So it sure looks like you guys k now whats going on, ill post my situation.
For the past couple of weeks i have been monitoring my weekly weight loss and i noticed its been 4+ pounds per week, i am worried i am losing alot of lean body mass along with the fat.
**How tall are you? If you've lost 40-50 pounds that fast kudos to you. The first trick is not to over think things. If you still have more fat to lose and you'd like it gone you're going in the right direction. If you're 6'2"...we have a whole different conversation on our hands. Clean up your diet to keep your muscle and lose the fat. Switch the carnation for isopure or some other protein drink - seriously. Never skip a meal - in fact, eat every 2 to 2.5 hrs. A couple small changes like this will help you to keep your muscle and lose the fat. But - not knowing what you look like, what your stats are, etc - I can't help much more there.
My workout looks like this
Mon - Sat cardio on exercise bike for 30 minutes before lifting
**how intense is your cardio? I'd recommend for fat loss that you do some interval cardio - shorter, more intense and more effective. Cardio is essential for whole body health - don't stop doing cardio.
Mon - upper body
Bench press
bicep curls
military press
tricep extensions
bent over rows
some homemade forearm exercise
Tues - lower body / backish
leg extension for hamstring ( i think? )
leg extension for quads ( i think? )
squats ( not very effective with these yet, added recently and still trying to get down far / i dont have a squat rack so i cant do heavy weight yet )
dead lifts
calf raises
reverse sit ups
bicycle sit up things
plank for abs
Then on wednesday i do the same upper workout, thursday the same lower workout etc, the only day i take off from everything is sunday. Over the past few months i have added a bunch of exercises and am planning on adding some more ( pull ups lol
) when i get back from bow hunting.
** Your workout looks pretty ok - I'd recommend a M/Th Upper body, Tue/Fri lower body with Wed being cardio and abs and saturday being cardio and abs. Longer cardio - is also good for you. Also - try to work the big musces to the smaller muscles. For example - Chest, shoulders, back, bis, tris.....not Shoulders, bis, back, etc. Remember that unless you have chicken legs or something you use your lower body in cardio and to move around every day your leg day should have one purpose - build strength or build endurance. For strength - lift more than you think you can as many times as you can. For endurance - lift less more times than any human wants to. Either way a good leg day results in puking
My diet is not super picky yet, i eat a bowl of decent cereal in the morning, then i drink 2 carnation instant breakfasts for a bit of protein / some vitamins after my workout. Lunch is kind of weird for me, sometimes i dont eat because im busy and i just forget or ill eat a small granola bar or maybe a full on whole grain turkey sandwich. For dinner ill just have what we are eating at home in reasonable proportions, id say i still eat out at least once a week as well but the portions are reasonable.
No soda, i drink water all day every day and recently id say i do drink some alcohol once or twice a week, not normally beer though.
** Clean up your food - really that's 80% of your game!**
So finally a few questions i have i guess. First im assuming im not going to really put on muscle unless i start eating alot more / gaining fat again? Does the 24% of body fat i still have help me put on more muscle in any way or should i keep doing what im doing until all the fat is gone and then i can start bulking?
**When trying to lose weight - lose the weight you want to lose then switch your focus. You won't lose all your muscle getting thinner if you're lifting and eating. You must lift. You must eat. You must hydrate. You must sleep. When you get lean you'll surprise yourself.
By adding new compound exercises do you think i have been shocking my muscles or do i need to find different lifts that work the same muscles at this point? I have seen some improvement in the amount i can lift but i have nothing to base how good my improvements are.
** Changing up your moves every week or two is good. Body's plateau. That's not fun or effective. Shock it...switch your days, switch your moves, add plyometrics...keep shocking it. Your body likes that.
Lastly i just recently bought one of those nice scales, does body weight, BMI, fat percentage, water percentage and a few other things i believe. How can i use the scales functions to determine if i am losing fat or lean body mass? Is it possible?
**Kinda....but not really. In my experience those things are really just a fancy way to tell women they are fat (that's wht it told me and it was right not too long ago). Use the scale but use your strength, your moving up in weights, your longer easier cardio and your clothes. Get to where you feel happy...then re-evaluate the goal. In this game the goal is never achieved...if 11% bodyfat is your goal you'll get there but then you'll be too small so your new goal is to add 10 pounds of muscle...then get back to 8% body fat...goals and focuses should change and your diet and gym activity (and extracurrricular activities) need to change to match your goal....every goal has different requirements.
omg i'm stopping now
Thanks for any help you can give me guys and thanks for reading my long ass post lol.
Originally Posted by dragos13
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Oh well pretty much said the same thing
I'm going to put my responses inside your post - hope it doesn't get weird looking...
