Trying to get in shape for summer - please critique my routines.

[DOHC2L]

Basically I want to get rid of the small love handles that I have grown over the past year and get my 6 pack back. Im 6'0 174 lbs and a 32 waist. I want to get my body fat down to maybe 10% or so (Im not sure what Im at right now). I also want to bulk up my musles just a bit and get toned. I dont want to be a body builder, just a nice modeate sized chest/shoulders/arms and a good looking stomach.

Here's what I've been doing so far for the past month. Lift 5 day's a week. After each workout I do 30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill (about 3 miles). I down a protein shake after I leave the gym. My diet is high protein (150-180 grams a day), low carb. I have heard mixed reviews about combining weight training along with cardio so Im just not sure anymore. Please critique me guys. I dont want to have to worry about taking my shirt off this summer at the beach.

Thanks.

 

[leatherface]

well first off, 6'0 174 lbs is alright light enough maybe you should just try to ADD muscle while keeping the same weight in bodyfat? But if not, well then im curious, are you doing the cardio immediatly after your weight lifting? If so im not sure that is such a good idea. After an hour of weight lifting your body will already want to start to burn muscle for fuel, so doing cardio will almost ensure that it will which will put you in a lose/lose situation. So maybe try to do cardio in the morning and weight lifting in the afternoon or something?
Another thing is the diet, at 174lbs, 150-170g of protein is really a *high* protein diet so to speak. And if your eating low carbs as well, you might not be getting enough calories to support all this training. Perhaps try to up the protein to 1.5 times the bodyweight if your going low carb. And how is your fat intake? Gotta make sure your getting the right amount of fats, and good fats at that, also.

Maybe post your diet on here and we can help you out more bro.

 

[Lee]

yea dude, yer lean enough, screw the 6 pack, pack on some lbm and get huge, then cut.

 

[DOHC2L]

I really really really am sick of having these little rolls and love handles. I want to kill them ASAFP. After reading up in the archives I decided Im gonna start doing the cardio in the morning on an empty stomach starting tomorrow morning. One question though... should I eat anything afterwards? Im gonna put off the weight training until I get my BF down a couple more %... that is my priority right now. Any advices on a daily calorie intake? Thanks.

 

[Lee]

you must eat after am cardio, make it one of yer largest meals of the day with plenty of carbs and protein

 

[DOHC2L]

up.

Okay after listening to you guys and also what a few of my (bigger) friends have told me I have decided to start bulking. So for the past 4 days I have been eating everything in sight... I am no longer restricting carbs either. The only thing I am trying to avoid is sugar (cokes, candy, etc). I have shot up from 174 to 186lbs in 3 days !!! Is this normal at all? Im hitting the weights hard so hopefully this will help.

 

[Canadian Jelly]

Wow, you sure your scale isn't broken?

 

[bilat]

If you gained that much that fast, most of it isn't muscle.

 

[Lee]

but thats bound to happen if he was carb restricting before. his body hoarded all the carbs so he gained a buncha wait. i bet half of it is water too.

 

[DOHC2L]

Yeah Im pretty sure that it wasn't muscle lol. The scale is correct though...it's the one at the gym at my college that uses no springs or anything. Always been accurate. I figured my body was just re-adjusting. Im looking forward to working out over the next few months....wanna get bigger and then cut later now. I've done a complete 180 on my mindset about dieting now...this board is great, I've learned a lot. Thanks.