Well here we go I guess. I have set my goals and I am going for hell.

Basic info:

Male

5'9"

165lbs

BMI 24.4 (BAD!)

Situation:

I used to race endurance XC before I got booted from those racing circuits. MY weight the day I got booted was 155. It was a rather nice weight. I currently run 2.1 miles 3 times daily due to lack of time.

Goals:

Be healthy

• When I say healthy I mean a balance between Strenght and endurance. My body was built for sheer endurance and nothing else. Now it is time to change that.

Place in the top 3 in a 5k

Squat 375lbs 5 times

Bench 200lbs 5 times

Run a marathon (finishing position doesn't matter)


I plan for this thread to be a journal sort of thing with my progress posted daily (if I miss a post I will update it the nex day).



What I want from the resident fitness gurus:

Effective plan on how to acheive my goals. Currently I think the best thing I can do is cut my caloric intake to 800 a day and work up to running 5k. Once I am there and have my BMI around 17-19, Then I want to start lifting.

I think it will take about one year, but I can stick to a plan, I didn't have much of a choice when I raced.


So here we go:

Day 1:

Weight: 165lbs

Height: 5'9"

PHysical Activity:

5:45 A.M- ran 2.1 miles in 19:56

1:45 p.m ran 2.1 miles in 20:01

Later on tonight run another 2.1 miles in hopefully

Yeah my times suck, but my knees are bad. times can be fixed later Damn I miss my bike I could fly on that son of a bitch

What I ate:

2 sausage patties 280 calories

2 slices of bread: 160 calories

Glass of milk: about 250 calories

No lunch

Dinner:

Probably an egg white omlet with nothing in it: Should come out to 350 calories tops.

Total Caloric intake:

350+280+160+250= 1040 calories.

Total Caloric Burn from excercise:

843

Assesment

1040-843= 197 calories.

I did not burn more than I will intake, therfore today is a failure.


Plans for tomorrow:

Don't know yet I need some input and ideas.

BMI is a load of bullshit, it doesn't take lean muscle mass into account.

Trying to a run a marathon and get stronger may not be the best idea, however it isn't impossible. It's just... difficult. To be strong is a different end of the spectrum than endurance. Think 100m sprinters vs Marathon runners.

Again, fuck BMI, it's bullshit. Forget trying to get into 17-19 or whatever. If you want to be an excellent runner, then RUN. If you want to be a powerlifter then don't do any running and do the squat, bench and deadlift (with some assistance moves) and eat a fuckload.

You should probably be eating more than 1040 calories. You probably burn more than that sitting on your ass. You certainly won't gain much strength by doing a lot of cardio and eating 1040 calories a day.

www.RossTraining.com could help you out.

You need to calculate in your basal metabolic rate too. I won't do the figuring for you, but you're probably burning 1800 to 2100 a day just being alive, not counting any expenditures like walking exercising, eating, etc.

Training:

Don't try to increase your running time and weight lifting simutanously, their goals are somewhat contradictory. What you should do is do them in blocks.

Ie. 4 weeks focusing on running, while doing a maintenance load for lifting. Then 4 weeks of specialise lifting while only doing the maintenance load for running.

The volume of the maintenace load should be about 60% of the max loading.

You might want to put deadlift instead of squat in your goal. I don't know anyone who are squatting (to parallel) 2xbw for reps but also run marathon.

Nutrition:

Can't say I know much about nutrition but you forgot about the calories that you burn just to keep your alive.

So eat more. And the usual blah about keeping carbs in the morning and afternoon. Less at night. 1-1.5lb of protein per pound of lean body mass.

How do I figure my basic rate out?

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

You cannot eat so little and expect to get anywhere. Aiming to eat less calories in a day than you burn off through exercise?

We have a term for that, "eating disorder".

Runner's world has some nice articles on nutrition for (obviously) runners.

http://www.runnersworld.com/topic/0,...01-0-0,00.html

Dont try to starve yourself, you'll suffer whether you actually manage to eat too little, or give in to your hunger and binge on anything in sight.

inb4deus

Hey I just did the BMR thing And it says 1850.something. So my intake should be something like 1500 a day?

Here's decent link for figuring out basic metabolic rate

http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php

Because you're a guy, you're working out, and you want to build strength, I would try to eat at least 2000 calories a day, probably more.

BMR is supposed to be a measure of the calories you burn completely at rest; basically asleep in bed all day.

Limiting your calories excessively will also limit any gains you might make in fitness and strength, and I would think would also make it more likely that weight you so lose will be alot of muscle and even bone tissue along with fat. Not to mention that it's well known that starving yourself will lower your BMR, making it harder to lose weight and keep it off.


Honestly? I would focus on your training, and listen to your body.

If you're truely hungry (and not just bored, as is my bad habit), eat, but eat foods that give you more than just calories.

If you're in pain, dont push yourself too hard; pushing your limits to improve "should" be uncomfortable but not outright painful.

If you're exhausted, dont be afraid to take a break for a day; better to take one day off than to hurt yourself and have to stop for weeks to recover.

I'll keep that in mind thanks: anyways here is an update.

Day 2:

Got inot a fight with a family memeber got a bloody nose and a contusion on my head from a frying pan.

I only ran 2.1 miles one time in 20:01.


I only consumed 1000 calories, but I seriously was not hungry, is there something wrong there?

Day 3:

Had to pull a random all nighter, About to get started soon as get some water in my system,

Plans:

run 2.1 miles 3 times today.

