Chanding Goal, Body Recomp - Advice?

cyoka13

Hi Sara and Sidesteel –

I think it is time to switch goals to body recomp and not just weight loss. I started at 149 lbs. in December 2012 and I am now at 129. My initial weight goal was 125. My progress has been great and has gone nicely without any stalls. But I want to switch direction and focus more on reducing body fat percentage now. In March, you guys gave me an estimate of 29-32% body fat (page 10 of thread). I have lost 8 pounds since that post…so I am going to guess-tamate that I am probably around 27% (based on if I was 30% body fat and I have lost 5 pounds of fat). I would like to get down to around 22/23%

My current plan is that I am eating between 1450-1500 cals on most days, with goals of 100 g/protein and 45 g/fat. I rarely hit these targets, but I am working on it. I tend to be heavy on the carbs. My workout routine is 3 days a week of bodyweight resistance training and 1 day a week of cardio.

I put together this plan from a piecing together bits of information here and there. I think it is a decent plan – but then again, I could be way off! Do you have any suggestions, critiques, etc? Any advice you can offer is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Christina

Sarauk2sf

Hi!

What has your weight done over the last 4 weeks?

When did you start lifting? What program are you currently doing?

cyoka13

Over the last 4 weeks, I have lost 2-3 lbs.

For workouts, it is actually a little all over the place. I am following bodyweight routines from Fitnessblender. To give it more "routine", I just created a schedule of 1 day full body, 1 day lower body/abs and 1 day upper body. They are all body weight because I do not have any equipment. The videos I follow have tend to have 3 sets/12 reps or 40-50 secs. of the exercise.

Sarauk2sf

You have been far too polite and not bumped - sorry for this one being overlooked.

Could you give me an update as to your weight.

What type of exercises do you do in your routines?

cyoka13

No problem!

My weight is actually up 2lbs this morning (from 128.5 to 130.5) - however, I ate at Golden Corral last night so I am assuming that I am carrying some water and food weight because I did not eat 7,000 cals of food I also experience something similar to this in March when I switched from cardio 4 days a week to resistance. I suddenly went up in weight and then dropped after a week or so. My measurements have remained the same.

Here is an "example" of my week. All of the workouts are from fitnessblender and most of the time, I cannot complete as many reps as they indicate in the video. Also, I just decided last week that it is time to go back to Judo (something I did for years!) at least one day a week. Judo is awesome and is definitely lifting: squatting and lifting people, throwing people, getting thrown and getting back up...That will likely replace one day listed below:

Tuesday (Upper Body/Abs) includes 3 sets of: T- Stabilizations, Boxer Squats + Punches, Captain Morgan Up & Overs, Back Bow Crossovers, Bicycle Crunches, Plank Tucks, Butterfly Crunch, Side Cinchers
AND 2 sets of: 14 Reverse Leg Lift Push Ups, 14 Tricep Dips, 10 Traveling Plank + Rows, 14 Pike Push Ups, 14 Standing Rhomboid Squeezes, 14 Roundabout Push Ups, 14 Side PushUps, 14 Tip Toe Planks

Wednesday:
17-20 minute HIIT routine: My “favorite” is a descending ladder routine that uses Flutter Kick Squats, High Knees, Burpees, Jumping Jacks

Friday:
(Lower Body) A Barre workout that Includes 2 Sets of: Forward Leg Lifts, Leg Lift Extensions, Rear Lift Pulses, Position Plie Squat Pulses , Hamstring Pulls, Squats + Leg lifts

Sunday:
Full Body: 3 Sets of 8 reps each: T Stabilizations, Side Lunge with a Reach, Walk Down Push Ups, Leg Extension Crunches, Tricep Push Up with Shell Stretch, Reverse Lunges with High Knees, Downward Dog with Leg Raise, Plank Rotation Kicks

I have experienced newbie gains: my biceps are more defined as are my abs. There is also definitely less of an appearance of fat in my thighs/rear.

cyoka13

I am adding some pics here (even though it is not the bodyfat estimation thread) because I am specifically asking about lowering my body fat percent. If it is helpful, great! If not, aw well.

