First Contest...Loosing Muscle!!HELP PLEASE!!

[Ms. J]

(I'm a dummy...I posted this in the wrong section before)

Okay....Here's the situation.........

Training for first show (figure). 5'3'' 118

Eating around 1800-1900 Cals
Three day split.
Cardio 6 days (moderate Intensity (75%) for 60min.

I am now 10 weeks out and due to upping my cardio to two sessions 3x per week (still moderate intensity) I have lost muscle, and gotten softer.......boo hoo......(This is a recurring situation for me btw)

Okay, I am taking the advice of others here and I am now gonna try backing off the cardio and implementing some HIIT 2 times per week instead

so it would be:
training days - 45-60 min of moderate and non training days 20 min of HIIT....What do ya'll think??

Everyone here says not to do HIIT on an empty stomach (bc of cortisol levels?? like I know what that is)...Please suggest what to eat before? or should I take supps before? or both?

Any and all opinions please!!!!

[runninggirl]

Well, I am new to this, so I hope that this helps . . . . . I too was losing muscle. In 4 weeks I lost 5.5 pounds of that precious hard-earned tissue!!! I am working with a trainer and have eliminated all longer cardio sessions. I am currently doing only HIIT sessions 3-4 days a week. Personally, I love to run so I am doing sprints. If you would like, I can give you some ideas of timing etc. None of my sessions are longer than 15 min. If you are lifting 3 days per week, do the sprints on the days that you are not lifting. Personally, the research and experience that I have had is that these should be done first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. It maximizes your potential to blast that dreaded fat :) As for supplements, that's pretty much a trial and error thing. I really haven't found anything that has accelerated results noticeably that would justify the extra $$.

Best of luck,

RG

[Ms. J]

Thanks for the advice RG. I also LOVE to run (to me there is nothing better). My trainer is good, but also really old school. He made me stop running about 2 1/2 mo. ago. (I really did need to switch things up)

Anyways....I started the HIIT sessions (sprinting uphill then jogging down, and repeat...)last week. I do a 5 min wu then HIIT for 15-20 min then a 5 min cool down. So far I have done it three times. It totally kicks my butt but I am so thrilled to be running again.

As for pre/post nutrition, I have been taking 23g of Whey, 1 rice cake, and 5g glutamine before and 23g Whey and 1/3 c. oats after. The results????......BUTTER!!! So far at least. Kinda afraid I am dropping too fast though. I think I am gonna watch it really carefully.

[runninggirl]

I'm glad to see that you are having good results with the HIIT hills. You can also break it up a bit and do 8-12 mins of sprints w/ 30s on and 30s recovery. Or, to make it really challenging, only allow 15s recovery :-o I mix that in so that I don't hate the site of a hill - there are too many here to not like them!!! Please let me know how the pre/post nutrition goes. If it keeps going so smoothly, I will definitely want to give that a try :) Now, are you still doing cardio on days that you lift? One or two days a week I slip in a 2-6 mile low intensity run. It's hard to hold back the speed, but I keep reminding myself that the only way I can keep it in is if I keep it moderate. I'm sure you can relate to the frustrations that arise when you aren't pounding the pavement a bit!!!

As long as you keep checking in, you should catch and be able to remedy your routine in time. I have a caliper check in coming up, if it's not good my trainer is taking away my sanity runs, so please keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Please let me know how it's going, we'll get this figured out one way or another ;)

RG

[Ms. J]

Originally posted by runninggirl
I'm sure you can relate to the frustrations that arise when you aren't pounding the pavement a bit!!!


RG

Man, Can I !!! I am TOTALLY addicted. Have been for years.

I AM keeping cardio in on the days I lift. My trainer wants me to do 45-60 min at 75% max HR, but I am honestly afraid to do that because of what it did to me before. Any opinions?? I have backtracked so much that I am really afraid to make any wrong moves. A different trainer suggested to do a short recovery run (like 2-3 miles max) at a really slow pace on lifting days and HIIT on off days. Whatcha think?

I have to decide what I am gonna do by tommorrow morning :o

I will definitely keep you posted on my progress. You do the same. Thanks for the tips too. :)

[runninggirl]

Personally, I would be nervous of the 75% max HR sessions too. I would lean more towards the 2-3 mile slow recovery runs. 45-60 min. seems a bit long when you're bordering that catabolic state. I also think it will help satisfy that runner's addiction :) I find that if I try to eliminate running completely, I end up sneaking it in and then I push too hard. It's nice to get out there without the heart rate monitor and stopwatch and just enjoy the rhythm of your steps. Just take care to separate the workouts. If you lift in the morning or afternoon, do the run/cardio session opposite. It gives you a little more leeway as far as intensity if you find you are pushing a little harder than you were trying for ;) (it happens!!) Occasionally if you aren't able to arrange that and need to do them both in the morning or afternoon, try to give yourself about an hour and a protein and carb snack before tackling the second. It will give your body something other than muscle to use for fuel :) Through it all, go with your instincts and listen to your body.

Happy trails,
RG

[AmandaMaschner]

If you want to keep the muscle and lose the fat up your protein it will help maintain the muscle that you spent so much time putting on. I compete in fitness and I know that I end up losing close to 5lbs of muscle when I diet down for the comp. even with high protein.

[BerryBlis]

Hey,

I do a lot of cardio as well and have started taking glutamine. I've heard that it's supposed to help preserve your muscle mass when dieting or doing lots of physical activity. Something you might want to consider....

BerryBlis

[kbickham]

Well, I am new to this, so I hope that this helps . . . . . I too was losing muscle. In 4 weeks I lost 5.5 pounds of that precious hard-earned tissue!!! I am working with a trainer and have eliminated all longer cardio sessions. I am currently doing only HIIT sessions 3-4 days a week. Personally, I love to run so I am doing sprints. If you would like, I can give you some ideas of timing etc. None of my sessions are longer than 15 min. If you are lifting 3 days per week, do the sprints on the days that you are not lifting. Personally, the research and experience that I have had is that these should be done first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. It maximizes your potential to blast that dreaded fat :) As for supplements, that's pretty much a trial and error thing. I really haven't found anything that has accelerated results noticeably that would justify the extra $$.

Best of luck,

RG

read stickies in loosing fat section, HIIT on an empty stomach is not smart. Because you are sprinting, your body doesn't have enough oxygen to metabloize fat, so it uses the next best thing...protien. That is why people normally eat high gi carbs before/ and after running HIIT, and work with the boost in metabolism as the main benefactor towards loosing weight. Would you ever lift in a fasted state? No, so don't do HIIT, considering it is even more "anearobic" than weight lifting is

[Hibiscus09]

I do my HIIT pre-breakfast and have been for 7 weeks now -- so far I haven't lost muscle -- in fact I've gained muscle from lifting heavy and proper nutrition -- and I've lost 5lbs of fat.

[runninggirl]

awesome hibiscus!!!! i do hiit on an empty stomach and haven't lost any muscle that way either. kb - you forget hiit is meant to be anaerobic, so it is short and done in intervals. oxygen is abundant in the recovery portion of each interval. the benefit is the longer lasting increase in metabolism post workout. li sessions rely on using fat stores as energy and this is possible because of the oxygen supply and the longer duration of the session. they are two individual approaches to fat loss and shouldn't be confused. many people have their nutrition schedules finetuned to what works best for them. i wouldn't argue with someone who wanted to eat pre and post hiit, but if you are getting the appropriate nutrition, it is more than possible to do hiit on an empty stomach and not enter a catabolic state.

rg