I need a lot of corrections!

[dancingmuscle]

Hi, I started doing light strength training last summer, but only since the beginning of this year have I begun to take bodybuilding seriously. I'm a competitive dancer, and used to be a gymnast as well, so I have always been in pretty good shape. I'm 5'2, 100 lbs, and 17 y/o. My body fat is approx 12% and I'm unsure how to balance my dance training with weight lifting and nutrition in order to get maximum results. My schedule currently looks something like this:

Sunday: Rest

Monday: approx. 3 hours moderate intensity dance classes (evening)

Tuesday: 50 mins cardio before breakfast, shoulders/triceps/chest training in the afternoon

Wednesday: approx. 3.5 hours intense dance classes (evening)

Thursday: 50 mins cardio before breakfast, biceps/back training in the afternoon, 1 hour teaching a low intensity dance class in the evening

Friday: 50 mins cardio before breakfast, leg training in the afternoon

Saturday: combo of cardio/moderate full body strength training (about 45 mins)

I eat 5-6 times a day, for a total of between 1500 and 1700 calories daily, eating about 1/3 of my total caloric intake for breakfast. My diet is high in lean protein (mostly coming from nonfat dairy products, then egg substitute and fish), whole grain cereals and bread products, 5-8 servings of fruit/veggies, but hardly any fat. I try to include a serving of nuts daily, and have just begun to use olive oil when cooking. I rarely have "cheat days" and don't have much of a problem cutting out sweets (I do indulge in nonfat frozen yogurt fairly frequently though, but if necessary, cutting that wouldn't be difficult). While my overall body fat and weight is low, I'm dismayed by the fact that I still seem to carry a decent amount of fat in my midsection and desire a firmer stomach with more defined six-pack (heh, who doesn't). On top of this, I haven't had my period in about 4 months (I'm not sexually active) and am not sure what I should do to become regular again and what negative effects skipping my period could currently be having on me.

I'd appreciate any and all constructive criticism and advice on adjusting my nutrition, training, etc. I'm really enthusiastic about becoming as fit as I possibly can, but I think that enthusiasm and ignorance are hindering me. Please set me straight!

[Emma-Leigh]

Originally posted by dancingmuscle
Hi, I started doing light strength training last summer, but only since the beginning of this year have I begun to take bodybuilding seriously. I'm a competitive dancer, and used to be a gymnast as well, so I have always been in pretty good shape. I'm 5'2, 100 lbs, and 17 y/o. My body fat is approx 12% and I'm unsure how to balance my dance training with weight lifting and nutrition in order to get maximum results. My schedule currently looks something like this:

Sunday: Rest

Monday: approx. 3 hours moderate intensity dance classes (evening)

Tuesday: 50 mins cardio before breakfast, shoulders/triceps/chest training in the afternoon

Wednesday: approx. 3.5 hours intense dance classes (evening)

Thursday: 50 mins cardio before breakfast, biceps/back training in the afternoon, 1 hour teaching a low intensity dance class in the evening

Friday: 50 mins cardio before breakfast, leg training in the afternoon

Saturday: combo of cardio/moderate full body strength training (about 45 mins)

I eat 5-6 times a day, for a total of between 1500 and 1700 calories daily, eating about 1/3 of my total caloric intake for breakfast. My diet is high in lean protein (mostly coming from nonfat dairy products, then egg substitute and fish), whole grain cereals and bread products, 5-8 servings of fruit/veggies, but hardly any fat. I try to include a serving of nuts daily, and have just begun to use olive oil when cooking. I rarely have "cheat days" and don't have much of a problem cutting out sweets (I do indulge in nonfat frozen yogurt fairly frequently though, but if necessary, cutting that wouldn't be difficult). While my overall body fat and weight is low, I'm dismayed by the fact that I still seem to carry a decent amount of fat in my midsection and desire a firmer stomach with more defined six-pack (heh, who doesn't). On top of this, I haven't had my period in about 4 months (I'm not sexually active) and am not sure what I should do to become regular again and what negative effects skipping my period could currently be having on me.

Good to see you adding some strength training! A little muscle mass does wonders!

