Please help me figure this out

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi,

I’ve been a long time follower of BBM and really think it’s the best content out there.

I’ve been training with weights a good stretch, maybe 12 years now? Have done a bit of Powerlifting and general strength and conditioning. Now as I approach 40 years old having a balance of health as well as fitness and gains is as important to me, if not more.

Problem

My issue is that I feel I can’t seem to meet the recommendations you guys are putting out there because I can’t push myself hard enough. And, as a result I’m constantly questioning myself whether I’m good enough or getting any of the benefits needed for health and longevity from exercise.

Although I’m literally training and exercising harder than the average person, because I see what you guys are saying and what I see from athletes in gyms, I’m having doubts about the effectiveness of doing whatever I can within the context of a busy life with family responsibilities.

My biggest problem is time and compatibility with my circumstances, I have dependents. If I was a single person with no family and no responsibilities I’d have no issues with anything.

It is amazing how thin the actual time element becomes when you’re in this position and I’ve had to become quite creative to ensure I can get exercise and training in.

Current Position

I can train 3-4x a week for 60-75 mins per session. Having never been very good at maximal strength acquisition and lack of enjoyment of barbell lifts, in recent years I’ve opted to train an upper/lower split and use mostly machines for resistance training. After realising that my 15-20 mins per session of moderate cardio (incline treadmill) in the gym sessions wasn’t near the conditioning duration recommendations I knew I had to change things a bit.

Essentially for me to meet 150 minutes a week and for it to be intensive enough, I need to go running 3-4 x a week for 30-60 mins per session. Running isn’t my first choice, but it’s the most low-cost and effective means to meet the recs.

Admittedly I’m not able to run continuously for those durations yet, but I try. However that again raises the question as to whether all those minutes (including the out of breath recovery walks between bursts of running) count, especially given that I’m still only borderline meeting the weekly 150 mins (if we include some low intensity walks throughout the week and gym warmups) of activity a week.

My Goals

My goal right now over the next few months is weight loss, I’m 208lbs at 185cm (having got down slowly from peak at 250 just after Quarantine) and want to get down to about 185lbs (so just over 20lbs to lose) where I hovered at when I first started lifting and was in good shape. Life got in the way, I gained weight and had periods of low activity and a couple of longer layoffs. These days I have way too much bodyfat (37" waist measurement on a good day) and just don’t want to be heavy anymore - I don’t carry much muscle relative to some of you guys, so despite my height I need to be a good bit lighter - that’s even with a decade of training.

I don’t want to specialise in lifting, I know I need to be lighter and strength or anything perfomance orientated isn’t a consideration. At most I’d just like to look good naked.

I guess I’m looking for some advice and wisdom!

I really appreciate all you do!

Thanks
Trey

2

TA,

Thanks for the post and the kind words. We really appreciate it.

For resistance training, it like you’re doing a great job, especially if you’re getting stronger, gaining a bit of muscle, injury free, and enjoying the time spent training.

From a conditioning perspective, 20 minutes of ~ zone 2 conditioning is worth about 80 to 100 MET-minutes, where 500 MET-minutes/wk is the recommendation for minimum conditioning. 25-minutes 4x/wk would get you there. That would likely work for awhile, though further improvements in conditioning are going to require more training.

Assuming increasing time spent doing conditioning is not viable right now, one option would be to include HIIT, e.g. 20 min z2 conditioning 2x/wk, 2x HIIT twice per week (e.g. 3 min @ RPE 6-7, 1 min RPE 2-3, 5 rounds or 5 min @ zone 3-4, 3 min RPE 2-3, 3 rounds, or equivalent).

There are many other ways to do HIIT, but I think they work best as aerobic intervals first and foremost, with no exposure to all out efforts at first. Later, periodic exposure to near-max efforts may be useful for improved fitness, and Sprint Intensity Training (SIT) may also be viable. You could also reduce lifting frequency to 2x/wk and do more conditioning.

If you’re looking for a training program that’s quite literally built for your situation and goals, check out the 2nd Generation Time Crunch Template. That’s an example of how i would program for you personally.

-Jordan

3

Jordan,

Thanks so much for your swift answer!

I’ll definitely check time crunch out, just to clarify your conditioning advice;

Are you saying I’m meeting, more-or-less the requirements currently with a view to more HIIT or similar in order to progress conditioning?

Right now I’m on about 2000-2300kcal a day with a bit of leeway maybe one day a week. That’s maybe 1.5lbs a week of weight loss, I think I’m in the right ballpark to get fitness and weight loss results.

4

I am not sure what exactly you’re doing conditioning-wise week to week, but I think you’re ~ about 100 MET-min or ~ 20-minutes shy of the minimums. One way to overcome that without adding more time would be HIIT.

That deficit is quite large in my opinion. I’d favor something more ~ 2600-2700/d on average for your situation.