Can someone comment on my exercise plan, I need a little advice from the pros.

[arkitech]

I've recently starting working out again at the beginning of March. During the month I have worked on tweaking my routine and I think I have come up with a plan that I can manage to follow without falling off the cart so to speak. If someone could look over my plan and offer a few suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

My goal is to lose approx 63-78 pounds in about 12-16 weeks, I want to get totally ripped. Currently I weigh 278 at about 6 feet and 1 inch and I'm thinking 200-215 would be a good weight for me. I used to lift weights and do cardio constantly about 10 years ago, as a result even though I'm obviously overweight I still have a little muscle left. However I've had an EXTREMELY hard time losing weight at my past attempts to get fit, this month is a perfect example. I've increased my activity by 100% and yet I've lost maybe 2-3 pounds after 4 weeks. For some reason I thought bigger guys lost weight faster in the beginning of their training.

At any rate here is my current workout plan, please let me know your thoughts.

This is an example of a typical day:

AM cardio before breakfast - HIIT Cardio (6-10 minutes of 30 second intervals of high and low exertion, done primarily on a stepping machine) I will perform this exercise in the morning before breakfast as soon as I get up for about 5-7 days per week.

PM cardio after work - HIIT Cardio (same as in the morning) - As an alternative to the HIIT I may do a brisk walk for 2-3 miles with my wife.

PM weight training after work - Every day or every other day I try to do moderate to heavy weight lifting targetting different areas depending on the day of the week. Example - Tuesday I will do chest work using weights that will allow me to perform 3-4 sets at about 12-15 reps before fatigue. Wednesday I will do leg work using weights that will allow me to perform 3-4 sets at about 12-15 reps before fatigue. I try to do at least 2-3 exercises for each area, depending on how fatigued my muscles are. Last week for instance I got a really good back workout doing only 2 exercises (4 sets, 12-15 reps) and I was too exhausted to pull out a third exercise.


So really in a nutshell thats my plan, AM HIIT cardio 5-7 days per week. PM moderate/HIIT cardio 5-7 days per week and weights approx every other day targetting different body parts. I'm hoping that with a good sensible diet I can maybe drop 3-4 pounds of fat per week.

[jagbender]

3-4 pounds a week is a pretty lofty goal.
Your basic plan looks good, I think you may be a little heavy on the cardio.
Make sure to get at least 2-3 days rest between body parts
Remember as you start lifting look for body compostion changes. The scale may slow down but keep an eye on the way your clothes are fitting

Jag

[littlejohn]

Good luck.

I would make the following suggestions:

I think HIIT every day is too much. I do it 3 days a week, and injuries and mental fatigue are quickly becoming issues.

I'm not too sure about setting a weight goal with a time goal. Your body most likely will decide the weight loss pace. And losing slowly is probably more beneficial than losing fast.

And I would say that your diet is the key to weight loss success. Exercise is a great help, but the key is what you eat.

[kwikdriver]

I wish someone had explained the concept of overtraining to me several years ago. Had I understood it, had I known what would happen to me trying to keep up a full training regimen, while at the same time, stressing my body by restricting calories, I might have avoided the following injuries:

Rotor cuff damage (right shoulder).

Torn right bicep tendon, which hasn't healed in 9 years now.

Recurring tear in left Achilles tendon. Needs surgery to permanently fix, I'm told, but the surgery doesn't have a good success rate.

Two herniated discs in back.

I also tore an ab muscle (couldn't give up my Roman chair situps while holding 2x45 plates). That one healed, thank God. The rest of the injuries are with me for life.



Of course, your mileage might vary.

[jagbender]

I hear you on the overtraining issues. I haven't been able to lift since 1-05 due to adrenal fatigue. I believe it was from lifting too hard and dieting too hard and too much stims.

Jag

[LOWCARBR]

i'm not sure but the training sounds fine to me. i believed that you can do cardio daily. as for your goal..it sounds very aggressive to lose so much that fast. plus if you are wt training won't you gain muscle hence your wt loss not showing on the scales? but my 2 cents is keep up the good work and try to stay realistic with your goals.!! :D

[Trainerdan]

Personally, I think 2-a-day HIIT is a sure path to overtraining. I think it would be best to vary the intensity a bit. Some days do your speed work (HIIT), some days do your intensity work (Hills, or a "random" program on your machine), and a few days as easier days, where you go longer but at a lower intensity.

[kbfunTH]

While a 3-4 lb loss over 4 weeks isn't bad, it indicates you're at a borderline 'maintenance-level' calorie intake.