About your routine - That is an awful lot of cardio. You are going to find it really hard to increase your muscle mass with that amount unless you really up your intake of food. Maybe drop the cardio on your work out days - or at least drop the time to 30 minutes. There is no reason for you to do 50 minutes of cardio unless you are trying to loose weight. To maintain cardiovascular fitness you only need to do 20-30 minutes of cardio about four times a week.

At the moment you are sitting at the minimum amount of food you want to eat to maintain your size (although you should probably be eating a little more with the amount of exercise you are doing).

But, if you want to add a little lean muscle (and, more importantly, just because you have added strength training) I would suggest increasing your intake to around 1800-2000 calories a day.

About your ratios of macronutrients - because you are REALLY active, I would keep your complex carbohydrates up. You need the energy. About 45-50% your daily energy intake. I would also make sure you are keeping your protein levels high - at least 1-1.5g per pound of body weight - which means that it will be about 35-40% your energy intake. You also might want to add a little more fat into your diet - it should make up 15-20% of your calorie needs.

So for you, at 1800 calories, try to get about 900 calories from carbs, 600 from protein and about 300 from fats. But you don't say what you eat and when - so maybe you are doing this already... What is a typical day for you diet wise?

As for training your waist - I have exactly the same problem so I know how frustrating it is. My waist is just where my body likes to store its fats stores and I can't drop my body weight or body fat much lower than it is. The only advice I have is to keep training them. I found that using an exercise ball and doing crunches (specific types that target upper, lower and obliques) with a barbell/weights over my chest has helped a lot. Pilates also helps.

But... I have to pick up on the lack of your period. This can be a major problem later in life so you might want to addess it now. The lack of your period means you don't have enough circulating hormones (oestrogen) to stimulate your body to ovulate - when then stimulates your uterus to get prepared for pregnancy. When this does not happen - you get your period.

The lack of oestrogen that is preventing your period can mean a few things -
* You probably have stopped growing a little prematurely
* Your bones are going to be weaker than they should be - this is the most serious effect as this is the time when you are actively laying down bone that will prevent you from developing osteoporosis when you get older. There is only a limited amount of time for you to lay down bone and make your bones strong - this is usually till about 25 years of age. After this, it is pretty much all down hill.
* It can sometimes be a perminant cessation of ovulation in some girls (due to what is termed a 'weak hypothalamic-pituatory axis' - which is a fancy name for 'a problem with the hormone secreting parts of the brain). This means that, even if you try to correct the problem, the damage has been done and your period will not come back. This means you will be infertile (among other things).

There are a few things that people suggest with amenorrhoea (lack of periods) in athletes. But not many athletes like the suggestions. In your case it might be a combination of these things that are creating your problem -
1. Increase your body fat a little - Most girls will not function below 14%.
2. Increase your food intake - Not necessarily to make you put on weight, but increasing it slowly so you adjust can sometimes work. Some people also find that just increasing the ratio of cholesterol and fats in helps to correct the problems (as cholesterol and fats are vital in the formation of hormones)
3. Decreasing your training intensity - This just lessons the stress on your body which can help switch your hypothalamus back on from 'survival' mode to 'maintainence mode' and get you secreting hormones again.
4. Put on weight - Usually, increasing your weight by 5-10 pounds will help reverse amenorrhoea. This might work in your case because your BMI is a little low (less than 19, which is considered the low healthy figure).

There have been a few discussions regarding lack of periods that a few other people were having trouble with - both in the general female section and in the journaling section.

Here is a link if you are interested:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...ghlight=period
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...ghlight=period
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hreadid=123585

Here are also some links that might help with info about amenorrhoea. Now - these are mostly related to what is termed the 'althletes triad'. I am not saying you have this - but these links give you info on the amenorrhoea side of it:
http://www.thinkmuscle.com/articles/...rual-cycle.htm
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000601/3357.html
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/309/6951/400
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/...7_96/smith.htm
http://www.aap.org/policy/re0003.html

[Hibiscus09]

The no period thing is a BIG problem. You will have future health issues if you don't straighten that out. I keep my period regular down to 12%, but I prefer my bodyfat to be about 14% for maintenance. You need to add some bodyfat. With the way you're going at it in dance classes, you would probably do fine with only 1 other day of cardio, especially if you want to add muscle.

