Lose Weight While Improving Legs
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QUESTION:
I am 45 yrs of age and trained many years with a wealth of knowledge when it comes to exercise. My problem is I want to increase leg size, this has always been a problem, crap legs runs in the family so I don't expect miracles. At the same time I need to lose approx 20-25lbs body fat which is proving to be a nightmare now that I am older. I do my weights, and then cardio on none weight training days, which includes bag work and jump rope amongst other things, but nothing changes. My concern is that if I receive help with losing some body fat my legs will shrink to nothing, Can I lose some body fat and still improve my legs?
Exercises for my legs vary in order every 8 weeks, leg ext squat, leg press, leg curl, stiff leg dead lift & some times roman chair squat. Reps very 5X5 or 6-8 10-12 15-20 every 8 weeks and at present I train 3x week back-chest rest legs -shoulders rest biceps-triceps, after 8 weeks I will change to perhaps chest-biceps legs on there own rest shoulders-triceps, then back on its own and rest. There are many combinations I use each 8 week period and this always keeps things interesting. I have tried all sorts 10x10 gvt gironda 8x8 and 6x6 standard methods super sets and trisets. Many thanks for your time.
ANSWER:
It is definitely possible to maintain size in your muscles while you lose weight (fat). There are a few reasons why people often lose a significant amount of muscle during a weight loss program. Out of all the reasons the one you should be worried about is insufficient calorie/protein intake in relation to the amount of protein catabolism in the system. During weight loss there will be less anabolic hormones and available energy for reparation of muscles after training.
Just as you cannot eat the same way when trying to lose weight that you were eating when you were trying to put it on, you simply just cannot train the same way as when you were trying to build mass as you're dieting to lose weight. Your lifting routine, specifically your leg routine sounds pretty comprehensive. It is recommended you dramatically lower your weight training volume while you lower your caloric intake and increase your cardiovascular activity to burn.
Since weight training has become in vogue over the past 10 years people are beginning to get the wrong idea that weight training is the best thing for fat loss as well as building muscle. Weight training is solely a stimulus for your body that depends completely on your diet. If you weight train too much and don't consume enough calories it will have negative effects on your body including fatigue and loss of muscle mass.
Your goal with weight training is simply maintenance your current muscle mass. You can minimize losing your leg mass by performing shorter duration workouts. You do not need more than 3-6 sets of exercises for muscle group to maintain muscle. In fact numerous studies have shown that a single set of weight training can be just as effective. Including High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in your cardio program as opposed to mostly marathon style workouts will also help. If you properly replenish your energy after HIIT workouts you are less likely to lose muscle mass as opposed to long duration workouts which are more likely to use your body protein as fuel.
Last but not least, your diet needs to stay balanced. Eating 4-6 small meals per day, each containing adequate protein, carbohydrate and fat will help keep your insulin levels stable throughout the day. You will be less likely to overeat, hindering your weight loss and you will be less likely to crash during a workout. You may want to check out these combination exercises which will lessen your time in the weight room, work the full body quicker so you can concentrate on your calorie incinerating cardio.
QUESTION:
I have a heart rate monitor that I use when working out. My question is around my maximum target heart weight. I am 51 years old, approx. 25-30 pounds over my goal weight. My resting heart rate is around 90, as I begin to increse the speed on the treadmill it climbs to around 124-136 in a normal period of time.
My concern is that as I begin to run for a short period of time i.e. 1/2 mile (5 minutes) it jumps to the high 160's to low 170's! My legs are strong but I feel I need to quit running because my heart is beating so hard and I have a hard time catching my breath. Is this normal?
ANSWER:
First and Foremost: Consult with your doctor and ask him/her whether this type of exercise is right for you (if you haven't already). I have never been a fan of using heart rate charts for determining target heart rate. Even if you use the Karvonen Formula which takes into account your resting heart rate, it still may not be right for you.
