Critique my program

[Dusty]

First of Dec. I went to dr. And was told I was 280lbs and 30% body fat. I am 36 and haven't worked out in about 10 years so,but I started back. Cut my eating portions over half and I am now eating around 1500 to 1800 calories a day. Split up into 5 small meals. For breakfast I am having one scoop of syntha 6 protein shake as a meal replacement mixed with water, Another after I workout. This is counted in my calories for the day. I am down to 261, but seemed to have been stuck at that weight the last week.

My work outs consist of weight lifting 3 days a week and cardio 3 days a week alternated with one day off a week. http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/3-introduction-to-bodybuilding-workout.html This is the work out program I am currently doing along with the cardio. I added an extra set to each exercise this week, because it felt like I wasn't getting much of a workout anymore.

For cardio I am on the treadmill for 30 min. each time. Been progressively working up my speed to keep my heart rate a 145 bpm. Currently I am alternating from 4.2 mph at a 5% incline and 5 mph at a 2% incline.

Should I keep up with this program or do I need to make some changes? My goals are to lose some fat and gain endurance and strength back. Not tryin to bulk up alot.

 

[Teggy1]

Re: Critique my program

What are your macro's?
What does your daily diet consist of?

Swap out the breakfast shakes for whole foods. I know they're easy, but they are what they are, supplements to a good diet.

 

[Dusty]

Re: Critique my program

Haven't been keeping up with actual amounts of carbs, proteins, and fats. Just haven't been eating any sweets. Usually small serving of potatoes a couple of times a week. Other than that it is veggies and meat. Very little whole wheat bread. Meats are venison, chicken, some fish, and a little pork.

 

[Runamuk]

Re: Critique my program

Dusty,

You've dropped 19lbs in about a month?!?! If that's the case I wouldn't do anything different.

 

[WinXD]

Re: Critique my program

You might try some interval training instead of the constant-speed cardio. Look up Tabata intervals or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for all the info. I've done these for years and they are amazing.

 

[WinXD]

Re: Critique my program

I meant to mention that my heart-rate was getting up into the anaerobic zone... 180ish bpm for me... which is a very different workout than the cardio range heart rates.

Since Ive been doing it for years, along with martial arts and other high intensity interval sports, my heart rate rarely gets that high anymore, which seems to be expected.

 

[roughneck62]

Re: Critique my program

keep the diet, take a week off from the weights, HIIT the whole week. drop sodium intake to no more 1000 mgs a day. after that week, go back to what you were doing.

try eggs for breakfast too. Grilled chicken with brown rice, oatmeal, lots of veggies.

 

[JJones75]

Re: Critique my program

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dusty</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Haven't been keeping up with actual amounts of carbs, proteins, and fats. Just haven't been eating any sweets. Usually small serving of potatoes a couple of times a week. Other than that it is veggies and meat. Very little whole wheat bread. Meats are venison, chicken, some fish, and a little pork. </div></div>

Its perfectly normal to hit little sticking points "plateaus" , stick with what you are doing.
Try to get a set macro meal plan , for your size start with 40g protein , 25g carbs and 10-15g fats , get your protein from meat , when eating very lean meat like white fish chicken breast and such add some fat to your meal from healthy oils like coconut , red p , macadamia nut and extra virgin olive oil. When eating higher fat protein sources like grass fed beef , free range eggs and wild game. Get your carbs from fruits and sweet potatoes , if this size meal doesnt keep you full for 2hrs then add a cup of dark green veggies.
Dont freak out about the "sugar" in fruit , your body doesent process it the same as refined sugar. Also when you eat carbs it causes a blood glucose spike , you can effectivly lower the spike by adding fat and fiber to the meal.

 

[JJones75]

Re: Critique my program

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: larry sledge</div><div class="ubbcode-body">keep the diet, take a week off from the weights, HIIT the whole week. drop sodium intake to no more 1000 mgs a day. after that week, go back to what you were doing.

try eggs for breakfast too. Grilled chicken with brown rice, oatmeal, lots of veggies. </div></div>

Manipulation of sodium has no long term benefit of weight loss as you are only cha ging the water retained and in this case dropping all carbs woukd cause a faster weight drop but its not all fat loss. If you have high blood pressure then its a good idea to cut sodium back , the body will always strive to maintain a fluid balance , if you normally eat a lot of salt then cut it back your body will adjust the same as if you eat a low salt diet and suddely start eating 2000mg more , after several days your body will start to flush the salt out on its own to maintain a balance "homeostasis"

 

[SouthFork]

What are your macro's?
What does your daily diet consist of?

