Making progress but not sure if its safe

[taresabo]

Hello everyone,

I've lost quite a decent amount of body weight for the past 4 month. Lost 47 pounds.. but feels like I also lost some muscle as well.
For the past 4 month, all I did was 40min elliptical in a morning and 40min elliptical at night, with around 1500 calories a day. No weight-lifting here.

Now that it is February and my body weight is down to 159 pounds at 5ft 10in, I thought it was a nice timing for some different workout. Decided to kick in so weight lifting for getting bulk. I've also decided to add swimming session. *Used to swim and water polo for 4 years at HS*

Here is my current workout.

**DAY1**
Morning
1hr elliptical around 135 heart beat
4x5 bench, squat, deadlift, standing military press, bicep curl, and some bicycle crunches at the end
10x100yard freestyle @3min

Night
1hr elliptical same

**DAY2**
Morning
1hr elliptical around 135 heart beat
10x100yard freestyle @3min

Night
1hr elliptical same

**DAY3**
start over from day1

I've only done day1 and 2 so far. Going for Day 3 weightlifting tomorrow. My entire body is sore from weightlifting that I haven't done for quite long, but I think it will fade away eventually after I get used to lifting. I eat around 1800 calories right now... trying to completely eliminate that stubborn fat at my belly (2 handful), while putting some muscle if I can.

Is my new program okay? should I lower my elliptical from 1hr to 40min like before? Any advice will be helpful. Thanks!!

[adamg-golfpro]

Your not really going to bulk with all that cardio and low cals, you might get a bit of definition with the weights but your on a slippery slope to being skinny fat. Go slow cut back on the cardio a bit get plenty of protein(within your macros) lift heavy! Aim for 1-2 pounds a week, slow and boring but it's safe!
Good luck!

[eappleton1]

waaaaaaaaaay too much cardio. focus on lifting, do cardio after lifting, cardio is only gonna cut your calorie deficit down more. lift lift lift!

[lovingit]

waaaaaaaaaay too much cardio. focus on lifting, do cardio after lifting, cardio is only gonna cut your calorie deficit down more. lift lift lift!

^Agree with this.

I rarely even do cardio anymore. I feel like I have enough muscle loss from cutting alone - and I still lose weight from lifting and staying in a deficit.

[taresabo]

adamg-golfpro, eappleton1, lovingit, Thank you so much for your words! I greatly appreciate it!!

I will take off the 1 hour cardio at night. I think doing only 1 session a day will greatly reduce my "tiredness". I will also try to go hard on weights and will always take post-protein shakes for extra protein. I do eat 2 whole chicken breast a day with sandwich.. Maybe I can add some tofu for those healthy soy-protein as well?

going to order bcaa, fish oil, multivit, and another whey for more nutrition. Maybe a year till I hit 8%bf with decent amount of muscle? I love this forum!!

[2thDr]

Great job on the weigh loss! Much respect. I do agree with the others on bringing down the cardio and up the lifting. Now that you've lost a substantial amount of weight, focus more on shifting your body composition. By lifting heavy weights 4-5 times a week, feeding your muscles the fuel they need to repair and grow, and doing just enough cardio to help aid fat loss but not inhibit muscle growth, you will your dream physique before you know it. Remember, cardio is good for fat loss while you do it. But muscle is good for fat loss 24/7. Good luck, and keep us posted!

[belairdfence99]

You clearly love to do cardio. The thing is, it is very hard to have the energy to lift intensely and eat enough calories needed for gaining weight with all that cardio. In addition, your body would look better muscle-wise if you shortened the cardio and focused on weight training.

You don't have choose between the two, but the two do become counterproductive at a certain point. If you are able to do 5 reps of all the exercises you listed in your Day 1, you aren't pushing yourself hard enough.

You aren't going to be able to get noticeably thinner while at the same time get noticeably more defined and muscular. Eating that low of calories is not going to allow you to gain weight, especially with all the cardio you do.

You are likely a classic case of being "skinny-fat". This is when you are lean but have little muscle to show for it and thus you look "fat" but you are not. The solution is to focus more on weight training and get some muscle on your frame along with some inevitable fat. Then, you can cut down and lose weight. The result will be a leaner and more muscular you.

[taresabo]

belairdfence99, 2thdr, I appreciate your advice!! I just got back from gym.. feeling really nice but tired as well. I've search the forum for "how much cardio" and it seems like I'm still doing too much cardio compared to my caloric intake. I narrowed it down to 40min cardio a day and strictly focusing on heavy weight lift on 3 days a week. maybe 4 or 5 for few weeks since I have not fully developed my base yet.

I think you are right about the skinny-fat.
I have never done deadlifting before; since I'm scared of doing it in a bad form and cause problem, I'm experimenting them with easy weights for now.

I know my numbers are really low but hope they will increase from now on.
4x5 135 bench
4x5 135 squat
4x5 105 deadlift *experimenting* looking at youtube clips for good form
4x5 60 standing military press
4x5 25 one arm bicep curl
4x5 70 bent over row

some of the above weights are little easy, not tiring so I will increase the weight by next time. I'm still trying to grasp the *right weight*.

I've read the sticky about beginners program.. I will increase the rep from 5 to 6 to 7 every week until its hit 10 and then start back to 5 with 10% more weight. dang I wish I've started earlier... didn't even know about this forum back 4 month ago

[adamg-golfpro]

Good luck hopefully in time we will be posting some ripped ab pics