Journey, Not A Destination

It's certainly workable. If you're planning on doing it for every single session of metabolic work, you might run into problems though. Factor in the facts that a) you're dieting and b) you're also lifting weights heavily during the week and it could throw you over the threshold of "okay" in terms of stress management.

Typically, when I'm doing any sort of high intensity metabolic work while dieting, I'll consolidate it with my weight training.

For instance, with lower level intensity metabolic stuff, you can easily get away with:

Mon: Weights A
Tues: Metabolic
Wed: Weights B
Thurs: Metabolic
Fri: Weights A
Sat: Metabolic
Sun: Off

Now if you swap the moderate intensity metabolic sessions with high intensity sessions, I'd do something like:

Mon: Weights A/Metabolic
Tues: pre/rehab
Wed: Weights B/Metabolic
Thurs: pre/rehab
Fri: Weights A/Metabolic
Sat: Off
Sun: Off

Here you see the consolidation of high intensity stuff I speak of. You have keep in mind that stress is accumulative, meaning it adds up on top of itself from one session to the next, and that's why the other side of the equation (rest/recovery) is critical. Without the consolidation, you're doing high intensity stuff almost every single day of the week and that will burn many people out fast... if not mentally... physically.

Systemic stress overload has a number of symptoms but it can be commonly seen as achy joints, plateaued or regressed strength and even a slowdown in metabolic rate since stress is tightly tied to our endocrine systems and our endocrine systems are tightly tied to our metabolisms.

So with those two templates above, think of them as a spectrum... one is at one end, the other at the other. You could do many different iterations of templates in between.

Personally, I tend to mix my metabolic work up. I'll have some high intensity stuff in there such as HIIT which I'll consolidate with a weights workout. I'll also have some low intensity stuff like walking/hiking on off days which a) burns calories and b) can help with recovery as it gets blood/nutrients flowing. And I might throw a moderate day or two wherever I feel like fitting it, either on off days. If I throw it on an "on day" it's always after my strength training or in a different session that day all together.
 
Mon: Weights A/Metabolic
Tues: pre/rehab
Wed: Weights B/Metabolic
Thurs: pre/rehab
Fri: Weights A/Metabolic
Sat: Off
Sun: Off

This routine looks very appealing to me. I am definately going to do this one starting next week for sure. Obviously, the metabolic work I suggested is a sign a approval from you?

Here you see the consolidation of high intensity stuff I speak of. You have keep in mind that stress is accumulative, meaning it adds up on top of itself from one session to the next, and that's why the other side of the equation (rest/recovery) is critical. Without the consolidation, you're doing high intensity stuff almost every single day of the week and that will burn many people out fast... if not mentally... physically.

Yes, I agree. I hit the weights hard on Tuesday and I'm still extremely sore, especially my lower back from the rows. Obviously, that is an area I need to work on. I didn't do anything last night and tonight I plan on just walking the trails with the pups.

I'm going to use that pic that I sent you for a point of reference and I'll follow up with results with you in say a month or two? I want to lose inches more than weight at this point. I mean most people can't guess what I weigh, so I must carry it well.
 
This routine looks very appealing to me. I am definately going to do this one starting next week for sure.
It's worth testing it out. If you're planning on doing doing the weights and metabolic work in the same session, you might find that it's too much. I personally would burn out... but that's me. I know others who follow their weights with some pretty intensive cardio each session and they manage it fine.

As I said, it's very much a touch & feel process. Simply keep in mind that it's a constant experiment and the idea is actually to find what doesn't fit with you, personally. As you continue to uncover the things that don't settle well, you have a better idea going forward how to structure things.

Obviously, the metabolic work I suggested is a sign a approval from you?

Sure, I toyed around with something similar last year and enjoyed it a lot. I didn't do it for each of my metabolic sessions though. I was doing a full body strength routine 2-3 times per week. One of my circuits would fall on one of my strength days. The other would not. On top of it I did some hill sprints and one session of steady state.

I'm going to use that pic that I sent you for a point of reference and I'll follow up with results with you in say a month or two? I want to lose inches more than weight at this point. I mean most people can't guess what I weigh, so I must carry it well.

Screw weight. This is about looking and feeling good. That has everything to do with body composition and little to do with the number on the scale.
 
It's worth testing it out. If you're planning on doing doing the weights and metabolic work in the same session, you might find that it's too much. I personally would burn out... but that's me. I know others who follow their weights with some pretty intensive cardio each session and they manage it fine.

As I said, it's very much a touch & feel process. Simply keep in mind that it's a constant experiment and the idea is actually to find what doesn't fit with you, personally. As you continue to uncover the things that don't settle well, you have a better idea going forward how to structure things.

Consider me a "hamster tester" if you will... I will let you know what happens, as I'm sure you would like an update. Most likely it is going to be extremely hard my first week and I'll adjust accordingly.

Sure, I toyed around with something similar last year and enjoyed it a lot. I didn't do it for each of my metabolic sessions though. I was doing a full body strength routine 2-3 times per week. One of my circuits would fall on one of my strength days. The other would not. On top of it I did some hill sprints and one session of steady state.

:iagree: During High School, for Softball practice, we did something similar. I'm thinking about going to the fields one of the nights and doing latters, sprints, etc. to mix it up. I think increasing my agility would be great too.

Screw weight. This is about looking and feeling good. That has everything to do with body composition and little to do with the number on the scale.

It has taken me A LONG TIME to accept this but I'm glad I finally did.
 
Quote of the day (more like month since I rarely get around to doing this anymore):

"Before you begin a thing remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead...You can only see one thing clearly, and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin."

