I have an odd work schedule, and the most convenient time for me to get to the gym is about 1-2 hours before bed. I have breakfast around 12 pm, lunch (biggest meal) around 8, and dinner around 3 am. Currently I'm just having a protein shake and a light meal post workout/before bed. Does this sound ok, or might it be detrimental to my progress?

2/8/2011 5:25:06 PM

I think it's fine. I read a long time ago that it's okay to schedule your meals to when your day is, for like third shift people and stuff. As long as the cycle is about the same.

A lot of times my schedule doesn't allow me to work out until 8pm each night anyways and then I have a protein shake & tuna on crackers or something small, then go to bed by midnight. I've been doing it two weeks so far and it's working out just fine.

2/8/2011 5:45:34 PM

http://www.bodybuildingfanatic.com/coloradoexperiment.htm

great read, time to perform session #2 while operating on pure pork & beans...must increase intensity

2/8/2011 6:03:24 PM

Ran my 3 mile loop today at a 5k pace and pretty much wanted to vomit. Felt good to finish it without stopping (except for traffic).

Unfortunately I'm up 7.5lbs. from my Men's Health weight. Need to get my calories under control now that we're done with football season and what not.

2/8/2011 8:29:29 PM

Quote :

"My only concern is when I get to my goal weight maintaining it since that's something I've never done before. Any tips?"

no tips really.

just keep doing the same thing!

2/9/2011 7:49:55 AM

15 minutes on the recumbent bike this morning followed by 3 sets of dips, 3 sets of hanging leg raises and some ab work with the medicine ball.

2/9/2011 7:54:00 AM

Went on my first run since May. 3 miles in just over 20 minutes Soaked my feet in ice water afterwards as a precaution against planar fasciitis

2/9/2011 8:55:31 AM

Ok, I have a dilemma that I touched on in last post. I know people say don't worry about weight per se and whatnot, but I'm at 166.1 pounds right now. That is 6-7 pounds LESS than what I was over the summer. I can certainly tell I'm losing fat and certain clothes (khakis for instance) are a lot looser.

It doesn't LOOK like I'm losing any muscle weight just from the mirror glance and I am having the same caloric intake, but I really don't want to go any lower on weight.

Should I just continue doing my routine and hope that it starts to plateau and as I lift heavier gain a bit. Should I cut off some of my hard cardio I'm doing (HIIT-ish)? Should I just force myself to take in extra calories?

(and I know there is an army of people ready to at someone losing weight too easily but it's just as hard for people like myself to keep weight on as it is for some people to lose weight)

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 9:37 AM. Reason : x]

2/9/2011 9:37:18 AM

*ALERT*WALL OF WORDZ*

complete contrast post to nym, i'm going to bitch about lack of progress

been doing gym days 4 days on, 1 off, 4 days on 2 off since november. down exactly one pound. pictures look essentially the same. gained girth in arms, shoulders, chest though, and can't fit into my old shirts. that part im pretty ok with though, as i've always been more lower body dominate, evening it back up is somewhat good.

it's just completely demotivational to be eating substantially cleaner, drinking about 80% less, working out about 5x more than ever before in my life, and seeing minor to no gains.

so, I'm wondering if I'm just straight up doing something wrong. For the weight training, I'm pretty sure I'm pushing myself enough, as I have massive soreness the next day in the target areas. Maybe a targeted approach is incorrect. these are things i dont know.

It's a targeted area thing that I do, and between rest periods I've been mixing up the order in which to do the days, and except the stalwarts (bench, overhead press, squat, dead lift) I mix up the exercises for the areas, mix up the set structures, to keep things fresh and different each time through. Also, I'll often times try and immediately move between exercises of different groups, almost non stop, ie, do a set of bench presses, then swing around and do a set of skull crushers w/o stopping between the two other than to get the weights. intensity of workouts is something i've been focusing on too. i try to go during off times so i can do 10-15sec rest between sets, no more than 45 sec rest between exercises.

Here's the log for the current run through...

