hardcore training...advice needed!

[leeroyjenkins]

hey guys just wondering if you could help me with something...
I've had about 6 months off training because I had no time during an internship then I injured myself playing rugby :-(

but I'm going home in a weeks time and I have 4 weeks to do some hardcore training - at the moment I weigh around 175lb with 15% BF or so...I'd like to lose a lot of that fat and maintain muscle (this should be no problem, I can maintain with no problem, just fat loss has never gone well)

I also want to improve my cardio while I'm at it

I was thinking of training 5x a week with weights during the day, with kickboxing and jiu jitsu in the evenings and then just go for long bike rides at the weekend.

I was also thinking that diet should be around 3000kcal (I want to lose fat quickly) with 40% from protein, 30% from carbs and 30% from fat
I was wondering what sources I should use for the fats (is whole fat milk any good?) and what I should do dietwise after the kickboxing and jiu jitsu classes in the evenings...I don't want to go carb crazy because I'm going to bed a couple of hours later...

help much appreciated guys

 

[Charm]

What you are describing in my opinios is over training...

What exactly is your #1 goal? Looking good? Having high endurance (marathon running, etc.)? Being a powerlifting strength freak? Being able to beat people up? etc...

Because depending on your goal, that is how you want to tailor your training.

I don't do any cardio. I look very good though because my diet is excellent and I get a very solid work-out and sweat from just weight lifting. I burn plenty of calories at the gym just hitting weights 4-5 days/wk. You can too!

 

[leeroyjenkins]

#1 goal is to look good
#2 goal is to be physically fit

I know you can look awesome from just lifting weights but I play rugby a lot and I need to keep my fitness levels up for that...plus I think it'd be good to over-reach for 3 weeks then go back to normal training...it'd be a good psychological thing too...

 

[Charm]

The saying about over-training goes, if you have over-trained, you didn't train your muscles well enough to begin with to handle the level of training you subjected them to.

Meaning, build a foundation correctly so that you can build forever ontop of it. If you build a crappy foundation, you'll always end up with a building that crumbles apart. Give yourself ample rest/recovery time and eat a lot of protein.

I am in the same category as you. My #1 goal is to look good.

To accomplish that you need to:

1. Eat correctly
2. Lift Weights 3-5 days/wk with MINIMUM 2 rest days.
3. Sleep 6-8 hours/day

In that exact order.

You can get plenty of physical fitness through lifting and eating correctly. You won't have the best endurance for cardio in the world, but you can achieve that with a hot girlfriend right?

 

[Quagmire911]

I'd weight train 2/3 times a week whilst doing two sessions of HIIT for 15-20 minutes per week and two sessions of low intensity cardio for 30-45 minutes twice a week.

I'd also not touch milk at all and preferably get on the anabolic diet. Check out stronglifts.com for details.

But that is me...

If you do everything right you could see some alright results in a month. Two months would be a lot better though.

Quagmire

 

[leeroyjenkins]

okay thanks for the advice guys...I know it makes a lot of sense for long term training but I've already gained a lot of weight over the last year or two, I dieted down from 210lb to 140lb and then I've bulked to about 175lb - now I want to cut down to a ripped 160lb or so before a nice ultra-clean bulk...

basically my overall goal is to look a bit like Christian Bale in American Psycho

http://www.christianbale.net/galleries/psycho/images/ap_674.jpg

I figure I'm already nearly there mass wise and I really just want the most hardcore 3 weeks possible just to lose as much fast as I can...

but yeah the weight training will definitely be there and the kickboxing training features a lot of HIIT/Fartlek style stuff

any idea what kind of fats I should be getting in my diet if milk is out? I was thinking of chicken wings, avocados and nuts...any other good tips?

cheers guys :rockon:

 

[Mad Manic]

I think training 5 days a week is fine but if you're doing all this martial arts and rugby stuff then yes it might be too much - But you may well be healthy and conditioned enough to handle it so who are we to say no?

If you're doing 5 days then there's many ways to arrange it. Like Upper/Lower, Upper/Lower then a 5th day to work on anything that's lagging or Legs and Abs, Chest Bis, Back, Delts/Tris and a 5th day for anything that's lagging. I'm currently doing a 5 day split (the first one I mentioned) but then again I'm not doing other exercise other than the odd bit of cardio.

You could 4 days weights, that way you'll be pretty safe on not burning out. But if it's only for a month or so anyway, shouldn't matter.

 

[leeroyjenkins]

I think training 5 days a week is fine but if you're doing all this martial arts and rugby stuff then yes it might be too much - But you may well be healthy and conditioned enough to handle it so who are we to say no?

If you're doing 5 days then there's many ways to arrange it. Like Upper/Lower, Upper/Lower then a 5th day to work on anything that's lagging or Legs and Abs, Chest Bis, Back, Delts/Tris and a 5th day for anything that's lagging. I'm currently doing a 5 day split (the first one I mentioned) but then again I'm not doing other exercise other than the odd bit of cardio.

You could 4 days weights, that way you'll be pretty safe on not burning out. But if it's only for a month or so anyway, shouldn't matter.

exactly, I'm thinking about over-reaching, thinking it's only temporary so I won't start over training for a while...

I was thinking of doing:

monday - chest/triceps/shoulders (push)
tuesday - back/biceps (pull)
wednesday - legs + abs
thursday - chest/triceps/shoulders (push)
friday - back/biceps (pull)

just on the basis that my legs aren't lagging at all at the moment, they're actually a fair bit bigger than my upper body...but I want to work them one day a week for the growth hormone surge

 

[Mad Manic]

exactly, I'm thinking about over-reaching, thinking it's only temporary so I won't start over training for a while...

I was thinking of doing:

monday - chest/triceps/shoulders (push)
tuesday - back/biceps (pull)
wednesday - legs + abs
thursday - chest/triceps/shoulders (push)
friday - back/biceps (pull)

just on the basis that my legs aren't lagging at all at the moment, they're actually a fair bit bigger than my upper body...but I want to work them one day a week for the growth hormone surge

TBH I prefer the two choices I gave. You'll get to push more weight out on your shoulders, tris and bis.

 

[leeroyjenkins]

TBH I prefer the two choices I gave. You'll get to push more weight out on your shoulders, tris and bis.

I do see your point but I was just kinda hoping to split it up a bit more but at the same time I kinda want to work out for a good 1.5 to 2 hours a time and I can't think of enough chest exercises to do for that amount of time, never mind biceps and the rest lol

 

[EFFORT]

exactly, I'm thinking about over-reaching, thinking it's only temporary so I won't start over training for a while...

I was thinking of doing:

monday - chest/triceps/shoulders (push)
tuesday - back/biceps (pull)
wednesday - legs + abs
thursday - chest/triceps/shoulders (push)
friday - back/biceps (pull)

just on the basis that my legs aren't lagging at all at the moment, they're actually a fair bit bigger than my upper body...but I want to work them one day a week for the growth hormone surge

thats the last thing you need to be doing

 

[leeroyjenkins]

thats the last thing you need to be doing

I saw my best gains on that routine...well...without the legs...over-reaching really works for me!