HELP: Very general & important questions!

[InGearX]

Dear friends, I'd like your personal & professional advice on a number of important questions for me...

First off: I am 20 years old, 5"9', wide shoulder build, 190lbs and have 15.3% body fat (that's 30lbs of fat).
> Question 1) What should my body fat % be? ideal? average?

Any way I want to get in a good over all shape [build up and then cut up] (I try to balance/do both at the same time) and already train regularly for the past 4 months - 6 days a week, 3 hours of intensive gym activity per day (@ Bally Total Fitness)!
15 min - cardio warm up
25 min - stretching
90 min - do body part (I do one body part per day; order of days is biceps, chest, shoulders, back, triceps, legs (& then restart) I do abs every day)
40 min - of intensive cardio (85% of max hart rate all time)!

also to note: when I do my body part I'll do 4 exercises (4 sets 8-12 reps) and then go do 2 exercises for my abs and so on for 90 minutes!
> Question 2) when I do my body part then switch to abs, is that OK? This way my body part can rest while I do abs and vice versa! is that OK to do?

> Question 3) Is that a good amount of cardio? too little/much? People tell me I can over train with too much cardio... but then again they say if I want to get in shape I must do cardio, is 40 intense min x 6 days OK?

> Question 4) What do you think of my routine in general, what should I consider changing/improving? Your opinions?

Diet:
I've been trying to eat right!
That is no food intake (except fruits) 3 hours prior to bed time!
breakfast (10am) - is pretty average (i.e. white rice with eggs)
lunch (1pm) - I eat soup and chicken with a side dish!
4-8pm is gym and when I come home I have dinner
dinner (9pm) - average meat with a side dish...
and I go to bed at around 2am

> Question 5) I've been taking protein shakes (i.e. Isopure 100% protein powderer), right after work out, but cut down because they kill liver/kidneys (I got a blood test result with above average/normal liver activity). So I want to know which protein supplement is safest to take? I'd be glad to replace my dinner with it! Is 'Lean Body meal replacement' OK? Which ones are?

> Question 6) How dose this diet balance look? Is anything wrong? Advice? Should I replace my dinner with some light snack? Some Protein shake? What do you advice?

Now that you know all that info I want to ask:

> Question 7) I've been doing my abs - abdominal all this time about 4 exercises each day: (3 sets x 30 reps) so that 30th is making in burn all this time and see little improvement in my belly (which is - should I say covered with fat!)
Note:
I can feel by abs hard as a rock underneath about 1/2 - 1/3 of an inch of fat!
Besides that fat on my abdominal muscles my belly stands out as if thought my stomach/guts are too big in side :-( !
HOW do I get rid of this? As I see little improvement after what I do! What can you recommend in this regard? Looking for advice!

> Question 8) I can say that my muscles have increased strength and mass, but by weight and % body fat have remained the same over this time!
What dose that mean in general? how can I make my body fat % drop?
Should I drop a few pound of weight?

> Question 9) If I want to get cut - loose body fat what is the procedure? What steps should I take? Should/can I still gain muscle mass during that time?

I know it's a lot of questions packed together, but I feel that all info and Q are very interconnected...

I really appreciate your help!
I will be checking this post very often, and I really appreciate your advice and help!
If you have any questions please post and I'll reply immediately, or if you feel you need to contact me directly please do at InGearX@email.com

1. Body fat down to 8% - 10% is very lean. Normal is 12% - 14%. Up about 16% is too much to be carrying around, not healthy.

2. You should treat abs like any other body part. Train it only once or twice per week. Any more is too much stress.

3. 15 min warm up and 40 min of intense cardio is too much if you are trying to build muscle. Keep your cardio to no more than 30 min eod.

4. Do you take any days off? Recovery is very important to building muscle.

5. The only protein that I have heard of adding prohormoes in their mix is Nitro Tech. All the other proteins should be safe for you to take, but this is a question best taken up with your doctor or nutritionist. Did you doc blame protein supps for your elevated levels?

6. Your diet looks ok. I would add some more protein to it to help with muscle recovery.

7. Take the advice in #2, then add stomach vacuums every night on an empty stomach for 10 minutes or so. It takes time but your belly will get back in shape.

8. How are you taking your bf measurments?

9. Just keep working at it. Make changes if you see no results after 2 months. Try low fat, or low carbs, higher protein, protein pulse feedings, etc. Play with your workout. Change up your rep counts. Try new things.

