working out too much?

F

FitZiggy

0
hi all, i've always been a relatively fit person but in the last i signed up for a recreation pass at my college and i've been working out much more than usual. when i'm not working out, i'm a "soft" 125lbs, not flabby but not toned either. i'm 5'3" tall and of medium/athletic build. initially i went to the gym to get toned and slimmer. i've been going 4 days a week for the past month, heres my schedule:

monday/friday: 40 mins cardio (elliptical or treadclimber), 40 mins. weights

tuesday/thursday: 40 mins cardio (elliptical or treadclimber), 30 mins swimming, 40 mins. weights

when working with weights i alternate between upper and lower body workouts on different days. since i started i've noticed that i'm MUCH more muscular, defined, and toned than i was when i started (YAY!). however, i'ved also not lost a single ounce! i'm still 125lbs AND my clothes fit kind of tight (EEP!!), kind of like how when the Hulk starts to turn and all his clothes rip off (except his pants) kind of way... my jeans are tighter around my thighs and i've probably gained around 1 inch on my waistline!

am i working out TOO much? am i going to end up looking like Chyna the female bodybuilder? is it my diet? am i eating too much? i'm trying to do the best i can based on what i learned from my college nutrition classes. here is an example of the foods i eat throughout the day:

breakfast:
tuna or egg salad sandwich and soy milk

lunch: some sort of white meat chicken w/veggies and rice or salad with chicken or salmon in it, and soup

dinner: some sort of meat (chicken, beef, fish) and rice and veggies

i haven't been gaining weight, but i've also noticed that i eat more than i did before i worked out. probably because i feel hungry more frequently. i can now down large portions (more than i used to be able to eat), not that i try to, but sometimes i am just that hungry. anyhoo, can anyone give me some insight on what i'm not doing right? i'm trying to get slimmer, yet i'm finding that i'm getting bulkier. it's not a bad thing, i look really diesel, but i was trying to get smaller... any help is appreciated! thanks!
 
One thing you might try is spreading your calories over 5 or 6 smaller meals, so as to keep your metabolism going throughout the day. Also, get your body fat percentage checked - I'd bet that even though your weight is unchanged, your body fat percentage is lower than it was. It sounds like you're getting results many others would like to get - more muscular and stronger. Though, I've not the experience to answer your main question though - will leave that to the professionals on this forum. I say good luck and keep going, but that's me.
 
I have a similar question that maybe someone can help me with..
I work out 6 days a week(female, 42 yrs. old, 5'1" 145lbs) I do a full body workout with weights 2-3 times per week which takes me 2.5 hrs each time. I do 3 days of cardio(1 hr each day plus 30 min. of abs same day) Is it better for me to split up my weightlifting routine by muscle group focusing only on certain muscles adding intense cardio for 30 min on those days as well, or should I not change anything? I am getting some definition, much more tone, feel better but not losing any weight. I am athletically built have always been very active, but would like to lose approx. 15-20 lbs. I eat very well, no sugar, no white flour - lots of protein fruits and veggis, approx. 12-1500 cals a day. Any suggetions? Than!ks
 
Word on more meal frequency. I'd also try some HIIT rather than so much of that low intensity steady state cardio you're doing. Fit, what does your workouts look like?

Totali-->2.5 hours is way too much. There's no reason to exceed 1.5 hours. What does your routine look like? There's no reason to do 30 minutes of abs. And I'd alternate some HIIT cardio in so that you're not always doing the low intensity steady state.
 
Here is an example of my diet and workout.

I do approx 3 different exercises per muscle group either 3 sets of 20 or 4 sets of 15. for example: Shoulders: press, shrugs, front raises and side raises
Chest: incline press, laying press, incline flys, laying flys
Tri's: push downs, reverse, dips, rope and so on for back legs, calves, etc. I was doing full body workouts, and am wondering if I should be splitting my workouts up for example shoulders, back, bi's/chest back, legs???

My cardio is not necessarily low intensity. I run for 1/2 hr, and then walk 1/2 hour fast with the incline at 10. I then move to the precor and incline that to10 for a fast paced 1/2 hour . What do you suggest for abs? I just put 20-30 min aside on cardio days to make sure I get them in. Ive been reading on the HIIT stuff, but not real sure the best way to start that and for how long to begin? Any help would be appreciated evolution! thanks!!
 
@Totali: Wow, your strength training is so completely over-training-ish. If you're working out muscle groups like that, you should be doing it once a week.

If I were you, I would switch to doing a routine containing compound movements like (not exactly..just resembling):

Bench Press
Deadlift
Lunge
Squat
Pull-up
Military Press

with some Crunches and Calf raises thrown in if you like.

And do 2-3 sets x 8-12 reps either 2 or 3 days a week. You're not giving your muscles enough time to recover on that routine you're doing now. For your abs, if you're doing compound movements with proper form they should be getting a good workout, along with everything else.