Day 1: chest/tris
15min bike, L10 warmup
stretch
bench press 14xW 12xW+10 10xW+30
skull crusher 10xW 10xW+10 10xW+20
incline press 10xW 10xW+10 10xW+20
plate tri pushdown 10xW, 10xW+20 10xW+30
decline press 10xW 10xW+10 3xW+30 (fail)
tri exention 10xW 7xW (fail)
some chin ups
stretch
45min treadmill 15% incline, 4.0 mph walk

Day 2: Legs/Abs
15min bike, L10 warmup
stretch
Dead lift 10xW 10xW+20 10xW+40
seated plate calf raise 14xW 12xW+25 10xW+45 14xW
Squat 7xW 7xW 7xW
Standing calf raise 14xW, 12xW+15, 10xW+30
inverted leg press 10xW, 10xW+50 10xW+100
hanging leg/hip raise x30
hanging oblique leg/hip raises 2x15
incline leg/hip raise x30
plank walks until i couldnt (about 15)
stretch
was smoked, didnt do cardio

Day 3: Shoulders (quick day after ^)
15min bike, L10 warmup
stretch
Front raise/lateral raise DB combos 10xW 10xW 10xW
shoulder press 7xW 7xW 7xW
cable upright row 10xW 10xW+one more selections 7xW+2 more selections (this one sucks and i can never finish)
arnold press 7xW 7xW 7xW
set of pullups, set of chinups
stretch
light cardio on bike, legs were smoked ~30 min

Day 4: Back/Biceps
15min bike, L10 warmup
stretch
TBar Row 7xW 7xW+10 7xW+20
DB Curls 10xW 10xW 10xW+20
High Row 14xW 12xW+20 10xW+50
preacher curl 10xW 10xW+10 7xW+20
underhand pulldown 14xW 12xW+20 10xW+50
cable curl 10xW 10xW+another selection 10xW+two selections
hyperextentions 10x+25 10x+45 10x+45
pullups to failure
stretch
45min treadmill 15% incline, 4.0 mph walk <- this is pretty exhausting

then as i said before, one rest day, then four more days on, two days off, rinse/repeat

it's taken since november to get to where I can do that much in one area per day. again, IDK if this is best or what. seems like three to four per area is about all i can handle.

for diet, i try to keep to a 50/25/25 protein/carb/fat diet. usually 4 meals, lunch being by far the largest. work out after work, and will eat one of the meals like, 30 minutes before i leave work and have a 30 minute commute. in total, after workouts, try to keep to a 500 cal/day deficit.

i'll still drink like 4-6oz scotch a day though (accounted for in deficit). this is a drastic cutback, and scotch is a lot better than beer i think, for calorie/carb pack for the punch.

other than the booze, what am i doing wrong?

it's just irritating as fuck to be working out a ton, micromanaging the food intake, and drinking a lot less... and looking and feeling exactly the same as before when i was going out every night, not working out at all, and eating horribly.

not anywhere near goal weight either. i'm about 20lbs over. when i started i was 23% bf, lol.

ideas? guidance? mockery?

2/9/2011 10:40:28 AM

^what are your goals?

you trying to get leaner?

looking at your diet and caloric deficit, it seems like your progress is normal.

are you stronger than you were in november?

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 11:01 AM. Reason : ]

2/9/2011 11:00:05 AM

^^ my guess would be caloric intake still too high if you're trying to lose weight with all that activity

i was in the same boat, and i finally reconfigured my lifestyle to sedentary and am at a 1000 calorie deficit now (about 1350 per day) and am finally seeing results

2/9/2011 11:08:08 AM

^yup

only way to know for sure is to know what you are trying to accomplish.

2/9/2011 11:10:36 AM

i def can tell ive gotten stronger in the past month, unfortunately i've put on 7lbs

2/9/2011 11:10:44 AM

Quote :

"^what are your goals? you trying to get leaner? looking at your diet and caloric deficit, it seems like your progress is normal. are you stronger than you were in november?"

Goals: Get rid of the pot belly and make it where im not wearing holes in my jeans from my fat legs rubbing together... so leaner. with a side of stronger.

Substantially stronger than at the starting point. Started out pretty unbelievably weak. I've never seriously lifted in my life, but 2008-2009 got into running a lot, then spent most of 2010 doing nothing after breaking my leg. drinking beer and playing kickball was previously about the extent of my physical activity other than running.

I'm attributing the non-movement in the weight to muscle build, just strengthening what was dormant.

thought i read somewhere that the guy was the last to go, but there's a lot to go

i guess typing all that out kinda rationalized some things, but it's still irritating.

thanks!

