A few workout questions

[Patrick_St]

Hey guys. I recently enlisted with the U.S. Navy. I am 20 years old, and I am not in very great shape at the moment. I am 6'2" and currently weigh 205 pounds. Since I enlisted I have started to work out consistently for the first time in my life. I am very dedicated to getting into proper shape to meet the fitness standards employed by the U.S. Navy. I admit that I am currently carrying a bit of body fat in my stomach and around my hips. You can't really tell it's there if you see me with clothes on, but it is there. I don't really know how to estimate my %body fat, but I would say it is likely somewhere near 15% plus or minus 3%.

The first question I have to ask is if it's true that if you want to do a "fat-burning" workout, should you really do a less intense workout and keep your heart rate at about 70% of your maximum heart rate like some sources suggest? For me at 20 years of age this would mean keeping my heart rate at 140, but I don't even break a sweat when I maintain a 140 beat per minute heart rate, nor do I even feel like I am really working out. Should I just do more intense cardio workouts where I actually push myself and burn more calories and actually can tell I am really working out to burn fat and lose weight?

The next question I have may seem a bit silly, but are there any problems with drinking lemonade that would hinder a regimine in which I am trying to lose about 15 pounds of body fat, as opposed to drinking strictly water? Before I enlisted I was literally the hugest Pepsi/soda addict you could meet. I was drinking up to two two liter bottles of pepsi a day, which is by and large why I likely put on a bit of weight in body fat. In order to quit drinking soda I started drinking lemonade instead. I drink quite a bit, two pitchers a day, which equals one gallon. I know there is a lot of suger in lemonade, should I stop drinking lemonade and drink ONLY water?

I am planning on adhering strictly to a 2,000 calorie per day diet until I get down to 190 pounds, based on a calculator I looked at online. Does this sound like a good amount of calories per day for a 20 year old male who is planning on losing 15 pounds in about two months, while excersizing three to five hours per day, five days a week? Also, I am sure there are plenty of these sorts of websites, but has anyone found a very good, comprehensive, and reliable website that lets you know the amount of calories in your meals?

I will have to do 42 push-ups and sit-ups just to make it into bootcamp, and then 50 push-ups within a two minute period, as well as 50 sit-ups within a two minute period to not require mandatory workouts after bootcamp. Is the best way to increase the amount of push-ups and sit-ups you can do to simply practice doing them each day?

Lastly, the regimine I am planning to stick to until November will be waking up at 8 am, eating breakfast at 9 am, working out at my local Ymca for 2 hours between breakfast and lunch. Eating lunch at 1:30 pm, and then either playing tennis/racquetball for about 3 hours or working out again for 2 hours, and then eating lunch at 6 pm. My question is, what are some good ways to spend my time working out so I am not just on one machine for mutiple hours and can vary my workouts? I am planning on swimming everyday because you get a good upper-body workout at the same time as getting a cardio workout, but I don't think I will be able to swim for more than 30 minutes for the first couple of months. At my local Y, they have a track, however it is very small (16 laps is a mile) and the turns are sharp, so it feels weird to run on it for extended lengths of time. They also have the typical ellipticals, bikes, and treadmills. I plan on doing a good amount of jogging outside as well, but I live in Wisconsin, and the weather may not even be good enough to do that for a while (it just snowed last night). If I am not jogging outside, or swimming, or playing tennis/racquetball, what are some other good ways to get good excercise for me to get my 3-5 hours of excercise per day in?

All feedback is appreciated.

Edit: I used a calculator from the same website as the calorie calculator I used and I have determined that my % body fat is more like 18-20%.


Patrick

 

[ferb55]

Hello Pat.

You will get some really good advice around here from some.
First of all. Yes. stop drinking so much lemonade! It really isn't hard to quit all together. IMO a diet soda would be better for weight loss than the lemonade. To be clear...I am not suggesting you should drink any soda...but given a choice between no cal diet and two pitchers of sugary lemonade...i would go with diet soda. But, just switch to water. It is much better than anything else for what you are trying to do.

