I'm at a loss

met5121

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Ok so all summer I've been tryin to cut the little fat that I have at my stomach to achieve that six pack that everyone wants . I can't seem to do it no matter what I do. I tried eating six small meals a day and tried eating very little all with mo avail. Please throw some advice I'll post pictures later tonight, thanks
 

manbeast31

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whats your stats and what did your diet look like? and were you incorporating bcaa's and stuff in there if so how much give us a bit more details so we can help
 

Davidlee

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Look man, I had same problem ,but I did not let it discourage me. I eat 5 times a day and only do HIIT twice a week. It works great for me. I drop the unwanted and keep on the wanted. here's my diet.
1. Protein Plus special K w/ Skim milk and tea spoon of peanut butter - 300cals
2. whey shake with FF milk/ 1/2 cup oats/ 1 teaspoon natty peanut butter - 375cals
3. 6" Chicken sub - 400cals or turkey sandwich with veggies - 280cals
4. whey shake with FF milk/ 1/2 cup oats/ 1 teaspoon natty peanut butter - 375cals
5. 6" Chicken sub - 400cals or turkey sandwich with veggies - 280cals
I also workout every morning 5 days a week. I take N.O Explode before and Creatine afterwards. I do abs around 3 days a week. (the days I don't do HIIT, besides Sunday.)
I take a multivitamin and super acai blast which helps with natural weight loss.
Hope this helps man! It works honestly.. I know there is certain foods I could add and subtract to be healthier for me ,but this gives me a well rounded supply of sweets and real food so that I do not get cravings..
 

met5121

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My stats are 5'11" bout 175-180. My diet consisted of fruit and cottage cheese maily throughout the day and most some sort of chicken pork or fish at night. Im currently taking ZMA, and just started beta stack. Im in the gym mostly 7 days a week, always doing some sort of cardio after my workout. My workout consists of all high rep trainging and super-sets. Ill get up some pics as soon as i can
 
GMG760

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My stats are 5'11" bout 175-180. My diet consisted of fruit and cottage cheese maily throughout the day and most some sort of chicken pork or fish at night. Im currently taking ZMA, and just started beta stack. Im in the gym mostly 7 days a week, always doing some sort of cardio after my workout. My workout consists of all high rep trainging and super-sets. Ill get up some pics as soon as i can
You are overtraining, and probably not eating right.

Work out 4 times a week. Do HIIT cardio on your off days, fasted, right after you wake up.

Less Carbs, more proteins and healthy fats.
 

met5121

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Overtraining? Really? But then i feel guilty if i dont train like i am now. An how do i put a pic up without photobucket?
 

Davidlee

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First of all do more weight on each rep on the days you lift so that your having to fight to get it back up. Make sure that you atleast hit each muscle group once a week and it should be sore the next couple of days if you worked it right. You can work each muscle group twice a week if you'd like ,but make sure your doing different workouts the 2nd tiem you work that muscle group... the same workout twice is kind of pointless. Try not to eat carbs too much unless its right around workout time so that your burning them off. Try to get 1gram of protein for each pound of your body..
 
GMG760

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Overtraining? Really? But then i feel guilty if i dont train like i am now. An how do i put a pic up without photobucket?
Yea we all go through this. But seriously, if you want to keep progressing, you are going to have to give into the fact that your body needs more time resting than it does working out. Just a plain simple fact.

More food (especially protein)= less recovery time.

I only agree with working a bodypart out twice a week if the person is running a program like DC, where they spread the similar workouts 3-4 days apart.
 

Davidlee

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2 Minutes Rest Time

Mon : Chest:
3x5-8 dumbell press
3x5-8 incline press
3x5-8 incline flyes

Triceps:
3x5-8 dumbell skullcrushers
3x5-8 close grip bench
3x5-8 dumbell kickbacks

Shoulders:
3x5-8 side delt raises
3x5-8 front delt raises
3x5-8 dumbell shrugs

Tues: Back:
4x5-8 wide pullups (weighted)
4x5-8 dumbell rows
5x5-8 deadlifts (with barbell or dumbell

Biceps:
3x5-8 dumbell curls
3x21's barbell curls
3x5-8 reverse barbell curls

rear delts :
3x5-8 reverse flyes - if done the day before, these will lower the amount of weight you can do pullups with.