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 11:14 AM. Reason : im not huge btw, but 5'9" 185]

i'll look to increasing the deficit. 1000 seems pretty steep.

h8r, you've had good results in this thread, how do you feel during the day with a 1000 cal deficit?

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 11:16 AM. Reason : e]

2/9/2011 11:13:15 AM

on a long enough timeline you are going to build muscle and drop bodyfat with that current diet. which explains the current progress.

if you want faster results either do what you are doing with a bigger caloric deficit. or try something like leangains.

2/9/2011 11:16:47 AM

thanks for the posts

2/9/2011 11:19:17 AM

lol, okay i wanna retract my previous statement. I google mapped the route I ran and it was just over 2 miles not "around 3". Whoopsie. No wonder I felt fine afterwards.

2/9/2011 11:28:13 AM

hahaha. either way, good for you. I was going to be mad though that you could take that long off and bust out a sub-7 min./mile 5k.

2/9/2011 11:30:28 AM

hahahaha Kirk. Patrick told me this morning what he ran and i was like, "damn son i can't even do that!!!"

i just ran 3 miles in under 30 minutes. go me.

and good news on the medical front - i believe we found the culprit (a brand of birth control i was taking) and i am officially down 7 pounds since early January

2/9/2011 11:38:39 AM

^if you dont mind me asking, what bc was it (you can m it if you want)

i have a firend who has been having major probs with hers and was recently dx with cushings! (a different friend actually believe it or not)

2/9/2011 11:44:24 AM

HOLY COW that's nuts I was on Ocella (generic of Yasmin). I went back on Yasmin in January and am I am sleeping again (YESSSSS) and am losing weight and feel much better. I haven't had my cortisol levels checked - I am going to wait and see what happens but I am feeling much better so I am suspecting that they're going down.

It was weird - I talked to my endocrinologist's nurse about it and she told me that a lot of their patients who are on generic medication complain that they gain weight when they switch from name brand to generic.

2/9/2011 12:49:24 PM

Quote :

"complain that they gain weight when they switch from name brand to generic"

Big Pharma propaganda ITT

2/9/2011 2:44:55 PM

Quote :

"i'll still drink like 4-6oz scotch a day though (accounted for in deficit). this is a drastic cutback, and scotch is a lot better than beer i think, for calorie/carb pack for the punch. "

Good man. My girlfriend won't get near me when I'm drinking it. What's with women and not enjoying a decent single malt.

In other news I've been maintaining a consistent work out schedule and definitely getting stronger but the diet faded for a bit over the holidays and I'm just now getting back into to. I'm also waiting for the days to get longer so I can run more in the afternoons after work. This getting dark before 6 thing sucks for outside cardio.

2/9/2011 2:52:32 PM

^^^ahhhhh. that wasn't hers hers was a shot i believe.

^^and dependant upon dosage strengths that is totally plausible.
in order for a medication to be "equivalent" the active ingedient MUST be the same and the same amount, but the diluents are different
there's also a series of tests must be performed, but theyre not always extensive.

for example....drug A brand name (250 mg) is plotted against Drug B equivalent (250 mg).
it comes out to be similar enough to call it equivalent.
this does NOT mean that 500 mg will be equivalent because the FDA doesn't always require more than X number of tests done, so the 500 may not even be tested.


but generally though-youre right, theres usually no difference int he two


[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 2:57 PM. Reason : sdfds]

2/9/2011 2:55:21 PM

Uggg I'm up a 1lb from yesterday buuuuuuut I'm not sweating it. haha

Down 4lbs in two weeks.

And Joie, this same routine will work to maintain as well? I wont keep losing weight? Just keep up-ing the weights when they get easy?

oye

2/9/2011 5:40:24 PM

Super sore today. I've been taking it pretty easy in the gym so far, but last night I upped my weight and did about half of my exercises to failure. Feels good man.

2/9/2011 5:53:24 PM

if you want to get fat eat at wok and roll in the austin texas airport.

i put on 3% BF in one meal i feel.

2/9/2011 6:26:51 PM

do yall have any software program yall use to track your workouts? what would you recommend?

2/9/2011 7:27:29 PM

I just use excel.

