Is my regime good enough?

[AyaKara]

I've been an on-&-off gym goer for the past 2-3 years. In the past month, I've gone daily including weekends with a strict schedule. My build is very slim & slightly toned everywhere except for my stomach. My stomach is slightly flabby, but I feel like I'm at that last step to my goal & it's the worst hurdle of them all. What do you think about my fitness regime?

1. Alternate between muscle training of upper body, core, & lower body in a 3-day cycle (UB/ C/ LB/ UB/ C/ LB/UB would be a typical week & I continue that way) for about 30-45 minutes.
2. I do cardio every single day. Of these days, I alternate between high-intensity-interval training (sprint, jog, sprint, jog) & endurance training (so a typical week is HIIT/E/HIIT/E/HIIT/E/HIIT).
3. I practice dance every day for 30 minutes - 1 hour, doing the first half with drills only & the second half improv to music.

My diet is healthy for the most part, with lots of fruits & vegetables & portion control, except I eat a lot of carbs (cereal, peanut butter sandwich & fruit for lunch and snack, & whatever my mom makes for dinner -- though I take more of the vegetables & non-fat meats at dinner than the carbs).

What do you think I can do to improve? I don't plan on changing anything until the end of the year when I measure my progress since I've just recently started this in September (& I'm getting more toned!).

Thank you for the advice!

 

[Mosaic]

WOW! - you make me feel exhausted just reading that!:lol: I think you are doing more than enough. Probably what you think is flabby is not in all reality. We are the hardest on ourselves. Just be careful you don't burn yourself out!
~Mosaic

 

[AyaKara]

WOW! - you make me feel exhausted just reading that!:lol: I think you are doing more than enough. Probably what you think is flabby is not in all reality. We are the hardest on ourselves. Just be careful you don't burn yourself out!
~Mosaic

Nice to meet you Mosaic! No worries -- when you actually do it, it's not as bad as it sounds :lol: I'm not exhausted or anything & I've been getting toned from it so it's fine!

As for the flab part, it really is the last roadblock! I want it to be toned, & I know that the flab is preventing the muscles from showing (unless I tuck my stomach in!) My stomach has remained fairly the same -- it's very reluctant on giving up what it has left so, I just want to make sure that what I'm doing is good enough.

 

[indrayu]

I wish! AyaKara, that is what I aspire to, only in my dreams. Doing half as much physical training and you would be doing more than many of us.

Just some detail from my experience and reading: make sure that your protein intake is enough to supply all the muscle repair you need. It is possible that you could be better off swapping some carbs for proteins. If you crave something sweet of starchy, it can indicate that your body actually could do with more protein. The peanut butter is tasty but very high in fat and not very digestible, so you might be better off swapping it for another snack such as tuna/salmon with greens on cracker biscuits and having other nuts e.g brazil, almonds and walnuts whole. Most breads have all sorts of additives that aren't going to help the cause.

The hormones associated with stress and lack of sleep tend to encourage the body to accumulate fat, especially on the abdomen. So don't stress about it, go to bed instead

 

[AyaKara]

I wish! AyaKara, that is what I aspire to, only in my dreams. Doing half as much physical training and you would be doing more than many of us.

Just some detail from my experience and reading: make sure that your protein intake is enough to supply all the muscle repair you need. It is possible that you could be better off swapping some carbs for proteins. If you crave something sweet of starchy, it can indicate that your body actually could do with more protein. The peanut butter is tasty but very high in fat and not very digestible, so you might be better off swapping it for another snack such as tuna/salmon with greens on cracker biscuits and having other nuts e.g brazil, almonds and walnuts whole. Most breads have all sorts of additives that aren't going to help the cause.

The hormones associated with stress and lack of sleep tend to encourage the body to accumulate fat, especially on the abdomen. So don't stress about it, go to bed instead

Don't worry hon, I refuse to let myself have less than 7 hours of sleep a night. Like I said, I'm big on health so I am taking care of myself!