Goals:

Run atleast one of those 2.1 mile runs in under 19:45

Haven't eaten yet, but I am thinking about an omlet.

If you're finding it hard to get the calories because you arent hungry (and it continues for several days or more) just try adding a few calorie dense foods when you are hungry. Mixed nuts is particularly good, despite the high fat content.

Dietary fat wont make you fat, having fat in your diet is not only good but you really cant live without it. Excess fat, just like too many carbs or too much protein, is not good. Balance in all things.

You sound like you're doing good so far though, I know I certainly wouldnt want to run if I got my head bashed

Keep it up, and remember you, your diet and your training is always a work in progress!

Day 3:

Goals: run atleast one of the 2.1 mile runs in under 19:45

I decided to change this goal and run 2.5 miles 3 times instead.

Run 1:

2.5 miles in 23:05

2.5 miles in 23:03

next one is coming up after dark. I definately feel better today.

Day 4:

2.5 mile run in 24:18

2.5 mile run in 24:00

Day 5:

ran 2.5 miles in 19:45

Going to do another run when it cools down a bit.


Since sunday is tommorrow, I plan on taking an off day.

Goals for Next week:

• Run 3 miles (no time limit)
• Get comfortable running 3 miles.

I have a few questions about weights, but it seems this thread has lost steam.

How effective of an upper body work out can I get with dumbbells? Gym passes are way to expensive around here and the nearest gym is 10 miles away.

Decided not to take an off day.

2.5 miles in 19:30 (Goal met)

2.5 miles in 19:32


Goals still remain for next week.

I'm confident I will be successful.

I'm the XC captain of my school team this year.

Here is the secret: Run longer distances.

Training for a 5k should involve practicing at 8 miles at least. By the end of the season, my team's long run is 10 miles.

2.5 miles won't help much for a 3 mile race. High mileage is all about building a strong aerobic base, so you use oxygen more efficiently. You can't hope to run an 18:00 5k if you run 2.5 miles for practice. Slowly up the mileage. Once you build a good base (5 miles in ~35:00), start on speed. Do sprint workouts (ONLY AFTER YOU HAVE BUILT AN AEROBIC BASE) in conjunction with long runs.

As for diet, just do 2000. Carbs before the run (6-12 hours before, so the carbs can enter bloodstream and be stored in your muscles), protein after. Fat is also essential in a balanced diet. Change calorie count based on how you feel.

Also, small meals. 5 a day.

I'm taking it easy. I can probably go do 10 miles right now (no joke) , but I don't want to kill myself, so I'm just treating it like a 4 month marthon training program, but it keeps going. I used to race semi-pro endurace XC on a mountian bike. Running is so much different. I can't find the flow if there is one, so I just shoot to be consistant. High impact also kills me. When you would ride you had a rythm a flow, a euphoria of everything around you and you changed your flow to it. Incase you didn't notice, I'm going to be increasing by roughly 10 percent each week until I hit 20 miles. That's one of my long term goals.

Once you get into the higher distances, dont try to run the big distance every day. I'm sure if you've looked at marathon training plans you've already seen that you should plan one long run into your week, and some weeks will also be cutback weeks.

The cutback is just as important as the increase.

Besides that running too long too often is a good way to over train, which of course increases risk of injury, often winds up with you feeling like shit, and takes a relatively long time to recover from. You dont really benefit from pushing 100% of the time.

That being said, I think your training is going great so far! Especially when you first start a running program most of the battle is just getting out there. Once you've been running for a while it gets easier to zone out and let your body do its thing without your mind remembering that it's unpleasant.

Oh, and where are you doing these runs?

Day 7:

3 mile run in A.M

6 mile run in late P.M

Day 8:

3 mile run in A.M

6 mile run in late P.M

Day 9:

1.8 mile run in A.M

(fam got up early, had to cook for them )

6 mile run in late P.M

Well I just chalked off three more goals:

• run 3 miles
• get comfortable running 3 miles
• run 5k.

Progress is great, atleast I know something is working.

I need to think of some new goals to keep myself entertained up until i hit 27 miles.

In the mean time, what are some upper body excercises that are decent for a starter?

What equipment do you have?

None.

Pushups.
If you have anywhere you can do pullups, those aswell.
Try to invest in some dumbbells.

How much does your average set of dumbbells cost? Any thing I should look for in dumbbells?

Are you from the UK or US?

You want a dumbbells where you can add and decrease weight, because they are cheaper than getting a full set.
Also try not to get vinyl dumbbells, i have them and they piss me off because they are too big. You want small heavy dumbbells.

usa..

I won't know the prices then sorry, hopefully someone else helps you out

I finished tonights run up (Day 9) and I think I might have injured myself.

ON ym right leg to the inside (right side) just above my ankle to about half way to my knee it hurts. It is a mild pain and I didn't think much of it until I decided to cut the dead skin that made flaps on my foot.

On my right foot on the right side of the ball of the foot where I cut the skin flaps, there is a calicus, but it looks like it has clotted blood in it. There are no other things like this on either feet. Did I injure something, or am I over reacting?

Goals for next week:

• Do 30 pushups minimum
• Attempt to increase my A.M run to 4 miles.

Day: 10

3 mile A.M run

6 mile P.M run

Day 11:

3 mile A.M run

6 mile P.M run

Now that I am interested in working my upperbody, I found this program:

http://hundredpushups.com/index.html

Is it worth trying?