2/9/2011 7:46:13 PM

yeah, i track things in excel too.

columns for days, sections of rows for body areas

filling a column with red when i miss a day hurts

Quote :

"Uggg I'm up a 1lb from yesterday buuuuuuut I'm not sweating it. haha Down 4lbs in two weeks. "

being irritated about being up a single pound in a day is kinda... counterproductive. imo.

my body is fucked but i swing like 8-10 lbs day to day.

ill usually keep track of all the weights for a week, then average them at the end. kinda dumb, but i feel it kinda takes out some of the variability.

2/9/2011 10:14:28 PM

haha I know, it just sucked cause today was my official two week period. Last time I went up a pound I lost 1.5 the next day. Not gonna sweat it, seeing the scale go down is awesome.

2/9/2011 10:31:38 PM

Quote :

"h8r, you've had good results in this thread, how do you feel during the day with a 1000 cal deficit? "

I feel fine. I get up, usually take vitamins and have a protein shake. go to work, have a light lunch, snack on fruit and nuts a couple of times during the day and track my calories. I carry a half gallon jug of water with me and drink on it whenever i get a chance, usually every hour or so..

if my lunch or snacking are too much for the calories, i just go for a long run and lift extra hard. I mainly track calories to hit a goal during the entire week, not just daily. cause I still slip and have some desert once in awhile, but i can make up for it during the week sometime..

put your scale out of sight and only use it once a week or two.

2/9/2011 11:56:23 PM

Quote :

"^^^ahhhhh. that wasn't hers hers was a shot i believe. "

Ahhh. I am finding different birth controls affect women differently - case in point - I'm on a very popular birth control where it doesn't bother other women but for whatever reason it didn't love my body.

I have heard though that the shot can cause a lot of weight gain - I don't know if it's related to cortisol levels at all but it might be worth your friend looking into to see if there is a possible correlation.

best of luck to your friend! I'm sorry she's having to go through all that

Quote :

"Uggg I'm up a 1lb from yesterday buuuuuuut I'm not sweating it. haha"

don't sweat it - you could have put on a bit of muscle or ate a little more sodium the day before. you could always switch to just checking your weight on the scale weekly if you don't like seeing it fluctuate daily. i know i check it daily and it doesn't help with minor freak outs

2/10/2011 8:44:07 AM

Quote :

"And Joie, this same routine will work to maintain as well? I wont keep losing weight? Just keep up-ing the weights when they get easy?"

i could be wrong but i see it kinda like this:

if i were to start eating 3k calories a day-id gain weight, but there would come a point where i would stop and in order to gain more weight im gonna have to take in more, and to stay that same weight just keep on trucking that same 3k calories. (assuming i have the same activity level...)

now apply it to working out.
if you lose 20 lbs and then back off the routine you have been doing-youre gonna put some weight back on. you need to maintain that same workout you've been doing. if you wanna lose more-then up the intensity/duration, whatever.
thats why long term weight loss is a lifestyle change...not just going to the gym, dropping a few and then going back to where you were


if i'm wrong someone please tell me
i know its overly simplified, but im just speaking in general

[Edited on February 10, 2011 at 8:49 AM. Reason : xgfc]

2/10/2011 8:49:20 AM

^ I agree with that completely. By the time you get to your goal weight you probably shouldn't have a huge caloric deficit anyway, so just eat a little bit more or work out a little bit less, whichever one you prefer. I like to eat more, both because I love food and because in general I feel a lot better all around when I work out more, regardless of weight.

2/10/2011 9:08:35 AM

Last night was chest and abs. 10 minutes on the recumbent this morning with some dips thrown in. Wish I could get more time in my morning workouts but I just can't force myself to get up any earlier I figure anything extra helps though

2/10/2011 9:42:27 AM

Quote :

"I feel fine. I get up, usually take vitamins and have a protein shake. go to work, have a light lunch, snack on fruit and nuts a couple of times during the day and track my calories. I carry a half gallon jug of water with me and drink on it whenever i get a chance, usually every hour or so.. if my lunch or snacking are too much for the calories, i just go for a long run and lift extra hard. I mainly track calories to hit a goal during the entire week, not just daily. cause I still slip and have some desert once in awhile, but i can make up for it during the week sometime.."

the reason that i asked is that i've found i just get incredibly exhausted at such a deficit.

pushed to a 1k deficit yesterday and was asleep on the couch at 9pm

also get tired during the work day.

that's why i had settled on a 500, but i guess the next question is if you felt the same when you started doing the 1k, then your body just got used to it?

