Number of Days you lift? Little Help here?

stryder77

Hey MFP... Thanks to everyone for all the encouragement on here. I've lost about 55 lbs and I've hit that dreaded weight loss plateau. I know everyone hits these and you just have to stay on track and keep working hard but I would really appreciate any encouragement or advice while I work through it.

A bit about me, I weighed over 355 back in Jan 2014 and I've dropped to under 300 last month for the first time in over 9 years. I've been working very hard at trying to control my diet but most of this has come from just hitting the gym extremely hard.

Currently, I workout 5 days a week. 3 days I lift and do the elliptical. The other 2 I just do elliptical. I run on the elliptical for about 35 min and do about 4.5 miles (8 min mile) so I'm hauling *kitten* but I've seen my heart rates start to drop off because my heart is getting used to the exercise.

I'm also doing HIIT training on the elliptical. I run around 7.4mph to start and push around 8mph during my intervals. My intervals are about 3 min long and my breaks are 2 min. I've also been steadily increasing my resistances on the machines I use. I start out at about a 6 and 8's during my intervals to warm up. After about 15 min I go up to a 7 during my breaks and 9 during my intervals. Its the only way I can get my heart rate up is to push in the 9's now.

For weights, I'm focusing on upper body but really trying to lift heavier than I have in the past. I've seen some improvements in overall size but not in getting any leaner on my muscles. Granted, I'm no personal trainer and I'm pretty new to weight lifting but I can honestly say I'm giving it all my energy. I usually do 4 sets of 12 reps at various exercises I read about. Please be gentle here since I'm really new to weight lifting and really trying to learn about it.

For rest days, I take usually Wednesdays and Saturdays for off but spend them mowing yard (I'm in Texas and we're mowing a lot more now) or swimming with my kiddo for about an hour or so. I still try to stay active since I can't seem to sit still anymore thanks to all this energy from working out.

My diet is the place that needs the most work. I need to cut carbs and go high protein but can't find a good diet that I both enjoy and stick with. Recommendations appreciated.

I was curious if adding another lift day would be a good thing. 4 days of lifting is a lot. I'm already pretty sore all the time from my normal lift days. I average about an hour and half at the gym on the days I lift. After about 35 min on the elliptical, I usually spend almost another hour lifting weights and really pushing hard on it.

It might be that my body is rearranging still. I just this weekend had to finally order new smaller clothes because my old ones are way too big and don't really give me a good feel for what my body is doing. I haven't tried to measure yet but I know I should.

Thank you in advance for any help and encouragement y'all can give me. I know I can't do this without a little help. Blessings to you for any advice and encouragement.

Have a great week!

WBB55

Honestly, and I don't mean to be simplistic here, but you should keep doing what you're doing as long as you're happy and it's working. Are you happy with the changes you see? What with your weightloss or routine or mood are you unhappy about?

stryder77

Just haven't had the drops in weight that I think I should. Not unhappy... Really just trying to stay on top of it and keep losing.

DR2501

Hi, congratulations on the loss so far!

Your legs contain the largest muscles in your body, so ignoring them is a mistake. It takes more energy to move something big than it does to move something small, so you burn more calories working your legs (and they burn more when you have built them up). Plus, squats are a great core workout as well as your glutes, quads etc.

Your cardio sounds fine to me if you enjoy it, plus I like the sound of your 'active' rest days.

If it were me, I'd change my lifting plan to a full body 3 days per week (I've suggested a plan below), maybe even done as a circuit for extra cardio.

Here's a great plan you can do (Tentigers full body workout)

If you workout 3 times a week, say Mon-wed-fri, first week do A-B-A, second week B-A-B, Cardio on the Tue and Thu.

ORIGINAL

Workout A
Squats
bench press
deadlift
military press
chinups/pullups

Workout B
Front squats
dips
stiff legged deadlift
dumbbell shoulder press
bent over rowing

BEGINNER
Sets and reps 3x10, start with a weight you can just fail the last rep on the last set with, when you can do 3x12 up the weight.

WBB55

How much weight have you lost in the past month? Weight loss slows down once you get closer and closer to your goal.

stryder77

@ WBB55 about 9 lbs since 6/9.

@ DR2501 To be honest, I hate cardio but it does a lot to get my heart rate up. I figured upping my resistances was a pretty good leg workout as it is. I have to be careful because I have a bad knee and problems with my back. I hate that kind of pain and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy so I have been avoiding doing dead lifts and squats. I'm not sure I'm light enough to do chin ups and pull ups yet but it is a goal I'm trying to get to. I probably need to try though. I'll read up on what you've got here and see how I can incorporate it into what I'm doing now. I might just need to start off very light on my legs as I build up again. I used to do a lot of work on my legs before I screwed up my knee and injured my lower back several years ago. I'll definitely give it a try though.

willrun4bagels

@ WBB55 about 9 lbs since 6/9.

9 lbs in a month is fantastic progress.

alyssamaryw

Hi Stryder77!

You mentioned that you focus on upper body, but the biggest muscles in your body are in your legs. If you work these muscles, it increases the benefits of lifting a bit. I'm not saying it will make a huge difference, but it might be the little push your body needs to break the plateau.

Edit to acknowledge that this was already mentioned. :embarassed:

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stryder77

Thanks MrM27, What do you mean by compound lift like 5x5? 5 sets at 5 reps? Weight lifting noob here...

DR2501

Google 'stronglifts 5x5' for an explanation - its a full workout routine based on that set/rep range.

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gregpack

If you're losing then you are doing something right. 10 lbs a month is realistic at your size, but progress will slow as you get closer to your goal. You'l then have to tweak your diet to get losses- at least I did.

Congrats on the weightifting early on, I lost significant muscle mass on my diet, and I blame it on lower protein consumption and too much cardio.

As already mentioned, start a program that concentrates on heavier weights and lifting more intensity- I lift until complete muscle failure. 2-3 sessions a week is plenty, you will see some benefit if you only lift once a week if done intensely enough. Listen to your body, if it fees like it needs rest it probably does. Stronglifts and starting strength is popular. I don't enjoy the gym so I use Drew Baye's program of one set til failure. It gets me in and out quickly. My current program is Sprint Monday, Weights Tuesday, Rest Wednesday, Cardio Thursday, and weights Friday. Rest on the weekend.

HIIT on the elliptical can be effective, but intervals lasting 90 seconds is not HIIT. If you can go past 30 seconds you're not doing it intensely enough- google "peak eight" or "sprint eight" for a good program that can be performed on the elliptical or recumbent bike in about 20 minutes. it's a 30 second sprint /90 second rest cycle of eight intervals. I'm almost 49 and get my heart rate in the low 170s during the latter stages. When I get off, I'm toast.



Good Luck!