As for your fat burn cardio. Swimming is a good exercise to build upper body strength and a great all around work out. However, it isn't much of a fat burner. To really burn some fat..try walking on a treadmill at pace of around 4 or 5 MPH on an incline of about 10. Try to do this for 30 minutes. This is a low impact workout that will absolutely shed some weight. You can then build up to walking longer or faster and of course mix in some running on a lower incline.

Dont worry too much about what the scale says. 6'2 205 is about right, but it sounds like you might need to put on a little muscle, which will in turn help burn more fat. The swimming will help, but a simple weight program will really do the trick.

At the end of the day there is no secret to any of this. Burn more than you take in. Eat right..which doesn't have to be miserable (small meals 4 to 5 times a day) and keep up the workouts....you will see results in a very shot time.

Thank you for enlisting in the Navy. Be safe and God Bless.

 

[Patrick_St]

Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it. I was weight-training 4 days a week the first few weeks I started working out, but I have since stopped because I have heard that in order to build muscle it is important to consume more calories per day then you burn and many times people who are looking to put on muscle will also put on body fat. I will still do weight training likely three days a week, but not quite as intense as I was doing, and I will primarily focus on arms/shoulders since I need to increase my push-up count. From looking at the website I used for the body fat and calorie calculators they suggest getting 60% of your calories from carbs, 25% from protein, and 15% from fat, when you are on a low-fat diet. Does this sound like a good breakdown for a low-fat diet?

I would prefer to just eat three meals a day, and not eat as much each meal, is this fine, or will it make me a lot more hungry than eating four to five smaller meals a day?

 

[ferb55]

To be honest there are more qualified people around here to answer your technical questions. But I will give you my opinion.

At your age...don't get caught up in all the %'s and calorie counting. Go out and enjoy working out and getting fit. Don't overeat and try to eat right.

You will see results in a surprising short time. (like a week or so)

I always think that protein is the key to building muscle. So after a workout, I think it is very important to give your muscles what they are begging for and that is protein. Drink a shake within 20 or 30 minutes of a workout. This is when your muscles are broken down and trying to heal.

I might be lazy, but I just never got into counting cals and paying attention to %'s. For me..it was the straw that would make it not enjoyable.

As for the meals...think of it this way. Your body is a fire and if you continually put small to medium high quality logs on the fire, the fire will burn strong at all times. Thus efficiently burning all its fuel. If you put a giant log on the fire all at one time(big meal)...the fire will only smother and cant burn that log correctly. Thats why I suggest eating several small meals.

Again...just my opinion, but it has worked well for me and many others.

Good Luck.

 

[Patrick_St]

Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate and will use it to my advantage.

 

[Rickson]

Pat, we have to reprogram you in order to make you a success. Fat burning is a double edged sword. You do burn fat more efficiently by working at a slower pace, but it's not efficient when it comes to time management. What that means is that someone who jogs will burn a higher percentage of fat calories than someone who sprints and someone who walks will burn a higher percentage of fat calories than someone who jogs. Then why aren't we just walking instead of running? It'll take you way too long. Research has shown that someone who does cardiorespiratory exercise at a higher intensity will burn more total calories which is obvious, but what's not so obvious is that the higher intensity work will also produce a greater amount of bodyfat loss in a shorter amount of time. The bottom line is that total calories expended means more than the fat burning zone.

 

[Patrick_St]

Thank you for the feedback Rickson. I know there is debate on this issue, as well as many other fitness issues. That is why when I go and do my cardio workouts I start out doing the first fifteen minutes right at 140, which is 70% of my maximum heart rate, then after those 15 minutes I go as hard as I can for 10 minutes and nearly kill myself, and I think all the people in the gym think I am some sort of freak the way I end up grunting and moaning in pain, and start talking to myself by the end of those ten minutes, then I do another 15 minutes at a slow pace, however because of the very intense 10 minutes prior my heartrate stays at about 150 (not sure if that's 100% accurate, as it's from the machine), after those 15 minutes at 150, I do 10 more minutes of very intense cardio, and then finish with 10 minutes of slower pace at 150 again.