Sarauk2sf

Thanks. We will try to get back to you tomorrow.

SideSteel

Tagging.

SideSteel

Do you enjoy your current training methods?
Do you have access to a gym and is this something you'd consider adding in, or preferentially would you like to stick to more of a bodyweight based program?

If you'd rather do more bodyweight types of things are you opposed to some programming changes if need be?

cyoka13

I enjoy working out but I am not particularly beholden to what I am doing right now. I am happy to give anything a try. I do love judo but that is only one day a week, potentially two. Unfortunately, I do not have gym access so I am stuck with my body

SideSteel

I enjoy working out but I am not particularly beholden to what I am doing right now. I am happy to give anything a try. I do love judo but that is only one day a week, potentially two. Unfortunately, I do not have gym access so I am stuck with my body

Thanks.

The first thing I'd consider would be to find a body-weight based program that specifically incorporates progressive resistance in some fashion, whether this is through resistance bands, changing angles on particular exercises, etc. The program should apply some sort of planned progression so that intensity increases over time.

You certainly don't have to give up Judo and since you enjoy it you should do it.

cyoka13

Is there a program you would recommend? The two I have seen thrown around on the forums are You are Your Own Gym and Convict Conditioning. Do you see any benefits or drawbacks to either of these?

In terms of diet, I calculated my TDEE to be 1862 based on 8 weeks of logging and weight loss. However, I would guess there is error in this calculation because I do not weigh my food. I am pretty consistent in my measurements (ie I know 1/8 cup of almonds will fit in my hand when closed) but I know they are not precise. So my TDEE is probably higher.

I have been consuming roughly 1450-1500 cals per day. How much of a deficit should I maintain to decrease body fat percentage? Most days, I am comfortable consuming that.

SideSteel

Is there a program you would recommend? The two I have seen thrown around on the forums are You are Your Own Gym and Convict Conditioning. Do you see any benefits or drawbacks to either of these?

Unfortunately, I don't know enough about the specifics of either program to make a distinction. I've heard that both are great but I can't really comment beyond that.

In terms of diet, I calculated my TDEE to be 1862 based on 8 weeks of logging and weight loss. However, I would guess there is error in this calculation because I do not weigh my food. I am pretty consistent in my measurements (ie I know 1/8 cup of almonds will fit in my hand when closed) but I know they are not precise. So my TDEE is probably higher.

I have been consuming roughly 1450-1500 cals per day. How much of a deficit should I maintain to decrease body fat percentage? Most days, I am comfortable consuming that.

You originally mentioned recomping which would consist of you averaging maintenance intake and potentially cycling it so that you consume a bit more on training days and a bit less on rest days.

In terms of your body composition goals however, I think you should still eat slightly below TDEE.

I think you should start around 15 to 20% under TDEE. However, you don't use a food scale so as you mention, your intake is likely incorrect. Even people who own a food scale have inaccurate intakes for a variety of reasons

(http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think )

Now, if you can maintain consistent progress without weighing intake then more power to you, but as you get closer to your goal your room for error is going to decrease and the importance of accuracy will likely increase. Consequently, I'd recommend getting and using a food scale for a while.

If you get a food scale, I'd probably start by eating at your theoretical TDEE for a couple of weeks but weigh and measure everything and see what the results are, then adjust intake based on that.

cyoka13

Since I do have such a high probability of error until I get a food scale, I will stick within my current daily cals and try to get closer to hitting my macros.

Just so that I understand correctly though, at my height/weight (5'4"/128ish), there is a difference between simply losing weight and decreasing body fat percentage (I could be using the term "recomp" wrong). So to break it down, I want a leaner look with some muscle definition which I think would put me around the 22% body fat range. I am assuming right now that I am around 27%.

To achieve this, I should eat at a small deficit (to lose body fat) which includes 1 gr protein/lb of lean body mass (roughly 100 grams) and incorporate .35 g/fat per lb of weight (roughly 45 grams). Resistance training with a progressive load will help maintain my lean body mass while in a deficit and will make it more likely that the cals burned will come from fat rather then muscle, thus decreasing my body fat percentage.

