I NEED HELP.. I don't know if I am doing the right thing!!

Gionni

This is a VERY busy forum so I hope that this post doesn't get lost! I have been struggling with my weight for years.What tends to happen is I work really hard and lose a ton of weight really fast, but ultimately I overwork myself and fail (ended up in the ER twice). Afterwards I get really discouraged and I gain the weight back.

This time I really wanna succeed. I naturally have a lot of muscle mass, as well as great muscle memory so I am able to recover my strength pretty quick (I went from 120 to 315 bench press in 2 months ). I started this "round" in January with heavy weights and gradually moved up into cardio. Now I lift weights every other week ( 3 times during those weeks) and do cardio 3-4 times a week a every week. I usually do between 40-60 minutes on each cardio session and 40 minutes of heavy weights ( 3 times a week EVERY other week).

Here is my question. Am I doing the right thing? I am currently 229 @ 23% BF. I want to be 215 @15%. My weight fluctuates a lot because of the weight training (I am guessing) but I have lost 23 pounds and ALOT of itches on my waist. I keep reading different stuff online, so I don't know if I should be just focusing on either weight training (with a bit of cardio) or what I am currently doing (cardio 3-4 a week and strength training every other week). NOTE: During my strength training weeks I do cardio after wards (EX: 40 minutes + 60 minutes of cardio) PLEASE HELP!!!

michalebsdad

This is probably the most sought after question in the world. It is not an easy one to answer since we are all different and our bodies respond differently to diet and exercise. That being said, here is my two cents.

First and foremost, diet is key (obviously). As far as working out, this is what I would suggest. I would weight training 3 or 4 times per week. Focus on lighter weights and higher reps. In the neighborhood of the 12 to 15 reps per set. Lower your time inbetween sets to no more than 45 seconds. Also end each workout session with HIIT cardio. I have bad knees, so I do mine on the bike. I do 5 minute warm up and then I go balls out for 1 minute, normal speed for 2. I continue this for no longer than 30 minutes. I do that after every workout. On my recovery days (when I am not lifting) I do LISS (steady state cardio basically) for 45 minutes. For me, it is important to include L-Glutamine after my workouts to help my body keep my lean muscle mass and make my body use stored fat for energy. I take CLA every day as well with my multi-vitamin.I track what I eat on this site, but I NEVER "eat back" my workout calories (that doesn't even make sense to me). A lot of people swear by this "eating back" your workout calories, but I don't.

Again, this is just my two cents and I hope it helped you in some small way. It seems to work well for me. If you want anymore help or advice feel free to ask, I am not an expert, but I do know a thing or two. God Bless and good luck reaching and surpassing all of your fitness goals.

Gionni

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