So in total I do 20 minutes of very intense cardio and 40 minutes of a lower heartrate zone workout. Does this seem like a good way to split up a one hour session on one machine? I literally am unable to go any longer than ten minutes when I go as hard as I do for those ten minutes, but perhaps I could just do 20 straight minutes of not quite so intense cardio while keeping my heartrate at about 185, and that way I could make sure all of the 40 other minutes at a lower heartrate are spent right at 70% of my max heartrate. Do you think that would be better? I would prefer to mix in both theories into my workout, that way no matter which one may infact be correct, I am gaining the advantage of it, and the other portion of my one hour certainly isn't hurting me.

After that hour I usually go and swim for about a half an hour.

 

[cncretecwbo]

get crystal lite lemonade to replace the normal one. but try to drink less because its artificial.

As for the meals...think of it this way. Your body is a fire and if you continually put small to medium high quality logs on the fire, the fire will burn strong at all times. Thus efficiently burning all its fuel. If you put a giant log on the fire all at one time(big meal)...the fire will only smother and cant burn that log correctly. Thats why I suggest eating several small meals.

meal frequency makes such a small difference you wont notice. do what make you happier.

 

[charliefedererer]

Thank you for joining the Navy.
There was a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled
"Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates". "The principal finding is that the diets were equally successful in promoting clinically meaningful weight loss and the maintenance of weight loss over the course of 2 years. Satiety, hunger, satisfaction with the diet, and attendance at group sessions were similar for all diets. The diets improved lipid risk factors and fasting insulin levels in the directions that would be expected on the basis of macronutrient content."
"In conclusion, diets that are successful in causing weight loss can emphasize a range of fat, protein, and carbohydrate compositions that have beneficial effects on risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Such diets can also be tailored to individual patients on the basis of their personal and cultural preferences and may therefore have the best chance for long-term success."
In other words, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and finding a diet low in fat and/or carbohydrates that contains food that is tasy to you is the best path to success.
The following is a link to the USTA web site on nutrition. Embeded in this link are links to the American Diebetic Association and American Heart nutrition pages that contain a vast amount of nutritional information. http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/content/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=114720&itype=7418
The USTA also has a web site that focuses on strength training and conditioning for tennis:
http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=249182
As to the best exercise plan, my guess is that like dieting, the best plan for you is one that you will enjoy and stick with. As for myself, I get easily bored with any one inside cardio workout machine, so I alternate doing arm work with a couple of minutes each on a Nordic Trak, stationary bike, stair stepper and rower, and keep repeating the circuit.
Because the Navy has specific goals for situps and pushups, yes you will want to specifically practice these.
May God bless you.



e is the link for the USTA

 

[Patrick_St]

Thank you for the informative feedback. I was sort of thinking that, like Ferb said, at my age the composition of nutrients in my diet doesn't really matter as long as I make sure I do not eat too many more calories than the fixed amount I plan to eat each day. I will definitely look at the links you provided. Thanks again.

 

[The Watchman]

Hi Patrick

First, I have to disclose that I'm not a certified trainer etc etc, so the best I can do is to direct your enquiries to other places.

First, if you want to increase numbers on things like push ups and pullups, try a protocol called "grease the groove" (google it).

Second, if you want to train in a way that will assist with military duties, you might want to try workouts listed on crossfit.com (apparently, a lot of military people do similar workouts). The workouts as listed are very challenging, so your might want to try the scaled down workouts listed at BrandX instead.

The Crossfit website also has some suggestions re diet.

Good luck!

 

[tin]

on the low intensity=fat burning issue: i don't buy this.personally, the faster you go, the better.imo

on the lemonade: yup, ditch the lemonade. if you want to cut calories, drink water as much as possible. other drinks contain sugar which add up on calories and water is healthier.

on the work-out: i suggest you vary the activities so that it won't become boring.

 

[fuzz nation]

on the low intensity=fat burning issue: i don't buy this.personally, the faster you go, the better.imo

on the lemonade: yup, ditch the lemonade. if you want to cut calories, drink water as much as possible. other drinks contain sugar which add up on calories and water is healthier.

on the work-out: i suggest you vary the activities so that it won't become boring.

