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Going from 14% to 10% body fat

HardTimes

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I'm trying to lose about 4% body fat, maybe even 5% just to get into the single digits. I have already been doing some heavy lifting and light cardio but I'm thinking about stepping it up a notch since I am maintaining but not really losing any body fat percentage.

Here is my new plan of attack:

4 miles a day of cardio (treadmill), about 45 min, in heavy sweats and a heavy coat with the temperature in the room turned up to 80 degrees.

2 hours of heavy lifting/day in heavy sweats and a heavy coat, also at 80 degrees

Diet: oatmeal for breakfast, sushi for lunch, chicken breast/steak + green veggies for dinner. Protein shake after lifting. About 1500 calories in total.

Is this enough to get me ripped?
 

Alle_Gory

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HardTimes said:
4 miles a day of cardio (treadmill), about 45 min, in heavy sweats and a heavy coat with the temperature in the room turned up to 80 degrees.

2 hours of heavy lifting/day in heavy sweats and a heavy coat, also at 80 degrees

Diet: oatmeal for breakfast, sushi for lunch, chicken breast/steak + green veggies for dinner. Protein shake after lifting. About 1500 calories in total.

Is this enough to get me ripped?
I smell a darwin award.


Where's the food protein in your diet?
 

Quagmire911

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Calories look too low, especially considering the amount of exercise. What do you weigh?
 

HardTimes

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Alle_Gory said:
I smell a darwin award.


Where's the food protein in your diet?
Not going to darwin myself out, if it's too intense i'll take off the coat or turn down the heat.

Protein is going to come from the sushi, chicken/steak and protein shake.
 

HardTimes

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Quagmire911 said:
Calories look too low, especially considering the amount of exercise. What do you weigh?
I think the calories are about right for what I weigh, about 145lb.
 

Alle_Gory

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HardTimes said:
Not going to darwin myself out, if it's too intense i'll take off the coat or turn down the heat.
Oh I think you will. There's no need to shock your body like that. You're basically going to force your body into a fever.

Protein is going to come from the sushi, chicken/steak and protein shake.
Sushi doesn't have enough protein. What are the ingredients of the protein shake?
 

HardTimes

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Alle_Gory said:
Oh I think you will. There's no need to shock your body like that. You're basically going to force your body into a fever.



Sushi doesn't have enough protein. What are the ingredients of the protein shake?
I don't need that much protein if I'm taking the shake. I think the shake is 24g per serving and I always take 1 serving after the workout. I eat about 2-3 chicken breast or a pretty sizable steak so that should carry a lot of protien too.
 

EFFORT

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This isn't how you get to single digits, you'll end up with a heat stroke.
 

Adam B

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I would still suggest a few more calories. I'd say 2000 a day and you could lose a pound every week. 1500 will just mkae you tired, hungry and possibly overtrained.

When you're cut, up your intake to about 3000 so you can start gaining some muscle.
 

Alle_Gory

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HardTimes said:
I don't need that much protein if I'm taking the shake. I think the shake is 24g per serving and I always take 1 serving after the workout. I eat about 2-3 chicken breast or a pretty sizable steak so that should carry a lot of protien too.
Ok....

I won't argue. You know better than everyone.

I wish you good luck.
 

Throttle

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the only people who "need" to sweat like that on purpose are people trying to make weight in the next few hours (wrestlers, bb/figure competitors, etc) who will immediately and carefully rehydrate after weigh-in and before attempting anything more physical than a brisk walk.

you WILL kill yourself or pass out trying if you attempt this. you will not get your body fat down even 1 gram by losing extra water. staying hydrated actually helps the fat burning processes in your body work their magic.
 

WC2

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Forcing yourself to sweat tremendously will not help you lose fat. Don't believe anyone who tells you that you 'sweat out the weight'. This so called 'old school method' has been proven wrong thousands of times.

If anything you should be listening to Alle_Gory about your protein intake. A protein shake isn't a substitute for a good protein packed meal.

With this much activity (plus everyday activity), you should be taking at least 1 - 1.5x protein/lb which means you should be taking upwards of 150-200g of protein a day.

Sushi is a healthy (but expensive) diet as long as you aren't just eating rolls. Fish without the rice is the healthiest route if you eat sushi.

I personally don't think you need 4 miles of cardio a day if you only weigh 145lbs.

In fact, I have negative effects when I do too much cardio. I start losing muscle mass along with BF and in turn doesn't really shape my physique the way I'd like it.

Everyone is different, but I keep my cardio to 10 - 15min a day (medium intensity) as a warmup and my weight training sessions last 45min to and hour AT MOST.

