and cut back to the bare essentials and then build up from there.

Some of the best progress I ever made was when I stopped training so much.

Rt
 
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