Another fitness question

[Stinkweed]

I have a question about my exercise schedule. I usually do cardio every day, followed by weights which I do monday, wednesday and friday upper body, and tuesday and thursday lower body. The thing is that I dunno if this is the most effective way to gain muscle and lower body fat. Is it better this way, or is it better to do cardio and weights on separate days (that is monday wednesday and friday I'd do cardio, and then tuesdays and thursdays I'd do weights)? Which is more effective and produces better and/or faster results as well as better long term effects?

[Reluctant Rebuilder]

Diet will probably make up about 75% of the gains in muscle and losses in body fat you will have if you stick regularly to your work out schedule. You want to space out your calories through the day (so many small meals instead of three big 'uns). Its hard to say what the best routine would be for you, since it will depend on your body type, your experience, etc. But if you stick regularly to a routine you *will* see results. Just don't expect them over night.

[arrrrffff]

Beginner weight training should only consist of, at most, 2 exercises per body part every training session. Weights should only be done a max of 2 times per week to prevent injury.

 

If your more advanced, then you can up that to 2 or more exercises per body part each day, and increase your weight training to 3-4 times per week (but decrease your reps to 6-8 instead of the usually 12-15).

 

You seem to be doing weights everyday, which maybe unnecessary. You need the next day to recover, because your muscles are undergoing hypertrophy (tearing) after weight training.

 

You could do weights every odd day, and cardio every even day. Make sure you don't pair cardio with intense lower body weight training on the same day.

 

Reluctant is right, it won't be overnight.

 

Early on most of your gains will be neuromuscular adaptions, such as greater motor unit recruitment (your brain calls those muscles to contract more efficiently). It is not until (varies) 6 months after that you start seeing noticeable muscle mass increase.

[shikashika]

Diet is the most important aspect of losing fat.

 

Could you separate your workout into two parts of the day?

 

For eg. do your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.. and do your weight training in the evening. I find it better to do weight training in the evening when I have more strength and have had some food in me.. but make sure to do cardio in the morning. Because of the break you will be able to work harder at the cardio and the weights rather than doing them right after one another.

 

Make sure you are eating 5-6 small meals every day with protein in each meal.

 

Cut out the fruit juices and soft drinks, alcohol... just drink water for a month.. see if there's a difference

[Stinkweed]

Ok, maybe I should've gone more into detail about my situation. I am 19, and back when I was almost 18, I was 245 lbs. Later on I lost 45 lbs and stayed at 200 lbs for a while. I didn't like the way I looked. I dunno what it is, but I got a lot of fat left, I believe, and I believe that maybe it was that the diet I did was too low in calories, thus I ended up losing not only fat, but muscle and lots of fluid, which is why as of now I'm at 180-190 (i've been oscilating there ever since like early october), but I still look like crap. A nutritionist told me I shouldn't lose anymore weight and that I was under-eating, and as hard as it is, I'm trying to fix that. My problem is that my butt literaly hangs man... And it's not all just excess skin and stuff, cause it feels pretty thick when I pinch, say, my thigh, or my belly. But it does feel very flabby, soft and light to be just fat, so I dunno. Maybe that's what fat's supposed to be like? Anyway, before thanksgiving, before I started my new exercise plan, I was at 180 (and I did work out back then as well, but I THOUGHT that I could do a healthier plan). Now I'm at 190, but clothes still fit, but I still look terrible (I can't tell if just as terrible as back then, or worse, to be frank, cause I pretty much see no difference), but I THINK maybe I've gained some muscle? I mean, I just know that if my body fat % were lower, I'd look really good already, but since apparently you can't just burn fat without building muscle as well, that's what I'm trying to do.

 

For eg. do your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.. and do your weight training in the evening. I find it better to do weight training in the evening when I have more strength and have had some food in me.. but make sure to do cardio in the morning. Because of the break you will be able to work harder at the cardio and the weights rather than doing them right after one another.

 

Well I've been told that doing cardio in the morning before eating anything at all is a terrible thing to do, and it makes sense because the body has nothing to get its energy from (it starts by using the glucose in the blood. If there's no glucose, since our bodies are so GREAT and love fat, it'd rather consume muscle mass itself before burning fat, and that's definitively not what we want. Plus it explains why I started getting all dizzy every time I worked out before having breakfast in the morning). So I dunno about that... I mean, I know that at least it doesn't seem to work for me...

 

Diet will probably make up about 75% of the gains in muscle and losses in body fat you will have if you stick regularly to your work out schedule. You want to space out your calories through the day (so many small meals instead of three big 'uns). Its hard to say what the best routine would be for you, since it will depend on your body type, your experience, etc. But if you stick regularly to a routine you *will* see results. Just don't expect them over night.

 

true. I've changed my diet. After visiting a nutritionist, I found out I was horribly under-eating (my caloric intake was very low). Now I'm eating more calories, but I still watch what I eat, and stuff, and try to eat as healthy as possible (lots of greens, only complex carbs, and fruits too as well as enough protein to build muscle).

 

Beginner weight training should only consist of, at most, 2 exercises per body part every training session. Weights should only be done a max of 2 times per week to prevent injury.

 

If your more advanced, then you can up that to 2 or more exercises per body part each day, and increase your weight training to 3-4 times per week (but decrease your reps to 6-8 instead of the usually 12-15).

 

You seem to be doing weights everyday, which maybe unnecessary. You need the next day to recover, because your muscles are undergoing hypertrophy (tearing) after weight training.

 

You could do weights every odd day, and cardio every even day. Make sure you don't pair cardio with intense lower body weight training on the same day.

 

Reluctant is right, it won't be overnight.

 

Early on most of your gains will be neuromuscular adaptions, such as greater motor unit recruitment (your brain calls those muscles to contract more efficiently). It is not until (varies) 6 months after that you start seeing noticeable muscle mass increase.

 

Well these last 2-3 weeks I've changed my exercise program and started lifting on even days, and doing cardio on odd days, all while watching my diet (except on certain holiday days, lol, but now I'm back on track). Anyway the way I do weights is slightly different from what you described... So I guess I'll give your method a try. Actually I think I'm doing something really similar to what you called "beginners" weight training (I do 15 reps of each exercise, and in most body parts I do 2 different exercises, which is basically all I know with the dumbbells. I don't use barbells, btw, so I guess I might start using them when I get to the advanced point...).

 

I dunno how well I'm doing. I guess I'll have to wait till february and see, cause I'm gonna be back to school, etc. Although my new schedule sucks and I don't think it will allow me for the varius small equally spaced meals throughout the day (the old one did). Any other tips?

[Reluctant Rebuilder]

Yeah, you don't want to be messing around with under eating, especially when you are lifting or doing cardio. Your nutritionist or trainer should be able to give you help with a meal plan that takes in to account your active and sedentary days. You will need more energy on working days and less on sedentary days. I'm on a weight gaining routine, so on my active days, I need about 3000 calories, spaced out over six meals. When you go back to school, prepare snacks that are quick and give you the energy you need. You can make things ahead of time that are easy to bring with, detour bar, an apple, skim milk, sandwhiches etc. I bring a plastic jug and mix skim milk powder and protein shake mix in it. Just add water and presto! 600 calories with protein and carbs and all you need to do is shake it all up. Just remember to wash the jug right away and let it dry out somewhere or else it will start smelling funky.