Will this routine help me drop BF%?

mattbirchfield

Afternoon all!

I am using a workout routine to help me prep for a Spartan Race this August. I am working my way up to 5 miles (slowly, this is hard work), and I stop every quarter mile for some form of PT. 30 pushups, situps, burpees, crunches, jumping jacks, dips, side skips, lunges, etc. Between doing this at least once a week, with a normal run once or twice a week and eating between 150-180g of protein a day be enough for me to drop a few % points? I'm currently 187lbs, and BF% is about 18ish. I have a pincer to measure, but since no one is up when I do it the readings are not entirely accurate.

Thoughts?

TIA

Matt

_benjammin

You just need to be in a calorie deficit, doesn't matter how much or what kind of exercise.

jemhh

If you are eating fewer calories than you are burning each day then you will lose body fat weight. I'm not sure how many percentage points it will equal out to though. That depends on how much lean mass you lose at the same time.

mattbirchfield

Ive been in a calorie deficit for months, my weight has stabilized at 187ish. Im working out more now and still trying to maintain the deficit but Im not seeing any weight loss. Am I at the point where muscle mass is the one driving weight now? No idea. That's why I brought it up here.

mantium999

mattbirchfield wrote: »

Ive been in a calorie deficit for months, my weight has stabilized at 187ish. Im working out more now and still trying to maintain the deficit but Im not seeing any weight loss. Am I at the point where muscle mass is the one driving weight now? No idea. That's why I brought it up here.

There is a good chance you aren't truly in a deficit any longer. When was the last time you calculated your TDEE? Are you weighing your food? Perhaps overestimating calories burned and eating those back? There are lots of possibilities.

jemhh

Have you adjusted your calories downward as you've lost weight? As we get smaller, we require fewer calories so in order to maintain the same rate of loss, you'd have to adjust your calories in downward or calories out upward. Otherwise, your rate of loss will slow. There's no right or wrong way to go about it though. If you want to keep losing at the faster rate, eat a bit less or exercise a bit more or do some combo. If you are fine with your slower rate of loss, just keep on doing what you are doing.

rsclause

I think you need to maintain a deficit to keep reducing weight and fat until you reach the weight you want. Assuming it is your proper weight your body fat should be reduced. Then up your exercise, calories and add more protein to build muscle. Not an expert here but that is my take on it.

mattbirchfield

mantium999 wrote: »

There is a good chance you aren't truly in a deficit any longer. When was the last time you calculated your TDEE? Are you weighing your food? Perhaps overestimating calories burned and eating those back? There are lots of possibilities.

Whats a TDEE?

My routine is this:

I have either (1)2 eggs with Kale, (2) a protein shake ( 8oz of Almond Milk with Protein powder, body fortress) or a protein bar. I have a snack about 2 hrs later, usually a protein bar or almonds, or carrots. For lunch I eat Healthy Choice Steamer meal or frozen meal. Another snack before leaving work, usually a protein bar. For dinner, its either a chicken breast and veggies, turkey burger and veggies, or something along those lines.

mattbirchfield

I adjusted my calories down a few months ago, and started to get dizzy after my half marathon training. I have since raised it up to 1800 a day and no dizzy spells. I will be the first to admit I dont always log my food here, but I do keep mental track of the calories I'm eating.

lishie_rebooted

It might help you reduce body fat.
But I don't think it'll help you do the Spartan tho.
It's an obstacle course race. Jumping jacks aren't part of that.
It's crawling through mud, climbing walls, monkey bars, etc.
Plus obstacles are placed at random distances from each other, not every half mile

There's some training stuff listed on their website.

MamaFunky

mattbirchfield wrote: »

I adjusted my calories down a few months ago, and started to get dizzy after my half marathon training. I have since raised it up to 1800 a day and no dizzy spells. I will be the first to admit I dont always log my food here, but I do keep mental track of the calories I'm eating.