As for the protein, I get most of my protein in meat or beans (and my peanut butter of course :lol: ) I don't really get 'cravings' like most people do, I just choose from the healthiest food available and eat that (which is usually fruit & veggies in my case! ) I am a big fan of fish and so is my dad (he's the other athlete of our family) , but my mom is allergic so we have it less than 5 times a year! When I move out, I'll be much more in control of my diet and will definitely achieve all of my goals much easier than it is now :lol: I just wish I could still get there while living here!

 

[Munniko]

Maybe try a lower carb meal plan and see if that helps? Your routine seems pretty solid and that you are doing good not over working one muscle set to much. I will agree that the stomach is the hardest place to lose it because we are designed to keep it.

How did you work up to this kind of intense routine? I'm attempting to get in better shape and I'm having the hardest time coming with a routine that I can stick to.

 

[Afrit]

Try belly dancing using you abs to drive all your moves. Do that right and you belly will firm up!

 

[AyaKara]

Afrit, thank you so much for the advice when the new year begins, I'll post a before-after photo of my progress to see how BD has helped

Maybe try a lower carb meal plan and see if that helps? Your routine seems pretty solid and that you are doing good not over working one muscle set to much. I will agree that the stomach is the hardest place to lose it because we are designed to keep it.

How did you work up to this kind of intense routine? I'm attempting to get in better shape and I'm having the hardest time coming with a routine that I can stick to.

I'll try my best to decrease the carbs :think:

I started by endurance running first, running at say 5.0mph & slowly building up over time to 6.5mph. It took a long time -- I was in the 5.0-5.4 range for about 1.5 years! Spend a lot of time running & walking & it will come naturally.

As for muscle work, always start off with the lighter weights (3-10 pounds) & then just move on up by as they get easy for you. :dance:

As for sticking to a routine, the only advice that I can give is telling yourself, 'If I don't work out like I'm supposed to, nothing about me will change, whether that's my health or my physical appearance'. That's how I look at it, & how I guilt trip myself into going when I don't feel like it :lol:

If I actually can't go to the gym, I'll just practice dance to make up for it & tell myself, 'I did something today rather than nothing, & that's what matters'. Hope that helped! Good luck with your fitness journey! Are you already a part of a gym, or do you have weights at home & a nice park that you can run around?

 

[Daimona]

With this exercise routine I wouldn't necessary change how much carbs you eat, as you'll need a lot of energy when you exercise and carbohydrates are the main energy source for the body. If you are reducing any carbs, reduce the amount of raffined/white sugar (and also artificial sweeteners) - if there is sugar in your cerals, switch to another type with more fibers etc (but you probably already knew this). Eat some carbs before you exercise, and proteins such as a banana after to refill the need of proteins for rebuilding the muscles.

As you still live with your parents, how old are you? If you're still a teenager, it could be just "baby fat" (I'm not sure if this is the correct english term to use), and you'll loose it when you get older (particularly if you continue this regime).

You've only been doing this since September, and it isn't a very long time. In fact, I wouldn't expect any visible change in this amount of time. You need to give yourself some time to actually see the results.


My advice to you is not to change anything at the moment, but to see a professional nutritional/fitness expert in some months and see if there is anything that should be adjusted for you to reach your goal. You could always keep a nutritiolnal/exercise diary, but I wouldn't think it is necessary in your case.


And for having more fish meals, how about bringing a small box of canned tuna (or other types of fish) for lunch once in a while?

 

[AyaKara]

With this exercise routine I wouldn't necessary change how much carbs you eat, as you'll need a lot of energy when you exercise and carbohydrates are the main energy source for the body. If you are reducing any carbs, reduce the amount of raffined/white sugar (and also artificial sweeteners) - if there is sugar in your cerals, switch to another type with more fibers etc (but you probably already knew this). Eat some carbs before you exercise, and proteins such as a banana after to refill the need of proteins for rebuilding the muscles.

As you still live with your parents, how old are you? If you're still a teenager, it could be just "baby fat" (I'm not sure if this is the correct english term to use), and you'll loose it when you get older (particularly if you continue this regime).