[dancingmuscle]

Thank you for your insights! I will try upping my calorie intake to about 1800 and drop my cardio workouts to 30 mins or less. I realize that my lack of periods is serious, do you think I should see a doctor about it? Hopefully by increasing my calorie intake, fat intake, and lessening my cardio, I can become regular again. I'm pretty reluctant about gaining five to ten pounds, because since I began eating healthy and taking care of myself I've lost 15 lbs, and am pretty content at my current weight...I realize that I may have to sacrifice my ideal weight for the sake of overall health though.

As far as the specifics of my eating, I try to eat every 2-3 hours. My jumping off point for calorie breakdown looks like this:

Breakfast: 500 calories
Snack: 200
Lunch: 300
Snack: 200
Dinner: 300

However, those are only a rough base for my meals, especially for every meal besides breakfast, and I usually consume an extra 100-200 calories scattered between all of my meals beyond my planned intake, resulting in a range from about 1500-1700 daily.
An excerpt from my food journal might look like this:

Breakfast: 1 cup of whole grain cereal (usually protein fortified, like Smart Start Soy Protein or Optimum, occasionally oatmeal) with skim milk, 1 boiled new potato, 2 servings of fruit, green tea

Snack: another serving of fruit with either a granola bar or about 1/2 cup nonfat cottage cheese mixed with 1 tbsp strawberry fruit preserves

Lunch: usually very veggie heavy... usually half a whole wheat english muffin and 1 tbsp Better N Peanut Butter ( 2 tbsp = 100 calories, 2.5 g of fat, no saturated) with either about 2.5 servings worth of stir-fried veggies or a salad with lots of veggies and some tuna

Snack: most of the time 1 container of nonfat yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup of nonfat granola

Dinner: almost always another bowl of cereal or a power bar on mondays and wednesdays before dance, on other days it is some kind of lean protein like turkey or shrimp with one or two more servings of veggies.

question...on mondays and wednesdays my dance classes start at 5:30 and end a little after 9:00, what should my calorie intake look like for dinner so that I'm properly fueled for my classes (I don't really have time to eat while at dance)? Also, I try to make it a rule not to eat after 6:00 pm, am I doing myself damage by not having a snack after dancing for so long on mondays and wednesdays?

Also, what is your opinion of doing cardio in the morning before breakfast? I've heard so many conflicting opinions about it, and I just started trying it a week or two ago, but my results appear to be positive so far...

[Emma-Leigh]

Originally posted by dancingmuscle
Thank you for your insights! I will try upping my calorie intake to about 1800 and drop my cardio workouts to 30 mins or less. I realize that my lack of periods is serious, do you think I should see a doctor about it? Hopefully by increasing my calorie intake, fat intake, and lessening my cardio, I can become regular again. I'm pretty reluctant about gaining five to ten pounds, because since I began eating healthy and taking care of myself I've lost 15 lbs, and am pretty content at my current weight...I realize that I may have to sacrifice my ideal weight for the sake of overall health though.

As far as the specifics of my eating, I try to eat every 2-3 hours. My jumping off point for calorie breakdown looks like this:

Breakfast: 500 calories
Snack: 200
Lunch: 300
Snack: 200
Dinner: 300

However, those are only a rough base for my meals, especially for every meal besides breakfast, and I usually consume an extra 100-200 calories scattered between all of my meals beyond my planned intake, resulting in a range from about 1500-1700 daily.
An excerpt from my food journal might look like this:

Breakfast: 1 cup of whole grain cereal (usually protein fortified, like Smart Start Soy Protein or Optimum, occasionally oatmeal) with skim milk, 1 boiled new potato, 2 servings of fruit, green tea

Snack: another serving of fruit with either a granola bar or about 1/2 cup nonfat cottage cheese mixed with 1 tbsp strawberry fruit preserves

Lunch: usually very veggie heavy... usually half a whole wheat english muffin and 1 tbsp Better N Peanut Butter ( 2 tbsp = 100 calories, 2.5 g of fat, no saturated) with either about 2.5 servings worth of stir-fried veggies or a salad with lots of veggies and some tuna

Snack: most of the time 1 container of nonfat yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup of nonfat granola

Dinner: almost always another bowl of cereal or a power bar on mondays and wednesdays before dance, on other days it is some kind of lean protein like turkey or shrimp with one or two more servings of veggies.

question...on mondays and wednesdays my dance classes start at 5:30 and end a little after 9:00, what should my calorie intake look like for dinner so that I'm properly fueled for my classes (I don't really have time to eat while at dance)? Also, I try to make it a rule not to eat after 6:00 pm, am I doing myself damage by not having a snack after dancing for so long on mondays and wednesdays?

