My Workout.. your thoughts?

[RachelM]

Hi Zed,

It's good you've stopped in, are you back in the gym?

Thanks for questioning the cardio, you have made me think about the reasons. It is around 20-30 mins per day for 5 days a week and the reason I'm doing it, and my logic could well be flawed, is that I still have a little bit of body fat to lose, not much but a little.

I have read in the forum that it is less efficient to cut/bulk at the same time... and I guess I have shown that because I have now been lifting since August, and although I have made some great progress, I have seen those involved in the recomp comp and the rate of bodychange is amazing, so much faster than mine, but again the logic is that this is a lifestyle.. so I want it to be sustainable and I just felt like it was a happy balance.

It's been a while since I have had a good look at a breakdown of my diet, and without doing it I can't say for sure weather I'm doing too much cardio!! I eat a lot.. I have been really hectic lately but I guess it's time for me to start tracking everything more carefully.

 

[trex74]

It's been a while since I have had a good look at a breakdown of my diet, and without doing it I can't say for sure weather I'm doing too much cardio!! I eat a lot.. I have been really hectic lately but I guess it's time for me to start tracking everything more carefully.

This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but I have dropped six pounds since stopping having "seconds" at dinner time.
I always eat healthy and clean, but I guess that extra bit of chicken and brown rice adds up.
I am a walking advertisement for portion control

 

[zedhed]

This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but I have dropped six pounds since stopping having "seconds" at dinner time.
I always eat healthy and clean, but I guess that extra bit of chicken and brown rice adds up.
I am a walking advertisement for portion control

LOL yeah trex I know exactly what you are saying here. Its kinda funny how sometimes the small things make such a big diff.
I sincerly hope all is going well for you and yours.

 

[zedhed]

Hi Zed,

It's good you've stopped in, are you back in the gym?
Well yes I am back to working out but I seemed to have popped that dam hernia back out. So sometime I need to get that fixed again......it sucks

Thanks for questioning the cardio, you have made me think about the reasons. It is around 20-30 mins per day for 5 days a week and the reason I'm doing it, and my logic could well be flawed, is that I still have a little bit of body fat to lose, not much but a little.
OK, lets go further down and I will respond.

I have read in the forum that it is less efficient to cut/bulk at the same time... correct. it just plain does not work.
and I guess I have shown that because I have now been lifting since August, and although I have made some great progress, I have seen those involved in the recomp comp and the rate of bodychange is amazing, so much faster than mine, but again the logic is that this is a lifestyle.. so I want it to be sustainable and I just felt like it was a happy balance.
Ok chika but you also have to remember that all of the peeps in the contest are on gear too and that will make a huge diff in how fast and to what potential they respond to structured diet and workouts.

It's been a while since I have had a good look at a breakdown of my diet, and without doing it I can't say for sure weather I'm doing too much cardio!! I eat a lot.. I have been really hectic lately but I guess it's time for me to start tracking everything more carefully.

Dont get me wrong, cardio to a point is fine. As you stated diet is where its at for fat loss. But something else to consider here, lifting heavy weights will burn more calories for a longer period of time then cardio will. Plus you get the benefit of all that the weights do for you!
Hey you still wearing those high heels? LOL

 

[trex74]

LOL yeah trex I know exactly what you are saying here. Its kinda funny how sometimes the small things make such a big diff.
I sincerly hope all is going well for you and yours.

Things are great, thanks for asking!
The small things totally make a difference.
I know what it is like to want quick results- and that is "stinkin thinkin" for me. I can drop 10-15 pounds no problem very quickly, but it is muscle and water to be sure, because the only way things happen quickly for me is if I take drastic measures, which is not sustainable or desirable. And it creates obssessive thinking about food too- which is not healthy either.
Good point about the people in the comp contest being on gear too- it must make a difference.
Rachel-
I figure it is better to cut then bulk, as when you bulk you are adding in some extra fat cells which can be shrunk, but not eliminated. So you may as well shrink up the ones you already have before adding some into the mix.
I agree, lifting heavy weights will burn up those calories, especially if you have a smaller rest period in between sets- like 45 secs instead of two mins. Not between squats or deads obviously, but ya know what I mean

 

[trex74]

Also, if you feel you are hitting a plateau, you might just bust through it if you vary your workouts in terms of volume and intensity.
Example off the top of my head:
Mon- High volume low intensity- ( 15-20 reps of a weight you can DO 15-20 reps of)
Wed- High intensity low volume ( 6-8 reps as heavy as you can go)
Fri- medium volume medium intensity (8-10 reps of a fairly heavy weight)

Or even switching it up so you change it week by week instead of three times/week.

Whatever you change, maybe try something different for a month and a half, and the go back to your usual if you prefer.

As for your cardio thing- 20-30 minutes 5 days a week could be eating up the muscle you are putting on, making any progress slower to see. Just a thought. Why not do cardio on the days you are not lifting?