A simple HIIT routine would look like this: 5 min warm-up @ 50% max heart rate, 30 second sprint (this means doing whatever it is you're doing at maximum speed and intensity), 30-90s walk. Perform sprint + walk about 4 or 5 times total for a beginner (to HIIT, not running/biking/etc). 5 min warm-down @ 50% max heart rate. Every week or two, add an interval, until you get up to about 8-10. Then you'll want to start focusing on shortening your walk interval, and increasing speed, etc. Also, please do some googling on this before just starting. I'm only giving you an example routine (that I happen to use). It would also be a good idea to do some stretching, and don't injure yourself by ignoring screaming muscles. :)
 
Focus: I am seeing some good definition and change in my muscles, but I am spent when I leave the gym! I know at 42 yrs old Im not going to look like I did at 20, but am really dedicated to looking the very best I can, and feeling the best I can! thanks for the info on the HIIT, I will give it a try! I think I do need to rearrange some things on my weight lifting days! I want to trim down some as well which means more cardio! Appreciate your input!
 
FitZiggy:

" my jeans are tighter around my thighs and i've probably gained around 1 inch on my waistline!"

The first thing I would drop would be the treadclimber. The combination of this and the elliptical can cause someone who can easily build muscle to increase the size of the thighs a little more than one wants. I would walk/run a bit, bike a bit. When biking, on the elliptical etc. make sure you are not constantly pushing DOWn on the pedals, your legs should focus on the entire movement, lifting the legs up and down, not jsut down. This does not happen to everyone, but to some people it just bulks the legs. See if this helps.

Diet wise, you look like you are doing fine, good variety and your veggies. Could be more protein than needed, but not sure because I don't know what serving size... I would add a piece of fruit in there somewhere, not juice though. Instead of trying to get in all in three meals I would have a couple healthy snacks a day... Drink plenty of water!

Weights, what kind of workout do you do? Reps/sets? If it is split up I don't see that it is too much. If you are doing sets of 8-10 reps and feel you are bulking too much, you may want to increase the reps and down the weight just a tad. While many go down to 6-8 reps to build muscle, some can get pretty thick muscles on the 8-10 rep plan. Try to go for 15 reps for a while and see how this does for you.

The important thing is that you are doing everything in a healthy way, very commendable! Now all you need to do is fine-tune your body and your routine. Every BODY is different, so changing based on you and not everone else's is very important.

Good luck.:eek:


Totali- I completely agree with everything evolutionand focus already said.:D
 
I just used a treadclimber today for the first time. Actually, I'd never even seen one of these before--maybe I have and just assumed that it was a treadmill.

It seemed to put a lot of stress on my calves, which I don't really want to build. (My one calf muscle in particular is prone to injury and I felt it pulling/tugging on that machine.)

I didn't feel like it was doing anything for me, yet my heart rate was elevated to around 70%, so I was obviously doing something.

It's a strange machine. A few times, I felt like I was slipping away from the right rail. Anyway, it's a new machine to my gym, so no one is quite sure how to use it--whether you're supposed to run on it or walk fast/hard. It's odd, but I'm not sure that I'd use it regularly. I don't need to build more muscle in my legs. I want to get hard cardio and maintain the weight that I am and the muscle that I have already. I'll use it for occasional interval training or to relieve any boredom that might set in, but I'm not sure that I'll be using it too regularly.
 
totalidedicated said:
I do approx 3 different exercises per muscle group either 3 sets of 20 or 4 sets of 15. for example: Shoulders: press, shrugs, front raises and side raises
Chest: incline press, laying press, incline flys, laying flys
Tri's: push downs, reverse, dips, rope and so on for back legs, calves, etc. I was doing full body workouts, and am wondering if I should be splitting my workouts up for example shoulders, back, bi's/chest back, legs???

My cardio is not necessarily low intensity. I run for 1/2 hr, and then walk 1/2 hour fast with the incline at 10. I then move to the precor and incline that to10 for a fast paced 1/2 hour . What do you suggest for abs? I just put 20-30 min aside on cardio days to make sure I get them in. Ive been reading on the HIIT stuff, but not real sure the best way to start that and for how long to begin? Any help would be appreciated evolution! thanks!!
Click to expand...
WOW! I didn't read through what everyone said and I don't know too much but... I read an article once that said when it came to cardio, the body only truly benefitted from burning 2000 (might be 2500?) calories a week. People who burned more than that showed no extra benefits/weight loss (unless you were gonna work out for 6 hours - not recommending). You said in a prior post you are totally spent when you leave the gym, and I can see why, perhaps don't push so hard. Make sure you are in a good heart rate zone while working out but try to come home where you feel like you worked out but don't want to just hit the couch and veg. I use to push on my cardio and then I cooled it off and find it much more enjoyable. I still try to make sure I burn about 400 calories and maybe I have to switch to walking more often but I come home and I have energy to wash the dishes.

Also perhaps you are eating too little for the calories you are burning. If your body thinks it is starving and is going to do anything to conserve energy ie slow down your metabolism and conserve fat. Also make sure you are getting an accurate calorie count, small additives can be forgotten in counting and portion sizes are actually quite small on labels.
 
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