Recovery questions

Stats:
42 yo
more than 10 years experience
5'11
195lbs
15%bf

Some facts:
About one year ago I was strong, big upper body (my legs are naturally big), looking somewhat good (not like a porn star but good) and with a belly that was too big to be good: 214 lbs, 17% bf 5'11", 41 yo.

I saw that that was bullshit and I had to deal with my food addiction first.

My weight has fluctuated down to 194 (12%bf)

September 05 I completely cut the sugar, then in October I addressed junk food: gone.

Nowadays I have no cravings and been able to completely clean up my diet without being neurotic about it

Right now I eat mostly Paleo: some rice here and there, milk on my tea and wheat when I have dim sum only. Booze only on weekends: 3 cocktails and 1 bottle of wine for the total.

Sleeping consistently between 22:00 and 6:00 (I have been battling cortisol issues for years)

My down fall still is the big quantities of food eaten too fast and excessive caffeine consumption (the need to be "ON" all the time)


I just jumped in my scale and am at 195 lbs and 15% bf (using bioimpedance only as a tool, I know that it sucks)

Well, I look like someone that exercises; good not great.

My routine:
Wendler 5/3/1 4X a week plus 9 or 10 fitness classes a week (Spinning and Bootcamp) and some volume work here and there.
The breakdown is:
Mon - Deadlift + 2 Spinning classes
Tuesdays - Bench + Bootcamp and Spinning
Wednesdays - 2 Spinning at lunch and Spinning + Bootcamp during the evening
Thursdays - Rest
Fridays - Squat
Saturdays - Spinning and Press

My goals:

1 - Drop body fat to single digit
2 - Get rid of a roll of fat under my belly button (cortisol)
3 - Increase muscle mass in my upper body


My problems:
I obviously am dropping mostly muscle instead of FAT
Even though I modulate the intensity of my work outs while teaching, it still is quite a lot of volume and it is interfering with my energy levels, for my personal work outs
My recovery sucks and I can't keep doing consistent volume work in terms of weight training
I need to take or teach at least one more class a week (even more cardio)

Supplements - right now I am taking:
ZMA
Fish oil
Vitamin D
5-HTP
AOR Ortho adapt (just started this blend of adaptogens)
2 or 3g of L Tyrosine when I need to do intellectual work for long periods of time

Questions
1 - What are your thoughts on BCAAs?
2 - Post work out shake?
3 - Other supplements?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by warlock

Stats:
42 yo
more than 10 years experience
5'11
195lbs
15%bf

Some facts:
About one year ago I was strong, big upper body (my legs are naturally big), looking somewhat good (not like a porn star but good) and with a belly that was too big to be good: 214 lbs, 17% bf 5'11", 41 yo.

I saw that that was bullshit and I had to deal with my food addiction first.

My weight has fluctuated down to 194 (12%bf)

September 05 I completely cut the sugar, then in October I addressed junk food: gone.

Nowadays I have no cravings and been able to completely clean up my diet without being neurotic about it

Right now I eat mostly Paleo: some rice here and there, milk on my tea and wheat when I have dim sum only. Booze only on weekends: 3 cocktails and 1 bottle of wine for the total.

Sleeping consistently between 22:00 and 6:00 (I have been battling cortisol issues for years)

My down fall still is the big quantities of food eaten too fast and excessive caffeine consumption (the need to be "ON" all the time)


I just jumped in my scale and am at 195 lbs and 15% bf (using bioimpedance only as a tool, I know that it sucks)

Well, I look like someone that exercises; good not great.

My routine:
Wendler 5/3/1 4X a week plus 9 or 10 fitness classes a week (Spinning and Bootcamp) and some volume work here and there.
The breakdown is:
Mon - Deadlift + 2 Spinning classes
Tuesdays - Bench + Bootcamp and Spinning
Wednesdays - 2 Spinning at lunch and Spinning + Bootcamp during the evening
Thursdays - Rest
Fridays - Squat
Saturdays - Spinning and Press

My goals:

1 - Drop body fat to single digit
2 - Get rid of a roll of fat under my belly button (cortisol)
3 - Increase muscle mass in my upper body


My problems:
I obviously am dropping mostly muscle instead of FAT
Even though I modulate the intensity of my work outs while teaching, it still is quite a lot of volume and it is interfering with my energy levels, for my personal work outs
My recovery sucks and I can't keep doing consistent volume work in terms of weight training
I need to take or teach at least one more class a week (even more cardio)

Supplements - right now I am taking:
ZMA
Fish oil
Vitamin D
5-HTP
AOR Ortho adapt (just started this blend of adaptogens)
2 or 3g of L Tyrosine when I need to do intellectual work for long periods of time

Questions
1 - What are your thoughts on BCAAs?
2 - Post work out shake?
3 - Other supplements?

---

Just looking at your plan layout. That is a lot of cardio. ALOT. Too much in my opinion. I would focus more on your diet and have patience. Think about how long it took you to get the weight there, it won't be gone over night

Quote:

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Originally Posted by muskate

Just looking at your plan layout. That is a lot of cardio. ALOT. Too much in my opinion. I would focus more on your diet and have patience. Think about how long it took you to get the weight there, it won't be gone over night

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That is not my plan it is my work schedule. I actually teach all those classes

How many g of protein do you take every day ?

