Questions and HIIT

[vze1r2ht]

First a little background.
I'm 5'6, 19, 138 lbs and pretty built.

I was 180 lbs and overweight so I started running on Oct 3rd last year (my bday heh). It's pretty cold so I ran on a treadmill. 8 miles everyday (except on wensdays) usually burning about 1000 calories. My intake was only 1000 calories (I know, very low).

After xmas of 2005, I weighed in at 138 lbs. Luckily, most of the weight lost was fat because I have very good upper body definition and muscle. (I used to have a beer belly, it's gone).

January of this year, my long distance runs was "wearing" me out. So I started taking ON Whey 100% to supplement myself. I also started boxing and doing pushups.

I seemed at have "hit" a plateua. By now, I thought that my six pack would be "well defined" but it's not. I'm still at 138 lbs (my desired target weight).

My goal is to get a very well defined six pack. I can do 50 crunches but anymore than that "wears" me out.

Should I stop all long distance running and move to HIIT instead? HIIT on the treadmill is hard on my legs however I can do HIIT fine on my stationary bike. I tried doing HIIT everyday for a week on the treadmill (I know I goto extremes) and then tried to run 9 miles over the weekend.....didn't go so well. I had to stop several times because I was "exhausted".

So I'm revising my whole workout plan. Is this okay?

Monday - HIIT on stationary bike, 20 minutes. Boxing - 5 minutes
Tuesday - 20 minutes HIIT on stationary, Boxing - 10 minutes
Wensday - Rest
Thursday - 20 minutes HIIT on stationary, Boxing, Pushups
Friday - 20 minutes HIIT on stationary (easy HIIT)
Saturday - 10 mile low intensity run on treadmill
Sunday - 20 minutes HIIT on stationary

The 20 min HIIT really wears me out.
It goes like this:
2 min warm up
1 minute 78 rpm cycle
30 sec recovery cycle
1 minute 78 rpm cycle
30 sec recovery cycle
30 second 78 rpm cycle, 30 sec recovery cycle for atleast 5 minutes
2 minute cool down
Adds upto around 20 minutes total.

Is this okay for achieving a well defined six pack?

My diet consists of this
Breakfast
1 cup brown rice, 3oz chicken, carrots, cucumbers
1 cup milk
600 Calories

Lunch-Afternoon
Some snacks like Rice Krispee treats etc
400 calories

Dinner
Wheat Pasta, 3 oz chicken, on rare occasions, tomatoe sauce
500 calories

Post dinner snack
1 Peanut butter sandwhich, 2 cups milk (slow acting protein)

I try to get atleast 2000 calories each day.

Also, is HIIT really effective than the long distance runs for fat burn? 200 calories for a workout seems pretty low. Boxing itself dont burn much so I assume I burn about 260 calories per workout.

 

[P-funk]

Do you lift weights?

That is a shit ton of cardio! You need some resistance training if you want muscle.

your diet is horrible!


sorry if I seem rude.

 

[P-funk]

also, are you a man or a woman?

 

[vze1r2ht]

Do you lift weights?

That is a shit ton of cardio! You need some resistance training if you want muscle.

your diet is horrible!


sorry if I seem rude.

I used to lift back in highschool but haven't done that since 3 years. I do however do this LIGHT workout after my cardio sessions

8 lb dumbbell curls - 120 reps on each arm (lol)

I really dont have time for lifting. The gym is PACKED by the time I get there (even in the early mornings).

I'm a male btw.

 

[P-funk]

I used to lift back in highschool but haven't done that since 3 years. I do however do this LIGHT workout after my cardio sessions

8 lb dumbbell curls - 120 reps on each arm (lol)

I really dont have time for lifting. The gym is PACKED by the time I get there (even in the early mornings).

this is one of the worst programs I have ever come across.



You are a man? You are 138lbs and you use 8lb dbs? You realize that a prepubescent girl probably trains harder then you? How muscular can you be at 138lbs?

You need to learn about training and diet. Please read up. We have many threads here and lots of smart people willing to help.

 

[vze1r2ht]

Are you a man or a woman?

this is one of the worst programs I have ever come across.

I'm male.

I don't want to be bulky. I'm actually VERY well built. My upper body is well defined from the years that I lifted in highschool. My abs however have some "fat" in them.

 

[P-funk]

I'm male.

I don't want to be bulky. I'm actually VERY well built. My upper body is well defined from the years that I lifted in highschool. My abs however have some "fat" in them.

Just please read....I am utterly speechless at this point. You did it...you have made me speechless!!

 

[P-funk]

I edited my above post also....

