Need Help- Academic Life Taking Over

[WhiteMousse]

So I've been back in school for about two years now. Because I have a full-time job with overtime I can't take as many courses as I'd like, so the rate of this project is a little slower.

I basically have two more years. During that time I've been staying fit. I love where I was last year. I did 40 minutes of cardio every day, getting my heart rate up to around 170 and keeping it there, as well as lifting three times a week.

This round of courses is very demanding though, and is cutting into my time to work out. I don't play video games any more. Ever. I spend an unbelievable amount of time studying. Because of this I will need to adjust using diet.

To that end, I need advice. Tell me what I need to do to be lean and ripped.

37-year old male. 5'9 - 5'10.
Last year was around 150 lbs. Not entirely sure where I am now but I don't usually use the scale.

Advice for equipment would be appreciated too, such as monitors and fat percentage gauges.

Thanks guys

 

[TribalDrumz]

You’re a Manlet who weighs 150? Stick to school buddy.

 

[WhiteMousse]

You’re a Manlet who weighs 150? Stick to school buddy.

I'll stick to both, thanks.

I'm not looking for insults, I'm looking for advice on how to accomplish the task.

Look me up on twitter and see my body- if you're still convinced I'm so pathetic, you can come back and continue to insult me.

In the meantime, do you have any advice on intermittent fasting?

 

[georgegreece]

He's just into you and didn't know how to bring up that he likes your booty.

 

[Robocok]

So I've been back in school for about two years now. Because I have a full-time job with overtime I can't take as many courses as I'd like, so the rate of this project is a little slower.

I basically have two more years. During that time I've been staying fit. I love where I was last year. I did 40 minutes of cardio every day, getting my heart rate up to around 170 and keeping it there, as well as lifting three times a week.

This round of courses is very demanding though, and is cutting into my time to work out. I don't play video games any more. Ever. I spend an unbelievable amount of time studying. Because of this I will need to adjust using diet.

To that end, I need advice. Tell me what I need to do to be lean and ripped.

37-year old male. 5'9 - 5'10.
Last year was around 150 lbs. Not entirely sure where I am now but I don't usually use the scale.

Advice for equipment would be appreciated too, such as monitors and fat percentage gauges.

Thanks guys

You can't compensate for a lack of exercise just by cleaning up your diet. You should eat healthy regardless.

If you want to stay in shape, make time to train, even if it's a short workout. Burpies, jumping jacks, pushups, pull ups, planks, dips, squats, lunges, situps, sprints, yoga poses, shadow boxing... you can do most of these almost anywhere.

 

[esdoornblad]

So I've been back in school for about two years now. Because I have a full-time job with overtime I can't take as many courses as I'd like, so the rate of this project is a little slower.

I basically have two more years. During that time I've been staying fit. I love where I was last year. I did 40 minutes of cardio every day, getting my heart rate up to around 170 and keeping it there, as well as lifting three times a week.

This round of courses is very demanding though, and is cutting into my time to work out. I don't play video games any more. Ever. I spend an unbelievable amount of time studying. Because of this I will need to adjust using diet.

To that end, I need advice. Tell me what I need to do to be lean and ripped.

37-year old male. 5'9 - 5'10.
Last year was around 150 lbs. Not entirely sure where I am now but I don't usually use the scale.

Advice for equipment would be appreciated too, such as monitors and fat percentage gauges.

Thanks guys

You can drop resistance training to one day per week. At 37, you will benefit from increased recovery time, and research shows that one resistance session per week is nearly as good as 2 or 3. You can the replace 40min cardio every day with 20min HIIT on M-W-F. Lifting 3x per week and 40min cardio every day, at 37, is probably overtraining unless your intensity is very low. So, weights on Sunday, and short HIIT sessions on M-W-F.

I know what it's like to juggle work and fitness. I think the main thing is to give up training every day which, at 37, is almost certainly overtraining if your sessions have actual intensity.

 

[WhiteMousse]

You can drop resistance training to one day per week. At 37, you will benefit from increased recovery time, and research shows that one resistance session per week is nearly as good as 2 or 3. You can the replace 40min cardio every day with 20min HIIT on M-W-F. Lifting 3x per week and 40min cardio every day, at 37, is probably overtraining unless your intensity is very low. So, weights on Sunday, and short HIIT sessions on M-W-F.

I know what it's like to juggle work and fitness. I think the main thing is to give up training every day which, at 37, is almost certainly overtraining if your sessions have actual intensity.

