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Sep 15 2020 12:53pm
Quote (mandarkkk @ 22 Aug 2020 12:33)
Anyone else go through this phase and who might have meaningful insight would be nice.

Im currently at 24% BF. Anybody who will look at me wont be able to tell that unless they see my without my shirt or really spend a lot of time with me. I.e I dont look fat and I have a small build.

I am 5.6 tall and my weight is 163.

In the last two years I ave fluctuated between 18-27% BF. They way I like to focus on fat loss is usually through careful eating, lifting weights ( low reps high weights 3 days a week), and incorporating some cardio (I enjoy walking as light cardio and I enjoy playing tennis with friends).

When I am doing the above I tend to lose BF, but I feel like I have so little margin of error. The minute I get remotely relaxed with any of the above my fat immediately starts coming back or my progress starts halting.

So if I laser focus for 4 weeks, and then I have a 1 week trip where I dont workout and eat whatever the heck... I come back to find myself back or worse then where I was before all the work and that is such a tremendously gut wrenching feeling.

Is this the case for you guys?


OK, let's do this ...

I'm going to tell you some things that I think will help you out. I've been a personal trainer for well over a decade and I've helped hundreds if not thousands of people lose stubborn body fat. The principles of fat reduction and reducing fat percentage are pretty much universal. I'm 42 and I rarely have more than 12-13% body fat. I'm 5'11 and my weight is hovering around 185-190 pounds right now. I've had much lower body fat and I've also experienced the life of someone who is slipping away from a sleek physique. So I know the terrain. That doesn't mean that you need to take my advice or that I don't think anyone else can or will give you great advice.

1. Nutrition - this is always numero uno. I'll say this so that it's understood: there are people with pretty shitty diets who have low body fats. I've been there. The only way to guarantee low body fat via diet alone is to keep calories relatively low, to avoid heavy intake of high simple carbs, and to avoid processed food, and, ideally, to avoid non-vegetarian foods yet to maintain a good balance of amino acids/protein and fats. And intermittent fasting helps; a keto diet can also be part of this ideal diet. BUT, let's be real, most mortals neither try nor carefully consider sensible ideas about diet. I've tried lots of diets, and I've read way too much about nutrition, and I've read all kinds of nutritional and medical science related to fat loss. But it's really simple: eat FOOD (not processed crap), don't eat too much food, and eat more veggies than anything else. That's a pretty good general guideline.

2. Exercise - the kind and intensity of exercise you do affects how much fat you store. Walking alone is good exercise, especially for de-conditioned people ... which in my view is actually the majority of the human population. Cardio isn't necessary and it's also not ideal for fat loss. Interval training and HITT are better than regular cardio, and low intensity movement over time is actually even better. The fat burning "zone" for heart rate is lower than the rate for cardio. Cardio is about cardiorespiratory improvement. Is it important? Heck ya. But is it necessary or optimal for fat loss? Heck no. In fact, it can drive your desire to consume more simple carbs. The solution: do both. For the love of gawd, do both. Your body wants and needs both, and fat loss requires movement. Think of it this way: no matter what someone does, just by the acts of getting of her or his ass, he or she is already heading toward fat loss.

You said you do low volume exercise? I'd recommend high volume. Why? First, muscular endurance. And do train for muscular endurance before you train for strength or endurance or fat loss or anything else. Learnt he movement patterns this way because it's safe and it's how your body best remembers to do what the heck it needs to do. But after you go through 2-4 sets each of some exercises at about 8-12 reps, then you can increase the number of sets you do. You can increase the intensity by increasing the load, but keep in mind that you're going from maybe 60-80% total fatigue to maybe 80-90% fatigue after a set when you make this transition.

Notes: if your goal is strength, your goal is not fat loss. In fact, fat guys lift more than skinny guys. But the fat guys who lift more also tend to have more muscle. You CAN and probably should increase strength as you increase fat loss unless you're already really strong, but the point is to know your goal.

I don't buy into the bullshit theory that if you do about 6 sets of 18-20 reps you're going to improve your condition. There needs to be stress in order to induce an adaptation. That's a life principle and not just a principle of fitness. Please write that shit down somewhere. It will serve you well.

3. Supplements - there are plenty of supplements that will help you lose fat. You can do it safely or not so safely. To be sure, if you want to get down to even 6-8% body fat, you can get away with creatine, green tea, and a nutrient dense diet. Does other crap help? Yes, yes it does. It can get you there faster. And I'm not just referring to illegal substances. You can read up on all kinds of supplements and plenty of them are safe and effective. But, please, DO NOT rely on supplements for fat loss. Just don't. If you're going to be a bodybuilder or a fitness model or whatever, then yes, DO rely on supplements for fat loss. At that stage your whole life is fitness and taking supplements is absolutely necessary for fat loss when you're sucking down 7,000 calories every day.

4. Sleep and rest - don't overlook sleep and rest. Sleep is amazing.

I'll stop here. It's almost impossible to carry more than 15-20% body fat if you follow the basic principles I've outlined above. I'm not advising you to go into a huge caloric deficit. You need energy to exercise. Calorie restriction should be gradual. Be strategic, be patience, and work hard and keep your goals in front of you. Be consistent.
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Sep 16 2020 04:25pm
Quote (eMptyBox @ Aug 22 2020 12:05pm)
sounds like the calories arent the problem, its the source of calories.


dont go for any kind of diet, adapt a lifestyle that you consider healthy and that works for you.


as for the body fat, you should start and finish your exercises with something like high knees or jumping jacks,

it will fire you up and then allow your workouts to be more effective, id recommend doing more repitions, so not only will you burn off the fat, but then start to tone it differently

no matter what exercise youre doing, form is most important, you dont want to have sloppy form, if you feel sloppy, take a break and go at it again. but pushing yourself will help you in long run, determination is key


hope it makes sense


this is the most autistic shit I've read here in a while
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Sep 23 2020 01:13am
no such thing, just fat
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Dec 3 2020 07:17am
I do not keep myself away from my workout routine for a long period of time. Rest days should be enjoyed but it doesn't mean that you take rest twice than the days you done workout. So I'd say that follow a workout plan and stick to it, unless your mind become habitual to it.
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