 

[vze1r2ht]

I'm already built. The only thing that needs to be worked on is the abs. Boxing itself I think is a anerobic activity. Combining that with pushups and light weight reps is enough for maintenance (It mainted during my weight loss + cardio perfectly).

 

[DOMS]

Between this and Kenwood, poor Patrick is probably two seconds from either eating a dumbbell or doing 5 sets of head against something hard.

 

[DOMS]

I don't want to be bulky.

You sound like a chick.

 

[vze1r2ht]

Nope, I'm a male.

Why do you guys think my "plan" is not good? It's has given me alot of results...

 

[DOMS]

You plan is not good because you don't do any weight training (even though your into boxing) and your diet looks haphazard. For example, what is your daily caloric intake? What's your percentage of protein, fat, and carbs? Why the hell are Rice Krispie Treats part of your diet?

 

[vze1r2ht]

You plan is not good because you don't do any weight training (even though your into boxing) and your diet looks haphazard. For example, what is your daily caloric intake? What's your percentage of protein, fat, and carbs? Why the hell are Rice Krispie Treats part of your diet?

My BMR is around 1690 calories. My intake is 1800-2000 (more on long distance runs).

Here are the daily averages:
20-44 grams of fat
224-290 grams of carbs
100-170 grams of protein (atleast 48 grams comes from ON Whey 100%)

Due to my work schedule, my "eating" habits are different. I usually eat my lunch for breakfast.
Then I eat a snack at 2pm and another one at 5:30pm. My office mainly has Rice Krispie Treats. Sometimes, I eat protein bars instead (each snack is 200 cals or less, a total of 2 snacks a day).

 

[fufu]

8 lb dumbbell curls - 120 reps on each arm (lol)

...and what do you hope to achieve by doing that?

 

[vze1r2ht]

...and what do you hope to achieve by doing that?

After cardio, I hit boxing and light weights and quickly take in ON Whey. Maybe thats how I managed to keep my muscles while running 48-55 miles per week.

Back to the point though...is my HIIT intervals on the staionary bike any good for a six pack?

 

[P-funk]

Nope, I'm a male.

Why do you guys think my "plan" is not good? It's has given me alot of results...

We don't like it because it is not healthy. You need a good balance of resistnace training to build muscle and icrease your metabolism and some cardio to help expend energy and increase endurance and overal heart health/well being. Unless you are planning on doing a marathon all that running is counter productive to your goals (shedding that little flab on your tummy which honestly at 138lbs you should have nothing on your stomach which tells me you are grossly underweight and lack any sort of muscle to maintain a lean physique). Hell, even marathon runners lift weight more often then you and they lift with more intensity (an 8lb DB..I can't get over that....are friggin kidding me?). Maybe that is why even marathon runners still weight 150-160lbs. Honeslty, you are the size of an average woman. You should defenitly try and increase your muscle mass a little bit (god for bid....don't get to bulky!) and then your body can handle a low body fat percentage and you will see the abs that you want to see.

 

[P-funk]

After cardio, I hit boxing and light weights and quickly take in ON Whey. Maybe thats how I managed to keep my muscles while running 48-55 miles per week.

Back to the point though...is my HIIT intervals on the staionary bike any good for a six pack?

no, it is not good for a siz pack. you need to add muscle to the rest of your body to be able to get leaner.

The only reason that you kept the muscle is because you are 138lbs!! Where else can you go? You can't get lighter!

 

[vze1r2ht]

Last night, after my first HIIT interval...I actually gained 1.5 lbs lol. My legs are definetly sore.

How about bruce lee? He was 136lbs at 5'8 and super lean?

I will add weight training to my workout BUT I can only to do it on weekends. (I'm safely able to bench about 165 lbs for 5-6 reps last time I tried, 6 months ago).


Since my gym is "packed", I'm probably be limited to bench press, dumbbells, chest press, cable crunch. I can manage 25-30 lbs of dumbbells aslong as it's a dumbbell curl lol. For deadlifts, I can probably do 20 lbs (40 combined on both).

So heres my plan for saturday:

145 lbs bench x 2 sets - 5 reps
160 lbs bench x 1 set - 3 reps (Might be able to do this, probably to heavy)
25 lbs dumbbell curls x 2 sets - 10 reps
40 lbs deadlift x 2 sets - 6 reps
180 lbs chest press x 2 sets - 6 reps (machine)

This mostly works the upper area and doesnt isolate any specific muscles but I think it's good given the specific time I have dedicated to weight lifting?

OR can someone just invent a plan for me? I'm willing to try anything.

Here's my "free" days.

