Workout Shocker / Muscle Loss

IceQueen · 28-Dec-04, 10:34 PM

Hello,

I've got some questions for all the fitness buffs out there. A little background first! I have pretty much religiously worked out 6 days a week for the past 2 years. My diet tends to slip now and then...during the summer and around the holidays especially. My workout routine consists of 3 days of cardio in the AM on an empty stomach and 3 days of weights (sometimes followed by 20 minutes of cardio if I feel I have been packing on the LB's). I pretty much do the same basic weight training exercises, 3 sets each - increasing the weight with each set...occassionally I will superset or switch the order.

Twice in the past 2 years I have done the body for life plan...eating and workout routine....and have always managed to drop weight this way. I've been back on the program for almost 3 months and have really made zero progress and am getting extremely discouraged. I'm eating the same foods as I have in the past and doing the same workout routine but it's just not working for me this time. Do I need to completely switch things up to shock my body? I'm also carrying about 10 lbs over my highest weight ever which is very depressing. I'd like to focus on losing the fat for now and then focus on building more muscle when I'm at a lower body fat %.

I don't want to lose the muscle I have since I know it aids in burning calories. How long could I actually give up weight training before my muscle mass decreases? I've been considering numerous things....

1.) Do strictly cardio for a month or 2 to drop the excess fat
2.) Keep a weight training program going and try doing cardio before weight lifting...since my primary goal is fat loss. Once the fat is gone I can go back to cardio after weights so I can focus on building muscle
3.) Changing the time I workout. I've always been a 5AMer and maybe I need to go at night for a few months so my body gets out of what it's been used to for the past 2 years.
4.) Changing how I do my weight training....pyramid down instead of up, or keep the weight the same for all 3 sets. I don't want to have to do weird crazy exercises...I like the basics like the bench press, squat, barbell curls, etc etc.

Just looking for some advice from experienced fitness people. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It's becoming increasingly hard to stay motivated when there is no progress, but at the same time I feel so self-conscious about how I look that I can't imagine how I would feel if I gave up the gym. Thanks in advance for any responses!!

CF-OC_gal · 28-Dec-04, 11:52 PM

Humm there is lots to respond to there. Welcome to the forum.

My first reaction is: Why keep forcing the "Body for Life" routine if it is not working for you? The best diet plans are lifestyle plans not diets you go "on and off" of. Obviously a plan that doesn't transition you to maintenance will ultimately fail.

My second reaction is why think of sacrificing muscle? You don't have to. Look around here and ask questions. There are lots of choices for weight training programs that keep your progress going. It sounds to me like you need some training plan options because your plan has gone stagnant.

Basic exercises are good - nothing wrong with that! Your cardio perhaps could use a shake up too. How are you measuring your progress?

Do some searches on the site and post a little more detail about what you are doing. I don't know the body for life plan beyond the fact that it is a general plan and we are all individuals. At some point anyone is going to have to tailor it to their own body type, genetics needs and goals.

**Lady C** · 29-Dec-04, 08:06 AM

Two things come to mind - IceQ
1-Your body adjusts - change up your routine. Switch to a three day split or something with aerobics in between the weight days.

2-You are intaking more than you are burning.

I started out using the BFL routine but it got old and I quit making progress too. Have you ever done the food logging experiment? This is huge in understanding what you are eating, when and why. It helps me track when I eat too much and curb cravings.

Welcome to DF

IceQueen · 29-Dec-04, 09:22 AM

Isn't what I'm doing technically a 3-day split? or no?? I'd like to try doing something like a 2 days on - 1 day off, 3 days on - 1 day off or something. I have a real fear though that if I were to cut back my training that I'm going to put on weight. I'm deathly afraid of that at this point. What do you girls..or guys...think about HITT cardio? I was under the impression that you need a good warm-up before you even start to burn calories. If HITT is only 15 minutes do you need to do a warm-up prior to it? There are so many different programs out there and views on how to workout that it can be extremely confusing.

I'm going to start trying some things out. If I'm doing something and am not noticing results after 2 months or so would you say to try something else? I know it takes time....but I wonder at what point you may actually realize that a particular program isn't working. I don't want to waste time on something that doesn't work, yet it may show results 4 months down the line! I think I need a good way to guage my progress. I invested in a caliper but the thing doesn't give very reliable results. I can get very different numbers within 2 minutes of each other.

**cursor** · 29-Dec-04, 09:48 AM

Welcome to DiscussFitness.com.

If you're more that 10-lbs over your highest weight, then the mirror is probably all you need at this point. Shelve [reliance on] the calipers for now. The more you use them, the better you get with them -- but understand that you're going through a learning curve with them. Keep measuring and recording your pinch values. With time, you'll develop improved technique that'll promise more consistent and reliable results.

What, specifically, are you doing on each day of your lifting cycle?

What are the exercises?
How much are you currently lifting with each exercise?
How many repetitions are you able to do?
How do you feel after each set?
What style of cardio are you currently doing, and for how long?

Offer some detail about how your eating habits -- in terms of food component selection, meal timing, and volume.

How old are you? What is your current height and scale weight? Can you estimate your body fat percentage (what kinds of readings have you been getting)? Oh ... and I'm assuming that you're female?

**Lady C** · 29-Dec-04, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceQueen

What do you girls..or guys...think about HITT cardio? I was under the impression that you need a good warm-up before you even start to burn calories.

Definately HIIT all the way. I warm up for maybe 3-5 min then do at least 8-10 cycles of 20 sec hard intensity, 10 sec easy intensity.

If you are doing the BFL program you are only doing a 2 day split - upper body (day 1)- lower body (day 2). Three day split is Back & Triceps (Day 1), Chest & Shoulders (Day 2) and Legs & Biceps (Day 3). With three days of aerobics in between. That is 6 days per week. I also dropped the pyramiding. I warm-up then do as heavy as I can for 4-8 reps, 3-4 sets. Then every 4th week do a lighter weight more reps, more sets workout. This keeps the muscles shocked.

CF-OC_gal · 29-Dec-04, 12:03 PM

I don't understand your fear of gaining weight from trying something new? It's obvious that sticking with what you are doing now is causing a weight gain so your thinking is: "damned if you do, damned if you don't...." Work on that first.

When thinking about interval training you need to know yourself a bit better. Measure your heart rate when you do cardio (two fingers on a pulse point for 10 seconds and a clock will do for starters) Use the perceived exertion ( easy, fairly light somewhat hard etc. ...) method not the wall charts for recommended heart rates. Challenge yourself in the "somewhat hart to hard" zone for your tougher interval and something a step down for your lighter interval. When I run I do 90 sec. hard and 30 sec. walk intervals for 20 minutes. I have excellent heart training results that way, the calorie burning is just an added effect.

I've been following the T-nation fullbody workout (3x per week for 8 weeks) and have found that it works everything in under an hour in the gym. of course I periodize my workout plan over the whole year so as not to lose interest.

Looking forward to the details as cursor and I posted earlier would be helpful.

furball · 01-Jan-05, 05:47 PM

I myself would look at changing my schedule....start looking into hitting cardio 5 days a week and maybe lifting 5 days a week....if you have the time this is what I would do...it is difficult at first but if you can get in this kind of workouts and follow a stricter diet then you would have nothing but great results...

WHen I am cutting up I usually am on the treadmill or the bike at 5 am, and then after work I will hit the gym again for some weight training....if you want it bad enough it should be no problem....the hardest part is getting started and sticking to it....I know it feels good to sleep in and after work the last thing I want to do is work out....but I have it etched into my mind that this is what needs to be done so there is nothing else that matter....good luck