General Question on Training

[ProtoFuze]

Well, hello to everyone on the board to start off. I'm posting really to get ideas on how to get into the best level of fitness and from everything I've read, everyone here is quite knowledgeable on all of the subjects in terms of fitness and the like.

To start of to give a better idea of where I'm coming from, I'm a 17 year old male, muscular but less defined shape, sports inclined, and well, I'm very interested in the subjects of attaining a good body. I'm mostly working in the way of wrestlin (Amateur, and Professional (Not really a sport but the physical shape in this is very important in my eyes), so I tend to work more on pectoral, back, deltoids, triceps, biceps, etc. and then keep my lower body in good shape but not to muscular, as to keep speed and agility.

Anyhow, I've been working out since I was 14 and have noticed some changes, but never pushed hard to get to where I'd like to be now, so now I'm being more considerate on diet and such and try to bring in some more cardio. I'm just not sure whats best, I'm trying to keep a really high protein intake and will be starting on whey protein (From that nutrition FAQ and the recipe for protein shakes, thanks!), trying to eat lots of small meals to keep metabolic rate up and keep carbs at a decent level but all in the earlier part of the day. I've been doing cardio alot more, usually walk for 10 minutes then do sprints up and down small hills in a park for about 5 minutes or so everyday, then when I go to the gym I usually run for 10 minutes at a high pace (6.o on the treadmill) sometimes at a slight incline, then do a workout and then run for 10 more minutes. What I really want to do is get my upper body defined and toned, keep the muscle mass, especially in the chest and when I've built up my arms and shoulders, keep the mass there too, but get them defined, abdominals as well. My upper abs are somewhat defined but not hugely, my obliques and lowers however have a couple inches layer of fat over them, especially my sides (Love handle part or whatever they are called, just below the middle and over the waist) stick out a bit.

I'm just curious as to what I should do to get rid of this excess fat and work up so I can last longer cardiovascular wise, and then to just build up muscles and define and tone them better. Sorry for this being so long I really appreciate and responses. As well I just wanted to say to w8lifter and Dr. Pain that the nutrition FAQ and all the threads of both of yours were very informative and answered alot of my questions by just reading them, thanks and I hope everyone has or will read it! Quite excellent and as I said, very informative. Thanks alot

Shane

 

[Arnold]

Originally posted by ProtoFuze
...so I tend to work more on pectoral, back, deltoids, triceps, biceps, etc. and then keep my lower body in good shape but not to muscular, as to keep speed and agility.

Welcome to IM!

I do not have a lot of time here, but I wanted to address this part about legs, this is an old myth. Work your legs, you will not lose speed and agility, in fact you will increase it!

 

[ProtoFuze]

Really? Well, thanks alot for the information, I will do so

 

[Lean_Physique16]

The ONLY(yes, I said ONLY) way to get rid of fat ANYWHERE on the body is through cardiovascular exercise(running, biking,etc.) and GOOD DIETING and NUTRITION. You should also know that cardio will not be very effective unless you do it for at least 20 minutes at a time. That does'nt mean that you can do 10 minutes in the morning, and 10 minutes at night, or 5 minutes in the afternoon, and 15 minutes later at night, etc., etc. You have to do at least 20 minutes of cardio continuously to keep your heart rate up long enough to start burning fat. It's that simple. At least 20 minutes of cardio, preferably more, but don't burn yourself out. Also, you should know that when you do cardio, your body will also burn off muscle, because it is easier for your body to do that than burn off fat. To reduce the loss of muscle, you should run like this, for the best results:Run for 20 minutes. For 60 seconds run about 60% of what you can run, and then do 60 seconds where you are running at 90-95%(sprinting basically) and then switch back to 60% for 60 seconds and then 90-95% for 60 seconds, and so forth... Just keep switching back. That should get you some serious results. Hope everything works out for you.

 

[gr81]

you put too much stress on cardio there lean. It is possible to get incredibly lean with just manipulating your diet. The diet is much more important aspect then cardio, not to say that cardio isn' t useful though. The point that I am trying to make is that there is no ONLY way to do things. If you ever hear the phrase, "well its simple really.." like many PTs will tell you, don't believe that person b/c it isn't simple. My advice to you as a beginner is always keep reading and learning and keep you ears open in a search for knowledge.