Not to toot my own horn but it doesn't feel like I'm overtraining. I've been doing this for a long time. After cardio I do bench, pull ups, shrugs and military press in four supersets. Then I will alternate between crunches and obliques, and then usually squats and curls.

Thank you for replying, I appreciate your feedback. By way of update, my caloric intake has been reduced to around 1200 a day. I still work out three times a week but cardio has been reduced to four times a week.

However it's working because I got the veins in my arms back.

Can you tell me what HIIT stands for? Thanks dude

 

[bad mojo]

I'm 39, and I've noticed my body reacts much better to a short, very intensive workouts than anything else. Living a busy life like yourself is not easy if you wanna stay fit, kudos for everything you do, sounds impressive. Everybody's different, but I've noticed signs of overtraining when I was doing more than 4 weight lifting workouts a week. It would probably be possible to still go at it with some supplements, but I don't take anything, not even a protein powder.
What works well for me is something like this: 3 heavy 45 minutes workouts per week, chest/shoulders, back/biceps, legs/triceps. Once or twice a week I do sprints, on the days I don't lift. I avoid using car or any transportation whenever possible, walking as much as I can.
I started IF years ago and it had a great effect on my overall energy levels. There's something to it, without a doubt, especially if your goal is not packing weight. I don't try to be too strict on myself, having a busy life, being a father and everything else, but my eating window is somewhere between 4 and 5 hours per day.

 

[esdoornblad]

I'm 39, and I've noticed my body reacts much better to a short, very intensive workouts than anything else. Living a busy life like yourself is not easy if you wanna stay fit, kudos for everything you do, sounds impressive. Everybody's different, but I've noticed signs of overtraining when I was doing more than 4 weight lifting workouts a week. It would probably be possible to still go at it with some supplements, but I don't take anything, not even a protein powder.
What works well for me is something like this: 3 heavy 45 minutes workouts per week, chest/shoulders, back/biceps, legs/triceps. Once or twice a week I do sprints, on the days I don't lift. I avoid using car or any transportation whenever possible, walking as much as I can.
I started IF years ago and it had a great effect on my overall energy levels. There's something to it, without a doubt, especially if your goal is not packing weight. I don't try to be too strict on myself, having a busy life, being a father and everything else, but my eating window is somewhere between 4 and 5 hours per day.

Wow. I could have written this post. I'm 51 and have converged to almost exactly this approach (workout time/balance, and IF). The only difference is that I live in So Cal where nobody walks.

 

[esdoornblad]

Can you tell me what HIIT stands for? Thanks dude

High-Intensity Interval Training

My feeling is that if you can do the workout you describe, then the relative intensity is low, and your body has adapted to the fixed protocol. There's nothing wrong with that as you will burn calories and maintain muscle to some extent. But you're spending far more time in the gym than required for "maintenance".

But 1200 calories? That's far too low. Your BMR is probably 1700. Then factoring in your average daily activity levels, you probably need 2600 calories for maintenance. Thus, even eating 2100 calories/day would be considered a short-term "cutting diet". 1200 a day is absurd.

 

[WhiteMousse]

High-Intensity Interval Training

My feeling is that if you can do the workout you describe, then the relative intensity is low, and your body has adapted to the fixed protocol. There's nothing wrong with that as you will burn calories and maintain muscle to some extent. But you're spending far more time in the gym than required for "maintenance".

But 1200 calories? That's far too low. Your BMR is probably 1700. Then factoring in your average daily activity levels, you probably need 2600 calories for maintenance. Thus, even eating 2100 calories/day would be considered a short-term "cutting diet". 1200 a day is absurd.

I'm not the biggest guy in the world, but I curl 40's (more like 35's right now) and I bench 185. I've maxed at 205. Can you help me? I just want to look good. My bicep/triceps look really nice, I've got no love handles. I'm basically the guy that guys wish they could age into, even though I'm a ginger. There are a couple things I'm unhappy with- I do have, I guess it could only be called scarred fat? It's like it doesn't matter how lean I get there's always a little bit of fat in certain areas. Also if I could get my forearms and calves bigger I'd be much happier

I agree that 1200 is very low, and it's not my plan to sustain that. But it has helped over the past two or so weeks.

Additional info-- I'm doing all my meals within a 5-6 hour window. Does narrowing this further help or is that just a waste of hunger?

And maybe you guys can solve a personal puzzle for me--- there are two camps- the lean meaters and the keto meaters. So which is it? Chicken or a bunless burger? What are your thoughts on rice, and carbs in general?

Again, thank you so much. Glad I found you guys