You've only been doing this since September, and it isn't a very long time. In fact, I wouldn't expect any visible change in this amount of time. You need to give yourself some time to actually see the results.


My advice to you is not to change anything at the moment, but to see a professional nutritional/fitness expert in some months and see if there is anything that should be adjusted for you to reach your goal. You could always keep a nutritiolnal/exercise diary, but I wouldn't think it is necessary in your case.


And for having more fish meals, how about bringing a small box of canned tuna (or other types of fish) for lunch once in a while?

Thank you for your advice, Daimona! I decided to ask for help because I know that BDers often have tighter bodies than the average person

I understand giving it time; I'm going to wait until January, but I wanted some opinions just in case I needed to change anything before time flew by with no results :lol: I've been getting toned, so I'm very happy with that

I avoid sugars (except those in fruit) since my family has a history of diabetes -- same thing with cholesterol & heart disease. I eat a lot of fiber (only fiber-full cereals, no sweet ones) & I always eat wheat bread with nuts or grains in them.

I'm almost 21 & in college, by the way.

Thank you for responding! ray:

 

[Daimona]

I understand giving it time; I'm going to wait until January, but I wanted some opinions just in case I needed to change anything before time flew by with no results :lol: I've been getting toned, so I'm very happy with that

I avoid sugars (except those in fruit) since my family has a history of diabetes -- same thing with cholesterol & heart disease. I eat a lot of fiber (only fiber-full cereals, no sweet ones) & I always eat wheat bread with nuts or grains in them.

As for the family health conditions, take some time to study how different nutritients will affect these conditions (such as different types of fat) and talk to an expert. Perhaps you'll even discover some things that can help you help your family as well.

And as I said, give it time. You've already experienced some change and more will come. You are probably excersising more than most people already and agreeing with Mosaic, I believe you are being too hard on yourself when judging your belly fat.

 

[AyaKara]

As for the family health conditions, take some time to study how different nutritients will affect these conditions (such as different types of fat) and talk to an expert. Perhaps you'll even discover some things that can help you help your family as well.

And as I said, give it time. You've already experienced some change and more will come. You are probably excersising more than most people already and agreeing with Mosaic, I believe you are being too hard on yourself when judging your belly fat.

Thank you Daimona I'll keep what you & Mosaic (& everyone else) have said in mind

We know a lot about the conditions already, but my family always 'falls back' on high-fat/ cholesterol/ sugar foods after eating well for a while, so I just try to encourage them as much as I can & hope that they'll follow in my example I'll figure it out one day how to get through to them

 

[Munniko]

Okay I just attempted to do three days of what you normally did and I gotta say it wiped me out. I love what you are doing though so I may work myself up to the everyday toning/strength training cycle, but for now I gotta do 4 days a week with a rest day in between.

 

[AyaKara]

Okay I just attempted to do three days of what you normally did and I gotta say it wiped me out. I love what you are doing though so I may work myself up to the everyday toning/strength training cycle, but for now I gotta do 4 days a week with a rest day in between.

Please don't wear yourself out, hon! :hug: especially high-intensity sprinting, please only do the speed that you can handle or you can get yourself hurt, dehydrated, or even more

It's fantastic that you're having days for rest, it will really do your body a lot of good. Be sure to keep us updated with how it works out for you! & be sure to nourish your body properly! You don't want to lose your hard work because of undernourishment. :shok:

If you dance everyday (I'm sure that you do ) I would definitely take out some of the gym time for it, especially the hard stuff. Usually on days where I sprint, I don't practice dance vigorously so I don't wear myself out. & on days where I can't go to the gym, I dance my heart out :lol: so balance it out, you're already active just by being a dancer :dance:

 

[Munniko]

Don't worry, I know my limits very well and only did jogging because I don't normally run....my chest does not appreciate high speeds. I'm definitely going to find my perfect balance among these routines though XD and thanks for the encouragement I'm trying to purge unhealthy things from my diet.