If you have to do that much cardio every week and you wanna loose weight, doing low-carbs/ketosis is out of question for sure.

Eric

I agree ^

I would do a high protein high carb, lower fat diet with that much cardio and activity. Emphasis on carbs being around the workouts

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TT Eric

How many g of protein do you take every day ?

If you have to do that much cardio every week and you wanna loose weight, doing low-carbs/ketosis is out of question for sure.

Eric

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No ketosis here
My diet is clean but not 100% recorded
I eat pretty much what I want and keep the starches for before an after activity
Always have a few good chunks of meat a day

You might notbe eating enough but I think it would be are to say without seeing your diet.Post it.

If you are not recording it then maybe you should start. weighing your food issomething else you might need to do so that you know exactly what you'reputting in your body.

it's tough at our age to drop those nasty unwanted pounds and build lean mass. A above I'd revisit your overall macro and make sure you are getting enough calories in daily. as far as supplements go I'd drop the ZMA and 5-HTP unless you are taking them pre bed to improve sleep. I don't see a big need for BCAA supplementation unless you are working out fasted and drinking it intra. PWO shakes are far from essential if your daily calories are being met but for convenience you could look into something like CL's Gold Feast. If you are looking for a thermogenic and don't have any HPB issues an EC stack is the best bang for the buck you can get. if you are looking for something without stimulants look into something like Ergobolic.

^ Why dropping ZMA ? The more activity you do the more you need magnesium as it's involved in each muscular contraction, with his level of activity he needs magnesium, a lack of magnesium often lead to cramps also, I agree ZMA should be taken before bed, it could help sleep well yes, but also because it's needed to produce hormones like testo, which are released in the first few hours of sleep. BCAA can be needed to spare muscle when you have high levels of activity like him. IMO PWO shake are very useful, it help stimulate muscle synthesis, shut down/lower cortisol which he need a lot with all the cardio he does. And also I would not recommend Ephedrine, as it's adrenals are already pretty stressed, it could only worsen it with ephedrine.

Eric

ZMA will not help boost test levels. BCAA's may be helpful if he is training fasted. Ephedrine is very safe providing he doesn't have any underlying conditions and is taken in reasonable amounts and is incredibly effective. I do agree with you about his overall protein intake.

Most people are zinc deficient and it helps tremendously with sleep....keep it in. AVOID ephedrine as it will it raise cortisol levels even more and it will cause adrenal fatigue...the last thing you need right now(high cortisol) is additional stimulants. I would limit the caffeine as well. You are already eating high carb and you will not drop fat doing this as you can see not to mention dropping your fat intake will only contribute to your already occurring hormonal imbalance.
Even though you are doing spinning classes you can still run a low carb, moderate fat diet with targeted carb times. It is more about the type of carbs, timing, and amounts. BCAA's are fine but if you are taking in adequate protein you are getting plenty of BCAA's...they may be used during training but are not necessary. If you are dropping muscle instead of fat and recovery isn't optimal you are not eating enough protein or regularly enough.

Try this:

-6 meals daily spaced three hours apart
-50g protein (measured) per meal
-15-20g fat per meal from a variety of sources (salmon, red meat, whole eggs, olive oil, avocado, walnuts, almonds, etc)
-carbs from mostly fibrous sources possibly with some root vegetables prior spinning but I would try fibrous first and see how that goes.
-eliminate stimulants thus reducing cortisol and helping reduce belly fat*** the amount of prolonged cardio is most likely a huge contibutor to the cortisol levels
-PWO shakes are unnecessary
-timed use of whey isolate and vitamin C for recovery after spinning
-ZMA and 5HTP before bed
-phosphatidylserine morning and night or relora morning and night
-epsom salt baths nightly will greatly improve recovery

P

Thank you guys.

I will keep the ZMA, need to start tracking my macros add vitamin C.

None of the work outs are done in an empty stomach.

I already have Epsom Salts baths and will add more of then.

Thank you for your timee

Some people will have trouble hitting 6 meals a day but really dial in your diet and hit your daily macros. If you are looking for a sleep aid, the best overall one on the market right now IMO is Abyss Unparalleled from Nimbus.

Prae, just wondering why PS morning and before bed, but not PWO ?

Eric

Either before bed or pwo...its expensive so if cost is not a factor for you then by all means.

P

Ok thanks I use to take it PWO! How many mg do you shot for ? Some says 200mg is fine, but others says to go up to 800mg, but at this level you need deep pockets as you said.

Eric

One thing that people always don't get: I sleep 6+ hours a night, normally 8.

The quality of my sleep is not good: wake up 3-6 X a night, not always restful, disturbing dreams

Quote:

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Originally Posted by warlock

One thing that people always don't get: I sleep 6+ hours a night, normally 8.

The quality of my sleep is not good: wake up 3-6 X a night, not always restful, disturbing dreams

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ZMA gives me the most F'd up dreams ever, you might try to drop if for a week and see what happens. maybe try a couple grams of GABA with 5-HTP and see how that treats you.

The best product I have used or had clients success with is Ortho Sleep by AOR. Many clients who work sift work have had great success with it. Melatonin will generally promote deeper sleep and extended sleep but can also cause vivid dreams. It is usually dose dependent so start out with 1mg 30min before bed and see how that goes.

P