Good call. Fight the boredom factor and stay active.

Look amigo, if you want to be leaner and in better shape, you've got to look at all that crap - the sugar-filled drinks and junk food - and see it as the garbage that it is. Treat yourself to just a little of it here and there, but make the effort of have better alternatives around to snack on. Lately, I've kept chopped up fruit and yogurt in the fridge and that's always good. I also knock down several bananas a day and like having other fruits & veggies and maybe nuts around, too. In the Navy, you're going to learn to take charge of things and even some of the people around you, so I think you can take charge of your own intake now, right?

If your workout routine is just getting going, let me give you one caution (hopefully we haven't covered this in the recent past). Keep up a schedule that you can maintain pretty much every day, but understand that any new routine will only break you down at the outset - let's say the first two weeks. That third week is your recovery week. If you're running, stop for several days. Swimming and lifting? Lighten up at least a little bit or you won't recover. Instead you'll wear down and get sick; that's a serious setback that you want to avoid.

Personally, when I do push-ups, sit-ups, etc., I like to do a set that gets me tired, rest for only about a ten count, and then do another set so that I'm working more while I'm tired. I like the progress that I get from those double sets when I do a few in a workout or through a day. Keep after your workouts, but if you're worn out, get some rest and keep yourself in one piece. If you're preparing yourself now, you'll be fine for boot camp.

BTW, what did you sign up for schools, etc. and where will you go for boot camp? I went to Orlando and eventually went to submarines, then got to go to dive school - marginal eyesight disqualified me from EOD or SEAL training, but I still got to do a lot!

Thank you for your service.

 

[Patrick_St]

Thank you for the feedback guys. I do not eat any junk food, I just drink lemonade. I am quitting drinking lemonade though, and haven't had any for a couple days now. I will stick to strictly water.

I got a 96 on the ASVAB and the Navy really wanted me to be a "nuke", however I failed the color vision test and have some sort of defficiency in deeing different shades of red and green. Because of this I was disqualified from becoming a "nuke", as well as technology jobs. I was also disqualified from information jobs working in cooperation with government agencies such as CIA, FBI, etc. because I had a cell phone bill which was turned over to a debt collection agency within the last year. Things were looking pretty grim and I was not going to enlist, but out of nowhere a hospital corpsman spot opened up. Before I went down to the MEPS station all the Hospital Corpsman jobs were filled and not available, so I was rather fortunate. I will be going to bootcamp in Great Lakes, near Chicago, and as of right now, Hospital Corpsman school is also in Chicago, however it is moving to San Antonio sometime. I leave for bootcamp on November 17th, so I at least have a good amount of time to prepare.

I plan on cross-rating to Legalman as soon as I possibly can though, because I am planning to attain my bachelor's degree while serving with the Navy, and then attending Law school at the University at Minnesota after I am done serving with the Navy. What did you do on submarines?

 

[od_sf]

Hi Patrick,

Some additional info for you:

Your BMR value is about: 2144 calories per/day (BMR is essentially the number of calories the body consumes per day in a state of rest or non-activity)

Your daily caloric requirement to remain at your current weight of 205 lbs is about: 3323 calories per/day

(source: http://www.hikingupward.com/cal_calc.asp)

Basically the bottom line is that in order for you to lose weight you need to consume less than 3323 calories per day. If you stick to a 2000 calories per day diet while being fairly active (moderate exercise 3-5 days per week), you will lose weight pretty quickly.

Oh, and definitely try to ditch the lemonade. That much sugar is really bad for you. If you don't like drinking water, try tea. There are all kinds of tea that have no calories, supply your body with plenty of fluids, and have great health benefits too. Most of these suggestions cannot be found at regular stores though, you would need to visit asian markets (or specialize tea and/or health food shops) to find them:

green tea (the obvious one. I drink about 1 litter of cold green tea a day, delicious and great for you. does contain a little caffeine)
Ukon tea (turmeric tea from okinana, japan - turmeric is, in my opinion, one of the key ingredients to good health)
Barley tea (very popular in both japan and korea, also delicious cold - contains a little bit of calories, but its a negligible amount)
corn tea (similar to barley tea)
sanpin tea (okinawan green tea with jasmine infused flavor)
solomon seal tea (very popular in korea, very healthy)

all these are delicious consumed cold, very refreshing, and much healthier than soda or lemonade.

