READER QUESTIONS & TIPS
Hey Dan, just a short note...I did my own personal study on the 96 hour theory.....I was out of the country on a missions trip to El Salvador for 9 days and then i had an eye operation and didn’t lift for a total of 21 days.
My last lift on the bench press was 247.5 for 9 reps. So today i wanted to see what i could do after not benching for 3 weeks. I then proceeded to do my 3 warm up sets and loaded the bar with 250 lbs. I
told the spotter what was going on, and informed him i was shooting for reps. I felt in my mind i could get 6 and maybe more. I didn’t feel strong or weak on the warm-ups. The 225 warm up set for 6 reps felt a little heavy, but i didn’t put my mind and body totally into it. It just felt a little different but i couldn’t nail it down exactly
what it was.
Without much fanfare, and to my surprise i got 9 solid repetitions with 250lbs without help from the spotter. I was happy to do my part to blow another hole in the conventional wisdom.
Thanks,
Greg
Greg:
Thanks for the info. Would you mind if I shared that in one of the weekly tips?
Dan:
Sure go ahead. A lifter always has to use his head and do his own
tests on his own body. I have been lifting again for about 16 months after about a ten year layoff. I also run or do cardio an average of 5 times a week so i have to be very careful about overtraining. I know the running hurts my lifting but i would rather be a strong guy who can
run 8 miles as opposed to a very strong guy who cant make it around
the block. Not that i run 8 miles a day, but i try to at least once every 10 days. I currently run about 15 to 20 miles a week.
My main problem is i cant seem to get my body fat down. I have a
major in physical education so i am not ignorant about how to lose fat and eat correctly. I have gone from 275 to 250 in 16 months, but the last 4 months i have been stuck at 250. I don’t normally miss workouts, but i am missing something.
I know its better to take it off slow but when it comes to a halt you start to wonder what it is going to take. I would guess my body has at least 60lbs of excess fat on it. I know at 39 my metabolism has probably slowed, but i wont accept any excuse and i will keep on fighting this fat.
My eating habits are not bad. They are not perfect but i don’t feel that is what's holding me back. The amount of exercise i do should make up for a few extra calories in my diet.
I don’t want to go on a highly restrictive diet, at least not yet. I eat 3 times a day. I try to keep fruit and veggies in my diet as well as meats and beans for protein. Maybe you have some advice.
The advice i got from Clarence Bass was to cut my workouts back to 2 cardio and 2 weights per week. Right now i do 3 to 5 of each per week. I have a lot of respect for C. Bass but i don’t see how cutting back to half of what i do now will help me lose fat.
My average running workout is 30 minutes and my average lifting workout is normally 60 minutes or less. Probably 75% percent of my lifting is what i would call warm up sets. The other 25% is made up of intense effort to failure, sometimes forced reps, supersets, iso-contractions, negatives, dropped sets, or whatever i think will hit the muscle in a different way. What ever advice you can give would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg
Greg:
I'm 36 so I can relate to the problems you've been having. The old metabolism just doesn't function like it did when we were in our 20's, huh? But since about July I've dropped about 25 pounds of fat while even gaining a little muscle. I followed a training program called Titan Training which you can read about at http://www.otsdirect.com/
It sounds crazy at first but I have a friend who went on it and made similar gains to mine. Increased muscle mass and strength along with pretty significant body fat loss.
I also ate 6 small meals per day with the approx. following rations: 50% protein, 20% complex carbs, 30% fat. I varied my calorie intake a little from day to day. One day I was UNDER maintenance level, the next day I was a little over, but never more than 300 to 500 calories over maintenance level.
When I hit a sticking point I ate only 1 can of tuna in water and leafy green salads for each of my meals. I only did the tuna and salad thing for 4 to 5 days at a time.
My BF% is now at about 8% down from about 23% in July. I did absolutely NO cardio. I HATE cardio. For me it burns up all my muscle with little difference in fat.
That's just a few things I did that might be of help to you.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news because I know you said you are not yet ready to make any dietary changes, but...
IT'S ALL ABOUT DIET!
In almost every case, not being able to lose fat...or the other problem I hear a lot, not being able to gain muscular body weight...I'll say it again...
IT'S ALL ABOUT DIET!
Granted there are times when people need to get their training on track, but if you've been reading this newsletter for any length of time, you know how to train correctly.
If you don't know how to put together an effective training program, IMMEDIATELY go to: www.anabolicsecrets.com and download my FREE eBook "Advanced Anabolic Secrets". I guarantee you'll make gains if you follow the advice in the book. Neither the training programs or diets are gonna be "easy" but nothing worthwhile ever is.
So Greg, my friend, I know this isn't what you wanted to hear but if you keep doing what you've been doing, you'll keep getting the same results you've been getting. A change in your diet is necessary to get your body burning fat.
I've given you some good diet advice here that I know should work well for you, or if you're up to the challenge, go to www.anabolicsecrets.com and follow the fat loss advice in my FREE eBook "Advanced Anabolic Secrets".