HIIT or not, I don't think 12-20 minutes of cardio is quite enough. I know it's comparative to your overall calorie intake each day and whether or not you are finishing in a deficit, but I would still be doing a little more cardio. Add in a 20-30 minute walk a few times per week, and/or drop a few more calories. I would probably scratch one HITT per day and knock out 30 minutes of walking or something (high-rep kettlebell work most likely) instead.

[kbfunTH]

My goal is to lose approx 63-78 pounds in about 12-16 weeks, I want to get totally ripped. Currently I weigh 278 at about 6 feet and 1 inch and I'm thinking 200-215 would be a good weight for me.

Good luck achieving your goal. 12-16 weeks might be a little tough. That's almost 5 lbs/week. Doable the first couple of weeks, but not so much after that though. If you did maintain that, it would be at a higher percentage of muscle loss to fat loss.

AT 6'1, 210-215 at 8-9% bodyfat would be phenomenal progress.

[Bigdaddy99]

I see your doing Atkins so keep this in mind, at 20g of carbs per day, you are going to be fatigued under that regiment. Remember, if you get injured, you can't work out.

Here's some good news though, you should find your body will react well to the weight training since you were involved in this some years ago. It's called muscle memory. What happens when we build new muscle is that those muscle cells are now with us for life, unless of course, through injury, bad dieting or starvation, our body is forced to cannabalize muscle tissue in order to use it as fuel for basic survival. However, when we stop stimulating the muscle fibres on a constant basis, there is no need for the muscle to maintain it's size and strength. Therefore "muscle atrophy" occurs. What this means is that our muscles shrink to a size that is relevant to our daily activity and the strength of the muscles follow in accordance with what we require. When we begin to stimulate our muscles again through resistance training, the reversal of the muscle atrophy occurs before we build any new muscle fibre (generally). This reversal of muscle atrophy takes a great deal less time than it takes to build altogether new muscle, and the return of the muscle to it's original size occurs quite quickly also. Therefore, compared to someone who has never trained with weights before, you should find that your progress will be accelerated.

[kbfunTH]

I see your doing Atkins so keep this in mind, at 20g of carbs per day, you are going to be fatigued under that regiment.

Only until fat adaptation takes place! If calorie intake is not cut too severely and fats are adequate, fatigue can be avoided all together, or at leased minimized.

[Bigdaddy99]

If calorie intake is not cut too severely and fats are adequate, fatigue can be avoided all together, or at leased minimized.

Hey kbfun,

Judging from your posts, you seem to work out a lot as well. I'm day 11 of induction and I'm finding that my workouts are not as intense. The strength is still the same but I burn out a lot quicker than I used too. Have you experienced this? I'm taking 3 tablespoons of flax seed oil to ensure that I'm getting all my EFA.

[Dodger]

Hey kbfun,

Judging from your posts, you seem to work out a lot as well. I'm day 11 of induction and I'm finding that my workouts are not as intense. The strength is still the same but I burn out a lot quicker than I used too. Have you experienced this? I'm taking 3 tablespoons of flax seed oil to ensure that I'm getting all my EFA.
I think it was at least three months before I was able to exercise as hard and long as before I started low-carbing. Now I am able to exercies longer and harder. It just takes a while for the body to generate the correct chemicals to use more fats for energy.

[kbfunTH]

4-16 weeks is what seems to be the average range for fat adaptation to occur. (Dodger mentioned 3 months for himself).

I started with small incremental drops in my carb intake until I hit about 25%. I do go lower sometimes, even to the point of no carbs at all, but if I crave something, I'll have it as long as it doesn't push me over my high limit.

I eat mostly beef and I don't go for lean cuts intentionally. I love peanut butter, especially Laura Scudders (crunchy), so I have that when I feel like I need a little something extra. Once I started eating this way, I stopped all EFA supplementation. I don't believe there is anything wrong with doing it; I just didn't see the reason to continue spending the money on it if my fat intake was already high enough.

I strength train or kettlebell lift almost daily, sometimes as long as two hours. At one point, I was mixed martial arts training for 3 hours 4 nights a week on top of everything else. Energy levels were never a problem although the training was very challenging.

I don't follow Atkins, as I don't feel it necessary, at least not for me anyway.

The thing that comes to mind right away is your calorie intake. Where is it compared to your RMR? What about protein and fat grams per day? Also, how do you train? Do you force each set to the point of failure, or use any other high intensity techniques, liked forced reps, negatives, supersets, giant sets, etc?