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Hello and HELP!

Hi all!

I am coming to a body building forum for some help. In the past I have found that you guys know best, so I thought it best to head back for some advice.

Here's my story...

A few years ago, thanks to a low carb diet and support from a body building gym, I shed 25kgs. I have managed to keep it off and until recently had some great muscle definition.

But now something very odd is happening. I have very quickly gained body fat and my definition is disappearing (I'm talking gaining 5 cm on my bust over a period of a couple of weeks). My heart rate is just soaring through through the roof when I am doing cardio training.

My initial response was to up the intensity of my cardio workout and train for a longer period. I was doing 20 mins HIIT training for one daily session and a longer 45 min session with my heart rate around the 160bpm mark, but my heart rate was quickly rising to 180bpm for exercise that I hadn't perviously found challenging. I upped this to 30 min HIIT and 60 min session. My heart rate has started to steady, but the body fat just isn't shifting! On top of all the cardio, I also weight train for three times a week- my favourite part of the workout, as I know that weight training is the key to real results.

My PT feels that I have trained my body to burn glucose rather than fat stores with all of the high intensity stuff that I have been doing and that I would be better doing more long cardio sessions at a slower bpm. Have any of you found this can work?

I know that I need to re-evaluate the amount of protein in my diet- I am just not getting enough. I started to get sucked in by a lot of the diet advice in a particular women's fitness mag and have been eating fruit for snacks rather than more protein based options. I need to find a new protein shake, but being lactose intolerant has made it difficult finding one that doesn't give me stomach cramps.

Please help- my personal goal by the end of September was to have a touch of a six pack! It's still underneath, but I need to get this body fat off first! I don't care what I weigh, I just want to see those muscles that I work so hard for.
 
moved your post here , might help to get a resply from members
 
Listen to your PT , that's what your paying them the money for
doing low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise for at least 20 to 30 minutes on 4 to 5 days each week is a practical and safe way (low risk of injury)way to burn body fat. there is also the theory of morning cardio on and empty stomache

in combination with a healthy eating that aims for a slight energy deficit, rather than an energy surplus, so avoid those magazine diets

being lactose intolerant i guess check out your local health food store they might be able to point you in the right direction, i guess you could look at some soy based stuff,

juices, water or soy milk should be fine in your shake , might not taste as good but you'll get over it
 
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according to bodybuilder tom venuto (author of burn the fat, feed the muscle)

1. After an overnight 8-12 hour fast, your body's stores of glycogen are depleted and you
burn more fat when glycogen is low.
2. Eating causes a release of insulin. Insulin interferes with the mobilization of body fat.
Less insulin is present in the morning; so more body fat is burned when cardio is done in
the morning.
3. There is less carbohydrate (glucose) in the bloodstream when you wake up after an
overnight fast. With less glucose available, you burn more fat.
4. If you eat immediately before a workout, you have to burn off what you just ate first
before tapping into stored body fat (and insulin is elevated after a meal.)

After an overnight fast, glycogen,
blood glucose and insulin are all low. This is an optimum environment for burning fat.

All aerobic exercise will have some effect on building muscle, but as long as you
don?t overdo it, you shouldn?t worry about losing muscle
 
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Thanks Buffy. Your last post pretty much sums up what the trainer had said.

And I guess he probably has a valid point saying that 90 minutes of high intensity cardio a day is a tad excessive. He's concerned that I am showing early signs of overtraining, considering my heart rate and issues with forearm strain.

It's going to be a tough adjustment- just feel so much better after a hard workout.
 
Hi breebreerocks,

I'm not sure of the effectiveness of this style of training for what you want to achieve, but at the Studio I work at, my boss has implemented a CIRQ style training.

CIRQ is circus style training - climbing up 'tissue' (the long black material you see those Cirque D Soleil gods & goddesses twist, fall, climb & hang from), trapeze, ring & bar work.
From the results that some of the trainers themselves have been achieving has been amazing, what I'm trying to get at is - maybe you could try a totally different style of working out just once to see how your body reacts.
You will find that you work muscles that can hardly be touched with weight training or cardio.

Anyway its something to consider when in such a cross-roads xx

 
Would love to give something like that a try! Unfortunately availability and schedule would mean that it would only be something I could do for a short time.

Have been looking at doing rock climbing occasionally as well to get some more 'functional' fitness.

I have always admired gymnasts and acrobats- it takes such strength to practice the control that they do.
 
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