Whats My Problem

S

Skylark492

0
I would appreciate your thoughts regarding my workout routine as it relates to my diet. I have a lot of weight to lose and I have been following my South Beach diet very well. When I first started this routine 3 months ago I was losing some good weight but for the last month I have stopped and I am wondering if my routine is the culprit. I am not gaining but I am not losing anything either.

I work out 5 days a week for an hour each day. I start off by doing 15 minutes on the Elliptical machine and then spend the rest of the hour working out the 8 various stack machines that are in my community’s gym. I do not recall the names of each but in total; they work all of the major muscles. I do 3 sets of 12 reps on each machine and I keep the weight so that by the last couple of reps in the last set, I am struggling. I have noticed some good results with muscular tone and I feel great and in this short time I have had to increase the weight on many of the machines.

I know that I could be doing more cardio to lose weight and that I might be replacing fat with muscle but I have also stopped noticing any reducing in size. While I feel great, I am starting to get frustrated. I don't feel that I could keep to a cardio only routine for an hour each day.

Any input on if this routine could be my problem? Any input on how I could tweak this for better results>
 
Skylark492 said:
I know that I could be doing more cardio to lose weight and that I might be replacing fat with muscle but I have also stopped noticing any reducing in size. While I feel great, I am starting to get frustrated. I don't feel that I could keep to a cardio only routine for an hour each day.

Any input on if this routine could be my problem? Any input on how I could tweak this for better results>
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both of the above are myths. what do you eat? how many reps/sets do you of the stack attack?
 
tonymcclellan said:
both of the above are myths. what do you eat? how many reps/sets do you of the stack attack?
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nothing said was a myth.

->Replacing fat with muscle, not converting it


This may seem like far fetched advice, but I would recommend not so much changing your routine, but increasing your workout time by about 15 or 20 minutes each day, and increasing your caloric intake by about 200 calories.

take it or leave it, just a good way to break plateaus :)
 
Thanks!

Tony:

On the stacks, I do 36 reps in all. I do them in 3 sets of 12 reps. So I do 12 reps, wait a couple of seconds, do another set of 12 reps, wait a couple of seconds and then I do the final set of 12. As far as what I eat, I mostly eat chicken and vegetables. While I am allowed to have some daily, I try to avoid starchy carbs (whole wheat pasta, bread or wraps) during the week and generally will only have some on the weekends. I try to make different meals but I generally eat the same thing. A lot of mushrooms, onions, peppers, chicken breast, salad, turkey burgers and imitation eggs.

Limestix:
I get what you’re saying about breaking things up. Do you think that doing a different type of cardio to get my routine going might do it? My gym has treadmills and bikes. I was thinking of just riding my bike on Tuesday and Thursday and then doing my workout routine on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Thank you both of your input.
 
Since you've been doing essentially the same routine for 3 months, your body has "adapted" somewhat and become more efficient, thus slowing your progress. I think you should change up your routine to "shock" your body into letting go of some of that fat.

First of all, cardio is usually best done AFTER weight lifting. Weight lifting is best done on "fresh" muscles. The weight lifting process will use up the glycogen stores in your muscles and therefore sllow you to tap into fat stores by the time you switch to cardio. Now, 15 minutes on the elliptical isn't necessarily "using up" your muscles, and a few minutes of cardio warmup is often suggested, but hopefully you get my point.

You should consider "ramping up" your cardio somewhat. 15 minutes on the elliptical isn't really too much--try 30 minutes, on something else--like the bike or treadmill. Make sure that EACH workout you are workin' your butt HARD so you can see results. I'm not sure what your fitness level is--just make sure that you are working at 60-75% of your max heart rate, and SWEATING!

Good luck!
 
Greenhorn Gal:

Thanks for the reply. It makes sense what you are saying. My fitness level is “Out of Shape” The 15 minutes on the sports setting at 70 rpm on the elliptical puts me over 85% of my max heart rate which is why I have kept it that length of time. I have noticed that my heart rate has been coming down so I figure at some point it will get below the safe range and I will be all set. Also, I need to keep my entire routine down to an hour. Trust me, after 15 minutes I am sweating.
 
limestix said:
nothing said was a myth.

->Replacing fat with muscle, not converting it
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Yes because to lose weight, you dont even need to do cardio. And wasting your time increasing it will only make you spend more time in the gym. Converting, replacing, its the same common misconception.

Asking someone to bump up their workout time is pretty crap advice. Especially if they are working out an hour already. The goal is to work smarter, not longer.

