Overtraining?

F

Fire Girl

0
I have just acquired a new personal trainer. I am trying to build strength in order to pass the fire fighting fitness test for full time fire fighters.

I seem to be building good strength, but my shape has changed. He claims this is water retention due to changing the way I am working my muscles. I hope so, because my jeans look awful now!

I never seem to be able to get my body fat down. Even when I lose weight! I have been told that I might be over training. I lift weights (free mostly) 3 times per week and do 30-60 minutes of cardio 6-7 days a week. Is this too much? Is it holding me back from gaining strength or losing fat? Any help would be appreciated! :D

Thanks!

FG
 
if youve got your own qualified personal trainer, talk to them! they'll know you and your body much better than we do, and he'll know what he's talking about.
ask the questions you've just asked us.
i wish i had a personal trainer.

i want to be a lumberjack.

zan
 
Right you are! However, opinions vary between trainers. I was just trying to get some different attitudes on this one.

Thanks Zan! Good luck with the lumberjack thing. :)
 
Quick question - What type of cardio are you doing 6-7 days a week? Is it a steady-state cardio routine or something done with intervals(HIIT)?

If you're doing more steady-state work ask your trainer to set you up with some intervals. Run sprints, run stairs anything like that should help jumpstart the weight loss.

Good luck with the fitness test.
DM
 
Fire Girl: In my personal opinion as a trainer, the cardio might be overkill. You may need to look at your nutritional details as well.

If you're not getting enough fat in your diet, but your burning a ton, you'll actually begin to retain fat because you're body will go into starvation mode and not burn fat as quickly.

I'm interested, who is your trainer certified through? If you're going to workout 6 days a week, do 3 solid lifting days, and 3 solid cardio days with one day off.

For firefighter training, I would try to use truly functional movements, movements that will be useful in the field. Power cleans, clean/press, squat, deadlifts, pullups...etc.
 
I am mostly doing steady straight cardio. Once a week I play soccer which, in my humble opinion, is like interval training. I run, bike, rollar blade and use the cross trainer.

I try to eat almost no fat. You think I should maybe increase my fat and decrease my carbs? My carbs come from fruit, salad and oatmeal (sometimes whole wheat bread).

I have tried the fitness test.... I am struggling with the ladder lift since I am only 5 ft tall. He is try to build up back and shoulders big time with bench press, shoulder press and some other funky exercised that make me hurt (good hurt). You think I should cut cardio out of my days that I lift? I'm afraid I am not doing enough cardio then... won't that make me gain weight?

FG

PS. THANK YOU!!!! :D
 
You should be ok with about 45 minutes of cardio 3 times a week. I understand the reason your trainer has you doing bench and shoulder presses, but i would try to do exercises that mimic the ladder lift and other movements that you'll need to do as a fire fighter.

If you could describe the ladder lift to me, i might be able to formulate a specific exercise that would help.

As for eating...i would definitely eat more fat, fat is an essential nutrient that is far too often over looked. With the level of activity you are at, as long as your eating a relatively health diet...i wouldn't worry to much about what you're eating.
 
Don't worry about diet, really? I am super anal about low fat stuff, etc. I don't think I eat enough protein... I don't like meat. I like fish and eggs though. I just never seem to lose fat and it's frustrating. I will try the low carb and higher fat thing maybe.

The ladder lift: a 55lb extension ladder is mounted on 6ft brackets. You have to pick it up by the rungs lift up off pegs (~1.5 inches) place it on the floor and then put it back up. You cannot take your hands off the ladder. The problem I have is when I grab the ladder I am pretty much at my reach AND my wrist are weak for trying to get the back section up... the ladder falls forward because of the weight on the back (the other section). He is also giving me high shoulder pulls with the cable, using the pec deck backwards and dumbell flys and some others like that. You really think 3 days of 45 minutes of cardio is enough. I think I will feel lazy coming home from the gym and laying on the couch!!
 
I do think that is enough, if you feel lazy, you could try 15 minutes just to cool down after your lifting. LIfting is a tremendous strain on the body, and a good deep lifting routine warrants a rest.

