10% body fat --> 8% --- How long will it take?

LegacyUser

So after careful consideration, I want to get down from 10% to 8%. How long will that take to do? Assuming dietary and supplemental needs are catered for, and a gym programme 5 times a week with 45 mins of cardio 4 times a week.

Is that adequate enough to get down to the single digits?

Hanley

How long is a piece of string...

LegacyUser

Well basically, if it's gonna take me more than say three months, i'm not arsed, i'll just stay happy at 10%...

Boru.

Depending on the program, diet and intensity of training this can easily be done within 4 weeks. Post your full workout plan and nutrition. Off hand I'd say you're doing too much cardio - 2 HIT session of approx 10-15 min, 2 a day would serve you far better.

mloc

Boru. wrote:

2 HIT session of approx 10-15 min, 2 a day would serve you far better.

per day or per week?

Boru.

Again, this is variable dependant. I've advocate both for different clients. In reagrds to my post above I ment 2 sessions, as in 2 a day, one in the morning and one in the evening.

LegacyUser

Interesting Boru. So twice a day...interesting. Definitely achievable. I'll give it a go. I'm already in pretty good shape at 10% but want to get down to 8% just to prove I can. Have never been below 10%.

LegacyUser

I have two programs...

One which is back/biceps/shoulders.

Wide Grip pull ups - 3 sets of 12
Wide Grip Back Row - 3 sets of 8 on 70kg

Preacher Curls - 3 sets of 6 - 8 @ 18kg's dumbbells
Bicep Machine - 3 sets of 10 @ 110kg's

Shoulder Press - 3 sets of 8 @ 60kg's
Military Press on a bench - 3 sets of 12 using 20kg's dumbbells

The other is chest/triceps/legs

Bench - 3 sets of 10 - 70kg's
Incline Bench Press - 3 sets of 12 - 48kg barbell

Tricep Dips - 3 sets of 8 - 12 of own bodyweight (83 KG)
Tricep Extensions - 3 sets of 12 using 20 KG's dumbbell

Leg Press - 3 sets of 10 @ 190kg's

Boru.

What about the diet?

LegacyUser

Diet is:

Breakfast: Bowl of rice krispies and protein shake and recently omelettes

Snack: Banana and an apple

Lunch: Brown bread sandwich with chicken, cheese, cucumber, coleslaw etc or if not in college, I would have something like chicken fillet on bread etc

Dinner: Chicken and potatoes and sweet corn etc

That's pretty much it, if anything I don't eat enough...

Boru.

Right. Well from the other thread I see you're going to go with Gormet Nutrition and you are dead right. While you're waiting for that to arrive here are John Beardi's 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutrition. Follow these to the letter and you'll be down to around 7% in no time.

1. Eat every 2-3 hours, no matter what. You should eat between 5-8 meals per day.

2. Eat complete (containing all the essential amino acids), lean protein with each meal.

3. Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal.

4. Ensure that your carbohydrate intake comes from fruits and vegetables. Exception: workout and post-workout drinks and meals.

5. Ensure that 25-35% of your energy intake comes from fat, with your fat intake split equally between saturates (e.g. animal fat), monounsaturates (e.g., olive oil), and polyunsaturates (e.g. flax oil, salmon oil).

6. Drink only non-calorie containing beverages, the best choices being water and green tea.

7. Eat mostly whole foods (except workout and post-workout drinks).

How this translates in the immediate sense is to ditch the rice krispies, brown bread and potatoes, eat more regular meals as you say and include protein in every meal (for instance there is no protein in your snack).

As regards the workout, well, it's pretty good. You can keep doing that but drop the rep range down to 4-6 and jump the weight up as high as you can.

LegacyUser

Awesome Boru, thanks a lot will give that a go.

Oh by the way, What should I eat instead of potatoes?

cowzerp

2% can be dropped in anywhere from 1 week to 1 month depending on how good your diet and training plan is-mainly weight training and cutting negative calories while keeping the good protein foods up in your diet-there is more factors to consider though-present weight, diet, exercise and what you can change!

Boru.

Well in gormet nutrition there's a great recepie for making mashed potatoes from cauliflower. Simply susbtitute them with a vegtable of choice, brocilli, peppers, carrots, spinach (when steamed tastes like pasta), salad, lettuce etc.

Hanley

cowzerp wrote:

2% can be dropped in anywhere from 1 week to 1 month depending on how good your diet and training plan is-mainly weight training and cutting negative calories while keeping the good protein foods up in your diet-there is more factors to consider though-present weight, diet, exercise and what you can change!

Trying to drop 2% in one week would be very risky. I imagine you'd run the substantial risk of losing a fair bit of lean tissue too.

Dropping 2% in bodyweight would be absolutely no problem (ie thru water manipulation), I totally agree there.

juanveron45

You may want to do the get shredded diet, its by john berardi also ,just remember this is only to be used in the shortterm its not a lifestyle plan

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1150209

Hanley

juanveron45 wrote:

You may want to do the get shredded diet, its by john berardi also ,just remember this is only to be used in the shortterm its not a lifestyle plan

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1150209

Suggesting someone should go on such a radical and brutal dietary regime as the GSD when so many fundamental nutritional principles are lacking is jumping the gun a little bit.

No doubt the OP would make some progress with it, but I really doubt it's neccessary to go one something THAT restricitive.

If you can't stick to the 7 habits of highly effective nutrition already posted 90% of the time and don't know exactly how many kcals (and the macro breakdown) that you've been consuming for like the last 4 weeks then there's no point in even attempting the GSD because the discipline needed just isn't there.

Transform

Totally agree with hanley

Anyone covering the basics and who is in good shape already should be able to get to single figures

MA

Breakfast - i wouldnt recommend rice crispies, you need complex carbs. Your max carb intake should be consumed in the morning.. could you stomach porridge? made with water!!
Also, doesnt look like your eating enough. Make sure after your weights workout you have protein within half an hour, this will feed your muscle.
Cut out all processed carbs and dairy (stores as fat and little energy). Eat loads of lean protein which will get your lean muscle % up. Then do 1hr per day aerobic cardio to get your fat content down.
You have to watch this tho, you dont want your body to burn all the carlories and then turn to muscle.
Id recommend suppliments CLA (Maximusle) and Complex L-Carnintine (Solgar), then take a energy suppliment to keep your levels up. L-Carnintines great for stripping body fat, CLA is good for lean muscle and they are both natural if u get the right one!