Wed: Legs:
3x5-8 lunges
3x5-8 skateboard squats
3x5-8 stiff legged deadlifts - these target hammies better than good mornings.
3x5-8 one legged calf raises
3x5-8 leg extensions

Thur: Chest:
3x5-8 weighted dips
3x5-8 barbell bench
3x5-8 incline bench

Triceps:
barbell skullcrushers (overhand)
barbell skullcrushers (underhand)

Shoulders:
3x5-8 standing overhead barbell press
3x5-8 wide upright rows - close grip targets traps.
3x5-8 close grip upright rows

Fri: Back
5x5-8 chin ups (weighted)
5x5-8 barbell rows
5x5-8 good mornings

Biceps:
3x12 incline dumbell curls
3x12 hammer curls
3x12 pinwheel curls (youtube has these)
This is my routine that a very knowledgeable friend made for me.
 
GMG760

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That is still a hell of a lot of working out to recover from. Hope your diet is in check.
 
pinchharmonic

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bro, whether or not he is overtraining is entirely individual.

check your pulse in the morning, is it faster than when you went to bed?

do you have problems staying asleep?

are you irritable, losing motivation to lift, not getting a pump?

those are POTENTIAL indicators of overtraining and even then you still may be ok. I say you fix your diet first because you seem to be living off of fructose. already on a low carb diet it seems, fructose is not very helpful in replenishing muscle glycogen, which can in turn force you to be a bit more catabolic at below maintenance calories and a lot of gym time.

set a baseline of carb/protein/fat intake.

a lot of people seem to get results on 150 grams of carbs a day, though without your exact stats, you may have to adjust.

protein at 1-1.75g / lb of bodyweight. and fat at maybe 0.25 per lb of bodyweight, too low on fats and you can impact your hormonal levels as I once did.

for all the carbs you have daily, have them around the big carb windows, breakfast, pre-workout, and post-workout. otherwise you can just do a non-starchy vegetable and a protein source with some fats.

good luck, and work on the fundamentals, or that money you spent on beta stax is going down the toilet.
 
GMG760

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Hold on a second "Bro". He said he worked out 7 days a week with cardio every day. That alone is over-training. Are you trying to tell me that he doesn't need a SINGLE rest day? Rest day's aren't up to the individual, I don't care how bad ass you think you are.

The fact that he has stopped making progress when he is working out that often... well, that right there is the biggest indicator of any that he is overtraining. Have you even read the first post?

And yes, for his diet, the above workout program would be over-training. He has at the most two days for a bodypart to recover... which means his aminos better be through the roof, and his carbs better be pretty high to sustain that kind of energy, and they need to be complex so that he can function all day rather than having his insulin go up and down with all the fructose.
 

met5121

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alrights guys im havin trouble with postin the link cause of my post count. "/albums/gg97/southpaw24_2008/updatedpic.jpg" is after the "i246.photobucket" after that is the"com". The pic to the left is me in august and the pic on the right is me late May. What do you think? Please tell me wats on your mind. Maybe after looking at them side by side maybe im being hard on myself i just feel like i work out harder than wat my results show.

Thanks for the opinions.


Pinchharmonic- if i remember correctly you made on ehell of a cut didnt you? Wish i knew how you did it.
 
hvylifter

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Yea, I'd haveta say lifting 7 days a week and cardio 7 days a week is overtraining for 99 percent of us, idk who the 1% is but lol. How many calories a day are you ingesting? Not how many do you think, but if you have actually added it up, including any snacks etc. The only way I could not view that as overtraining is if you was a sister and your workouts consisted of getting up and down outta a recliner, 40 oz curls and your press routine was trying to shut the fridge after you made a sandwich, and cardio was mall walking. Not just your muscles need rest but so does your central nervous system. So if your hitting it hard that often your cortisol levels are probably sky high and making you retain the fat, along with the other stress symptoms. whats ur bf% now? Some ppl get dilusional and are nowhere near lean enough to see their abs but feel they should. post stats n a few pics etc any and all pertinant info.
 
GMG760

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When you try and post your pics, re-size them to 800x800 pixels. Then click the "go advanced button" right next to the "post" button and there should be another button in this new window that says "Manage attatchments". Click that. Then you should be brought to a picture upload window, and the rest is self explanitory.
 

met5121

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Looking at it now maybe im just expecting to much. But would you say continue what im doing or do you think i could get better faster results?
 

met5121

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on average when i count calories its between 1500 and 1700 and there pretty clean. And what do you think my bf% is. Im guessing between 7-11 cause ive been told that to have a six pack you need 3-5.
 