I recommend downloading and printing an RPE chart to take with you during exercise. Remember the classic surgeon general's recommendations of 30 minutes of vigorous exercise 3 times per week or something to that effect? The point is, heart rate is secondary to the effort you are putting in to your exercise, especially when you're a beginner or novice.
Try to exercise at a moderate intensity comparable to 4-6 on the RPE chart (above). Take note of your heart rate as you try to maintain this intensity for at least 20 minutes. Eventually you will be able increase your intensity and feel more comfortable at higher intensities (heart rates). Once you begin to lose weight and improve your cardio fitness you will find that what currently exercise intensity makes it hard to catch your breath will be maintainable.
QUESTION:Hello and thanks for taking the time to read this, I've searched and I can't find anything on specifically maintaining a certain size. I am happy with where I am at. So, then the question is.
If I just continue my weekly routine/calorie intake/ect. Will I be able to maintain everything? Or is there some adverse effect of not continually making the exercises harder? To further clarify, I am perfectly happy with all of my work outs and do not feel the need to increase how much I can push(max out). Any, feed back would be greatly appreciated.ANSWER:
Easy answer to your question.... Yes. If you are currently physically fit you will probably be able to maintain your current fitness and/or body composition if you maintain your current program. The only exceptions would be for elite ahtletes and/or bodybuilders who are trying to maintain unnatural body compositions/fitness levels for the sake of competition. It also depends on your eating habits. If you decide you will now eat a blueberry pie after dinner each night you will likely have to change your exercise program to maintain.
If you don't have any other goals other than maintenance, keeping your current program as is has no adverse effects. While not increasing the intensity, reps, time you exercise and any other factors will not have detrimental effects, keeping the exact exercises in your program does run some risks.
Make sure you pay attention to your body as keeping the same routine increases the chances you could develop muscular imbalances, posture problems and overuse injuries. If you begin to experience small aches and pains make sure you take note and avoid excessive repetitive motion. You can read in more detail on the following page.
QUESTION:
Hello, I'm a 5'11" 185 pound guy with around 20-25% body fat who wants 10% body fat and a lean and toned body. I know High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is good for losing the little bit of extra flab because it pushes your body but since I still have quite a lot to lose, should I stick to regular cardio/moderate intensity interval training first then do HIIT when I'm closer to my goals? Should I be worried that I would get accustomed to the HIIT and that when I just that annoying layer of fat left it wont work as well?
ANSWER:
To answer your first question: No. There is no reason to avoid HIIT at any part of your training program (note: there are health related exceptions). If you are physically healthy and are not taking any stimulant products such as coffee and especially "fat burner" supplements HIIT is going to be a potent stimulator to your metabolism as well as burn a lot of calories.To answer your second question: No. High Intensity Interval Training is perhaps the best way to increase your cardiovascular fitness. If you consider that at 10% body fat your cardiovascular fitness levels will be far superior to what they are now at 20-25% starting HIIT will help you reach your peak earlier and allow you more time to progress properly.
You need to make progress in your cardio fitness program just like you should with weight training. HIIT is not something you will do every day while low and moderate intensity cardio is something you can do every day. You should probably start off performing HIIT sessions once per week along with your low/moderate intensity cardio sessions. As you progress your cardio fitness and get close to your fitness goal of 10% body fat, you will likely begin to eliminate the low/moderate intensity exercise and perform sporadic HIIT sessions along with weight training to maintain your fitness and sculpt your body to the "lean and toned" physique you envision.
Please NOTE: before you, or anyone starts a HIIT program it is important to get a physical and a clean bill of health. While HIIT is great to improve body compsition and cardio fitness it can take a toll on the body and if you're not healthy it's not unheard of that people drop dead while over exerting themselves during sprints. HIIT is also great because it can involve a variety of activities. You can find some interesting ideas for some simple, yet effective cross-training style HIIT on the following page:
QUESTION:
Hello, I'm a 1.50m tall 52kg woman. Could you tell me if doing Circuit training is beneficial and how much weight I should do for the machines in a Circuit training area?
