My routine vs my goals

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DaveMustGetFit
DaveMustGetFit Posts: 43 Member
edited July 2017 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi

I have struggled with "being fat" since I was a boy. When I was 30 I weighed 240lbs. I dieted and did not exercise and got to 170. Since then I have never been more than 219 and stuck in the range of 190-210. I have only ever dieted and found I have been able to lose 20-30 lbs doing just this. In the last year I got up to 219 and decided I need to get serious again. I had a few false starts but am trying so hard right now.

This time around, I have been at it 4 weeks and lost between 7 - 9lbs. I am not exactly sure because I started in the middle of a cruise. I now weigh 209lbs now and btw I am 5'11 tall.

When I started my fitness journey I set out to lose weight - maybe 30-40lbs.

Now my first goal is to be healthy as possible. I don't want to gain weight related illnesses.
My second goal is to lose excess fat around my stomach, chest, face and wherever else it doesn't belong.
My third goal is to build visibly better muscles.
My fourth goal is to be able to compete and complete a marathon, even if I come in dead last, as long as I finish it.

I know I am still new to this so hoping I can stick to it this time.

Much of this is improvement is probably water I suspect but my pants are fitting substantially better. In the past when I have eaten this well I might have lost 15lbs by now. But I have never weight lifted before. The cool part, I can fit now into pants 2 inches smaller quite comfortably. I also feel better, have more energy, shirts are fitting better, more active. Something is working well here I think. I am no longer sure that losing weight is the right goal, but more losing fat and toning up and gaining muscles.

What I have done is eaten no more than 1500 calories every day and stuck to healthier foods. Each day I either do cardio or weights for about 35-45 mins. I alternate days between weights and cardio. I am now running 5ks and that's a big step for me - albeit a bit slow at about 5MPH.

My weights or muscle exercises I do are...
Leg extension 90lbs 3 sets of 15 reps
Row/Rear - 70lbs - 4 sets of 12 reps
Shoulder Press 40lbs -3 sets of 12 reps
Seated Leg Curl 90lbs 4 sets of 15 reps
LaT Pulldown 85lbs 4 sets of 12 reps
Chest Press 60lbs x 6 sets of 12 reps
Triceps pushdown 50 lb - 3 sets of 12 reps
Back extension 180lbs 3 sets of 15 reps
S. leg press 210lbs 4 sets of 15 reps
Ab Crunch 3 reps of 15 crunches

I am enjoying this routine, but I am confused on a few points.

First I have been reading a lot of advice about weight training and building muscle. The advice is to eat and eat. I suspect this is for people doing a lot more weights than me.

The thing is if I ate more than 1500 calories I don't think I would lose fat, instead I would gain it.

Should I change my routine given my goals?

My other question is. Given that I can run 5Ks, given I am 44, never ran more than about 7miles in my life at one time, heavy boned, is a Marathon just a ridiculous goal for me or is it realistic? When I started I couldn't run for more than 1 mile without stopping. How long will it take for me to achieve this realistically if I run 3 times per week and build up? I was thinking of adding 1K every other week but that might be hard - will see I guess.

Also looking for more friends on here so hit me up.

Thanks!
Dave

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,564 Member
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    The advice to eat and eat to build muscle is because, for the most part, you can only gain muscle in a calorie surplus. It's possible you could be building some now, but newbie gains are only temporary.

    And no, eating more than 1500 should not make you gain. 1500 is actually the minimum you should be eating after exercise. I'm a 35 year old female and I lose eating 1800-2000 a day.

    As for your weight routine, I would suggest switching to a full-body, progressive lifting program. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited July 2017
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    You might want to prioritise those goals as distance running and gaining muscle are not the best bedfellows. Which isn't to say it's not doable, it's just making life harder for yourself.

    Maybe start with a 10k race this year, then a half at the start if next year and a full at the end of next year?

    Find a proper lifting programme to do 3 x a week. Set mfp to lose 1lb per week, and eat back a portion of your exercise cals.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    edited July 2017
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    You should look to add a maximum of 10% to your long run each week. Maybe follow a running programme.

    I used the BUPA free training half marathon one and it got me to half marathon in 12 weeks.

    As @TavistockToad said, long distance running and gaining muscle are tough goals to combine.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    DaveMustGetFit wrote: »

    Now my first goal is to be healthy as possible. I don't want to gain weight related illnesses.
    My second goal is to lose excess fat around my stomach, chest, face and wherever else it doesn't belong.
    My third goal is to build visibly better muscles.
    My fourth goal is to be able to compete and complete a marathon, even if I come in dead last, as long as I finish it.