Swap out the breakfast shakes for whole foods. I know they're easy, but they are what they are, supplements to a good diet.

I have gotten on the whole foods, and no carbs or dairy, and I feel a lot better. I started at 280, (I was bulking up to get to that point), currently have cut to 265 and still dropping. I have dropped 15 lbs with no cardio, just weight training..

 

[BigJim375]

Counting grams of this or that is a pain. Eat real food, nothing processed. Meat, veggies, good fats high in poly and mono ( nuts). No extra sugar- nothing white ( bread, pasta). The key is to eat quality food. Don't worry about quantity till you get this down. For weight loss diet is what will get you most results. Physical training to supplement. Cardio isn't a good term. It's either anaerobic or aerobic- aerobic is low pace and burns muscle and fat if too long also goes slower results. Anaerobic is key- high intensity stress events will burn more faster and will aid in faster gains whatever the goal.

 

[BigJim375]

What are your goals? Weight loss, muscle gain, endurance gain, general fitness or something more specific?

 

[gixxer822]

with anything in excercise change is good. confuse the body so it doesnt get used to certain motions. but know your limits, dont be afraid to back off and be like tomorrows another day. changing it up also keeps the mind fresh. youll be able to tell the next day if it worked or not. good luck man. and congrats on the new lifestyle.

 

[sulcop96]

Dusty, first you need to make sure your Leptin, Thyroid and Thyroid conversion enzymes do not drop below base line levels. This would be caused from too dramatic a Kcal cut from your previous intake level. A cut of 20% is considered good a cut of 50% at your weight can cause endocrine issues in about 2 weeks. You would need to include what is know as refeeds into your program to off set the drop. A refeed is a controlled and scheduled increase in calories mostly in the form of complex carbs. You can control the schedule of the refeed simply by taking your temp every morning and track the results. When the morning temp starts to drop a refeed is the ONLY wat to bring Leptin back to baseline. If you wait too long the resulting drop can become too much to be overcome and the endocrine system will atinuate or resist the impulse to self regulate with the refeed.

DO NOT CUT SODIUM ON LOW CARB DIETS! The body has only two mediums to hydrate muscle tissue, glycogen or sodium. This means a cut in sodium and carbs will cause your muscles to not fully hydrate making workouts harder AND the lower sodium intake will cause water retention because the body well notice the decrease in urinary sodium and think there is a problem (and there is you cut sodium) it will then release a water retaining hormone known as aldostrone and that will cause you to retain water subcontainously or between the muscle and skin making you puffy.

As for the workout, all training programs work.... then stop working. You need to vary the aspects of the training program from time to time and also build intensity as you go along. Every so often you need to shift down your training and intensity as well. Normally every 3-4 weeks a lower intensity week will prevent over training and other hormonal related issues associated.

I have several books out in E-book format and a bunch of articles on my website that may help. I would be happy to send you a copy of one my my books that will help dispel a lot of the BS you read on bodybuilding and fitness forums or get out of articles in Muscle and Fiction. So you don't think I am some 16 year old kid my website is:

www.peakedphysique.com

If you want a copy of my book just PM me and give my your email and I will hit you with a free copy. I work mostly with competitive athletes but my joy is assisting regular Joe's like yourself and help them find the physique locked away underneath.

Sully

 

[crazybrit]

Get some outside cardio time....it's amazing the difference hiking / running outside makes from the treadmill.....much less boring too!!!Keep up the good work and find some local events to do ....charity walk/ runs etc......very motivating to be around a bunch of people with positive attitudes .....

 

[Frank207]

Beside what has all ready been posted, How long does your current lifting workout take you?

 

[Mike_Honcho]

If you aren't already, I'd start stretching daily. Injury prevention / over use injury recovery is the name of the game for sustainability. Yoga or Martial arts - good things if you have issue with just sitting down and stretching on your own. Look to pick up the duration and intensity of your exercise program at a mild to moderate pace, injury free is the goal. Last thought - visualization and goal setting. Set the goal. Ask yourself at different points of the day if your actions are in pursuit of the goal? If they are not, start asking why? Wrong goal? Lack of resolve? To that end constantly visualize yourself having achieved that goal. The only real motivation comes from within.


good luck