[jacksonpt]

I started back at the gym this morning on my quest to lose 15lbs. I've only got 1 hour to exercise in the AM before work, so I want to make the best use of my time. I'm 5-9, about 180lbs. I'd like to be down to 165 by May 1.

• What should my target heart rate be for fat burning/weight loss?
• Is cadio work (which from what I understand is the key to burning fat) all about heart rate? i.e., is a stationary bike that only works my legs any better or worse than a treadmill where my arms are swinging? Assuming my heartrate is basically the same on both machines?
• I spend about 45 minutes on a stationary bike, and 15 minutes on a treadmill - is this a good start to my quest?
• Any other general rules I should follow while exercising to help burn more fat? I don't want to get into the eating/diet side of things in this thread, so please keep your advice relevant to the workout side of things.

Thanks.

 

[bbmj]

i know you said you dont want to hear about diet, but in my experience, diet is probaly 80+ % of fat loss, and exercise is that small 20 %. You can really work as hard as you want in the gym, but if you eat crap at home, or wherever you eat, you will stay fat. If you naturally put on fat than this is espescially true, if you tend to be lean, than my idea isnt really going to apply, but you really need to focus on diet to lose fat

 

[I Are Baboon]

Originally posted by bbmj
i know you said you dont want to hear about diet, but in my experience, diet is probaly 80+ % of fat loss, and exercise is that small 20 %. You can really work as hard as you want in the gym, but if you eat crap at home, or wherever you eat, you will stay fat. If you naturally put on fat than this is espescially true, if you tend to be lean, than my idea isnt really going to apply, but you really need to focus on diet to lose fat

Yep.

Jackson, that is a nuttload of cardio you're doing. There is a good chance you're going to lose muscle mass doing all that cardio work. Have you considered adding weight training to your workouts? Adding lean muscle will help increase your metabolism, thus burning more calories when you are not working out.

It is possible to lose weight while doing NO cardio, but you do want to keep some cardio in your program in order to increase your cardiovascular endurance.

 

[DHRacer]

that's not an unreasonable amount of cardio work to be doing... you need to keep your HR at a "fat burning" level to at least 40 minutes to get the best results.

As a general rule you should keep your HR within 20-60% or your max HR. If you go over that you enter and anaerobic state in which you're not burning fat any more.

there are a lot of HR monitors out there that will identify you min and max HR's (even the lowest of low end ones will do this). most even have alarms to let you know when you've gone over or under a set range.

Diet is truly the most important thing though... it's true, you can work out all you want, but if you eat crap, you'll not really loose fat.

I wouldn't do more than an hour of cardio at one time. Also, not really knowing what your body make up is like, some weight training is good too... muscle burns fat. check at your local gym, some of them do body fat% checks on people for free.

in regards to stationery bike, or treadmill... it doesn't matter which you do, as long as you get your HR up to where it needs to be. But sometimes it good to switch it up, so you don't get bored. (personal preference really)

Hope that helps.

 

[Mocha]

1. Get yourself a cheap heart rate monitor and keep your heart rate in your fat burning zone, based on your age, gender, etc. It's the best thing I ever did. You finally realize how often you are working out too hard or too light.

2. Use any machine that you can stay on continuously for 45 minutes and not go insane from boredom. Having said that, running is by far the best fat burning exercise. If you can switch up your workouts and do the treadmill for 45 and bike for 15, I think you'd be better off.

3. I run first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. There have been debates about how effective this is, but I personally have had great results.

4. Also, don't work out to the point of exhustion. You don't want to be so tired that you can't work out the next day, or suffer burnout. They say to do cardio 6x a week to lose weight, and that's what I aim for.

5. You'll definitely want to add weight training at some point. Muscle burns calories faster than fat, especially after your workout when resting.

 

[JeffD]

As a general rule you should keep your HR within 20-60% or your max HR. If you go over that you enter and anaerobic state in which you're not burning fat any more.

Dude, I can get my HR over 20% just by looking at 'net porn...I'll be ripped by March!

Seriously, if you're serious you need to learn how to eat and you gotta lift weights. Feel free to ask more questions, we'll be glad to try and help.

