Is this workout routine any good?

Morrigan_2020

Exodi said:

Sport/exercise is not necessary. 

Exercise is essential, there is more to health than low weight!

mrkds

I disagree with the posts promoting resistance training if you're goal is to get rid of fat. You don't convert fat into muscle. You can burn fat and build muscle but these are separate processes requiring different diets and routines. Trying to do both at the same time is difficult and not conducive to the OPs goals. 
 
The best thing is diet. That is the quickest and most effective way of loosing weight initially. Once you've lost a bit of weight get in some cardio. It takes more time to see the effect of cardio becuase you have to build up the endurance to hit the 'fat burning' zone (usually after at least 30 mins continuous exercise)  This will be easier once you've lost that initial bit of weight rather than taking on both from the beginning.  Once you've got into a good cardio routine combined with a good diet, you'll see the combined effect of both and that will motivate you to push yourself further. 

Exodi

mrkds said:

I disagree with the posts promoting resistance training if you're goal is to get rid of fat. You don't convert fat into muscle. You can burn fat and build muscle but these are separate processes requiring different diets and routines. Trying to do both at the same time is difficult and not conducive to the OPs goals. 
 
The best thing is diet. That is the quickest and most effective way of loosing weight initially. Once you've lost a bit of weight get in some cardio. It takes more time to see the effect of cardio becuase you have to build up the endurance to hit the 'fat burning' zone (usually after at least 30 mins continuous exercise)  This will be easier once you've lost that initial bit of weight rather than taking on both from the beginning.  Once you've got into a good cardio routine combined with a good diet, you'll see the combined effect of both and that will motivate you to push yourself further. 

This and it's why I posted what I did. The OP stated that they were "Trying to get the belly and moobs off" and that they were "really just looking to lose a little weight, not bulk up or anything" so I'm not sure why people are crowding to advise resistance training?

It is indisputable that cardio burns (a hell of a lot) more calories than resistance training. The only benefit of resistance training in this circumstance is to increase muscle mass so that in the future his bodies base energy expenditure will increase - that's not very helpful now.

OP should just eat at a deficit, and maybe throw in some cardio. No such thing as 'targeted fat exercises', no need to be weight training. I've lost 10.6lbs since Christmas (I'm 12.5st) - weight loss isn't rocket science, it just requires dedication.

Morrigan_2020 said:

Exodi said:

Sport/exercise is not necessary. 

Exercise is essential, there is more to health than low weight!

Misleading - the OP asked about weight loss not about being healthy. Excerise is not essential for weight loss.

madlyn

Two words "calorie deficit"
By all means workout or lift weights but if you are still eating the same amount of calories as always then the weight will not come off.

TuppenceWorth

madlyn said:

Two words "calorie deficit"
By all means workout or lift weights but if you are still eating the same amount of calories as always then the weight will not come off.

Not true necessarily.
If you are calorie neutral or slightly over, then exercise can result in a deficit as you will be consuming less than burning.
Anyway, one needs to keep watch of calories to lose weight. Exercise of any kind will certainly help.
The key is to get the the information one needs and then spend more time doing the right things rather than researching...

Baxter100

Exodi said:

mrkds said:

I disagree with the posts promoting resistance training if you're goal is to get rid of fat. You don't convert fat into muscle. You can burn fat and build muscle but these are separate processes requiring different diets and routines. Trying to do both at the same time is difficult and not conducive to the OPs goals. 
 
The best thing is diet. That is the quickest and most effective way of loosing weight initially. Once you've lost a bit of weight get in some cardio. It takes more time to see the effect of cardio becuase you have to build up the endurance to hit the 'fat burning' zone (usually after at least 30 mins continuous exercise)  This will be easier once you've lost that initial bit of weight rather than taking on both from the beginning.  Once you've got into a good cardio routine combined with a good diet, you'll see the combined effect of both and that will motivate you to push yourself further. 

This and it's why I posted what I did. The OP stated that they were "Trying to get the belly and moobs off" and that they were "really just looking to lose a little weight, not bulk up or anything" so I'm not sure why people are crowding to advise resistance training?