Monday - 5:30 pm I can goto the gym and stay untill 8
Tuesday - I come home at 8pm
Wensday - 5:30 pm I can goto the gym and stay until 8
Thursday - I come home at 8pm
Friday - Come home at 8pm
Saturday - Free for 2 hours in the morning or night
Sunday - Same as saturday

Maybe I could do HIIT on my "comming home late" days and weight lifting on my "comming home early" days.

I know some of my questions are stupid but I'm not a pro by anymeans lol. BTW, if you recomend some lifting techniques/excersises, could you explain to me what they are...cause I forgetten most of the terminology.

 

[squanto]

Just because your gym is packed is no excuse to only do "bench press, dumbbells, chest press, cable crunch. Join a new gym or politely ask someone if they are finished using their weights.

The 1.5 pounds you gained were likely water weight. Don't weigh yourself more than once, maybe twice a week, it's completely pointless.

You need to do some reading up on designing a proper routine. No offense, but the one you have made will not help you.

 

[BulkMeUp]

Back to the point though...is my HIIT intervals on the staionary bike any good for a six pack?

No. it will help increase your metabolism and burn fat but will NOT increase muscle mass in your abs to show a 6 pack.

(shedding that little flab on your tummy which honestly at 138lbs you should have nothing on your stomach which tells me you are grossly underweight and lack any sort of muscle to maintain a lean physique).

If you want showy abs, you need to have muscle in order to show muscle. You can cardio yourself down to the bone and will never get any visible abs. You need to increase muscle with a proper weight training routine focussed on your whole body and eat properly to feed your body.

Dont have any fear of getting 'bulky' That dosent 'just happen' It takes a lot of effort with eating and training correctly. It can very well take years of dedicated eating and training to get bulky.

If you are beginning to feel exhausted from cardio/training it is because you have been on very low cals for a long time. You need to bump up the cals slowly until you start to see weight gain. By weight gain i mean increase your lbm.

(an 8lb DB..I can't get over that....are friggin kidding me?).

Yea, i cant belive that 8lb DB for 120 reps

If you are thinking high reps/low weight to burn fat, then forget it. That is a myth.

 

[nsimmons]

Whats with the 160 lbs bench and 40lbs dead lift. If your legs are than thin how can you even support your upper body?

 

[Pedigree]

I'm already built. The only thing that needs to be worked on is the abs. Boxing itself I think is a anerobic activity. Combining that with pushups and light weight reps is enough for maintenance (It mainted during my weight loss + cardio perfectly).

Dude, you said you don't have time to lift, but you're doing 657 hours (give or take) of cardio per week.
Also, 5'6", 138 isn't "built". My 12 year old son is 5'3", 110, and he's very thin. If you only lift weights two days per week at 30-40 minutes each day, then you can run like friggin' Forrest Gump all you want.
And, eating big makes you big...lifting weights alone won't do it.

 

[vze1r2ht]

My legs are very muscular. There not even an ounch of fat in legs (well there probably is lol).


I will increase my calorie intake then. Are 450 calories of snacks before workout ok?

I'm at the office and I only have snacks. One snack is 150 calories (5 g fat, 7 g prot, 23 carbs) and I usually eat 3 of them.

By 7pm in the afternoon, I have eaten about 800-1000 calories. After workout, I take in another 1200 cals (which is alot).

Iam going to head to the gym early morning tommorow.

So with half an hour of lifting + HIIT and A LITTLE of ab focused excersises will help me achieve a six pack right?

 

[Pedigree]

It could, but there are many other variables. Diet is number one. If it isn't good, you're wasting your time.

 

[BulkMeUp]

My legs are very muscular. There not even an ounch of fat in legs (well there probably is lol).

Can you post some pics and measuremants?

I will increase my calorie intake then. Are 450 calories of snacks before workout ok?

I'm at the office and I only have snacks. One snack is 150 calories (5 g fat, 7 g prot, 23 carbs) and I usually eat 3 of them.

By 7pm in the afternoon, I have eaten about 800-1000 calories. After workout, I take in another 1200 cals (which is alot).

Go to the diet forum. There is a sticky called 'guide to ...' this is an excellent place to start to fix your diet. Then post your diet there with all cals and macro breakdowns along with your stats and goals for a critique. Here are some tips to help you.

Iam going to head to the gym early morning tommorow.

So with half an hour of lifting + HIIT and A LITTLE of ab focused excersises will help me achieve a six pack right?

To change your body composition this is the order of importance:
1) Diet
2) Training (I suggest work your full body. Do a full body 3x week training)
3) Cardio (this is optional)