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Frustrated

burgels Posts: 32 Joined: 2006/10/25	2007/02/12, 02:48 PM My body fat test today was pretty disheartening. I worked really hard all month to really watch what I ate and managed to stick to it pretty well. Then to find out that I lost only 2 pounds of fat and burned up 3 pounds of my hard earned muscle was really hard to hear. I feel like everything I do takes me in the wrong direction lately. My plan was to create a 500 calorie a day deficit (including the calories that I burned exercising) and therefore force my body to burn fat. This seems to work fine if you have a lot of fat to lose but doesn't seem to work at this point in my training. It worked great when I was way out of shape and almost 30 pounds heavier than I am now but not at this stage of fine tuning. So far my best body fat percentage came after a month of really heavy lifting in which I didn't really try to create a calorie deficit. I still really want to do the half marathon that I'm training for because I don't like not completing something like that once I've committed to it,but I need some sort of plan to get me back on track. I really want more than anything to get my body fat down and my muscle up enough to have a six pack stomach. That's been my #1 goal from the beginning of all this. So what should I do? Should I eat enough calories to break even until the marathon training is done? Should I lift really heavy on the two days a week that I have to lift during my running training? I just really need a plan that will work with those two goals in mind (completing the half marathon, and getting a six pack). Something that I can believe in and see consistent results from. I'm just starting to get frustrated and I don't want to lose the motivation that I have. Thanks Shane
flyonthewall Posts: 1,823 Joined: 2005/01/18	2007/02/12, 02:59 PM Where are you at now? What is your %BF? Do you still have much to loose? How far off is the marathon? A six pack is more about diet..i.e. being extremely lean, so you need to get your body fat as low as you can, however, if you're training for a marathon, you need good nutrition to reach your goal....bottom line....you need to decide what you really want first.
burgels Posts: 32 Joined: 2006/10/25	2007/02/12, 03:46 PM I'm at 14.25% right now. I have tried to follow all the advice I've read about proper diet and I feel like I have done that pretty well to no avail. I want to complete the marathon first because I don't want to be a quitter but are you saying that there is no way I can work toward both goals at once?
flyonthewall Posts: 1,823 Joined: 2005/01/18	2007/02/12, 04:22 PM I would think that if the marathon is your priority then all of the cardio you're getting should help you get lean...unfortunately, because you'll be putting soo many miles, I think muscle loss is inevitable (ever seen a muscular marathoner--not!!) I think you should complete your first goal of the marathon. I've done a couple of half marathons and it is very rewarding to complete (but 2 wa enough for me:)) This will get you lean, then, when your done, focus on bulking up to build up your muscle mass. As far as the elusive 6 pack, it can be a very tough goal for many people.
conan_0822 Posts: 441 Joined: 2006/11/23	2007/02/12, 04:52 PM I would think doing all that cardio is going to seriously hamper your muscle gains. The more muscle you have , the more fat you are going to burn, but is almost impossible to gain and maintain muscle running mileage :)
ecle5c Posts: 1,312 Joined: 2003/07/10	2007/02/13, 10:31 AM I have a question to Fly's quote that you never seen a muscular marathon runner. I agree with that part completely. But on the contrary look at most boxers. Sure they don't run as much but they do a lot of cardio work and most of them are still completely jacked. How does that happen?
asimmer Posts: 8,201 Joined: 2003/01/07	2007/02/13, 11:38 AM Boxing is more akin to sprint work or Interval training, yes, they burn hell calories, but it is in 3 minute rounds, not really long enough to get into the muscle-eating mode that long distance running gets into. -------------- Within each of us lies the power of our consent to health and sickness, to riches and poverty, to freedom and to slavery. It is we who control these, and not another. Richard Bach
conan_0822 Posts: 441 Joined: 2006/11/23	2007/02/15, 12:33 PM Exactly asimmer. i am currently doing 15 second and 30 second sprints as my cardio so I don't lose the muscle I have added.
ecle5c Posts: 1,312 Joined: 2003/07/10	2007/02/15, 02:40 PM Right, they only box for 3 minutes per round, but there is a lot of bag work, and jumping rope, etc. during training that lasts longer than 3 minutes I'm sure. Is it that higher intensity type workouts for shorter periods that most boxers probably do don't eat up as much muscle?
flyonthewall Posts: 1,823 Joined: 2005/01/18	2007/02/15, 04:10 PM The difference with endurance running is that your doing a steady pace for long, and I mean long, periods of time. If you're training for a marathon, or half, then your training is focussed on endurance runs of at least 1-2 hours 3X per week. Even if a boxer is doing lot's of bag work and jumping rope, he certainly isn't doing it at a steady pace for 1-2 hours. It's more of an exposive type workout. That's why nutrition is so important for marathon runners, you even need to refuel while running with gels or bars because you eventually exhaust your energy stores.
asimmer Posts: 8,201 Joined: 2003/01/07	2007/02/15, 05:24 PM was I just talking to myself? ============ Quoting from ecle5c: Right, they only box for 3 minutes per round, but there is a lot of bag work, and jumping rope, etc. during training that lasts longer than 3 minutes I'm sure. Is it that higher intensity type workouts for shorter periods that most boxers probably do don't eat up as much muscle? =============
conan_0822 Posts: 441 Joined: 2006/11/23	2007/02/19, 02:36 PM Possibly :)