There are a lot others that can provide better suggestions, but 1800 seems low for a male at your weight, exercise level and current BF%. My suggestion would be to weigh and log, at least for a little bit to make sure you are doing it accurately. Good luck with your training!

joeboland

MamaFunky wrote: »

mattbirchfield wrote: »

I adjusted my calories down a few months ago, and started to get dizzy after my half marathon training. I have since raised it up to 1800 a day and no dizzy spells. I will be the first to admit I dont always log my food here, but I do keep mental track of the calories I'm eating.

There are a lot others that can provide better suggestions, but 1800 seems low for a male at your weight, exercise level and current BF%. My suggestion would be to weigh and log, at least for a little bit to make sure you are doing it accurately. Good luck with your training!

1800 is definitely low for an ETP (Eat to Perform) diet/training regimen. To me, it sounds like you've got two different (and incompatible) concurrent goals: you're not going to be able to train for performance while on cutting calories, and not feel absolutely miserable. You're going to have to do one of two things to make this work:

-reduce your exercise intensity: performance/hypertrophy training while in a significant calorie deficit is going to rapidly deplete glycogen stores and will begin eating away at muscle tissue, eventually leading to feelings of faintness and/or injury, as ATP rebuilding can't keep up at the required rate due to lack of food energy available

-increase your calorie intake, and concentrate on improving your performance for Spartan Race

For more details on what I'm talking about, here's a quick guide on the subject (there are more detailed ones out there, but this is a decent high-level overview):

http://www.lactate.com/Energy_Basic01.html

Hope this helps!

mattbirchfield

joeboland wrote: »

MamaFunky wrote: »

mattbirchfield wrote: »

I adjusted my calories down a few months ago, and started to get dizzy after my half marathon training. I have since raised it up to 1800 a day and no dizzy spells. I will be the first to admit I dont always log my food here, but I do keep mental track of the calories I'm eating.

There are a lot others that can provide better suggestions, but 1800 seems low for a male at your weight, exercise level and current BF%. My suggestion would be to weigh and log, at least for a little bit to make sure you are doing it accurately. Good luck with your training!

1800 is definitely low for an ETP (Eat to Perform) diet/training regimen. To me, it sounds like you've got two different (and incompatible) concurrent goals: you're not going to be able to train for performance while on cutting calories, and not feel absolutely miserable. You're going to have to do one of two things to make this work:

-reduce your exercise intensity: performance/hypertrophy training while in a significant calorie deficit is going to rapidly deplete glycogen stores and will begin eating away at muscle tissue, eventually leading to feelings of faintness and/or injury, as ATP rebuilding can't keep up at the required rate due to lack of food energy available

-increase your calorie intake, and concentrate on improving your performance for Spartan Race

For more details on what I'm talking about, here's a quick guide on the subject (there are more detailed ones out there, but this is a decent high-level overview):

http://www.lactate.com/Energy_Basic01.html

Hope this helps!

Thank you sir. I will check it out

gdyment

Not a ton you can do in 2 months, but I would suggest you focus on the running. 5 times a week, no sprinting - just run easy, build up the mileage. You might drop 10 lbs which will help you more than circuit training with less running. You can still do some core/pushups/whatever at night before bed or in the morning. Run a 400-500 cal deficit but make sure you eat back the run calories. Spear throw is hard for some people since you can't really practice it, and the rope climb is just a strength/weight thing. Make sure you practice doing 30 burpees at a time. Try that at the end of every run.

mattbirchfield

gdyment wrote: »

Not a ton you can do in 2 months, but I would suggest you focus on the running. 5 times a week, no sprinting - just run easy, build up the mileage. You might drop 10 lbs which will help you more than circuit training with less running. You can still do some core/pushups/whatever at night before bed or in the morning. Run a 400-500 cal deficit but make sure you eat back the run calories. Spear throw is hard for some people since you can't really practice it, and the rope climb is just a strength/weight thing. Make sure you practice doing 30 burpees at a time. Try that at the end of every run.

Thanks! You sound like a man with speaking with the voice of experience.