 

[Patrick_St]

Thank you for the feedback. I did quit drinking lemonade, and am strictly drinking water for now. I will look into the tea suggestions you made. I am excersizing at least an hour every day except sunday now and I eat three meals a day that are probably all around 600 or so calories. Then I usually have an apple or a banana as a snack between lunch and dinner. I probably consume more calories for dinner than breakfast or lunch; I would say about 700-750 so that I am not going to sleep hungry and losing sleep.

 

[Rickson]

How's boot camp so far?

 

[Patrick_St]

I do not leave for bootcamp until November 17th. I am currently in the DEP, (Delayed entry program), which is good because I get some time to get in better shape before I head to bootcamp. I will let you know how it goes after I get done though.

 

[Slicendicer]

I do not leave for bootcamp until November 17th. I am currently in the DEP, (Delayed entry program), which is good because I get some time to get in better shape before I head to bootcamp. I will let you know how it goes after I get done though.

My .02, as I was stationed in San Diego for boot camp... reschedule. You don't want to be at Great Lakes in the middle of winter. Try Orlando if have to go in November.

 

[Patrick_St]

Yeah, I have thought about being in bootcamp during winter in Chicago. I will talk to the head recruiter here about it.

 

[Patrick_St]

I am down to 195 now and have more than doubled the amount of pushups I was able to do before I started. I can also do quite a bit more sit-ups now as well.

Overall, I think everything is going great. I am still excersizing at least an hour every day, and have started doing some weight training every three days focusing on my arms to help build some strength and improve the amount of pushups I can do. I have managed to maintain a fairly strict diet, not eating more that about 2,200 calories per day, likely less (I don't keep exact count). I completely quit drinking lemonade and do not eat any junk food. I would like to take the time to thank everyone who contributed advise to this thread once again.

 

[Rickson]

Try some clapping push ups now for explosiveness.

 

[Patrick_St]

Try some clapping push ups now for explosiveness.

I will work on that, probably not quite yet though. I will also start doing some diamond pushups to increase the intensity a bit.

 

[Patrick_St]

I weighed 190.5 pounds this morning. I am doing great!

 

[Djokovicfan4life]

I weighed 190.5 pounds this morning. I am doing great!

I'm 6'2 as well and sitting at 174 right now. Let's see if you can catch me.

 

[Patrick_St]

No offense, but I don't want to be that skinny. I have a large bone structure. I have broad shoulders and hips, and big joints. I think my healthy weight is a bit higher than most people that are 6'2". My brother, on the other hand, is also 6'2" and he is much slimmer than I am with a smaller bone structure. He is probably about 175, maybe less. I do not really know his weight.

 

[Rickson]

Good job, Patrick. Are you shooting for the 80s or are you done in terms of weight loss itself?

 

[Patrick_St]

Good job, Patrick. Are you shooting for the 80s or are you done in terms of weight loss itself?

Now that I am down to 190 I am going to start doing more weight training and start eating more protein in my diet, but I am planning on still restricting calories and I would like to get down to about 180. I think 180 would be a very good weight for me. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Rickson]

Why would an All American boy need more protein in his diet? Most Americans already consume more protein than they require and anything in excess becomes excreted or is stored as bodyfat. Yes, excess protein can and is stored as bodyfat. Don't do that Atkins garbage. Measure your portions and consume fewer calories for bf loss. Consuming extra protein is a waste of time for most people.

 

[Patrick_St]

Thanks for the advise Rickson. I am not going to completely ditch eating any carbs or fat, I just want to get a bit more protein in my diet to help with building new muscle. I am not going to eat only protein.

 

[Rickson]

More protein? Post what you eat on a typical day and I'll tell you whether you lack protein or not. Chances are, you're not anywhere close to a protein deficit.

 

[maverick66]

ive read diets that protein should be about 10% of our diet. that the entire we need alot of protein isnt really that true.

