Help Me with a Direction

[Rachel...lol]

I'm hoping one of you will have some insight that will help me refocus my training. I am a huge fan of weight training, as well as endurance training (running and riding), and I teach group fitness classes. Lately - especially the last year or so, I've been lacking a "routine". I've been working out, but it's been just doing whatever I feel like doing at the time, and of course it's also working around the classes that I teach. Currently this is my class schedule:

Wednesday 6am - Body Pump/Spin; this is a 1 hour class that alternates in 15 minute blocks between riding and weight/core training.

Friday 6am - Body Pump/Spin

Saturday 10am - Body Pump

Sunday 2pm - 2 hour spin class.

When I teach these classes I certainly don't consider them a full workout, and often go back to the gym after work in the case of Wednesdays and Fridays.

Recently I've been focusing quite a bit on doing extra cardio because I've been trying to get my weight down a little bit, which I'm happy to say I have. As of yesterday morning I was 112 (and had 2 people point out that I'm looking good/thin). Now that I've got my weight down, I feel like I need a plan.

I could feasibly start training for a marathon or a duathlon, but this always scares me because a few years ago I did suffer from a femoral neck stress fracture which put me out for months - and I was training to run my first marathon at the time (which by the way, I still haven't done).

I have often toyed with the idea of doing a show, but will admit that i question my ability to stay focused with my diet - and also wonder if the classes I teach would somehow interfere with the training I would be doing for a show? (Body Pump is a ton of high rep/low weight training; and then of course all the Spinning?)

Even if I decide not to train for a show, or some sort of race - I'm still left creating an appropriate training plan around the other stuff that I do.

If you took the time to read this, thanks! If you have any input or even just some thought provoking questions just to help me work this out, I really appreciate it.

 

[superqt4u2nv]

What is your diet like can you list exatly what you ate and drink yesterday? Plug it into FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal for your macro's and calories.

Why are you adding even more cardio? You need a proper weight lifting routine and body pump is so not it.

I would do a 3 day weight liftig split on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Check out the 3 day split I have here http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/w...erent-training-splits-688475.html#post9218055

Have you had your body fat done? Weight is really not a good indicator of if you would be show ready. Also how tall are you?

 

[Rachel...lol]

I eat like total crap - skipping meals, eating a protein bar when I'm hungry, some fruit here and there, yogurt, etc. Now when I say I eat like crap - it's not like I'm picking up fastfood. This is something I need to get a hold of. I know the Body Pump is not effective weight training - I do it primarily to make a little extra money.

I do not know what my bodyfat is measuring at - I would like to know. I'm 5'3".

My training splits have generally been - 4 sets of 10-12. Legs, Bis/tris, chest/back, and shoulders thrown in there somewhere.

Legs:
squats,
leg press
extensions
curls
lunges

Chest/Back
pulldowns
cable seated rows
dumbell rows
deadlifts
dumbbell incline
dumbbell flat
dumbbell flys

Tris/Bis
cable pushdowns
kickbacks or 1 arm extensions
lying overhead extensions
tricep pushups/ or dips
barbell curl
cable curl
alternating dumbbell curl

shoulders
lateral raises
front raise (sometimes, dumbbell, cable or barbell)
arnold press
overhead press

I'm generally good at getting this in once weekly. I am notorious for overtraining and not eating well.

 

[superqt4u2nv]

I eat like total crap - skipping meals, eating a protein bar when I'm hungry, some fruit here and there, yogurt, etc. Now when I say I eat like crap - it's not like I'm picking up fastfood. This is something I need to get a hold of. I know the Body Pump is not effective weight training - I do it primarily to make a little extra money.

I do not know what my bodyfat is measuring at - I would like to know. I'm 5'3".

My training splits have generally been - 4 sets of 10-12. Legs, Bis/tris, chest/back, and shoulders thrown in there somewhere.

