Workout to burn fat and gain muscle tips and ideas?

babbott165

Hey guys and gals! I'm currently working out twice a day 5 days a week. In the mornings before work I'm doing the regular P90 Carido (30 mins) and then in the evenings on my lunch break I'm doing some pretty intense weight training where each day focuses on a body part followed by 10 minutes of moderate cardio (30 minutes). I've been doing a lot of research and YouTube watching on best ways to burn fat and along with a healthy "diet," which I've got down pretty well, I found that building muscle will burn more weight than doing cardio. For those of you who are professionals and actually know the ins and outs of health, wellness and getting in shape, what are your thoughts?

My information:
5'10" height
242.3 lbs
Heavy in the belly area.

Since Christmas I'm down 17 lbs from doing this routine, but I'm curious if I'm hurting more than I'm doing good. My diet is around 1900 calories daily and I hit that goal consistently. I'm eating awesome food, lots of meat, fruits, veggies cottage cheese. No milk, fatty, processed, or sugary foods. I have a lot of energy, so I know my diet is giving the amount of nutrients I need to make it through the day. I have one cheat day a week where I eat whatever I want, but I stay in my portion sizes and I won't let myself go over 1000 calories or 2900 calories for that day. Figure it'll get my metabolism all fired up.

alyhuggan

Except in extreme circumstances or with the use of drugs you cannot burn fat and gain muscle at the same time. It's mainly about your macros and how much calories you eat which determines whether you will build muscle or lose fat.

Aim for one or the other, you will save yourself so much time.

hearthemelody

That is way way too much working out.

That is a great way to get injured and refuse your muscles the time they need to repair and build themselves.

You may lose weight quickly with this routine, however you will burn out your body and will not be able to maintain it.

Just my opinion...

babbott165

Thing is, I'm not feeling drained or tired. My muscles aren't getting to the point of pain and within two days they're recovered from the workouts. Since I'm not working a muscle group more than one day, they get enough time to recover. My cardio isn't hard core. the original P90 cardio is pretty light, just getting me to sweat at the very end. My 10 minutes of cardio after my weight training is probably more hard core than my cardio in the morning.

RECowgill

Just my opinion, it is too much working out. If you want to build functional strength while burning fat do stronglifts 5x5 and ditch the rest. It is a completely different approach than what you're doing and far more effective.

Or if you insist on keeping what you got then at least add in squats and deadlifts on a regular basis. If you already do them great. Real squats too, not at a smith machine.

But yaknow at the same time you have to see what your mind and body respond to. Everyone is different there so it's hard to say what will necessarily be optimal for you. But if you wanted opinions and ideas there you go.

DavPul

5 days of lifting + 40 minutes of cardio is too much exercise? Since when?

My only real critique is that you may want to consider eating more. I'm not using any calculators or anything but I'm thinking you would do just as well or better by eating around 2600 calories per day instead of the 2100ish that you're eating now.

RECowgill

Except in extreme circumstances or with the use of drugs you cannot burn fat and gain muscle at the same time. It's mainly about your macros and how much calories you eat which determines whether you will build muscle or lose fat.

Aim for one or the other, you will save yourself so much time.

Sigh. This is not true. You can do both at the same time it is just much slower. You have to be very careful and knowledgeable of the choices that you're making, but it is not impossible. I'm certainly no genetic freak and I take no drugs except for the usual supplements.

RECowgill

5 days of lifting + 40 minutes of cardio is too much exercise? Since when?

I said it was my opinion. I wouldn't workout that much, again in my opinion it's a waste of effort. He even admits his p90 mornings are very light and hardly breaking a sweat, what good is that doing? Sounds like wasted time to me.

I do agree he's probably not eating enough. I'm 10lbs lighter than him and I eat more, lose weight and workout 3x a week. And my strength gains keep going up.

He did say he's only been doing this since December so he's still in his newbie gains phase.

babbott165

Thanks guys! I'm taking what your'e saying seriously and I appreciate the input you've given me. Just a FYI, I do the P90 in the morning to get my heart rate up and to kick my metabolism up for the day and to wake me up so I stay awake and alert. It helps a lot, plus I feel better afterwards. With the weight lifting in the evenings on my lunch break, I'm having gains in strength, not so much in size, that I can tell. I've got a thick layer of fat everywhere and a huge amount around my mid section. My goal is to burn the fat off my stomach and I can see results now that I couldn't see a week ago. I don't take any supplements or any drugs that would help me out in weight loss or muscle gain. Only supplement I take is a chewable multivitamin daily.

