Is it best to do cardio before or after your workout?
First, it's best to do them at seperate times. Whether it be on different days or time if the day. Personally (and I know many others do this as well), I do fasted cardio first thing in the morning. Then go in the gym and lift weights later in the day whenever I have time. This is best for three reasons: ensures you are giving 100% of your effort and energy into each one, faster recovery times, and protects your body from overtraining and possible muscle loss (if in a below maintenance calorie state).But if you don't have the time to do them seperate, it depends on your specific goal.If you are a runner or your goal pretains to running/cardio work (marathon, 5k, toughmudder, swimming, triathlon, etc.) then by all means do your cardio first to give that 100% attention and effort. Ensuring your muscles aren't fatigued.For someone looking to gain size, strength, or just overall look more fit, I would recommend doing weight lifting first. This will allow you to hit your muscles fresh when you are lifting them, maximizing your hypertrophy and strength gains. Then you can exhaust yourself and your muscles with cardio afterward, instead of having to half ass the weights because you're already sucking wind.In ConclusionWhen given the choice/option do them seperate. But if that's not possible look at your long term goals and decide what give 100% of your effort on. Personally, I've done the weight lifting then cardio when I've had to for the past 3 years and have made serious progress in muscle size and fat loss because of it.Want to learn more, get free workout routines, diet advice, motivation, and much more? Check out founder.fit (Fitness website launching soon) or my Instagram: http://Instagram.com/laird_evanHappy lifting!
Im 15 and Weigh 240 Pounds. How can i lose weight?
Few things -You're brother may be super skinny, but there are a few factors: hes older (believe me I was round and stumpy in high school, and i weigh about 20 pounds more now at 23 but I look really skinny--your growth will even things out. Your brother is also probably ridiculously out of shape--he may be skinny, but be all body fat (my situation as well). Drinking will dehydrate you, add calories, induce rage and hangovers, and cause you to pee A LOT. So he may be living it up now, but in another few years (like one of my friends, his skinniness will turn into a beer gut (nasty!)). Also, everyone's just different. -I say you may be gaining weight because you are building muscle, it doesnt look like muscle because its under the fat and just making you bulky. -Quitting drinking soda is an awesome choice! It will help you lose faster I promise. -Running is good, but any cardio will work--in the summer, try to swim--works the whole body and is easy on your joints. Just remember cardio, and wait until you lose some more before doing muscle/strength training. Youtube has some great cardio workouts that you can do at home too. -Eating: Don't put yourself into starvation mode by not eating anything. Trick your body into feeling full but without the calories. I did and am currently on South Beach. The first time I did it, i lost about 12 pounds in 2 weeks, and i ddnt suffer to do it. I cut out carbs and sugar (yea even fruits), for two weeks, and then slowly introduced whole wheat and fruit back in, in moderation. The recipes will keep you full and theres really almost no restriction on how much you can eat since to eat 2,000 cals of vegetables would have you eating like...all day. Eat like 6 portions a day and you wont feel hungry. South beach has great recipe books, but you can modify almost anything to fit the rules when youre at restaurants -Most importantly, sleep well, exercise, eating right, and doing things that make you happy. If you focus on losing pound for pound, its like watching a pot waiting for water to boil. If you give yourself a nice long timeline, and dont beat yourself up for slipping up, the weight will come off AND, if it doesnt after all this, you may have water retention problems, or other medical needs as someone else says. Best thing is to see a doctor now and ask him/her what will help. they are professionals after all!
I don't understand why I can't lose weight?
I am female, 5'2 and weigh approximately 183lb's. I'm about a size 14/16 (US) I do work in an office setting. I work from about 7:30am-4:00pm Monday-Friday. I am fairly active. Hike, swim, camp, canoe ect in the spring, summer and fall. Like most people, I'm less active during the winter months. However, I still get some exercise daily. I walk my dog every evening after work (rain or shine) approximately 1-2 hours every day. (One of the few requirements in owning a Jack Russell Terrier) I'm a creature of habit so I eat the same thing 95% of the time. I do very very very little snacking and I don't drink soda. This is generally what I eat every day (I eat approximately every 1-3 hours) 7:00-1 Tablespoon of peanut butter (I heard some place you should start your day off with healthy fat/protein) 8:30-Small bowl of Kashi Go Lean cereal with soy milk 10:30- Apple 12:30- Kellogg Fiber Plus Granola Bar 2:00- Sandwich (Wheat bread, Cracked Black Pepper Turkey and Lettuce-no condiments) and 8 baby Carrots 4:00- Luna Bar (generally Nut's over Chocolate) 5:00- Orange 6:00- 16 Almonds 7:00- Small portion of chicken (generally seasoned with a rub and cooked in the oven) and a small can of random veggies (pea's, green beans, carrots, wax beans etc) It totals to be a little over 1800 calories. Before anyone suggests it's my water intake. I drink on average 2-4 liters of water per day. (sometimes I mix a pack of Crystal Light-on the go into a 32 oz bottle but mostly I drink straight water) I also have 1 small coffee in the morning. (I use Splenda and Fat Free creamer) I've been tracking my food/water intake on a sheet of paper for the last month on the off chance I'm snacking more then I realize. However, this is not the case and I can't seem to shake the weight. Also, I'm 100% not pregnant (unless my girlfriend has something she'd like to tell me. ) What gives? Anyone have any suggestion?