GMG760

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Your bodyfat is honestly still probably around 10%. Not to bum you out, but it looks like you lost muscle along with fat from your before to after photos. In fact, I would say it looks about even between muscle and fat loss... and this should NOT be your goal when cutting.

You need MORE PROTEIN. Seriously. Try eating 2 chicken breasts, two cans of tuna, 6 eggs, and 2 protein shakes in a day. That is probably around the protein intake that you need. You won't get fat from eating lean protein believe me.

Try eating your carbs in the morning (50g), at lunch (50g) both slow digesting complex carbs. Then your last (50g) can be fast digesting like fruits or WMS right after your workout.

Do your cardio in the morning, fasted. If it means waking up a half hour early, so be it.

If you crave a snack, try unsalted almonds or a scoop of natty pb. The fats should help curb your cravings for the carbs. Just make sure they are good fats. BTW, you need good fats. Especially if you are going to cut your carbs.

You probably should eat over 2000 calories a day. I know a lot of lean girls who eat more than you do at the moment.

Take a healthy dose of BCAA's before your cardio. NO CARBS.

Try HIIT cardio. I only do it 3 times a week for 20 minutes, but I am leaner and hold onto more muscle at the same time because of it. If you want, give yourself an extra day of SSCV like jogging or walking for 45 minutes, but make sure that your diet is slightly increased when you do this, as long bouts of cardio will make you catabolic.

Lastly, work out hard, and get out of there before an hour and 15 minutes is up. I can't get everything in in 45 minutes, but I know I can finish around the hour mark. Your body is not really benefiting from the workout after this period of time, in fact many people go catabolic after this much working out. Things like Caffeine and stimulants trick us into thinking we can keep going, just because we have the CNS energy, but our muscles are already done.

Solid compound movements. Stick with the basics. You aren't really ready for a bodypart twice a week, your body just simply isn't yet... mine isn't. I tried it and I didn't grow, and I just got perpetually weaker as time went on. There really is such a thing as TOO Much.

If you think you are ready, try out DC training and slow your cut down. It has done marvels for my physique.

One last thing to consider... You aren't fat at all. You are in pretty good shape my friend. If I were you, I would stop this cutting nonsense and get to lean bulking. Give yourself a year or two before you cut back... make some progress with the muscles and your size. Honestly, if you get the diet down and start building muscle, you will lose that bodyfat you want gone... and you won't have to worry about losing muscle in the process. Why cut at 180? So you can be 6' tall and 160 lbs? You aren't going to look ripped, you'll just look skinny. Get to 200 and then peel it back and see if you aren't a ton more satisfied with the results.

Remember with your physique, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
 

met5121

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first off man thanks for taking time to spell all this out to me i really appriciate it as hopefully you can tell i want it bad enough. Ill do exactly wat you said and up the protien and food intake and ease up a little on the working out. What are some good examples of HIIT and DC? Not really sure what is good. For HIIT I've been mixin in a 15 min run and every two mins or so changin my pace. Is this kinda what you mean?

Thanks again man!
 

Davidlee

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Lmao.. we are about the same size cept I got you beat by like 3 inches :) but anyways great post gmg... I needed to hear the same thing since Im in the same boat as him.. I mean like my stomach and his look the same.. arms too..
 
hvylifter

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here ya go. The left pic is now and the right was from May.
Now I know your arms are at a little different angle, and the lighting is different, you had better lighting showing shadows which shows muscle depth and definition. Improper lighting even for a monster can make them look flat. However bro, it does look like you lost muscle size, your chest is the most noticeable. Your bf% looks like it would be very similar in both pics. Your lats and shoulders look narrower and we can't see your traps due to the flash, but the good news is, you can start training properly now, fairly quickly regain the muscle you lost probably within 6 months. Now heres another kicker, Whatever you have been doing stop. Build yourself a program based around the main compound movements. Squats, Bench, Deads, Rows, Shoulder presses, etc. Warmup and move up weight quickly during warmup and start your working sets high. 5 reps or less. If theres any posibility when doing a set that you might get the next rep, go for it, hit failure, then do partials or cheat reps. If you have safety methods in place such for squats and bench, go to failure, if you got a spotter, and your back is still good, make them force you through a would be failed rep. Same for bench. Afterwards you might do a small amount of assistance work, like maybe one exercise per muscle group. For the majority of the isolation movements, still keep it around 6 to 8 reps, and that last rep every set should be everything you can do, to get it up. When you finish a compound movement, as for myself, I usually will throw a lighter weight on and burn the shyt outta myself.
Another main point. Hit each bodypart ONCE A WEEK MAX. When I was my strongest and biggest I was taking around 14 days off between bodyparts. More than I would now, but that shows recouperation is mad important. You gotta literally kill it, then give it plenty of time to come back to life. Do maybe two cardio sessions a week. EAT ALOT. Alot of proteins and good for you foods. You are lean enough in my opinion right now to see your abs. You have worked yourself into the ground. Time to rebuild.
 
