Question in a nutshell: What ‘symptoms’ should I be watching for to indicate that I may need to tweak nutrition, and what parameters should I use (aka, increase carbs, increase calories overall and maintain the same percentages, etc) to make those tweaks if I’m planning to hit fairly high volume cardio and weights in the coming weeks?
Details:
It’s cliche due to the time of year, but after three years in a job that’s had me pretty inconsistent with working out, I’m looking to go whole-hog to meet some goals.
Specifically:
I’m going to be launching into the Hard Body Trainining for Women program (which I’ve done before and enjoyed doing/seeing the results, though I opted for 4 days/week vice the 5 days + 1 optional that the program has as written since I combined cardio with it in the past as well, and frankly had trouble hitting 5 days/week training when combined that way, though I still saw and enjoyed my results).
Concurrently, I’m going to be executing a 5k training program (one of the programs available via Garmin’s coaching feature). It’ll have me running 4x/week, and a typical week will look like: 2 “easy” runs of 25-35 mins, 1 “long” easy run of 45-55 mins, and 1 speed session (sets of 400m or more at “race pace”). I’ve done this program in the past, and usually the “easy” runs end up on the moderate scale for me until I’m at least halfway through the program and have built up my conditioning (aka, I’m in the ‘orange’ for HR for most of the run, so they don’t feel easy).
My plan is to do weight training around 0445-0530, and get the running workouts in around lunch (1100-1300). Evening workouts are tough for me to be consistent with personally.
My understanding is that in terms of extracting maximum benefit from either, I shouldn’t be doing both at once. That’s fine - I’m looking to for more overall improvement than trying to maximize any one area. Reason I’m doing the 5k program vice other types of cardio is because I’m in the military, and will need to take our annual test involving a 3-mile timed run in around 4-5 months. That event (as opposed to max pull-ups or planks for time) is historically the bane of my existence, but it’s a requirement I can’t avoid.
I know this is going to be a lot on my body, but I’ve done something similar in the past and it was do-able. I recognize I’m sacrificing a certain amount of potential progress on both strength and cardio by doing both, but as long as I’m able to make gradual improvements in both that suits me for the time being.
I know properly fueling my body is going to be important to setting myself up for success. I recently had my RMR and body fat % taken, and here are my stats:
Female, 35 years old
5’8", 154 lbs (25% body fat per a recent set of caliper measurements)
RMR 1584 cal
My plan for an initial starting point for nutrition: 1700 cal/day, 40% protein/ 30% carb / 30% fat.
What I’m looking for is advice on what I should be paying attention to WRT feeling/performance that should indicate a need to tweak my nutrition, and how I should plan to tweak it (aka, if I feel/notice X, then I know to shift Y . . ."). I appreciate any insight/advice (I’m open to other strength programs as well, I’m just very much a creature of habit and know I enjoyed HBTFW in the past).
Freaking outstanding! I love that you know where the trade-offs are and are cool with it. I also like that you’re realistic about the days you’ll put in and are planning proactively.
Thank you for your service, even if you are a Marine!
I think it’s going to come down to recovery between workouts for you, as I don’t think any particular session is going to do you in.
In terms of what I’d look for, I’d just say performance trends rather than any “feelings”. The nice thing about doing progressive programs, as you are, is you can measure what you’re objectively. I’d imagine you just will feel rundown the first 4 weeks, so we can’t use feeling tired as our metric. You can look to see if your lifts or runs regress in 3 consecutive workouts, for instance. I’d take that as an indicator you aren’t recovering between all your work.
In terms of what to do about it, my first inclination would be carb-timing (vs just increasing daily totals) because you’re doing multiple sessions in a day. Surge Workout Fuel is a favorite on this site (not to mention sponsored) because it’s convenient and flat-out works. I’m happy to get into specifics, because I’m a fan, but I think your primary goal should be glycogen replenishment and hydration during/ following that morning session so you’re able to get into that midday run hard. I’d probably have a decently carby dinner, as well, to help you recover from the run, sleep well, and prepare for the morning lift.
Let me tag @Bronwen_Blunt as the actual expert here. Christian Thibaudeau, the author of the hard body program, also has a sub forum here and is awesome about answering any specific questions there.
Gist of my ramble:
Use performance trend (not one bad day) indicators
Increase carbs around workouts
Over-emphasize hydration (including electrolytes)
Increase total carbs, my first preference is at dinner
EDIT: I also should have plugged the T-ransformation challenge (how did I miss that??). Would love to have you join us:
I mean, it does get rough some times, with all those delicious crayons in easy reach - but I try my best to persevere.
This is great actionable advice and I will definitely incorporate it!
Awesome, that makes sense and thank you for spelling it out for me! I’ll work on trying to be deliberate about shifting some carbs from lunch towards dinner and maybe a tad more with breakfast, depending. From what you said, I’m thinking I’ll try to get something like the following break-down for when I’m ingesting my daily carbs: 35% breakfast, 25% lunch, 40% dinner (versus at present where it’s a roughly even 33% split between the 3 meals, more or less). Does that sound like a good starting point to aim for?
That’s definitely more along the lines of my preferences. Carbs at lunch make me sleepy, and it would make me feel too heavy and garbagey if I was running then. If I don’t have them at night, I can’t sleep. Play with it and see what feels good for you, but sounds comfortable to me!
@TrainForPain - Your carb placement = PERFECTION. That is exactly the way to play it. I recommend socking the most in post workout and at night. That sleep thing is real!
@QuadQueenTaking you up on your offer of knowledge and wisdom.
I want to ensure I’m not going too low on calories.
If my RMR is 1584, then is 1700 as a daily goal (without making any adjustments for exercise, just 1700 a day) reasonable if I want to reduce body fat percentage while maintaining performance?
Intended macro breakdown is 40% protein / 30% carb / 30% fat.
I take these reports and any equations to estimate BMR/RMR with a grain of salt. They are good for comparison, but it’s better to base any changes/new numbers off of what you’re currently doing. So, if you were eating 2200 calories before - cutting to 1700 would be okay and put you on track to lose roughly 1lb/week. I would probably suggest a more moderate start of a 250-300 calorie drop and see if you can ride that out for a bit. Again, base it on where you’re starting, not where an equation or potentially inaccurate test tells you that you should be. Both your results and how you feel will be better that way.
Your starting point macros are solid, play with the carb/fat amounts if you aren’t performing or recovering well.
That’s my 2.5 cents! Let me know how things go and we can adjust!
I’m not too sure what I was eating before- I can estimate fat (high) and protein (too low), but I was just putting a big scoop with the rice cooker spoon on my plate so I’m not certain on the carbs.
Regardless, I’ll stick with the 1700 for now and as was suggested, will closely monitor my energy levels to figure out if I should shift. I don’t feel any hungrier and visually it doesnt look like I’m eating less food, so we shall see!
wish everybody looked at it this way, this is the best diet advice possible for gaining or losing weight. I really enjoy your approach