Also, what is your opinion of doing cardio in the morning before breakfast? I've heard so many conflicting opinions about it, and I just started trying it a week or two ago, but my results appear to be positive so far...

Definately go and see a doctor about your lack of periods. What they can do is they can measure your hormones (LH, FSH, Oestrodial) which can help indicate how serious the problem is. They may also suggest that you go onto the pill until your get your periods back on track again - just to help you maintain your bone mass in the meantime. However - I still feel that you will definately have to up your food, drop your exercise and (maybe) add a few pounds to get things back on track. If you stoped your period AFTER you droped that last bit of weight then that might well have been your problem.

Your calorie spread looks ok, but when you up your intake add the extra calories later in the day - maybe consider adding a late night snack after dinner. If you leave it from 6pm till the next morning to eat you are getting your bodies energy stores pretty low before your workout the next morning. A 9pm snack is probably a good idea.

For breakfast - take out the potato and up the cereal a little, maybe add 1/4 cup of rolled grain (oats, rye, barley etc) instead. Or - to increase the protein you could add a hard boiled egg instead. But the potato will do nothing but increase the glycaemic index and give a a bit of extra carbohydrates. Otherwise, up the protein a little more - an after dinner snack of some cottage cheese mixed with yoghurt and a few nuts might help, or consider adding some nuts to your snacks. Maybe add an or egg/eggwhites to one of your meals. You also definately need to add in a little more unsaturated fats - maybe consider swapping salmon for tuna at lunch, adding those nuts (almonds are best), or adding some avacado or a splash of olive oil to your salads.

If it is all starting to sound a little boring try to be creative - I make a really nice cheese cake from ff cottage cheese, low-fat ricotta cheese, yoghurt, egg whites and a few spoonfuls of no-sugar marmalade that I bake up and have as a snack or for after my last meal as a tasty way to get a little more protein. It is healthy, high protein and is better than a spoonful of cottage cheese or protein powder.

Also - maybe try adding in some legumes - lentils, chickpeas, beans, soy etc are all pretty good sources of protein, are low glycaemic index, low in fat and high in fibre and essential vitamins and minerals. I snack on chick peas and soya beans that have been dry baked to be crunchy - very tasty.

On your dance days - You have to eat before AND after your workouts. If you do not fuel yourself up you start to chew into your lean muscle mass. Before your workout you want a dose of easily digestable protein and a slow release carb. This will make sure you have energy during your workout. Something about 200 calories. After your workout I would also eat something with a good dose of protein and carbohydrates. Something that will re-fuel your muscles. A lot of BB like a really high GI carb (like that found in gatorade) with some protein powder, but I am of the opinion that a medium GI carb is fine - maybe consider a shake with yoghurt/cottage cheese, milk, banana, cinnamon and, if you want, a scoop of protein powder?

I try to stick to real foods - I am not a big fan of powders and shakes. But if you do not think you can eat enough protein without them maybe adding a scoop to a shake every now and then might be a good idea.

Personally, I do my cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, but a lot of BB don't like to do it this way. This is because it is when your levels of a hormone called Cortisol are at their highest and when your bodies energy stores are at their lowest which can mean you go into a 'catabolic state' a lot faster - and have the potential to chew into your muscle stores for energy. For me, the benifits of the early morning exercise outway this effect and I just make sure I get home and eat a really good breakfast of protein and carbohydrates within about 45 minutes of finishing.

[Hibiscus09]

I like the pre-breakfast cardio. Good for burning fat -- maybe not so good for building muscle. You could always just take in some protein before you exercise to help spare some muscle. Also, glutamine.