Q.For about 6 months, I've beentwice weekly going to the gym for 20 minutesor so. I will bench press, might do some lat pull downs, and then some curls. That's it.
Now I've beentrying to run and swima little at the YMCA, along with the weights.
I've noticed a massive increase in muscle mass in my upper body, but I've also put on a bit of a gut and a double chin. I'm 29, and I can definitely sense my metabolism is changing and I've been struggling to stay thin my whole life. I'm guess I'm just finding it harder to fight it off.
The more I've been working out the more food I've been eating. I still drink a lot of juice (I know I know) and a lot of carbs (I'm mostly a vegetarian because of $, ease, and my taste buds), but I don't drink alcohol.
My questions are:
1. Should I have a stricter diet? No juice, no HFCS, no Indian food, for example.
2. Should I stop lifting and devote myself exclusively to cardio? running? swimming?
3. How many times a week should I really be doing this, whatever it is you think I should be doing?
A. Hi Jeremy, thanks for your questions. Let's break these down into two categories:nutritionandyour workout.
Nutrition:
1. When it comes to weight goals, nutrition is60-70%of your success! So yes, being more strict on your eating and drinking habits will pay off BIG TIME.
2. Juice - Try to have1 glass per day, all other juice should come from eating whole fruits.
3. Carbs - You need them! But not ALL of them, stick tocomplex carbs that will have more fiber, protein, nutrients, and take longer for the body to digest.
1. Lifting - DON'T go below your2x/week program, but DO work yourentire body every workout! What about legs, shoulders, triceps, core - if you got 'em, work 'em.
2. And use a minimum of2-3sets per muscle group too.
3. Cardio is a great calorie burner, so the more you do - the merrier (& thinner) you will be. Let's try to increase your frequency to 2-3 days per week and also the duration of your cardio sessions to >20 mins.
4. It's important to be realistic and set you up for success when setting goals...
so I recommend a 3-4x/week program, where two of those days are of full body lifting and you are trying for some cardio EVERY gym visit/workout.
Now I've beentrying to run and swima little at the YMCA, along with the weights.
I've noticed a massive increase in muscle mass in my upper body, but I've also put on a bit of a gut and a double chin. I'm 29, and I can definitely sense my metabolism is changing and I've been struggling to stay thin my whole life. I'm guess I'm just finding it harder to fight it off.
The more I've been working out the more food I've been eating. I still drink a lot of juice (I know I know) and a lot of carbs (I'm mostly a vegetarian because of $, ease, and my taste buds), but I don't drink alcohol.
My questions are:
1. Should I have a stricter diet? No juice, no HFCS, no Indian food, for example.
2. Should I stop lifting and devote myself exclusively to cardio? running? swimming?
3. How many times a week should I really be doing this, whatever it is you think I should be doing?