Legs:
squats,
leg press
extensions
curls
lunges

Chest/Back
pulldowns
cable seated rows
dumbell rows
deadlifts
dumbbell incline
dumbbell flat
dumbbell flys

Tris/Bis
cable pushdowns
kickbacks or 1 arm extensions
lying overhead extensions
tricep pushups/ or dips
barbell curl
cable curl
alternating dumbbell curl

shoulders
lateral raises
front raise (sometimes, dumbbell, cable or barbell)
arnold press
overhead press

I'm generally good at getting this in once weekly. I am notorious for overtraining and not eating well.

Well you already know what the problem is you need to fix it. It is not hard at all to get the right food in you just have to plan it out. I cook everything sunday pack it up for the week and take cooler bag with me every day. I really don't see to much of an issue with training as much as with your diet. I would say diet is about 80% of the battle.

Your calorie intake really depends I don't think you need to lose weight at this point more gain muscle so I would set your calories at 1600-1800

These are the macro's that work for most people
• 40% Protein
• 30% carbs
• 30% fats (good fats)

However since you do such a high amount of cardio you may want to tweak the carbs a little higher if you do that cut from your fat but be sure to be taking in at least 20% in fats. Make sure to get in a good protein and carb source after your spin classes.

These are approved foods (if it is not on the list you shouldn’t be eating it)

• Turkey skinless breast
• Chicken skinless breast
• Fish
• Lean beef
• Buffalo
• Egg whites
• Omega eggs
• Skim milk
• Low-fat cottage cheese
• Wild-game meat
• ezekiel bread
• Sweet potato
• Steamed brown rice
• Oatmeal
• Barley
• Beans
• Kidney beans
• blueberries
• Strawberries
• Greek yogurt
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Lettuce
• Cauliflower
• Green beans
• peppers
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Zucchini
• Cucumber
• Onion
• Avocado
• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Natural peanut butter
• dry roasted peanuts unsalted
• raw almonds and almond oil
• walnuts and walnut oil
• macadamia nuts and oil
• sesame oil
• Olives and olive oil
• Flax seed and flax seed oil

 

[slat1]

I used to cook everything on Sundays and Wednesdays. I also used a food saver. It was great for keeping things fresh. Plus they last a lot longer.

 

[superqt4u2nv]

I used to cook everything on Sundays and Wednesdays. I also used a food saver. It was great for keeping things fresh. Plus they last a lot longer.

Is that one of those deals that sucks the air out of the bags?

 

[Rachel...lol]

Today I went to a gym very nearby work to talk to them about getting membership deals for my Biggest Loser Competition at work, and while I was there decided to talk to one of the trainers/owners about myself (I also used to workout and treach classes there).

I plan to really pick up my training and wanted a baseline, so thought it would be good to get my body fat measured. At 5'3" ande weighing in at 111lbs, it came out to about 17% (what is the margin of error for these?) The first thing she said to me was that I was looking really thin and am not nearly as muscular as I had used to be (was between 125 and 130 lbs then).

I would really like to build up and get some of the size/strength back, and get my reduce overall bodyfat. So much of my time in the gym is spent doing low weight/high rep shit because of all the Body Pump I teach. Is it feasible to think that even with the Body Pump incorporated into my workouts that I can achieve what I want? I'm a little confused about amount of reps and sets to do in order to balance everything - a heavy day 3-4 sets of 6 reps? 6-8 reps?

And - if I can get 10 people in the gym and sign for 3 month memberships at $99 (typically $199), then she'll help me train. This link is her (trainer/gym owner) from a recent competition:

any feedback would be great, thanks guys

 

[captainahole]

Today I went to a gym very nearby work to talk to them about getting membership deals for my Biggest Loser Competition at work, and while I was there decided to talk to one of the trainers/owners about myself (I also used to workout and treach classes there).

I plan to really pick up my training and wanted a baseline, so thought it would be good to get my body fat measured. At 5'3" ande weighing in at 111lbs, it came out to about 17% (what is the margin of error for these?) The first thing she said to me was that I was looking really thin and am not nearly as muscular as I had used to be (was between 125 and 130 lbs then).

I would really like to build up and get some of the size/strength back, and get my reduce overall bodyfat. So much of my time in the gym is spent doing low weight/high rep shit because of all the Body Pump I teach. Is it feasible to think that even with the Body Pump incorporated into my workouts that I can achieve what I want? I'm a little confused about amount of reps and sets to do in order to balance everything - a heavy day 3-4 sets of 6 reps? 6-8 reps?