    Much of this is improvement is probably water I suspect but my pants are fitting substantially better. In the past when I have eaten this well I might have lost 15lbs by now. But I have never weight lifted before. The cool part, I can fit now into pants 2 inches smaller quite comfortably. I also feel better, have more energy, shirts are fitting better, more active. Something is working well here I think. I am no longer sure that losing weight is the right goal, but more losing fat and toning up and gaining muscles.

    What I have done is eaten no more than 1500 calories every day and stuck to healthier foods. Each day I either do cardio or weights for about 35-45 mins. I alternate days between weights and cardio. I am now running 5ks and that's a big step for me - albeit a bit slow at about 5MPH.

    My first observation would be that your goals are ok, but need more definition, give them metrics that you can measure against. As far as weight is concerned something like 200lbs by end October then 170lbs by end February, something like that. Goals around losing fat aren't really controllable or measurable. What I would say is that "visible muscles" is a combination of strength and far loss. I do very little resistance training and have very visible muscles, particularly in my legs.

    Personally my goals are now sports related; back to back 50K and marathon type thing.

    As far as running a marathon is concerned, absolutely achievable, although not a quick goal to achieve. I'd suggest some intermediate goals; 10K, half marathon etc. You may find that you don't enjoy racing, or you don't enjoy endurance distances so it becomes appropriate to modify your goals. Selecting some intermediates help to keep you going, a marathon is at least a year of training, and that's quite a high risk strategy.

    With that in mind if suggest structured plans that develop running and incorporate appropriate strength training or cross training. The strength training compliments the running.

    You also need to appropriately fuel your training, 1500 calories would leave me unable to function with no physical training at all. In base load training about 2500 is right for me, in peak training closer to 3500 per day.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
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    DaveMustGetFit wrote: »
    Now my first goal is to be healthy as possible. I don't want to gain weight related illnesses.
    My second goal is to lose excess fat around my stomach, chest, face and wherever else it doesn't belong.
    My third goal is to build visibly better muscles.
    My fourth goal is to be able to compete and complete a marathon, even if I come in dead last, as long as I finish it.

    Spongy goals aren't goals. I'll hit them one at a time, and not in order.

    Third goal: Strength training via barbells. Ditch your current routine and look at Starting Strength, Stronglifts, or any of the other linear progression programs using sets of five reps. They are by far the most efficient in time and energy to build strength quickly and injury-free. Remember, form always trumps weight on the bar.

    Second goal: This requires eating less than your TDEE, however this will also stall your progress on the third goal. Your weight is decent for your height. I'd recommend maintaining your current weight and let the recomposition - the use of your body fat for fuel to build muscle - do the work for you.

    The fourth goal may compete with the third goal as well, as marathons (and other low-intensity steady state [LISS] cardio) tends to be catabolic to muscle mass, or at the least is a different set of adaptations. That said, do condition-type workouts (HIIT, prowler/sled training, rowing) so long as they don't interfere with your progress on the third goal.

    By working towards the second, third, and fourth goals - whether you make it to optimal in any of them - will give you the first goal as a side effect.
  • DaveMustGetFit
    DaveMustGetFit Posts: 43 Member
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    Awesome replies so far. Giving me a lot to think about. Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful responses.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I'm a fan of lifting while also running & training for endurance. The good news for you is that doing both from the start, it will seem normal to you. Generally if a person is rooted in one of those pursuits, they have a difficult time taking on the other, even if only mentally.
    Some observations
    -1500 calories is pretty low, you should be able to lose on 1800 and you'll fuel your workouts better
    -consider an established full body lifting program done 3x per week. I know a lot of people advocate starting strength and similar, but some of them have a lot of volume that can make lifting & running tougher.
    -I would look for at least an 18 month time window before your marathon. A year is doable, but having a longer time establishing a base will not hurt.
    -keep in mind that recovery is important. You can progress at both getting stronger and running faster, but make sure to include deload weeks every 4-6 weeks. Along these lines are doing the minimum requirements to induce adaptation. Junk miles and excessive hammering of muscle groups are going to be counter productive as your overall volume increases.
    -Lastly, enjoy the process
  • DaveMustGetFit
    DaveMustGetFit Posts: 43 Member
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    Again thank you all for the amazing advice.

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