Muscle fatigue during workouts

[rtagz]

OK, I have been focusing on cutting weight, and trimming down. I have basically cut my calorie intake by 1/3-1/2 and have lost between 15 and 20 lbs in about 10 weeks or so. For the last 2 weeks, during my workout, i have been having some stamina issues. Not overall energy, I am pretty good there, but muscle fatigue is becoming an issue. I am sure it is directly a result of reduced calorie intake. I have been taking creatine e.e.hcl. and it seems to help a bit. Any suggestions?

 

[youngandfree]

How many calories are you eating? If you have been dieting for 10 weeks, then your energy will go down.

 

[rtagz]

Typically about 1500 -1800 cals daily. I usually just estimate, but I added everything up from Saturday, which was 2180. This included some guilty pleasures (approx 500 cals) , which are typically not included during the week. I understand I will experience depleated energy, which really hasn't been that bad. My issue has been muscle fatigue during workouts. Forearms, tri's, shoulders. More than usual. I am doing high repetitions, to burn calories, ex: squat 3 sets/ 25 rep, stiff leg or reg dead 3s/20 rep. all other excersizes are 3 sets 12-15 reps. Total 6 compound excercises MWF , plus 2 days of running or non resistance training. Just looking for a few ideas.

 

[Rosie Chee]

A few suggestions

OK, I have been focusing on cutting weight, and trimming down. I have basically cut my calorie intake by 1/3-1/2 and have lost between 15 and 20 lbs in about 10 weeks or so. For the last 2 weeks, during my workout, i have been having some stamina issues. Not overall energy, I am pretty good there, but muscle fatigue is becoming an issue. I am sure it is directly a result of reduced calorie intake. I have been taking creatine e.e.hcl. and it seems to help a bit. Any suggestions?

Cutting your calorie intake by 50-66% is quite a lot. To get effective and SAFE fat loss the recommendation is to go no more than 500 calories below maintenance.

Muscle fatigue won't be the issue, but more an energy issue, as your glycogen stores will be becoming severely depleted.

Typically about 1500 -1800 cals daily. I usually just estimate, but I added everything up from Saturday, which was 2180. This included some guilty pleasures (approx 500 cals) , which are typically not included during the week. I understand I will experience depleated energy, which really hasn't been that bad. My issue has been muscle fatigue during workouts. Forearms, tri's, shoulders. More than usual. I am doing high repetitions, to burn calories, ex: squat 3 sets/ 25 rep, stiff leg or reg dead 3s/20 rep. all other excersizes are 3 sets 12-15 reps. Total 6 compound excercises MWF , plus 2 days of running or non resistance training. Just looking for a few ideas.

For a male (unless you are a small male) 1500-1800 calories is very low, even for cutting.

Also, don't just ESTIMATE your calorie intake, as chances are you are actually OVERestimating how much you are eating and not eating ENOUGH.

You do NOT need to do HIGH repetitions to lose fat. In fact, lifting as heavy as you can for 6-10 reps would be better. That way you are able to more effectively maintain your current muscle mass and strength. All high reps is going to do is build up your muscular endurance and fatigue you a lot more (and if you have been doing high reps for EVERY session for 10 weeks then that is another reason why you could be experiencing fatigue).

I suggest that you make a few changes to your diet AND resistance training programme.

Diet: Start eating more. Perhaps try calorie cycling (i.e. 2-3 days either at or slightly lower than maintenance, then 1-2 days above maintenance); that way your body will get the energy it needs and actually get better results, because you're not 'starving' yourself.

Weights: Use more compound exercises. Start doing higher weight, lower reps, ~60 sec recovery between sets. If you train Monday, Wednesday and Friday do one compound each day (i.e. squats, deadlift, bench press) to start the session for 4-6 x 6-8, and then select 2-3 supplementary exercises and complete them for 2-3 x 8-10 after your compound exercise. After 4-6 weeks you need to make slight changes to your training in order to keep getting results.


~Rosie
Team APPNUT

 

[soontobbeast]

do 3 low rep sets(3-5) followed by 2-3 high rep sets ( 20-30+)

[muscle] fiber damage + [muscle] fiber saturation.

i've been using this for a little while and i get ALOT more out of my workouts than when i was doing 4 different workouts of 4 sets each.

also, i didn't believe it before, but drinking 2 gallons of water a day helps tremendously with fatigue issues.

edit: forgot to mention though, with this system you will only be focusing on 1 muscle group each workout day.

edit 2 : also try having a higher carb day once a week to refill glycogen stores.

 

[suncloud]

are you taking protein pre workout? if not, that's where i would start.

 

[rtagz]

Thanks for the replies. I did some calorie calculating and i have been slightly under estimating. I am averaging approximately 1800-2000 cals. typical breakdown is 40% protein, 45% carb, 15% fats. My training days include protein supp before and after workout.

I will be making some alterations and we will see what happens.

Thanks again.



