For the last several months a coworker has been dieting strictly and had dropped significant weight (30 pounds) under the supervision of a weight loss clinic. They do Regular blood tests and body comp analysis to make sure everything’s going okay and he’s losing the weight safely.
When he felt that he wasn’t progressing fast enough he approached me to see if I had advice about how he should train and I told him immediately that he was welcome to join me that evening to train with me.
He’s been doing my lifting regiment AxBxA for the last month… where A = Front Squats, Bench, croc rows, cable delt flies and B = Front squats, OHP, croc rows, and cable delt flies and his results are very different from what he was seeing in the first two months.
According to the body comp readings he’s dropped a monstrous 20 pounds of body fat over the last two weeks, but he’s getting slightly heavier, primarily due to accumulation of water weight. Since he started the program with 158 pounds of surplus body fat, we’ve made a massive shift in his composition really quickly, but his failure to become lighter is starting to put me at odds with the clinic he’s working with.
They’re maintaining that he needs to drop some more weight and take the strain off his body (he was almost 370 when he started out) and get his heart rate up. To me, if his bf% is dropping and his lean mass is being preserved and he’s building a strength base he has much better long term prospects for getting and staying healthy.
I’m thinking what we need is to add or subtract something that will help him sweat off some of that extra water. What do you all think of the situation and what do you recommend? I’m waiting on his body comp charts I’ll share those when I get them.
[quote]Super_Pope wrote:
For the last several months a coworker has been dieting strictly and had dropped significant weight (30 pounds) under the supervision of a weight loss clinic. They do Regular blood tests and body comp analysis to make sure everything’s going okay and he’s losing the weight safely.
When he felt that he wasn’t progressing fast enough he approached me to see if I had advice about how he should train and I told him immediately that he was welcome to join me that evening to train with me.
He’s been doing my lifting regiment AxBxA for the last month… where A = Front Squats, Bench, croc rows, cable delt flies and B = Front squats, OHP, croc rows, and cable delt flies and his results are very different from what he was seeing in the first two months.
According to the body comp readings he’s dropped a monstrous 20 pounds of body fat over the last two weeks, but he’s getting slightly heavier, primarily due to accumulation of water weight. Since he started the program with 158 pounds of surplus body fat, we’ve made a massive shift in his composition really quickly, but his failure to become lighter is starting to put me at odds with the clinic he’s working with.
They’re maintaining that he needs to drop some more weight and take the strain off his body (he was almost 370 when he started out) and get his heart rate up. To me, if his bf% is dropping and his lean mass is being preserved and he’s building a strength base he has much better long term prospects for getting and staying healthy.
I’m thinking what we need is to add or subtract something that will help him sweat off some of that extra water. What do you all think of the situation and what do you recommend? I’m waiting on his body comp charts I’ll share those when I get them.[/quote]
Sounds to me like you’re on a great track. Dropping bodyfat is always a good thing.
Is he performing any conditioning? What is his sodium intake like? If retaining too much water is a problem, look at sodium. Be careful though, because it’s a double edged sword. Take out too much and performance (muscle contraction) is going to be diminished.
I think sitting down and talking to him and asking him what his goals are will help. If he says he doesn't give a shit about being built then forget about it. If he says he want to preserve his mass and gain strength while dropping BF then keep helping him. Explain to him that lifting has increased his lean mass and is helping him drop body fat. Be very distinctive between the two.
Also the man could only benefit from the weights training you have him on. After each workout before some conditioning with him such as prowler, sprints, hills etc.
[quote]jtownlax wrote:
I think sitting down and talking to him and asking him what his goals are will help. If he says he doesn’t give a shit about being built then forget about it. If he says he want to preserve his mass and gain strength while dropping BF then keep helping him. Explain to him that lifting has increased his lean mass and is helping him drop body fat. Be very distinctive between the two.
Also the man could only benefit from the weights training you have him on. After each workout before some conditioning with him such as prowler, sprints, hills etc. [/quote]
Uh… I could have him push a Prowler but he’s a novice with 330+ pounds of body weight. I dunno where you got the idea I’m going to have him run Sprints at that weight, he’s not an NFL lineman with GLUTES GLUTES GLUTES to carry that stuff, he’s been supporting it on bone and joint. Don’t need to be sending him off for arthroscopic surgery in a few months.
According to the body comp readings he’s dropped a monstrous 20 pounds of body fat over the last two weeks, but he’s getting slightly heavier, primarily due to accumulation of water weight.
[/quote]
How are you measuring body composition? Because dropping 20 pounds of body fat in 2 weeks but getting slightly heavier due to holding 20 more pounds of water (plus maybe slight muscle gain) sounds fishy.
[quote]jtownlax wrote:
I think sitting down and talking to him and asking him what his goals are will help. If he says he doesn’t give a shit about being built then forget about it. If he says he want to preserve his mass and gain strength while dropping BF then keep helping him. Explain to him that lifting has increased his lean mass and is helping him drop body fat. Be very distinctive between the two.
Also the man could only benefit from the weights training you have him on. After each workout before some conditioning with him such as prowler, sprints, hills etc. [/quote]
Uh… I could have him push a Prowler but he’s a novice with 330+ pounds of body weight. I dunno where you got the idea I’m going to have him run Sprints at that weight, he’s not an NFL lineman with GLUTES GLUTES GLUTES to carry that stuff, he’s been supporting it on bone and joint. Don’t need to be sending him off for arthroscopic surgery in a few months.[/quote]
At this point biking, swimming, and other low impact choices would be better.
[quote]Super_Pope wrote:
According to the body comp readings he’s dropped a monstrous 20 pounds of body fat over the last two weeks, but he’s getting slightly heavier, primarily due to accumulation of water weight. [/quote]
How are you measuring body composition? Because dropping 20 pounds of body fat in 2 weeks but getting slightly heavier due to holding 20 more pounds of water (plus maybe slight muscle gain) sounds fishy.[/quote]
This. First he lost 30 pounds over a few months with the clinic, then he loses 20 pounds in 2 weeks. There’s a wrong calculation in there somewhere. I can’t imagine calipers are at all accurate if he’s that obese, and handheld units can be inaccurate due his hydration levels or recent meals.
I obviously don’t know the details, but when you say he visits a “weight loss clinic”, I’m thinking they’re advocating a low calorie diet. (If I’m wrong on that, that will sway the following advice). This is why it’s crucial for trainers to coordinate with nutritionists. If he’s on low calories, plus the training you’re putting him through, there’s a chance that he’s hit a plateau and the bodyweight is stagnating as a preservation method.
On a related note, after two months, I’d say it’s time for a more well-rounded program. What you’ve had him doing for the last two months is a start, but something more complete would probably give a boost to progress - something that targets all muscle groups plus consistent cardio (like Other-Chris said, there are plenty of low impact options. There’ve been plenty of articles about complexed or even walking for fat loss).
So if his # on the scale isnt going down, that means the failure is in the kitchen.
I see absolutely no issue with the program and or lifting (assuming he doesnt suffer a catastrophic injury that completely derails him), so maybe id just find out what the deal is with the diet.
I mean if hes still 330-340 pounds he really shouldn’t have a hard time losing 3-5 pounds a week.
While he will surely put on lean muscle mass from the lifting especially due to hardcore noob gains, the # on the scale should absolutely continue to go down.
If its not I think its time for a diet evaluation.
As far as the sweating I agree with the above comments of low impact stuff such as cycling or swimming. Considering hes over 300 and lifting you really gotta be careful with those knees. Cuz one knee injury and hes gonna pack on all that weight and then some