Pretty much, before Christmas I was the guy that would wake up in the mornings and then lay around until work, never doing any type of physical exercise of any kind. I would over eat in excess of 5k calories a day with no portion control. The bulk of my diet was fast food and I never monitored my intake of fats and/or sugars. That lifestyle put me bad place. I was borderline diabetic, couldn't bend over to tie my shoes without a struggle and the weight of my stomach would frequently give me back pain. Now, however, I manage what I eat in both portion sizes and nutrients, I exercise on a regular basis and I'm motivated to continue. I've yet to hit a plateau, but I know that day is coming....they always do. Again, thank you for your input; I'll be staying in touch on my progress. Feel free to check out my profile/diary of foods. I don't report my exercise beside little notes that are brief because I don't have anything to gauge my calorie loss while working out. I had a watch and waist band for that, but they stopped working after a month. Oh well. See y'all around the MFP site guys!

DavPul

5 days of lifting + 40 minutes of cardio is too much exercise? Since when?

I said it was my opinion. I wouldn't workout that much, again in my opinion it's a waste of effort. He even admits his p90 mornings are very light and hardly breaking a sweat, what good is that doing? Sounds like wasted time to me.

I do agree he's probably not eating enough. I'm 10lbs lighter than him and I eat more, lose weight and workout 3x a week. And my strength gains keep going up.

He did say he's only been doing this since December so he's still in his newbie gains phase.

If it was five days of 6 mile runs I'd be inclined to agree, but 30 of cardio shouldn't hurt. Plus I'm imagining that he's otherwise sedentary so he can probably use the extra activity. If he doesn't like the cardio be can stop, but it's in the no harm, no foul range afaic.

And yeah to the part about him only doing this for a few weeks. If he keeps up that activity with that low of an intake he could hit a wall in a few weeks. As long as he keeps the cheat day he should be recharged tho.

ElliottTN

If you have found that building muscle will cause more weight loss than cardio than you cardio is complete weak sauce.

That aside, I think you've got a pretty good thing going and should ride that wave as long as you can. Its actually refreshing to hear someone concerned they may be doing too much around here. Good work man, keep it up.

rybo

If it's working, stick with it.
Congrats on the progress so far!

Hornsby

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FromHereOnOut

Sounds like a great workout plan, but I think you could definitely get away with eating more (or if you aren't already, maybe add a protein shake 2x/day--but if you prefer real food, that's fine too--just consider upping the cals and possibly the protein a bit). As for the inevitable plateau---measure NOW, so that later you'll know whether a "weight" plateau is really a plateau, or just the result of recomposition. Sounds like you're doing really great. Congrats.

TheEffort

I think your current routine is fine; try eating more calories on days you work the larger muscles and less calories on the day you work the smaller muscles and see how your body responds. JMO.

Good luck.

FromHereOnOut

Me again. Yikes, just checked your diary. Definitely up the protein. You need protein (and frankly more calories) to build muscle. Consider a whey shake 2x/day, esp with 1 being after your weight training. You could easily use another 50g/day protein. The extra cals from the shake would put you closer to a daily cal requirement fitting your stats.

DavPul

she's right, that protein is crazy low. handle that piece of business

babbott165

Awesome thanks! Any suggestion on a protein supplement for post workout?

FromHereOnOut

It seems to be pretty standard to have a simple whey shake. It's quick protein (absorbs quickly when you need it, such as after a workout or after a fasting period).

I normally have whey shake at breakfast and one post workout, and then I have Greek yogurt and/or cheese before bed.


I think that protein cannot be hyped enough. Your body needs protein in order to liberate fat AND in order to build muscle. Don't shortchange yourself protein. Just don't try to get a day's worth in one sitting. Only so much can be used at a time, so spread it throughout the day.

babbott165

Yea I've heard the body can only process 30g of protein every three hours. I plan on taking one in the morning and one after my workout. I normally eat 30 minutes before my workout (7pm) then I'm done for the night. Is there a brand of protein shake or powder to get? I'd like the cleanest and simplest stuff I can get without a lot of fillers and sugars.

bucs863

you can gain strength and lose fat at the same time!!! don't be fooled