2/10/2011 10:38:25 AM

Ive been doing a slightly modified leangains for just over a week now and I already see results (work out after work, so big lunch around 1, big post workout meal around 7) ...seems like its gonna be the ticket for losing that last little bit of weight. I'm using this as my pre/post workout amino acids...is this sufficient?

2/10/2011 11:06:54 AM

^^ How much sleep are you getting? You could just not be getting enough to fully recover.

2/10/2011 11:13:17 AM

7-7.5 hrs.

probs not enough but i get up at 515 and like things that come on tv later. central time zone is good for watching sports though.

2/10/2011 11:17:03 AM

pilgrim you might be interested in the thermogenic I'm taking. It has so many good reviews and I've been taking it for 10 days so far. It's an appetite suppressant so I'm not hungry all the time and it gives me lots of energy so I'm not tired. It's also helping me to lose weight. And I don't feel weird on it, Of course, I've settled to taking only one pill a day instead of the recommended three but yeah, I feel great! Oh, it's called OxyElite Pro btw

And the scale went back down again!

About maintaining, I know I must continue working out but I know how to lose weight not how to keep it the same haha. I don't know what my proper calorie intake should be when I reach where I want to be or how much i should work out.

I already feel cranky if I don't get my stress free gym time in which is awwwwwwwwesome. I guess it's a learning process.

[Edited on February 10, 2011 at 11:45 AM. Reason : gergtr5t]

2/10/2011 11:44:59 AM

^yay on your scalage

Quote :

"I know how to lose weight not how to keep it the same"

thats the thing, theyre essientially the same....
if you run 2 miles a day and eventually lose 10 lbs, then you can keep running 2 miles a day to keep that 10 off

or you can increase the intensity/duration to lose more.

if you back off you'll probably put it back on....


maintaining weight = maintaining the same workout routine.


[Edited on February 10, 2011 at 11:50 AM. Reason : like ive said before all you experts...if im wrong lemme know! ]

2/10/2011 11:47:53 AM

I see. And I guess when I get closer to my goal weight it won't slide off as quickly as it is now because my body doesn't need to get rid of it per se. I dont know how to word that right haha.

Works for me!

2/10/2011 11:49:34 AM

^yes ma'am.


at least from my experience and knowledge

[Edited on February 10, 2011 at 11:51 AM. Reason : i understood you perfectly! ]

2/10/2011 11:51:08 AM

haha cool.

2/10/2011 11:52:30 AM

you worded it better than i would have


ahahaha, i have such a hard time conveying myself sometimes

2/10/2011 11:54:09 AM

lols me too sometimes, I understand it perfectly in my head but when I lay it out it's all mumble jumbled. I'm left going errr.. nevermind lol

2/10/2011 11:56:08 AM

yeah i'm not going to take TGs

i've got the most ridiculously addictive brain chemistry. i'd start there to lose some flab and in a month i'd be snorting a mountain of amphetamines a day just to keep up

2/10/2011 2:30:52 PM

Quote :

"the reason that i asked is that i've found i just get incredibly exhausted at such a deficit. pushed to a 1k deficit yesterday and was asleep on the couch at 9pm also get tired during the work day. that's why i had settled on a 500, but i guess the next question is if you felt the same when you started doing the 1k, then your body just got used to it?"

I would have to say that it really depends on what you eat and how much sleep you’re getting. Sometimes I am like that, but for the most part, I have plenty of energy, except when I eat like crap. A large meal will make me extremely sleepy, but snacking on fruit and nuts and pb sammiches during the day doesn’t affect my energy levels in a bad way. After work I am usually drained, but eat or drink a protein shake and get psyched to go to the gym or for a run.
The better results I achieve, the more I want to go do something

2/10/2011 3:05:41 PM

^^hahahahaahaha I don't know why but that made me laugh a lot.

People did complain about getting anxiety. I told the bf to keep an eye on me now he uses it as an excuse everytime I scold him.

2/10/2011 9:17:30 PM