Surviving Winter without gaining weight
Changing things up.
Well my patience is running thin. I must admit I went to the bar too much in January/feb. Even though I worked out every day 30-45 minutes and ate pretty well , I spoiled my progress by drinking too much.
Yet it’s still very frustrating that now in March I’m still at 181 pounds. My workout s seem to do nothing as far as the scale goes…However, I do feel I’ve lost an inch or two…clothes, primarily pants fit me better now. BUT my belly – that’s the most frustrating thing..what to do? Has my body adapted to my workouts? I had added weightlifting to my routine on alternate days…but only (3 sets, 3 exercises per major muscle, fairly light) .
Adding 5×5 workouts to the mix
I have long read about using compound exercises to increase strength (in fact 2 decades ago I was placed on such a program its not a new concept) . But it has really gained in popularity again as people design their own 5×5 workouts. 5×5 in general is 5 sets of 5 reps of compound exercises. Compound movements are those that that can generate the most muscle and strength…but as it turns out…you can tailor them into your workouts to LOSE FAT . Your most popular compound exercises are Bench Press, Dead Lift, Squats, Barbell Row and Shoulder Press. I won’t go into specifics here about how this works…I just want to let you know this is what I’ve decided to do next. Its only been a week…but I gotta say it has recharged my workouts and I feel more motivated.
The new workout “plan”
-currently at 181#’s 24/25% fat –
6 day work outs ( I say the 6th is optional and if done light)
week start-
Day 1 -Bench/Squats/ Rows plus targeted exercise (1 or 2)
Day 2 – cardio – 30-45 minutes, body weight exerices – (push ups, pull ups etc)
Day 3 Bench/Deadlift/Shoulder press + Targets +10 card
Day 4 –light cardio
Day 5– Bench/Squat/Rows -+10-12 minute cool down
Day 6– rest
Day 7 cardio
Now if you have never done compound exercises I suggest you learn how to do them first. Myself, my brother was a powerlifter for quite some time and I learned from him when I was younger. Never the less..I’m not trying to MAX the weight with each lift, I’m doing the movements 5x comfortably each time. If I still have extra energy I save it for the final set.
Will this work?
Well- at the very least this mixes up my workout, has created variety and I am enjoying it a little more. I can feel my body changing, I just hope I start dropping weight soon. The main reason I have not given up is do feel some muscle since I started lifting in January, but then I just did your typical 3sets rep till fail workouts. It’s possible I have not seen difference in the scale yet because of muscle weight, which is much more dense then Fat.
Target is Belly Fat
My main target is belly fat. BUT, I know there is not one exercise that targets belly fat. It’s cumulative. So it becomes a matter of consistency and patience. Patience, patience, patience – apparently. These next two months I should get a more specific sense of whether this adjustment to my workouts has made a difference.
I have also decided to keep an eye on my calorie intake again. Let’s see what happens…
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