ANSWER:
The best way to decrease the size of your legs and lower body is of course to drop your overall body fat percentage... I don't know what your percentage currently is, but i can tell you that you must do your cardio training at an appropriate intensity and duration while also encorporating consistent muscle toning exercises to give yourself the great metabolism that muscle tone provides...
Circuit training is beneficial becuase it can give you some added cardio work aside from your pure cardio routine, as well as stimulate muscele tone. But this is only if you are in good enough condition to do it at the necessary pace... The weights you should be using depends on what is heavy enough to challenge you to complete a target repetition range necessary for toning. A consistent target rep range, corresponding weights, amount of sets, etc... are all important and must be structured week after week to acheive your results.
I hope this was helpful to you! Please feel free to check me out at my site JasonSpencer.askthetrainer.com and get to know me as a professional... I would love the opportunity to offer you that structure and organization I talked about. I have great programs that I gaurantee will suit you very well with your toning and slimming objectives! I want to give you all the tools to get where you need to be as quickly and effectively as possible! All it takes is structure... I hope to hear back from you!
JasonSpencer.AskTheTrainer.com
QUESTION:
After two kids I gained quite a bit of weight, I have (over the last year) lost most of it. I am working out at the gym to tone up. I have like I guess a roll right uder my breast.. What exercises can I do to get rid of it?
ANSWER:
It sounds like your excess body fat is being stored upper abdomen which is very common. Most people misunderstand fat distribution. Depending on your genetic fat distribution but most people have "problem areas" which are the areas which their genetics determines where they store the majority of the fat. This does not mean there is still not excess fat stored around the rest of your body.
By "working out in the gym" you've taken a step in the right direction. There is no specific exercise you can do to spot-reduce fat you just simply need to perform your cardio 3-5x per week and eat a healthy diet. If you really want to ramp up the intensity to speed up results, you can perform combination exercises which work multiple muscle groups.
QUESTION:
I'm 5'11" and weigh 155 pound guy who is lean and cut trying to build muscle. I currently work out 4 days a week and I am not sure if what I am doing is helping my muscle mass or hurting it. I am aware that you can possibly over trrain and hurt progress but I am not sure if I do that.
For example: Bicep workout:
Standing curls with curl bar. 3 sets of 10, moderate weight.
Standing dumbbell curls. 3 sets 10, 8, 6 weight increasing
Standing hammer curls. same sets
Cable "superman" curls same sets
"21's" 7 lower bicep curls, 7 upper, and 7 full
That completes my bicep workout and for chest I do around 7 excercises with 8-10 reps a set. I work other muscle groups too but for the sake of time I am not typing all of that.... Is this too much? ANSWER:
Too much biceps exercises, yes. Lifting weights 4 sessions per week is not excessive and is all you need to build mass but your biceps only workout is a waste of time. Having a day devoted to biceps and other small muscle groups exercises have no place in a 4 day per week mass building program. Isolation exercises should be secondary or tertiary to compound exercises such as squats, lunges, presses, dips, rows and pulls.
Working one body part per session is not a good way to build mass. Try to work out so you're able to hit compound exercises with major muscle groups two or 3 times per week.
Your rep scheme is more of a strength/maintenance rep scheme than a muscle building one.
In order to put on muscle you need to have higher training volume. For example you bench 100 pounds for 3 sets of 10 reps is 3000 pounds of volume when you could have benched 3 sets of 20 reps with 80 pounds which equals 4800 pounds which is 62% more training volume. Try to change your rep scheme to higher reps 12-20 for a 4 week hypertrophy mesocycle and see how your body responds. It's really about how your body responds. Try to change your routine to incorporate more training volume and focus on eating enough calories and you should be able to put on lean muscle.