And - if I can get 10 people in the gym and sign for 3 month memberships at $99 (typically $199), then she'll help me train. This link is her (trainer/gym owner) from a recent competition:

any feedback would be great, thanks guys

Super has hit it right on the nose you have dietary issues. Your starving your muscles and sounds like your getting heavy muscle wasting. You gotta eat better lady. 111 lbs is getting pretty tiny for you height. It's better to have a few extra lbs on and have some good muscle on you then thin and long stringy muscle belly's.

EAT

 

[Rachel...lol]

well that does not sound good - I am so all over the place with my eating, some mornings I eat before work, sometimes I don't have time when leaving for the gym at 5am... and sometimes I'm just not hungry. I do need to make it a priority.

 

[Rachel...lol]

so assuming I get my diet under control (needs to be easy and simple) does anybody have any suggestions on my training or supplements - it's the training i'm also really concerned about since I'm locked into those 5 classes a week

 

[captainahole]

They say the 80percent is done out of the gym. And eating and rest are the two that will make you succeed with your goals.
Pick up some meal replacements to help you throughout the day. Don't become dependent on them but use them wisely. Make time to eat.
Its not the news you want to hear but it's the direction you have to take.

 

[ceo]

I agree with the advice in here so far. You're going to have to make your diet a priority...specifically, becoming more consistent with your eating first. You can fine tune it as you go along, but you have to make sure you aren't skipping meals.

You are doing a lot with classes 4 days a week. That leaves 3 days to workout with weights and no days for rest. I would use those 3 days and look at different programs like HST possibly (I didn't gain anything from HST, but a lot of people do). Or a modified version of DC where you're possibly lowering the intensity and increasing sets/reps, possibly an extra exercise here or there for weak areas. Get you in and out of the gym in 1 to 1.5 hours max on those days and go home and focus on rest and nutrition.

With all that you are doing (classes), the potential is there to overtrain easily...especially by not eating. Proper eating and rest can help you overcome overtraining to a large extent.

 

[Jon79]

a.m. 1/2 cup ezikiel cereal with almond milk, 1/2 cup egg whites (add fresh blue beries to your cereal i makes it delicious)
mid am- protien shake, 1/4 cup almonds (raw)
lunch- 10oz grilled ck, 1/2cup brown rice or sweet potato, 1/2 cup of steamed veggies
mid afternoon- spinach salad with 6oz ck (if your are feeling weak add in some more brown rice or sweet pot)
dinner- 10 oz of any lean meat fish, steak, ck or turkey (ground lean turkey), 1 cup of any steamed veggies

*if you are teaching a spin or pump class that day or feel really tired have another post workout pritien shake pm a few hours before bed.

suggestions- but ck and ground turkey, coook enoungh for the week on sundays that way it makes it easy for you to stay nurished and eat clean. you will have plenty of substance and all that you take in will be clean.

*** at least once a week u need to have a carb load day with as many classes u are teaching and calories you are burning. so the best thing to do is make whole wheat pasta and a ground turkey maranara sauce. it tastes great and it will be a welcome energy booster ,, trust me

as far as protien buy the low carb chocolate isopure it tastes great and its the best imo....

also as far as the steamed veggies u can buy the already portioned out microvable packages in the store , there is like 4 serving per bag and they are already in thier own steam bag.. this will make it easy to have it fresh at work

anyways if i forgot something ill edit my post

 

[Rachel...lol]

i crave carbs and that just doesn't seem like enough I like them too much I guess.

 

[Jon79]

well eat more then just clean carbs, brown rice, sweet pot, etc... or reg pot ..... add in a few whole wheat pasta meals ... thats just a genereal diet add and delete as u see fit...

but whole wheat pasta is a great carb filler

 

[slat1]

Is that one of those deals that sucks the air out of the bags?

Yup and its awesome for keeping things fresh.

 

[Rachel...lol]

Here are some pics taken yesterday... A training log soon to come (stay tuned for more info!)