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I'm 6'2, 184 lbs, and people call me skinny all the time; in fact, nobody believes me when I tell them that's my weight. When I was 155 lbs, people thought I might be anorexic.
Assuming you're male, I find humor in the idea that your dimensions are anywhere near "fat". Now, if you were female...that's a different story altogether. Then again, if all of your weight is around your gut, I can see how you might feel fat.
I am a male. I actually have a decent stomach. I can see the upper ribs and I have lines on them, plus under the right lighting, it can look good. It's my chest that's bothering me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pitt_transplant
Find a healthier sweet treat. Body fat is affected by your food and genetic disposition of body type more than anything else. Do you drink?
I don't drink/smoke...one of the few college kids that doesn't. But any suggestions on something healthier than a candy bar? I even make the candy bar dark chocolate since that's better for you
Just make it chocolate + nutrients. That seems to work for me. I like these choco flaxseed bars that I get at a healthfood store, chocolate covered sunflower seeds, and always try chocolate protien bars out. I also try to eat a lot more veggies, less fruit and less processed when cutting fat. You may have to stay eating like that or wean back whatever very slowly while watching your bodyfat to see how your body reacts.
Also..for some reason fake sugars keep fat on me. Skip diet drinks and go for water or diluted juices.
It's funny seeing how clueless people are in this thread. People sound like they've read too many muscle magazines.
Lot's of you are MAJORLY over analyzing the small details of your routine. You have it down to sets, reps, even seconds of rest inbetween. Unbelievable.
You need to just learn how to listen to your body, work out instinctively and make constant changes to your routine. Each of us has a unique genetic blueprint with different metabolism, muscle fibers, muscle bellies, etc. And nobody but yourself can really know what works for you.
As for anabolism from sprinting. I am a bicyclist and when I first began I gained a lot of mass and definition in my legs, but after about a year of it, the gains leveled off and I had to use heavy weight training to break the plateau.
As for comparing yourselves to football players etc. You should never try to compare your excercise routine to steroid users. When you do steroids, your entire workout strategy will change. And the vast majority of football players do at least one cycle of steroids per year. So they can get away with a lot more cardio while keeping muscle mass.
The only answer to your question is that it's different for everyone.
Jumpman, the key to avoiding loss of muscle mass while including aerobic workouts in your routine is to also include muscle-mass-building weight workouts. Generally, building mass involves relatively heavy weights. Given the reps you're doing in each set according to the workouts you listed in the original post, it looks as if you're on target with the amount of weight you should be lifting, so long as those reps are the maximum number you can lift in each set. If the weights are light enough that you could do more reps, then you need to experiment with adding weight until the number of reps you are aiming for is really the max. you can do in each set.
You also need to eat enough. If you burn a lot of calories with cardio and then eat too little to replenish that energy, you'll most likely not maintain the energy intake needed to build and maintain muscle mass. Don't starve yourself, but also make sure that you fill up on nutritious foods, not try to spike your calorie intake with a lot of ice cream and candy.
I'm not sure what waist size would be right for you. It depends on your basic body type and shape as well as height and weight. Body fat percentage is really the best guideline for whether you are at a healthy weight.
TheCal.Bear, I agree that workouts need to be adjusted to fit individual differences. However, it takes time to gain that feel for what a good workout is. Prescribed guidelines can offer a good approximation as a starting point, until you gain that feel. In fact, getting in tune with how closely or not you match the prescribed workouts at the point where you feel a positive kind of fatigue is a good way to discover what works best for you.
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