How can I get a six pack (defined visible abs) without losing weight?
Hey!Here are some tips about your nutrition!Everyone has abdominal muscles. For some, this seems new but it is true. The question is how often you use your abdominal muscles, and the answer is every day! Just think about it, if you crawl out of bed you use core muscles helping you to sit upright. When you tie your shoes while sitting and raise your foot slightly, you use core muscles. There are countless everyday moments when your abdominal muscles are at work without you thinking about it. Alright, but where does this story go? With the above explanation, I try to make clear that everybody has abs, but they are not always visible! The simple reason is that fat and especially abdominal fat is covering the muscles. One of the most important steps is to ensure that your body fat percentage goes down so that the underlying muscles are visible. An important first step will therefore be to change your diet so that you, without even a single exercise, your percentage of body fat takes down. In short, this means that you give up fast food, fatty snacks, sugars and processed carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates such as pasta is okay but not every day because it is the fuel that you need during your training sessions. What you wanto to eat more is greetings, fruit, nuts, healthy fats such as fish, avokado and olive oil. Divide your meals into five or six times, with each time you eat smaller portions than when you would eat three times a day. This makes your metabolism go up which means your body is constantly burning fat even when you are not doing anything. Do not eat your last meal late (ie after 8 pm) and take no TV snacks (unless it is a carrot or a bowl of low-fat cottage cheese). Drink plenty of water and avoid all kinds of sweet fruit drinks. Smoothies are a good alternative, with fresh fruit and low-fat milk for example. If you drink plenty of water it also provides a "full" feeling, making you less prone to snack on something. In short, eat more healthy foods and Avoid food with many processed calories. (More..)Read more about my personal effective workouts and tricks there!Good Luck!Martin Spencer
Help with my weight loss plateau?!?
I've been doing P90x for 5 weeks now. I'm a 22 year old guy that started at 232 lbs and got down to 216 lbs in 3.5 weeks. For the past week and a half I have been on a weight loss plateau that I can't make go away. I am simply trying to lose weight, not gain a lot of muscle mass. I realize that muscle burns calories and that working muscles/trying to eliminate muscles mass loss with the fat mass loss will help with overall weight loss. I was doing the classic routine, which was one workout a day for 6 days a week. I've been eating pretty healthy--probably consuming about 1800 calories a day and eating lots of protein and little fat (lots of chicken, fish, wild rice, etc.). I've been drinking TONS of water too. Since I started suspecting the plateau (about a week ago) this is what I have done: -Change my routine order. -Increased the intensity of my workouts (faster, more reps, etc.) -Increased to two-a-day workouts. 45 min of cardio in the morning other arms, back, core, abs, etc. exercises when I get home from work at about 6. -Go on a 2.5 mile walk every night. -Get more sleep. I'm not really sure what to do at this point but I'm starting to get really discouraged. I Iooked up info on what to do to break a plateau but none of it seems to be working. The only things I found and haven't tried are fasting on alternating days to confuse your body's metabolism, and taking a week off. Some people have told me that taking a week off can screw with your body's metabolism as well, and that as long as you eat healthy you won't gain weight and can them starting working out and losing more weight again. Regardless, nothing I've tried seems to be working. Do you have any advice? What are your thoughts about taking a week off? Also a few other indicators.. I do control sodium intake--that shouldn't be an issue. As far as bowel movements... I have noticed that I have been going half 1/2 to 1/3 as much and there is usually a lot less (sorry to get graphic). I thought maybe I wasn't eating enough calories and my body went into starvation mode, but I would think that 1800 calories would be well about that lower threshold.
Can I lose 70 pounds in 6 months?
I'm going to a family reunion in August and I really want to look good for it, not for them but I want to feel pretty and confident around my own family. Can anybody give me tips on what to eat, how long I should exercise, etc? Thanks.
P90X vs Rushfit? which is right for me?
I wanna get ripped, most important thing is abs. I have till summer because I'm going to the beach with a girl I like. I'm not in bad shape. I'm 15 years old 5'8 143 lbs. Average sized arms but my chest and stomach have a little chub on them:/ I wanna make this girls jaw drop you know? So which is right for me? I do MMA which is why Rushfit appealed to me at first, then I heard that it just cuts your weight down. And that P90X adds mass while burning fat. I don't watch much mass but id like to look good for this girl.