It is indisputable that cardio burns (a hell of a lot) more calories than resistance training. The only benefit of resistance training in this circumstance is to increase muscle mass so that in the future his bodies base energy expenditure will increase - that's not very helpful now.

OP should just eat at a deficit, and maybe throw in some cardio. No such thing as 'targeted fat exercises', no need to be weight training. I've lost 10.6lbs since Christmas (I'm 12.5st) - weight loss isn't rocket science, it just requires dedication.

Morrigan_2020 said:

Exodi said:

Sport/exercise is not necessary. 

Exercise is essential, there is more to health than low weight!

Misleading - the OP asked about weight loss not about being healthy. Excerise is not essential for weight loss.

Resistance training is a very useful tool for reducing body fat long term for multiple reasons:

1. Increased muscle mass requires increased energy expenditure, so your caloric needs will increase. There is less need to 'diet' and calorie restrict food and its much easier to maintain a deficit.

2. Goes hand in hand with eating more protein. Protein is the most satiating of the three macros and also delivers between a 20-25% thermic effect through digestion. For every 4 calories of protein eaten, 1 calorie will be burned through digestion.

At the end of the day we have been telling people to 'eat less and move more' for decades, and people have continued to get fatter and unhealthier. 'Dieting' doesn't work long term. Metabolic adaptation, hunger, cravings, FOMO - all these things are real.

I would say look at your health as a long term goal and aim for the following:

1 - Get 7-9 hours sleep a night.

2. Drink enough water.

3. Reduce stress where you can.

4. Try and aim for 80-90% of your foods to come from real, whole foods. Allow the other 10/20% to come from 'junk' type foods if you know that realistically you cannot cut them out.

5. Aim to resistance train 3 types a week

6. For cardio do a lot of walking, occasional HIIT exercise perhaps 1-2 times a week.

Baxter100

And as long as you are engaging in healthy practices there is no need to calorie count. Do the healthy behaviours and the calorie deficit takes care of itself.

mrkds

@Baxter100 I agree with most of your advice re sleep, stress, water, etc. I disagree with your points about muscle mass and protien. 

1. Yes muscle burns more calories at rest than fat but the effect on your daily resting metabolism are quite neglegable. Muscle burns an estimated 10-15 kcal / kg / day. Say a man of 90kg who is 30% (27kg) muscle, his muscles will contribute up to 405kcal per day burn at rest. 
Say then he puts on 10kg of pure muscle (which will take some time and effort) taking him up to 37kg muscle. This will burn up to 555 kcal a day. An increase of just 150 kcal. This is equivalent to about half a Mars bar. It is much easier and quicker to cut that amount from your diet than to build up the equivilent amount of muscle. 

2. Protien is nowhere near a saitating as starchy foods. Protein makes up small proportion of of most foods, even 'high-protien' foods like fish and meat. Increasing protein intake usually necessitates increasing carb and fat intake as well (if you want to stick to eating natural foods). That's why I say getting a diet that both increases muscle and looses fat is very difficult. It is much easier and more effective to focus on one at a time. 

I agree resistance training is good for overall health and the OP will benefit from it. But in terms of the immediate goal of loosing fat, diet should be the first and most important component. Once a good diet is in place, build up a good cardio routine. Once you've got to a stage with your fat loss where you are reasonably happy, then introduce some resistance training. 

Yes many people struggle with diets, yo-yoing and get demotivated, but that doesn't mean dieting is bad per se. Different programs work for different people. I've struggled with this myself for many years. Eventually what I found I was doing wrong was I was trying taking on too many things at once. Bring patient and making small incremental changes worked in the end.  Thats why I recommend doing things in stages. It is less of a shock to your mind and body and easier to turn good routines into good habits.

Exodi

Baxter100 said:

Exodi said:

mrkds said:

I disagree with the posts promoting resistance training if you're goal is to get rid of fat. You don't convert fat into muscle. You can burn fat and build muscle but these are separate processes requiring different diets and routines. Trying to do both at the same time is difficult and not conducive to the OPs goals. 
 