 

[Arnold]

Originally posted by Lean_Physique16
The ONLY(yes, I said ONLY) way to get rid of fat ANYWHERE on the body is through cardiovascular exercise(running, biking,etc.) and GOOD DIETING and NUTRITION.

Cardio is NOT necesary, period. You can get lean without cardio.

It is true that proper diet & nutrition are they key to getting lean.

 

[Mudge]

Look at sprinters, muscular. Now think to yourself, why would being top heavy make you retain speed, when the legs are weaker than the upper body?

 

[erik150x]

I am no expert, but I have read several articles that seemed to clear up allot of confusion about the best way to lose fat. As stated above it starts with diet. If you take in less calories than you burn, then it is impossible not to lose weight. If you are are building muscle simultaniously, then some of your protein will get used for building muscle, and thus shouldn't be counted as calories (at least I would think that should be the case). Muslce tissue burns way more calories than most other tissue in your body, even when they are "idle". So by building muscle you can also increase the amount of calories you are burning. As far as cardio goes, it is for the most part true that you don't really start putting the fat in the furnace until you have been doing moderate cardio for over 20 minutes, (that's how long it takes to use up your carb stores in the body, which your body will burn before fat). But it has also been shown that INTENSE cardio, (the kind you cant possibly do for more than 20 minutes), will not only burn about the same amount of calories as 30 minutes of moderate cardio, but it will also raise your metabalism higher and longer than moderate cardio. What this means is that even though you might not burn alot of fat WHILE you are doing intense cardio work, at the end of the day calorie for calorie you may actually burn more. And if diet properly, these calories will come from fat stores. So really you can go either way you feel like with the cardio. Again I'm no expert, but if you do enough research I think you'll find what I said to be true. Hope that helps.

 

[Cerberus]

From what i have read, everyone who has posted a reply holds a good point. I think the most efficient way of burning fat comes in the form of cardio, weight training and proper nutrition.

The first thing you need to have in order is your diet. Carbs are especially important, but don't neglect protein or even your fat! There are two fats that are essential to the body, you would most likely know them as linolenic acid and linoleic acid or omega-3 and omega-6. Even so, since you're goal is to cut fat and stay lean, it's important to keep your fat intake under 20% of your daily caloric intake.

Now because your body, particularly muscle tissue, has saturation points, it's unnecessary to stress your body with an ultra-high carb/protein diet. Your carbs will be used first from your blood (this is your blood sugar) and then from the glycogen in your muscular tissue. Because your muscles can only hold so much, i find the best way to go about attaining your muscles' saturation point is to take in 10 grams of carbs per kilogram of bodyweight (having more muscle means being able to hold more glycogen, thus the ratio rather than a set number). At this point you're probably wondering why we would want to use carbs for energy rather than the fat which you are trying to burn, right? Well fat will start to metabolize once you have depleted your body of carbs, but only in the presence of oxygen. In order to get sufficient oxygen to your fat stores it's important to have these carbs as a sort of "kick-start". The stress put on your muscles will tear tissue of course, resulting in protein synthesis. Today's fads and trends seem to say "load up on protein, 500 grams plus". Even during extreme strength training and tearing lots and lots of tissue, most of the time it's only necessary to take in about 2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight (per day of course).

Oh boy this is getting really long.. Well, i'll try to skip the explanations, but it's important to know that weight lifting increases your resting metabolic rate like erik150x mentioned, meaning more fat will be burned even at rest. Also, make sure you are getting sufficient vitamins, B-complex vitamins especially help your body to metabolize carbs, protein, etc.

As for cardio, try to train at higher intensities: 70 - 75% of your maximum heart rate (max heart rate usually expressed as 220 minus your age, so 203 in your case.) for 20 minutes or longer. If higher intensities are more difficult, it's okay to do lower intensities but make sure to go for longer in that case.

I'm actually 17 myself but i've done quite extensive research in nutrition and my workout schedule and meal plan is very easy for me to follow. Following rules like these have helped me keep on a lot of muscle mass and burn off a lot of fat, as well as keep my energy levels very high. I can strength train for up to two hours, jog with intervals for 20 minutes and still have all the energy i need throughout the day.

Sorry this is so long, if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me: mad_skillz126@hotmail.com

 

[Lean_Physique16]

cardio is necessary to stay in the best shape possible.