You don't need to be in the gym 2 hours a day to see results, and most of the time you're just going to overtrain yourself.

So to recap..

1. More food protein
2. Less cardio
3. Weight training doesn't need to be 2 hours; if you are efficient you can get it done in 30-45min
4. 6-8 hours of sleep
5. Multi-V
 

HardTimes

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So the sweats and the coat will not help at all in burning off more fat?
 

WC2

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HardTimes said:
So the sweats and the coat will not help at all in burning off more fat?
No. Even if it helps raise your heart rate a bit, you're burning muscle along with fat. On top of that, it's probably just not good for you.
 

EFFORT

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HardTimes said:
So the sweats and the coat will not help at all in burning off more fat?
In no way shape or form. It doesn't sound like you've even paid your dues yet (following a standard diet and weightlifting/cardio plan for a meaningful amount of time)

How tall are you? Your 145lbs at a estimated 14% (which could be way off in either direction) on a body that sounds like it doesn't carry much muscle as it is. Even if you were going about things the correct way you can't cut a muscle less body and have muscles all the sudden with a lower body fat. It sounds like you just need to grind out a basic beginner routine and diet, unless you bring forth some new piece of information about your situation.
 

HardTimes

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EFFORT said:
In no way shape or form. It doesn't sound like you've even paid your dues yet (following a standard diet and weightlifting/cardio plan for a meaningful amount of time)

How tall are you? Your 145lbs at a estimated 14% (which could be way off in either direction) on a body that sounds like it doesn't carry much muscle as it is. Even if you were going about things the correct way you can't cut a muscle less body and have muscles all the sudden with a lower body fat. It sounds like you just need to grind out a basic beginner routine and diet, unless you bring forth some new piece of information about your situation.
Actually I have been working out for a long time, just never got super ripped like I want to get now. I'm 5'8 and at 145 I have a decent amount of muscle mass. I can max 190. Not incredible but pretty good for my body weight. Why do you think the 14% is "way off"?
 

WC2

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HardTimes said:
Actually I have been working out for a long time, just never got super ripped like I want to get now. I'm 5'8 and at 145 I have a decent amount of muscle mass. I can max 190. Not incredible but pretty good for my body weight. Why do you think the 14% is "way off"?
If you're 5'8 @ 145 with 14% BF then it doesn't sound like you have a lot of muscle mass. I'm 5'9 @ 165 w/ 12% body fat and while I have muscle mass, I'm not really that big.

Maxing 190 while I guess is sort of respectable at your weight, is still a far cry from being strong. I know guys who weigh 150 and rep 225 pretty easily.

I still think you've got too much cardio in your program and not enough focus on your actual weight training routine and MOST importantly, nutrition.
 

HardTimes

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WC2 said:
If you're 5'8 @ 145 with 14% BF then it doesn't sound like you have a lot of muscle mass. I'm 5'9 @ 165 w/ 12% body fat and while I have muscle mass, I'm not really that big.

Maxing 190 while I guess is sort of respectable at your weight, is still a far cry from being strong. I know guys who weigh 150 and rep 225 pretty easily.

I still think you've got too much cardio in your program and not enough focus on your actual weight training routine and MOST importantly, nutrition.
I'm not shredded with muscle and never claimed to be. I suppose by your standards I don't have a lot of muscle mass and I'm sure you know guys who weigh 150 and can rep 225 but that definately isn't the norm. I'd say the vast majority of people can't rep their own body weight but I can rep 145 pretty easily. Maxing 190 isn't too shabby either.

I'm not trying to lose weight anyway, I'm trying to maintain while just lowering my body fat percentage.
 

Kerpal

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Max 190 at what lift? I'm guessing bench press since that's the most important one.
 

shaunuk

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To be ripped you want to build muscle and lose fat. To do this at the same time and at a reasonable rate you need to cut your carbs way down to mornings and post-workout only. The rest of your diet will be made up of protein and fats.

Get on a solid beginner's routine to build your muscle. Look at the stickies at the top of this forum mate.

And for your cardio, i.e. to lose fat, do 1hr brisk walking 4+ mornings per week on an empty stomach. You can do high intensity cardio on the elliptical post-workout for extra cardio 2 or 3x per week. You'll be lifting weights 3 days per week. Again check the stickies mate :)

None of that heavy jacket stuff, you're gonna knock yourself for six.

So basically you're lifting weights, only eating carbs in the mornings and post-workout, getting lots of protein, and doing morning cardio to shed fat. Sounds good init.
 
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