As for the ladder thing, ask you trainer to teach you to do power cleans and hanging squats. These are two GREAT exercises that will defintely assist you in your goal.
 
I have checked a couple of sites for how many calories you would burn doing 45 minutes of heavy lifting... 250? I would have thought it would be more than that. I just don't understand why my body fat % won't drop below 25%.

I will try your plan of doing less cardio. Should I be doing 45 minutes of intense cardio then?

Hanging squats I don't know.

Thank you so much for your help!
 
My guess, having never seen you or worked with you, is that you're not eating enough fat to drop the fat youve got. Also, factor in your breasts, big fatty masses that add to overall body fat.

In my opinion the most beneficial cardio workout is to do intervals. IE 1 minutes sprint, 30 second fast walk, 1 minute springt, 30 second fast walk, or some variation there of.

GOOD LUCK ON THE TEST!!
 
I agree with Adler1983, your cardio is definately overkill, if you aren't getting the cardio work you need in 20 minutes max, your not working hard enough, any more than that and you start burning too much muscle. Soccer is fun, but I wouldn't count it at all towards your exercise. It's anaerobic and you only drop water weight and some calories. Best wishes
 
Adler...Well I talked to my trainer guy last night... you were right. He said I am way overkill on the cardio and that's why I am holding onto fat and not building muscle that quickly. He said 3 days of cardio a week is plenty and not on days that I lift (where have I heard that before :) ). He said he will look at my diet in a bit, but he said he suspects I am doing way too much for the amount I take in. He said I likely need a big shift in my carb/protein ratio. Probably as I eat very little protein.

He also said I have the perfect physique for female body building. I am short and stocky and tend to build muscle easy for a girl. I have bumps in places most girls don't. I told him that I would think about it. I guess that would mean a fairly major lifestyle change... no more beer!

Thanks again... you have been most helpful.
 
The topic of overtraining is being discussed by some "experts" right here at the moment. Don't know how applicable it is in your situation. Sounds like your diet is completely out of whack to me. Carbs are fine, as long as they are timed properly and they are the right kind of carbs. Beer is definitely going to slow down your success in fat burning. Sorry.

I agree with Adler that you should perform lifts like power cleans, squat jerk, etc. Since you are looking for some transfer to a specific application like fire fighting I wouldn't waste a lot of time on hypertrophy specific training. I have trained fire fighters for the "challenge" and one of the things I did with them is to take a standard hose (I duct taped it in a wrapped position), and make them do all sorts of drills with it. The one they loved the most is when I would make them run stairs with it. My facility is in a 41 story building, so they love that! :D
 
I'm just frustrated. Maybe I am trying to accomplish too many things at once... lose body fat AND gain strength. I don't know how great my diet is... I am sure it is lacking in protein. I knew beer would be out of the question, sad as it may be. A typical day:

oatmeal w fruit, decaf tea w milk
light peanut butter with a banana on whole wheat crackers
spinach salad with light dressing, fat free yogurt
peach, decaf tea w milk
Protein bar (after weight training only)
chicken fajitas (home made)

I try to eat every 2-3 hours. I do weight training 3 days per week, and cardio 6-7 days per week at 40-60 minutes per day. My cardio consists of biking, blading, running and using the cross trainer. My trainer dude suggested I cut my cardio back to 40-60 minutes per shot only 3 times per week but up the intensity. I'm willing to try that. He seems to think that's why my body is holding onto fat.

I would love to run stairs with weight... I guess I could go to the fire hall and do that. I'm sure I could find old hose to use. I don't know what hypertrophy specific training is.. you'll have to explain that one.

I will check out your site... thanks JP!

FG:)
 
Fire Girl: Your diet really isn't that bad, the only problem i see with it is a lack of protein.

The chicken at night is great, the protein bar is great. Just try to have a little protein with breakfast and lunch. Other than that, i think you're doing great
 
Yeah, I think I am going to start eating eggs for breakfast, with veggies again. Am I eating enough or too much? I am also going to quit beer on the weekends... summer is almost over so that shouldn't be too hard.

Thanks again!
 
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