 

[DHRacer]

Originally posted by JeffD


Dude, I can get my HR over 20% just by looking at 'net porn...I'll be ripped by March!

yo chachi, simma down.

the 20-60 range is just that... a RANGE. obviously the higher you get your HR within that range, the more calories you'll burn.

 

[Spunger]

This is sort of off topic a little but might help you out in your quest........(i might do this starting march and take it seriously)

My girlfriend lost like 30lbs or so I think...........not by starving, or by working out hard, but by.............weight watchers. As funny as it sounds it worked for her great. It would probably work for anyone willing to change their diet.

I am at about 235 and would like to get down to 215-210 or so, basicly so my size 38 fits loose, almost to a size 36. I have gained 30lbs in 4 years out of school. I pray to god it won't take 4 years to take it off.

The diet is key. I tried doing it all at one time and it was too hard for myself. Instead the last 3 months or so I have changed the portions I eat to be less. Less snacking, less eating after 8, even less soda. I figured once my diet is in then I will concentrate on exercising.

BUT on the other hand, since you look like you want to loose weight by a date, I think weight watchers may work. My girlfriend was loosing 1-2lbs a week just by eating differently and doing a little exercise. I was really proud of her to be able to do that.

It was cheap too, like $40 a month or something like that for the weigh in's and meetings.

Just another idea. I agree that you gotta change up the eating and exercising. Only way it will happen.

 

[jacksonpt]

Thanks for all the help everyone - I really appreciate it. Based on what you've said and some other things I've read, I looking at something like the following for my weekly routine:

Monday
- 60 minutes on stationary bike at 50ish% of max heart rate
- abs

Tuesday
- chest
- arms
- shoulders
- 15 minutes on treadmill at 80%ish of max heart rate

Wednesday
- legs
- back
- abs
- 30 minutes on stationary bike at 50ish% of max heart rate

Thursday
- chest
- arms
- shoulders
- 15 minutes on treadmill at 80%ish of max heart rate

Friday
- 60 minutes on stationary bike at 50ish% of max heart rate
- abs

 

[SDH]

I would alter my plan a little bit: This also assumes you are in pretty good shape already
Monday:
15 minutes cardio (warm up)
Legs (10-12 reps)

Tues:
Cardio (40-60minutes)
abs

Weds
15minutes cardio
upper body circuit training 2 exercises per muscle, super sets!
-Superset chest/back 10 reps each, no rest
-Super set chest/back 10 reps each super set no rest
-Super set shoulders (military press & delt machine) 3 sets (10 reps ea)
-Super set bi/tri (10 reps ea)
-Super set bi/tri (10 reps ea)

Thurs
Cardio (40-60minutes)
abs

Fri
15minutes cardio
upper body circuit training 2 exercises per muscle, super sets!
-Superset chest/back 10 reps each, no rest
-Super set chest/back 10 reps each super set no rest
-Super set shoulders (military press & delt machine) 3 sets (10 reps ea)
-Super set bi/tri (10 reps ea)
-Super set bi/tri (10 reps ea)

Sat
Do something fun like mountain biking or skiing etc

Sun
rest

Also eat 5 good small meals a day and drink a boat load of water (90 oz). Watch your portion size. A good size portion of something should be the size of your palm. I.E. chicken breast the size of your palm
Also cut out your crap carbs and ALL sugar! Processed stuff like white bread, pasta and soda etc.
After 1 month if you want to lose more add sprints into your cardio 3 times a session for 1 minute each!

Also, don't count the lbs lost count the inches lost! You may not initially lose wieght cuz you are gaining muscle

 

[dburatti]

A lot of the students I taught at the Texas Culinary Academy used to ask the best way to lose weight. Here's what I told them:

In order to lose about a pound a week (a good goal,) one has to have about a 500 calorie deficit per day. You can either exercise to burn that 500 calories, eat 500 fewer calories, or a combination thereof. The example I used included forgoing a soft drink (providing it contained calories) or two and exercising 15 to 30 minutes a day, which could include a brisk walk, jogging, or cycling. Granted, if you're trying to lose fat and gain muscle mass, this won't exactly work.