OP, next time you go to the gym, can you write down the names of the exercise machines? Also what do you weigh? Do you track your workouts? Increase the speed on the eliptical during warmup? Tried interval training?
 
maybe spend hour on cardio one day then the next spend an hour on machines the answer is pretty simple really either eat less or burn more calories and burning more calories will be easier so I would say up your cardio a bit
 
tonymcclellan said:
Yes because to lose weight, you dont even need to do cardio. And wasting your time increasing it will only make you spend more time in the gym. Converting, replacing, its the same common misconception.

Asking someone to bump up their workout time is pretty crap advice. Especially if they are working out an hour already. The goal is to work smarter, not longer.
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Increasing workout time combined with increasing caloric intake will synergize to give you the biggest metabolic boost possible, don't knock something you clearly haven't tried. An hour in the gym isn't a huge amount of time. If time is restricted, then don't increase time, increase intensity. Either way, the caloric deficit from exercise needs to go up.

And replacing is not the same thing as converting. Converting suggests that fat tissue is being converted through some process into muscle, which is simply impossible, while replacing simply means that fat is being burned while muscle is being built, so while weight might stay the same, fat % is dropping while lean mass % is rising. 2 very different things.

nonetheless op, I stand by what I said. And if you can't increase time, then increase intensity, and try out a few new exercises. Hitting the bike is a good way to increase intensity. You can really hit it hard and fast.
 
Havent tried what? Increasing workout and increasing calories? Very good concept.

However if a person is already spending 5 hours per week in the gym, then they are told that to lose weight they need to add another 75-100 minutes per week, I think that sucks. Clearly what is going on in that hour is not optimal. Or there calories are too high to support weight loss.

Furthermore, I know you understand the difference between conversion and replacement. However most people use those terms interchangeably because they dont know any different.
 
tonymcclellan said:
However if a person is already spending 5 hours per week in the gym, then they are told that to lose weight they need to add another 75-100 minutes per week, I think that sucks. Clearly what is going on in that hour is not optimal. Or there calories are too high to support weight loss.
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Tony is right. Just adding more time in the gym is pretty stupid if the time you already spend isn't being used optimally. The point is to work smarter in that timeframe, not harder. I'm pretty sure if you planned it correctly, you can get in a pretty intense workout in about an hour or so.

Or you can have him add another hour on a treadmill. That's good because then he can catch that same episode of Sportscenter they just ran.
 
First, thank you for your assistance, I greatly appreciate it. I have received a new assignment at work and now I could really use a 20 minute routine since I no longer have an hour. My routine usually consists of 12-15 minutes on the elliptical machine. I hit all of the stack machines that my club house has with the exception of the seated leg press because with the weight that I needed to feel anything, made my knee feel uncomfortable. After my time on the elliptical, on the sports setting at 70 rpm I will do 3 sets of 12 reps of each of the following machines and weights:

60 pds. Arm Curl
60 pds. Leg Extension
75 pds. Rear Deltoid
75 pds. Pectorial Fly
70 pds. Leg Curl
60 pds. Shoulder Press
270 pds. Lower Back Extension
105 pds. Lat Pull Down
90 pds. Chest Press

Let me know what you think.
 
are you eating 3 meals a day? it say in magazines that you have to burn 500 calories 5 days a week, or eat 500 calories less everyday in order to loose a pound..
 
Yes, my clubhouse has free weights. We have a rack of dumbbells, two benches and a piece of equipment that looks like a monkey bar set. It is square upside down “U” with pulleys on either side, top and bottom. It also has some grips for pull-ups on the top bar that connects both sides together. I WILL DO what will work but I would rather avoid that piece of equipment if possible. I have noticed that people get bitchy if someone uses while they are using the other side and unlike the stack machines or dumbbells, I cannot simply do something else if somebody is using that machine. I will, however, do what is best.
Thanks again.
 
You need 20 minutes cardio if doing intervals - 30 mins if just normal cardio - each day. Do your cardio early morn, then do your iron pumping in the PM. :)
 
tonymcclellan said:
Asking someone to bump up their workout time is pretty crap advice.
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PrISM said:
Just adding more time in the gym is pretty stupid if the time you already spend.........
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Hey guys....can we ease-up a bit on the derogatory & condescending condemnation. Someone is offering their advice & thoughts with honest and good intentions and to come to see their contribution being insultingly disregarded is just wrong. We're better then this......

I'm sorry, I've been watching Oprah again :D
 
BikeSwimLaugh said:
Hey guys....can we ease-up a bit on the derogatory & condescending condemnation. Someone is offering their advice & thoughts with honest and good intentions and to come to see their contribution being insultingly disregarded is just wrong. We're better then this......

I'm sorry, I've been watching Oprah again :D
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Dr Phil more like it :costumed3:
 
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