The best thing is diet. That is the quickest and most effective way of loosing weight initially. Once you've lost a bit of weight get in some cardio. It takes more time to see the effect of cardio becuase you have to build up the endurance to hit the 'fat burning' zone (usually after at least 30 mins continuous exercise)  This will be easier once you've lost that initial bit of weight rather than taking on both from the beginning.  Once you've got into a good cardio routine combined with a good diet, you'll see the combined effect of both and that will motivate you to push yourself further. 

This and it's why I posted what I did. The OP stated that they were "Trying to get the belly and moobs off" and that they were "really just looking to lose a little weight, not bulk up or anything" so I'm not sure why people are crowding to advise resistance training?

It is indisputable that cardio burns (a hell of a lot) more calories than resistance training. The only benefit of resistance training in this circumstance is to increase muscle mass so that in the future his bodies base energy expenditure will increase - that's not very helpful now.

OP should just eat at a deficit, and maybe throw in some cardio. No such thing as 'targeted fat exercises', no need to be weight training. I've lost 10.6lbs since Christmas (I'm 12.5st) - weight loss isn't rocket science, it just requires dedication.

Morrigan_2020 said:

Exodi said:

Sport/exercise is not necessary. 

Exercise is essential, there is more to health than low weight!

Misleading - the OP asked about weight loss not about being healthy. Excerise is not essential for weight loss.

Resistance training is a very useful tool for reducing body fat long term for multiple reasons:

1. Increased muscle mass requires increased energy expenditure, so your caloric needs will increase. There is less need to 'diet' and calorie restrict food and its much easier to maintain a deficit.

2. Goes hand in hand with eating more protein. Protein is the most satiating of the three macros and also delivers between a 20-25% thermic effect through digestion. For every 4 calories of protein eaten, 1 calorie will be burned through digestion.

At the end of the day we have been telling people to 'eat less and move more' for decades, and people have continued to get fatter and unhealthier. 'Dieting' doesn't work long term. Metabolic adaptation, hunger, cravings, FOMO - all these things are real.

I would say look at your health as a long term goal and aim for the following:

1 - Get 7-9 hours sleep a night.

2. Drink enough water.

3. Reduce stress where you can.

4. Try and aim for 80-90% of your foods to come from real, whole foods. Allow the other 10/20% to come from 'junk' type foods if you know that realistically you cannot cut them out.

5. Aim to resistance train 3 types a week

6. For cardio do a lot of walking, occasional HIIT exercise perhaps 1-2 times a week.

Your first point is exactly the same as the first point I already addressed - it's not relevant to the OP. Your second point promotes dieting.

The OP has said they want get rid of their belly and moobs and theyre just looking to lose weight and not bulk up. We're going round in circles.

How is it helpful to suggest that they should go on some long term mission to raise their muscle mass? It would be like recommending someone learns french so they can understand what a specific word means, it's excessive.

Telling them to resistance train 3 times a week, do cardio and HIIT 2 times a week? Really? I didn't see where the part where OP needs a plan to train for Mr Olympia 2021.

Your advice is not tailored or relevant to the OP.

noclaf

At the risk of upsetting some posters I would suggest that the OP does includes some resistance training and combines it with cardio (steady state or HIIT) along with a decent diet but on the basis that they actually enjoy it. Cardio alone did not work well for me, I ended up looking 'slim' yet still had a high b/f %..the so called 'skinny-fat' body type. I also enjoy resistance training and no I am not training to be Mr Olympia or pushing huge weights but enough to challenge me and allow me to get stronger gradually.
Op - I will go back to an earlier point I mentioned, do an exercise(s) you actually enjoy as it will help with motivation to stick to it. If you don't enjoy resistance training but prefer pure cardio then nothing wrong with that or any other sport for example.
 I enjoy running outside mainly for the mental benefits but I don't enjoy treadmill running. So I run outside (steady state couple of k's per week, nothing too full-on) and when the gyms were actually allowed to open I was using weights/body-weight exercises but at present just body weight exercises at home.