[InGearX]

IronMan thank you so much for that advice!

"Do you take any days off?"
Yes once every 6 days

" Take the advice in #2, then add stomach vacuums every night on an empty stomach for 10 minutes or so"
What are/is 'stomach vacuums'?

" How are you taking your bf measurments?"
My Gym has this device which takes input of your weight, height, age and then you hold it for 30sec (only before workout) and it tells you your % BF

Glad to hear you are taking time off. It is good for your body.

To perform a stomach vacuum:
Lie on your back
Exhale all of the air out of your lungs
Instead of sucking in air, suck in your belly as far as it will go. Try and touch your spine with stomach. Hold for as long as you can.
Eventually, you will be able to do this standing up. Practice it a few times per day.

It sounds like they are taking your bf measurements by electrical impedance method. This is ok, but it is the lowest on reliability. Your body comp may be changing, but because of other factors it isn't showing up in the readout. Don't worry too much about what a mechanical device tells you. Get your feed back from the mirror, how your clothes fit, etc.

[mustang GT]

I never heard of protein killing the liver. As for the kidneys, I did hear too much protein can mess with them, so they say to drink a lot of water when you take a lot of protein. A lot of body builders say take 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight every day.

[InGearX]

Thank you...

All I know is that my blood test rated my liver as being over worked...

doc said hmmmmmmmm I said "Isopure protein shake" he said ahhhha
but Isopure is 100% pure protein and thus may be dangerous! it used to leave permanent residue in the bottle that would not come off! now think about my liver!

That is the problem with doctors. When they don't know what to say, hmmmm! and ahhhhh! can sound impressive even though it means nothing. Mustang is right about problems with protein and the kidneys. Are you taking any andro supps or oral steroids? They would be more of a cause for out of whack liver values than protein. Although if you had some form of abnormality with protein it could effect you in odd ways. But I would think this would show up earlier in your life.

Assuming your body fat of 15.3% is correct
Your current body fat = 190 x .153 = 29.07 lbs of fat
Lean body mass = 190- 29.07= 160.93 lbs
Ideal fat (lets say 9%) = 190 x .09= 17.1 lbs
Ideal weight= 178.03 lbs + muscle gain
Need to loose 12 lbs of body fat

3,500 calories = 1 lb of fat
3,500 calories x 12 = Need to burn 42,000 calories
Assuming a 30-45 min jog burns 500 calories, then 84 jogs are needed assuming a balanced diet

In order to get results faster, then you need to speed up your metabolism through weight training, cardio, and a healthy diet

Some helpers:
Every pound of muscle burns an avg 150 calories
(so try gain lots of muscle mass)
Eat lots of fiber (it will increase metabolism)
Have a healthy balanced diet (moderation & variety)

If you have a good work out plan; you could reach the 9% body fat goal within 3 to 6 months

Some concerns:
Most people give up their workout plan because they over work themselves too much. Try a workout plan that is comfortable for you not temporary but as a new permanent lifestyle.

Tips:
You could do a million sit ups and never get a set of abs if your body fat % is high. You should start to see your abs at 10-8%bf. Do a few excercises and sets of ab workouts 2 to 3 times a week max. Add weights so they will become larger. You should be sore at 20- 25 reps.

You might want to consider cutting down lifting weights 6 times a week to 3 times a week. The body need's time to rest, muscle grows not in the gym but when they are resting from your pervious workout. But on the other hand, what works for one may not work best for the other, so experiment and find out what works best for you.

Also working 90min per body part may be too long. Consider this method: 20 to 30 min, 3-4 exercises per muscle group, 3 sets of 7-10 reps to failure. Lift heavy- get the extra muscle mass- every pound of extra muscle will burn an avg of 150 calories.

For carido: consider 4-5 times a week, about 45 min duration, at 65% heart rate for optimal fat burning. 85% heart rate is optimal for cardio endurance. Also run first thing in the morning before eating anything. You will burn the most fat this way. Then workout with weights later on in the day; after you have some healthy meals to give you the energy to lift. The major downside to this much cardio is that it will burn all the calories and nutrients to burn fat and leave less calories and nutrients for muscle mass growth. You could do less cardio and take advantage of full muscle growth or, do lots of cardio (that will burn off the fat fast) and reach your body fat goal and then ease up on cardio and focus on muscle mass growth.

[mustang GT]

You might want to try this herb called Milk Thistle to help your elevated liver activity. I've heard good things about Milk Thistle helping the liver.