My apologies for any redundancy here! I think this is a bit of a shift in mindset and I want to make sure my thoughts are heading in the right direction!

Thank you!

Sarauk2sf

Bumping

Sarauk2sf

Since I do have such a high probability of error until I get a food scale, I will stick within my current daily cals and try to get closer to hitting my macros.

Just so that I understand correctly though, at my height/weight (5'4"/128ish), there is a difference between simply losing weight and decreasing body fat percentage (I could be using the term "recomp" wrong). So to break it down, I want a leaner look with some muscle definition which I think would put me around the 22% body fat range. I am assuming right now that I am around 27%.

To achieve this, I should eat at a small deficit (to lose body fat) which includes 1 gr protein/lb of lean body mass (roughly 100 grams) and incorporate .35 g/fat per lb of weight (roughly 45 grams). Resistance training with a progressive load will help maintain my lean body mass while in a deficit and will make it more likely that the cals burned will come from fat rather then muscle, thus decreasing my body fat percentage.

My apologies for any redundancy here! I think this is a bit of a shift in mindset and I want to make sure my thoughts are heading in the right direction!

Thank you!

You have it right!

I would look into Convict Conditioning - it is a bit more straightforward and seems to have a better progression. If you google convict conditioning pdf - the first hit is actually the book - it says it is open source but I am not sure. Ideally however, it would be great if you could invest in some dumbbells as it will make it easier to incorporate progressive loading and make your options more flexible.

Your Judo can be considered something like HIIT which is metabolically beneficial and can go towards preserving LBM, albeit not as effectively as 'tradiional' strength training. I used to do ju-jitsu and know how much of a workout it can be - and that is far more grappling than Judo so did not include the throws (or rarely did).

cyoka13

Thank you! I have You are Your Own Gym and I just started the first 10-week program. I am on the first week of the program (I know, it looks like I have workout a.d.d) I will stick to the first 10 week program, see how it goes and reevaluate at the end to determine if I should move on the next 10 week program or give convict conditioning a shot.

I appreciate the advice Sara and SS!

SteveJWatson

I would look into Convict Conditioning - it is a bit more straightforward and seems to have a better progression. If you google convict conditioning pdf - the first hit is actually the book - it says it is open source but I am not sure. Ideally however, it would be great if you could invest in some dumbbells as it will make it easier to incorporate progressive loading and make your options more flexible.

I just downloaded this - it looks brilliant. Am seriously considering buying a chin-up bar and kissing the overcrowded gym goodbye (I do a lot of chin-ups, bar dips etc in the gym anyway as nobody uses the bars much).

cyoka13

Convict Conditioning does look good. One of the "restrictions" that I have found with You are Your Own Gym is that even though it uses body weight, there is still some form of equipment needed (for pull techniques). I can substitute different techniques, but they do not target as many muscle groups. I am thinking about getting a chin up bar to to accommodate this.

likitisplit

Thanks for this thread. Never heard of the fat goal and that answers a question that I wasn't sure how to articulate. I read exactly 1 thread for a win! Kudos!

cyoka13

Wonderful! It took me a while to "understand" what I was trying to accomplish too. It feels good having a goal other then just "lose weight." I think it is a healthier and more sustainable goal.

Sarauk2sf

Convict Conditioning does look good. One of the "restrictions" that I have found with You are Your Own Gym is that even though it uses body weight, there is still some form of equipment needed (for pull techniques). I can substitute different techniques, but they do not target as many muscle groups. I am thinking about getting a chin up bar to to accommodate this.

I think a chin up bar is a good investment. You can do chin ups/pull ups and if you get the straps, hanging leg raises for your core. You can get those ones that you do not need to attach 'permanently' but that kind of hook onto the door frame with no screws.

Sarauk2sf

Locking so we can keep track of active threads. If you wish for the thread to be unlocked if you wish to pose further questions, please feel free to PM either myself or SideSteel, including a link to this thread and we will unlock it so you can.