 

[Patrick_St]

I admit I probably had enough protein in my diet. In fact I probably got all I needed just from the milk I used to eat my cereal, but I am going to start eating a bit more now. Today for example, I had a glass of milk with my oatmeal for breakfast, I had a cup of yogurt, and I had some left over chicken and rice with vegetables. There was probably only a couple ounces of chicken left over. I highly doubt this is too much protein.

 

[maverick66]

thats alot of dairy. i avoid dairy pretty hard.

 

[Rickson]

Are you kidding me? Milk, yogurt, and chicken? You probably had your RDA of protein by the end of breakfast. Don't listen to those high protein clowns. I used to be a 300 gram protein guy myself. I've cut that amount in half and what I consume these days at 150 grams daily is still considered way too high. The only reason I get to that number is because I haven't cut back some protein sources that I should have a long time ago such as beef and chicken.

 

[Patrick_St]

I usually have milk in the morning, and I just got the yogurt yesterday and I thought I would try it. The dinner was leftover and nice and quick, so I decided to eat it. I usually don't eat that much dairy in one day.

 

[Patrick_St]

I do not eat tons of protein, I think I am fine. If it turns out that eating that much protein hurts my weight loss I will start eating less, but I appreciate your concern.

By the way, I meant one snack cup of yogurt,no an actual cup. The snack cup is probably like one third of a cup.

 

[Rickson]

Too much protein leads to brittle bones, weight gain (yes, weight gain), and strains your kidneys.

 

[Patrick_St]

Too much protein leads to brittle bones, weight gain (yes, weight gain), and strains your kidneys.

I also get a good amount of calcium, and I have never once broken, or even fractured a bone, I am currently losing weight, and I drink a good amount of water to help support my kidneys.

 

[Rickson]

Throw in some cranberry juice as well.

 

[Patrick_St]

Throw in some cranberry juice as well.

Yeah, I have heard about that. I just don't know where I could find pure, natural cranberry juice, and I am sure it is probably expensive. I have also heard it tastes like a.ss

 

[TW CSR]

If it hasn't been suggested yet you may try crystal light lemonade. I just tried it for the first time last week and it has a very strong lemon taste just like normal lemonade but only 10 calories and no sugar. I know a lot of people don't like 'diet' drinks but it seriously doesn't taste like one.
Rickson, you would probably hate my diet. At least 300 grams of protein a day, low carbs mostly in the form of spinach and green beans which isn't much aside from some gummy bears after workout and some oatmeal in my shake. I have tried the atkins diet and hated how drained of energy I got.

 

[Rickson]

You're absolutely right. I do hate your diet, but more importantly, your diet is bad for you. Don't find out the hard way. Get off that high protein diet now!

 

[Patrick_St]

I am down to 185 now. I was a bit surprised about that this morning because I spent a couple days at my grandma's house and she loves to cook fattening meals. I managed to restrain myself fairly well though.

I have a DEP meeting today, so hopefully they will notice how much weight I have lost since I enlisted.

 

[Patrick_St]

I weighed 179.5 pounds this morning. Who knows, maybe I will catch up to Djokovicfan4life. I really need to start putting on some muscle though. I do not have as much as I should. I have managed to increase my pushup count to over 25 now though, and I will probably be able to do more than 30 by the end of this month. I will make it a goal to be able to do at least 5 more pushups at the end of each month from the previous month's total, and that will put me over 50 for bootcamp.

 

[Ronaldo]

Used to do push-ups whenever I missed a shot on-court. Spent more time doing push-ups than playing.

 

[Patrick_St]

Used to do push-ups whenever I missed a shot on-court. Spent more time doing push-ups than playing.

lol, that sounds like a good idea though.

 

[subaru3169]

just remember that diets are meant to go on and off.. there are many studies that show how many ppl fail to reach their physical fitness goals because they went on some kind of out of the ordinary diet.. moderation is key to everything

 

[Rickson]

Get some push up bars. I won't do push ups without them. When 15-20 reps gets too easy, and they will, put on a backpack with weight plates in them. I throw 35 lbs. on my back and they make the push ups feel like hard work.