The fact that you mention training and neglected to mention diet at all would suggest that you're not very serious about it. As with weight loss, gaining mass is a matter of caloric intake. You could be doing underwater upside-down squats and still gain mass if you eat enough calories. For gaining mass it is best to eat 4-6 times per day 2 of those meals coming within 90 minutes of your workout and directly following your workout. Your meals should be packed with complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, oats, brown rice and whole grain pasta and lean protein sources along with some fat.
If you want to gain muscle mass it is better to train 1x a week and eat properly than train 4 days a week while not eating enough calories, etc. Timing with your meals is also important as a regular eating schedule will help your body effectively synthesize your body's natural anabolic hormones and prevent catabolism from fasting. Things such as skipping breakfast, or even skipping a pre-bed meal is unacceptable if you really want to gain mass.
Read:
QUESTION:
Hello, I'm a 5'8" tall 180 pound woman. Will recumbent exercise bikes help tone and reduce cellulite in legs?
ANSWER:
That is a very general question and the very general answer is: Yes! Is a recumbent bike better than a treadmill, stairmaster, a track or eating less calories? No. Cellulite is a by-product of having excess body fat for most people. Your dimensions would indicate your body fat percentage is high. You can check the page about Body Fat Percentage in Women to learn more about it.
A cardio exercise program which can include a recumbent bike will burn calories based on the time and effort you put into your exercise sessions. It is up to you to eat less calories (food energy) than you burn to provide a stimulus for your body to burn fat as fuel. Once you lower your body fat to a healthy percentage then cellulite will be reduced. If you're asking whether exercising on a recumbent bike will magically lessen cellulite in your legs at your current dimensions the answer is no. You have to lose weight first.
QUESTION:Hello I'm 5'8" tall and weigh 242 pounds and I'm trying to get back in shape. Which product would be better to get back in shape the total gym or the perfect push up/pull up set?
ANSWER:First of all, unless your 5'8" tall, 242 pound build is like an NFL fullback you're likely not going to be able to do many pull-ups. Performing enough push-ups may be difficult at first. Comparing the Total Gym to those "push up/pull up set" is like comparing a BMW to a bicycle. The Total Gym is a great piece of exercise equipment as it lets you use varying resistance from a small percentage of your body weight to a more significant percentage of your body weight. Pull-ups from a bar for example you have to pull 100% of your body weight while on a total gym you can choose from something like 10-50% w/out adding weights. This allows you to progress exercise intensity which is one of the very basic principles of weight training.
You can perform a full body workout with the Total Gym which allows you to hit seldom used muscles as well as core strengthening exercises during most motions. Am I knocking the pull-up / push-up bars? No. Push-ups and pull-ups are great exercises but they are limited. The gimmicky products are not necessary but if budget is a concern they are far cheaper than even a used Total Gym. If money isn't a concern and you want to workout at home, a Total Gym is definitely a better choice for you and 99% of the people out there.
QUESTION:
I want to buy a treadmill but don’t know the best brand to get. I have been looking on the internet and have found the Smooth 7.35 but no one has ever heard of this brand. Was wondering if you could help me? I have a budget of about $1400. Thank you for any help you can give me.
ANSWER:
If you're set on buying a treadmill you're in luck because there is not much difference (if any) with the design of treadmills from brand to brand. They all can be set to go at a specific speed and incline and have various electronic controls to manipulate the intensity of each workout.
What you should worry about when choosing a treadmill is the build quality. Of course $7,000 commercial Precor or LifeFitness treadmills are going to be more durable than a machine designed for the home cardio machine market but you may want to look to those aforementioned brands if you want the highest quality build. You may be able to find gyms going out of business in your local area with discounts on previously used commercial equipment and get a deal.
If you want to buy a new machine in the price range you listed, your best bet is to search the most widely used vendor in the world, Amazon.com. The best part about looking on Amazon.com is you may find someone in a situation very similar to yours by browsing through the hundreds and thousands of reviews by people who actually bought the product. People also amend their reviews over time so you can really dig deep in some research.
Find the Most Popular Treadmills & Reviews from Owners on Amazon
