Another annoying fitness/diet question

Samp943

Hi everyone, I'm sure you're probably all sick of these "is my programme/diet/whatever good?" threads, but I figured what the hey, I'll start another one So background is: I started losing weight/exercising at the end of 2011 which turned in to lots of running in 2012. I hurt my hip when I was still growing and it hasn't been the same since. I ended up doing too much too soon and had months of expensive/painful physio sessions for IT band syndrome (I'm good now). Last year I got in to cycling/weights and I'm trying to put together a combination of the two.

So...I'm a 26 year old female, 5'6, ~150 lbs (68 kg, 10st10). I have strong arms/legs and carry any excess flab around my middle. I know you can't spot reduce fat so my goal would be to trim down while keeping my strength/building muscle I don't really care what the scales say, it's more about how I feel. I want to be slim and strong rather than skinny and weak. So here's the programme I put together and my typical diet. For all of my weights exercises I do 3 sets of 10 reps or 2 sets of 10 and the third set to failure (which when it happens is ~8 reps).

Monday/Thur/Sat: weights (seated row: 27 kg; shoulder press: 23 kg; chest press: 32 kg; leg press: 39 kg; weighted lunges with 4 kg dumbbells) plus wall squat 3x30sec, calf raises 3x20 per leg, plank/side plank 3x30sec per side. Plus stretching.

Tue/Fri: Cycling on a stationary bike 30-35 minutes on intervals (2:30 min. on a high resistance, can't remember what it is, 2:30 min. on a lower resistance). I give it socks when I'm on the bike, I know in 30 minutes it tends to tell me that I've done 17-18 km. I'm very competitive and always trying to go farther than the previous session.

Weds/Sun: Rest. I try to go for a bit of a walk on these days, just to stretch my legs.

So now for food. I aim for ~1500 cals/day. I log everything on Myfitnesspal

Breakfast (7:45): weekdays are baked oatmeal (oats, eggs, milk, and banana with spices mixed together and baked. I make 12 portions at a time and freeze them) with 50 mL low fat milk and 10 g granola for the crunch. Works out at ~300 cals altogether. On the weekends it'd be Mallon's skinny sausages, a fried egg, tomatoes cooked with leeks, and brown toast but I wouldn't eat again until late in the afternoon and I'd have something like carrots and 15 g goat's cheese.

Lunch (12.30): Anything. Could be a small portion of leftovers, 45 g bulgur wheat with 20 g feta/goat's cheese and veg, half a tin of tuna with veg and homemade coleslaw (cabbage, carrots and natural yogurt), 200g salad potatoes with 1.5 boiled eggs and veg. I always tend to have an apple as well.

Snack (4pm): I struggle with what to eat here. I tend to have something like the nature valley granola bars because they're quick and tasty and it feels like a treat.

Dinner (7pm or after usually): Can be anything, but it's always a tonne of veg and generally some meat like 130-150g chicken or stir fry beef. Curries/stir fries/bolognese are all homemade and modified to be healthier. Sometimes we have a tagine with loads of veg, bulgur wheat, and dried fruit.

Snack (9-10pm): OH and I love something sweet in the evenings. It's generally something like fruit or sugar free jelly with a combination of natural/greek yogurt and ricotta, or chocolate mousse (tofu and cocoa powder and egg whites) or blended frozen bananas and yogurt to make "ice cream".

Weekends don't really change as much, though we would tend to have brunch late enough and then not eat until dinner or have something small like carrots/hummous/goat's cheese. I don't drink too much, the odd beer every now and again. I just want to know if I'll be able to achieve my goal of staying strong while trimming off my excess flab. Also, apologies for the essay!

MightyMandarin

Are you able to Squat and Deadlift? If so, I'd be making them, OHP and Bench press the main exercises in your regime.

Not sure about the diet tbh, if you're losing weight consistently, then you're doing it right. If not, lower the calories.

Samp943

MightyMandarin wrote: »

Are you able to Squat and Deadlift? If so, I'd be making them, OHP and Bench press the main exercises in your regime.

Not sure about the diet tbh, if you're losing weight consistently, then you're doing it right. If not, lower the calories.

Thanks for your input. I've never deadlifted before, though I have done squats as part of my physio for my IT band. I don't particularly like them, though I know I should probably incorporate them into my workout. I use the gym in Trinity since I have a membership until September and while I know their weights section is alright, I'm quite intimidated to be honest. There are a lot of big lads throwing weights around/playing the "who can drop the weight the loudest" game. I also tend to go mid-morning and the men's rugby team pretty much takes over the entire weights area plus beginners weights and stretching areas most days. I know I should stop making excuses and just do it, but I am a bit afraid of them to be honest.

MightyMandarin

The Trinity gym is quite sh*t if I'm honest, well the weights section is anyway. There's far too many treadmills and stationary bikes, and only a few racks to either squat or bench from. I've only been a handful of times and I spent most of the time waiting around for the usual clowns to be finished their bicep curls in the squat rack I just use my local gym which is far better imo.

That said, you shouldn't be intimidated at all if you want to use the weights section. Most people couldn't care less what you do, as long as you don't curl in the squat rack, which may get you some dirty looks. The rugby lads might seem intimidating at first, but most of them are grand; there may be a few assh*les but it's the same anywhere you go. I'd make Squats a priority if I were you unless your hip was hurting, it's probably the best exercise of all, in terms of working your muscles.

Samp943

MightyMandarin wrote: »

The Trinity gym is quite sh*t if I'm honest, well the weights section is anyway. There's far too many treadmills and stationary bikes, and only a few racks to either squat or bench from. I've only been a handful of times and I spent most of the time waiting around for the usual clowns to be finished their bicep curls in the squat rack I just use my local gym which is far better imo.

That said, you shouldn't be intimidated at all if you want to use the weights section. Most people couldn't care less what you do, as long as you don't curl in the squat rack, which may get you some dirty looks. The rugby lads might seem intimidating at first, but most of them are grand; there may be a few assh*les but it's the same anywhere you go. I'd make Squats a priority if I were you unless your hip was hurting, it's probably the best exercise of all, in terms of working your muscles.

Thanks MightyM, I'm just finished my postgrad in Trinity and a membership to the gym was built into the fees which is why I'm loathe to join somewhere else right now (plus the whole not getting paid thing...). I've always used the machines and the beginner's free weight area. I should be able to squat there as well, I'm sure I won't need the racks for a while. I'll just need to ask someone to show me how to deadlift properly.

MightyMandarin

I'd start using the squat/bench rack and the main free weights area, although it's far from ideal it's better than the other one. I'd ask a staff member to show you how to deadlift properly, alternatively you could ask a 'rugby lad' to critique your form. I'd be very surprised if they said no as it shouldn't take very long unless you were doing it horribly wrong and most reasonably-experienced lifters are happy to help with form critique. Youtube is also a good resource to watch the proper form for exercises.

norwegianwood

Samp943 wrote: »

Thanks for your input. I've never deadlifted before, though I have done squats as part of my physio for my IT band. I don't particularly like them, though I know I should probably incorporate them into my workout. I use the gym in Trinity since I have a membership until September and while I know their weights section is alright, I'm quite intimidated to be honest. There are a lot of big lads throwing weights around/playing the "who can drop the weight the loudest" game. I also tend to go mid-morning and the men's rugby team pretty much takes over the entire weights area plus beginners weights and stretching areas most days. I know I should stop making excuses and just do it, but I am a bit afraid of them to be honest.

This put me off weights for a long time too, only 2 racks in my gym with a congregation of fcuking clowns around it all the time so I started going really early in the morning, it's usually fairly quiet with no idiots..would that be a possibility for you at all?