***

So I've been MIA for a bit. Schedule has been quite busy and there's not much sign of it letting up.

Couple of positive notes:

- I finally got Tom Venuto strapped down for a moment to do an interview. The process will take a while, but I'm happy we finally got the ball rolling.

- I got my first publication fo the newsletter out which is a relief. I've had a lot of positive commentary about it, thankfully. I was a bit nervous.

- I received some fun packages from fedex this week including a Gray Cook movement assessment program as well as a book I've been waiting for for months by Joel Jamieson about conditioning for MMA.

- This weekend is looking nice and quiet. :)

***

I did get my workouts in Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was an off day.

Monday looked like this:

Flat BB Bench - 2x5, 1x8
Incline Cable Fly - 3x10
Single Arm Standing DB Overhead Press - 2x8
Cable Rows - 3x12
DB Shrugs - 2x10
Tricep Pressdowns - RP for 24 total reps

Tuesday looked like this:

Conventional Deadlift - 2x5, 1x8
Leg Press - 3x15
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift - 2x12 each leg
Pallof Press - 2x15
 
Steve,

So when you do your:

Flat BB Bench - 2x5, 1x8
Incline Cable Fly - 3x10
Single Arm Standing DB Overhead Press - 2x8

Do you do all three sets of your Flat BB Bench's...then move on to your cable flies, etc? Or do you do one set of Flat BB Bench's, one set of cable flies, one set of overhead presses?

I know this is an elementary question....but I have an elementary mind! :)

E.
 
For my goals, that wouldn't make much sense.

The idea is to fatigue your muscle fibers (more specifically motor units). If you allow too much rest between repeating a set of the same exercise, the effect is minimized.
 
Gotcha...that's kinda what I was thinking, but in a much less technical way!

Another question for ya...

The other day there was some posting back and forth about being able to build muscle while losing fat. I think you said that most people should hope to maintain muscle (not build) while losing fat, but that people with alot of fat to lose can actually build muscle while losing fat.

I understand that one must be at a calorie deficit to lose fat, and must be at a calorie surplus to build muscle. So what's the physiology behind someone with a lot of fat to lose being able to build muscle while losing fat? Where is the body pulling the needed calories to build the muscle?

E.
 
That's not known for sure.

It most cetainly has a ton to do with the hormonal disposition of a fat person relative to a thin person (primarily leptin and insulin) and how they impact partitioning (where cals are coming and going) as well as the fact that most fat people are very far from their genetic potential as far as muscle development is concerned which makes gains quite easy.
 
Ok, Steve...the wheels are turning this morning, so I have another question.

Here goes another one of my metaphors... :)

If I'm thinking about my body like an energy bank account...I have deposits (food intake) and expenditures (physical activity).

My gut tells me that my expenditures would show up in my account immediately as I am engaged in physical activity (this is purely an assumption on my part, please correct me if I'm wrong). I'm assuming energy is consumed immediately during physical activity?

How long (on average) does it take for my deposits to show up in my account?

I'm wondering if I "deposit" a cheeseburger on a Tuesday, does that cheeseburger really affect the net gain/loss from a caloric standpoint on Tuesday or is it more likely to affect Wed. or Thur.???

Thx again,
E.

Edit: I just re-read this question and am now wondering just how stupid it sounds????
 
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It would really be doing the body's complexity no justice if I were to answer your question by saying, "mere hours."

It highly depends on the individual, current state, types of foods consumed, etc, etc.
 
Quote of the day and randomness

"A non-doer is very often a critic-that is, someone who sits back and watches doers, and then waxes philosophically about how the doers are doing. It's easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change."

***

Workout was excellent yesterday....

Weighted CG Pullups - 2x5, 1x9
Kroc Rows - 1x30
Incline DB Press - 3x10
Dips - RP for 15, 6, 4
 
The rationale behind my last two questions was that I was wondering if there was any logic to eating a caloric surplus on the days one does weight training in order to promote muscle growth. I was thinking if I ate a surplus on weight training days and a deficit on cardio days that it might promote muscle growth and fat loss.

I think I'm over-thinking things, so nevermind.
 
Sure, that could be done. I wouldn't advise it though. It would only leave to slower progress. And think of it like this... muscle growth doesn't happen when you're lifting weights.... it happens during the recovery from lifting weights.

When one gets relatively lean, there's "fancy" dieting strategies that can be used to help promote partitioning such as Lyle McDonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0 but they aren't fun.

It deals with some pretty strict dieting and very intense training to deplete glycogen followed by some heavy ass training and a ton of eating... primarily carbs... to offset the "damage" done and shovel the excess into the sensitive tissues (muscle) after the starvation. There's a lot more to it... but that's the gist.
 
Weekend good so far. Friday I caught up on some reading... a nice relaxing evening to myself as Krista was at a year-end swim party.

Saturday I did some writing in the morning, yard work in the afternoon, and had people over for a cookout in the evening. It was nice.

Today I went to the gym in the AM since I won't be able to make it tomorrow. Went something like:

Facepulls - 3x15
Scap Pushups - 3x15
Barbell Bench Press - 2x3, 1x6
Incl. Cable Flys - 3x10
Single Arm Standing DB Overhead Press - 2x8
CG Cable Rows - 3x10
Inverted Rows - 2x12

Strength is coming back nicely. Last set of bench was for 265 and felt like air. No idea what I could throw up maximally nowadays.

Afterwards I took the pup for a short hike... 3 miles or so.
 
Easy. Call people. Buy meat. Buy beer. Start grill. Let the good times roll.

:p
 
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