Time crunch (IRAQ)

[chad329552]

Hey everbody, I have a few questions I would like answered. I have been in a bulking stage with some prohormones and prosteroids for the last 2 months. Assorted different supplements. I just got notice that i will be leving back to the states in three weeks. I have gained some unwanted wait around the stomach. i have been hitting the gym every night targeting each muscle very hard with 4 or 5 excercises per muscles with a day off every 4 days. I do cardio 3 times a week. I want to drop the unwanted weight in the waist. Before I go home so I can look good because the rest of my body is forming nicly.

My question is should i keep eating like a race horse, should i keep the same protein intake and totally cut out all of the other crap, Should i do cardio everynight, i am limited on supplements, I am taking my off cycle which consist of tribulus and lots of herbs.

I was told if you had a beer belly that you should lose that fat first and than work out your stomach because your stomach would just stick out more, i was also told that if you work out your stomach you would lose the unwanted fat built up there. So what is it. I have not been working it out.

thanks

 

[Who's Victor Martinez?]

3 weeks? Well, I don't know what foods you have available. keep your carb intake lower and keep up the cardio. keep the protein high and a decent amount of healthy fat. To just look "fit" when you come home, that ought to do the trick. you can keep taking your supplements (creatine makes you hold water...don't know if you're taking that or not) and whatever herbs can't hurt. Basically watch your carb intake and keep doing cardio. Running at an RER of about .85 (4.5 to 5 miles/per hour) for about 30 mins or so is good. Your body will using a good deal of fat as the energy source, instead of burning a bunch of sugars. Hope that helps! Good luck, buddy.

Peace.

 

[Bob Smith]

Running at an RER of about .85 (4.5 to 5 miles/per hour) for about 30 mins or so is good. Your body will using a good deal of fat as the energy source, instead of burning a bunch of sugars.

Unfortunately, the source of calorie expenditure doesnt really make a whole hell of a lot of difference when it comes to fat loss. You could burn glycogen or fat and still lose fat, doesnt matter. The whole "you need to exercise at X% in order to get into the fat-burning zone" is garbage and hasnt been accepted by real coaches for a long time now. You still see dumbasses like Denise Austin and the like talking about the fat-burning zone. *yawn* That is so 1970s.

Chad, with only 3 weeks to go, there is certainly a limit as to how much fat you can lose. I would suggest revamping your program a little bit and do 2-on, 1-off alternating a Workout A and Workout B. Each workout would encompass half your body, so you hit each half every 3 days. Dont waste time "going for the pump" (also very 1970s) or trying to "feel" the muscle working, its all a load of crap. 2 movements for large bodyparts (quads, back) and 1 movement for small parts (arms, shoulders, calves) for 10-15 reps per set. Your goal is massive calorie expenditure, not to gain muscle or strength.

A somewhat similar alternative that would also allow you to quit wasting time on cardio would be to do 4 full-body workouts each week (M,T, Th, S would be a good schedule), with high reps (12-15), 4 sets for large muscles, 2 for small, alternating movements with short rest periods (60-90 seconds). Short example:

A1. Squat 4 x 12
A2. Curl 2-3x12

B1. Bench 4x12
B2. Pulley or T-bar rows 4x12

You would be looking at about 8 movements per workout, around an hour in the gym, and major soreness (not the goal, but a byproduct of the high reps/low rest). As I said, its about burning as many calories as possible.

For eating, it really depends on what you have available to you and what your current duties are. If youre basically taking it easy waiting to come home, then you can drop calories and carbs. If you are doing patrols or something, then keep calories on the higher side. After your Saturday workout (and assuming you could keep carb intake pretty low), you will definitely be in need of a refeed. Without being incredibly precise, just eat a ton for about 12-24 hours after that Sat. workout. Try to keep it low in fat, but dont get overly concerned about the breakdown. High carb, moderate protein, and low fat would be ideal.

 

[Who's Victor Martinez?]

Unfortunately, the source of calorie expenditure doesnt really make a whole hell of a lot of difference when it comes to fat loss. You could burn glycogen or fat and still lose fat, doesnt matter. The whole "you need to exercise at X% in order to get into the fat-burning zone" is garbage and hasnt been accepted by real coaches for a long time now. You still see dumbasses like Denise Austin and the like talking about the fat-burning zone. *yawn* That is so 1970s.

At a certain respirtory exchange ratio, the caloric expenditure will be mostly of fat, sugar or a perfect combo of both. Now, you're never really exclusively burning just fat or just sugar, but most of the caloric expenditure comes from one or another, depending. So when you're burning sugars mostly, yeah you're still burning some fat. But jog at that pace I mentioned and you'll burn more fat. You can do fast ass sprints, for a really short period of time and still burn calories, but your energy system use is almost completely phosphogenic. My exc phys prof is doctor and I've done physical labs with this stuff. It works.

Interesting note: When you sleep, almost ALL of your caloric expenditure is from fat. So when you sleep, your burning fat calories all night long! (RER thing I mentioned earlier) It's a shame though, that we hardly burn any calories while we sleep, so we don't lose any fat, lol.......

 

[Bob Smith]

At a certain respirtory exchange ratio, the caloric expenditure will be mostly of fat, sugar or a perfect combo of both. Now, you're never really exclusively burning just fat or just sugar, but most of the caloric expenditure comes from one or another, depending. So when you're burning sugars mostly, yeah you're still burning some fat. But jog at that pace I mentioned and you'll burn more fat.

Which, like I said, doesnt matter in terms of overall bodyfat loss. The ratio of sugar:fat expenditure during exercise is not relevant to systemic bodyfat loss.

You can do fast ass sprints, for a really short period of time and still burn calories, but your energy system use is almost completely phosphogenic.

And you will lose more bodyfat doing sprints than you will with long, slow cardio like you are suggesting.

My exc phys prof is doctor and I've done physical labs with this stuff. It works.

What works and what works most effectively are two different things. Your recommendation of slow cardio in order to burn a higher % fat will work, no doubt about it. But doing sprints, more like what I recommend, will burn a much higher % sugar, but overall you will lose more bodyfat with my method than yours. In regards to the most effective/efficient way to lose fat, the "fat burning" zone is very 1980s and older. The fact that your professor is a doctor makes no difference. Sprints vs long cardio and sprints win hands down.

 

[chad329552]

So let me get this right. I should change my work out to 2 days on one day off. With working half my body each day and hit all muscles twice a week. Than should i do cardio every day or just the off days. And you said hit big muscles with four excercises and small muscles with 2 excercises. What about ther stomach questions should i be working out my stomach.

 

[Bob Smith]

So let me get this right. I should change my work out to 2 days on one day off. With working half my body each day and hit all muscles twice a week. Than should i do cardio every day or just the off days. And you said hit big muscles with four excercises and small muscles with 2 excercises. What about ther stomach questions should i be working out my stomach.

Sure, throw in 2-3 sets of heavy ab work, no more than 10-12 reps.

 

[Bob Smith]

But jog at that pace I mentioned and you'll burn more fat. You can do fast ass sprints, for a really short period of time and still burn calories, but your energy system use is almost completely phosphogenic. My exc phys prof is doctor and I've done physical labs with this stuff. It works.

Your exc phys prof is wrong. From the journal Metabolism. http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/HIITvsET.html

And from the study (The study)
"Moreover, the metabolic adaptations taking place in the skeletal muscle in response to the HIIT program appear to favor the process of lipid oxidation."

Favors, but by how much? Again, from the study.
When corrected for the energy cost of training, the decrease in the sum of six subcutaneous skinfolds induced by the HIIT program was ninefold greater than by the ET program.