GMG760

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if you want to read about DC training, go to their forum, IntenseMuscle.com . There is a lot to read, but sit down with it a few times, watch a few youtube videos on it... you'll get the hang of it.

It takes SERIOUS dedication though.

As far as HIIT is concerned start on the bike, it is probably the easiest to do HIIT on.

Start with 30 seconds of a mellow pace, then at the second 30 seconds of the minute sprint as fast as you can. Repeat every minute for 20 minutes. It's a real b!tch at first, but it really is worth it.
 
pinchharmonic

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if you want to read about DC training, go to their forum, IntenseMuscle.com . There is a lot to read, but sit down with it a few times, watch a few youtube videos on it... you'll get the hang of it.

It takes SERIOUS dedication though.

As far as HIIT is concerned start on the bike, it is probably the easiest to do HIIT on.

Start with 30 seconds of a mellow pace, then at the second 30 seconds of the minute sprint as fast as you can. Repeat every minute for 20 minutes. It's a real b!tch at first, but it really is worth it.

DC is great, but starting it when his motivation is low, on top of a cutting regiment may be difficult.

i'd start that kind of high intensity stuff on a calorie surplus, maybe next time you are bulking, and after a good layoff with your CNS rested.

whatever you're doing in the gym now, continue to focus on lifting as much @ as many reps as you were before you cut. the idea is to maintain muscle mass as you cut. the majority of people tend to go for the pink neoprene dumbells @ high reps when they should instead be maintaining their strength.

if you did 225x10 on bench before you cut, then by all means try to keep doing that. If you atrophy in your chest, then you won't be able to do 225x10, telling you your program is burning muscle.
 

met5121

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After research and alot of thinking heres the workout that i came up with. Diet still not figured out yet though.

Day 1 – Biceps (Weight Training)
Pushups/Abs Routine (Body Weight Only)
Run (Cardio)

Day 2 – Triceps (Weight Training)
Run (Cardio)

Day 3 – Legs (Heavy Weight Training)
Plymetrics
Core (Weighted)
Intense stretch POST workout
NO CARDIO

Day 4 – Back (Weight Training)
Run (Cardio)

Day 5 – Forearms (Weight Training)
Pushups/Abs Routine (Body Weight Only)
Run (Cardio)

Day 6 – Chest (Weight Training)
Run (Cardio)

Day 7 – Legs (Light Weight Training)
Plymetrics
Core (Weighted)
Intense stretch POST workout
NO CARDIO

Day 8 – Traps and Shoulders (Weight Training)
Run (Cardio)
 

soontobbeast

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so where are your rest days
 
crazyfool405

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i forgogt who posted it on here but there was a HUGE thread on this forum about DC training VERY informative much more clear as well
 
crazyfool405

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my cut schedual is as follows, and it works very well for me....

5days in a row one body part a day Chest, back, shoulders, legs, arms, off, off,
this is a traditional split for me then the next week is DC training Monday (chest back shoulders) tuesday (legs arms) off, off, Friday (depletion workout.)

im on keto, of course depending on where weight loss halts i may just make the depletion workout the monday after i finish my traditional split.

been working very well for me, so as you can see i usually average about 6 days off the gym in 2 weeks. so i still get ample recovery time.

off days i MAY run (especially following carb up days)

also to help us gauge your muscle loss, what were your starting lifts, and lifts now?
 
GMG760

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Well its kinda like DC. I only train a certain muscle group once every 8days. Is this ok?
It's nothing like DC.

DC you train multiple musclegroups a day, but one exercise each.

Example.

Monday
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
Back width
Back Thickness

Tuesday
Off

Wednesday
Biceps
Forearms
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads

Thursday
Off

Friday
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
Back width
Back thickness

The next week you switch the workouts so that the mostly upper body day is on wednesday, and the mostly lower body days are on monday and friday.

Each workout for the two weeks you choose a new exercise for each bodypart.

I won't even get into rest-pause or rep schemes. You have a lot more reading to do.
 

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