Need dietary advice for my training...

trustymutsi

I've been sedentary for the past 15 years, with spurts of exercise, which I'd quit after a month. I finally stuck with something since I've been doing karate since June 3rd, 3 times a week. I get a very intense PT workout before we go into martial arts technique. It's a 2 hour class.

Thing is, 2 months in and I'm STILL having a REALLY hard time keeping up with the physical training. After we do one of the harder circuits (burpees, situps, pullups, pushups, repeat) I can barely breath and get light headed.

Should I have better stamina after 2 months?

More info: I'm 208 lbs, 6' 1". Male. I get an average of 6 hours of sleep a night. I don't drink enough water (maybe 3-4 glasses a day).

I keep trying to lose weight, but then I think I should eat more if I want to perform better in class. My wife says I LOOK better, despite my weight not dropping, so I assume SOMETHING is happening.

My main question is: I have a yellow belt test in a few weeks. I want to be at my best, not panting and wheezing and barely able to keep my arms up.

I know I should sleep more and drink more water, but should I be eating more than maintenance? How much protein? How many carbs? Will I have enough energy if I continue a calorie deficit?

Should I work out on my non-karate days?

Sorry if I'm rambling. I'm just trying to get my diet straight now that I'm finally really active.

Thanks for any advice!

usmcmp

Sounds like you need more water and more cardio to improve the barely breathing and light headed part.

DebLaBounty

Have you tried Gatorade to help keep you hydrated? Could be of help to you, especially if you find water boring. Something else to look into is to consult your doctor about exercise-induced asthma. I added a boot camp workout to my regular cardio, and was unable to get my breathing under control about 20 minutes into the class. I was in better shape, but it completely ruined my stamina. After the doctor prescribed an inhaler, I would take two puffs of that before a workout and the problem was solved.

Out_of_Bubblegum

Martial arts is a beast when it comes to cardio. I took a long break from it, and when I came back, it took a long time to gain enough stamina to really keep up.

Some things that may help:

1 - Train often. At least 3 times per week.
2 - Hydrate. It makes a significant difference.
3 - If you can, get more rest. Again.. it helps.
4 - Stay in the calorie deficit.. Yes it sucks, yes it lowers energy levels sometimes, but taking weight off WILL help in the long run.
5 - HIIT, or Tabata can help - but you should really build up a base first.

2 months isn't that long - most good martial arts workouts are designed that way on purpose... don't measure your fitness level in how gassed out you feel... instead measure how long you get into the workout before you feel that way.. or how many reps of really hard exercises you can do, etc.

And don't worry that your fellow students are judging you for not being in shape... every one I know will respect you more for being there even though it's hard.

That feeling will go away... Eventually. But it takes time and a LOT of effort.

lorrpb

Start with what you know needs to fixed: sleep & hydration. Nothing will offset deficiencies in those areas. 2 months is not a long time for sedentary people to gain fitness. Improvements can definitely made, but huge progress takes much longer.