I

 

[rtagz]

Just wanted to update...made some adjustments to my training routine and diet. Nothing crazy just some minor tweaks. No more muscle fatigue! Took 1 week completely off from all training (not by choice) and increased my caloric intake for 2 weeks. I actually felt worse eating more. Cut caloric intake back again, on 3rd week, to approx 1800-2000 cals. I changed my training to more isolation excercises and splitting my bodyparts up. Still do some full body (Squat, Dead, BP etc.) I think I have found a nice routine (for me at least) for the next 6 weeks or so. Also started SX/FX/HypX2. Good news, initial goal has been attained. Under 200lbs(Actual 196 this morning)for a total loss of 25lbs! New goal 185 lbs. (havent been there since 1994) This should be fun!

Thanks to all for your input. I probably would not have gotten to this point without AM. :thumbsup:

 

[jim623]

Maybe AXcell can help you get through you workout. BCAA's to help eliminate fatigue toxins for accelerated stamina and recovery.

 

[rtagz]

Maybe AXcell can help you get through you workout. BCAA's to help eliminate fatigue toxins for accelerated stamina and recovery.

Thanks. They have been incorporated into my dietetic supps. My fatigue issues are gone for now!

 

[suncloud]

wait, so protein pre workout was being used, but BCAA's taken intra workout helped? what kind of protein were you using, and how long were you working out for?

 

[rtagz]

Let me clarify, Protein was used pre and post. But no intra workout BCAA's. I have been using Healthy N Fit 100% whey pro-amino. BCAA content per 100g : Leucine 10530mg, Isoleucine 4212mg, Valine 4212mg. Typical serving is 45gram Protein per serving. Pre workout with water, post workout with skim milk. This has been the same up until today. Started new protein post workout which is a Casein/Whey blend from Protein Factory (mainly for cost per serving). I think the 2 major factors in fatigue were from
A) low caloric diet, and not right balance of Pro-Carb-Fats B) 3 full body workouts per week at high repetitions without having enough recovery time, for too long of a cycle i.e.10 weeks. My workout consisted of Squats, Deads, Bench, Rows, Lat pulls, and Iron Cross (?). M,W,F 3 sets of 15-20 reps. Complete workout was approx 45min-hour cycling 2 people. Basically I burned myself out but my main goal was to burn calories. It was more like a cardio workout than resistance training, but it did the trick. Looking back, I just probably went about 2 weeks too long without changing things up. My starting weight was 222+/-2lbs. currently 198+/-2lbs. I changed everything up 2 weeks ago, splitting up body parts, still M,W,F. Now I cycle between 4 sets of 8-12 reps one day, and 4 sets of 4-6 reps the next, for each body part, with corresponding weight increases for low rep days. So far I feel absolutley wonderful, and strength has increased more than I would have expected.

 

[suncloud]

I think the 2 major factors in fatigue were from
A) low caloric diet, and not right balance of Pro-Carb-Fats B) 3 full body workouts per week at high repetitions without having enough recovery time, for too long of a cycle i.e.10 weeks. My workout consisted of Squats, Deads, Bench, Rows, Lat pulls, and Iron Cross (?). M,W,F 3 sets of 15-20 reps. Complete workout was approx 45min-hour cycling 2 people. Basically I burned myself out but my main goal was to burn calories. It was more like a cardio workout than resistance training, but it did the trick. Looking back, I just probably went about 2 weeks too long without changing things up. My starting weight was 222+/-2lbs. currently 198+/-2lbs. I changed everything up 2 weeks ago, splitting up body parts, still M,W,F. Now I cycle between 4 sets of 8-12 reps one day, and 4 sets of 4-6 reps the next, for each body part, with corresponding weight increases for low rep days. So far I feel absolutley wonderful, and strength has increased more than I would have expected.

i suspect its the former that slowed you down. full body workouts are definitely the best for fat burning (supersets etc), but yeah, when you hit a plateau, its time to look at the quality/speed of digestion of your carbs, and maybe switch your excercises for similar ones. for example, squats subbed for front squats or leg press, bench for incline bench, etc. with regards to total body though, 15-20 reps per superset is a bit much, unless you're only doing two sets. IMO.

 

[rtagz]

I learn something new everyday! The little tidbits of advice from different folks definitely helped. I just had to use what was right for me. I found that cycling my P-C-F ratios helped. Especially on my off days. I wasnt too pleased with the effects of upping total calories, but, for the 2 weeks that I did, it wasnt too bad. The one week off helped, but that was due to injury. Its hard to work out when you cant move! There is no doubt I am healthier, leaner, and happier today than I was 3 months ago! I sure wish I had these resources when I was younger. As far as repetitions go, I would tailor my reps to bodypart. For example: Bench-Lat pulls-rows were sets of 15 max. Squat-Deads 20-25. My lower body strength and endurance is much greater than upper, plus it helped with endurance on the hockey rink. I have no desire to do the heavier weights that I used to when I was young. My knees are already paying for that! I dont know how those big guys do it without having major knee problems. Kudos to them!

 

[Babalao]

change it up.. new foods, new routine, make sure you're resting... what do you take supplements wise? i would consider a couple of cheat meals.. for example, all you can eat from 6pm-9pm on Sat & Sunday. Then back to dieting.. Look into the Anabolic Diet and C-K-D..