Hi everyone!

[Mortimer]

Hi, 

 

I'm new here and I've been trying to get my body fat percentage down (15-17ish) from about 21 percent from my gyms in body scale. 

 

Physical stats: 

Height:1.57m

Weight:50.9 kg

Yes, I am female. 

 

I have a weakness for pizzas(like below - but I bake them myself, though with white flour because whole meal flour is expensive), and I do try to eat healthily though(the second picture would be my lunch and dinner for a day(approx 300g of cauliflower, 240g of brocoli, 22g of corn fried with onion and kikkoman spicy teriyaki sauce and salt, 120g chicken breast, 60g chickpeas) , except for the tofu (200g) which I would eat over two days with Sweet Thai Chilli sauce). My problem is if someone is going to be throwing away food because it isn't eaten, then I'll gobble it up(so as not to waste food).  And also I get less control over my snacking when I get stressed. And there's icecream in the fridge >< I really don't mind trying to run off the excess calories(if it's possible). 

 

I am generally not a picky eater but I don't really take salads as I don't care for most salad dressings nor take yoghurt(it's sour and I still have my sweet tooth, even though its toned down).  And I eat pizza for breakfast in the morning with a glass of milk. 

 

I also have been trying to do a pull up(with questionable success) and want to do 10k in under 60 min. PB for 5k is 27:59. I haven't (according to the scale) gained muscle mass lately though I have been able to increase the number of Push-ups done/weights lifted. 

 

[Defining]

 

Hi! Out of curiosity, are you following a specific weight lifting programme right now? The kind of progress you're looking for requires progressive overload to put on a bit of muscle, lost a bit of fat, and work on your pull ups. As an aside, some women can't maintain sub 20% BF in a healthy way - for some people, it can cause several hormonal issues. Just wanted to stick that earworm in, in case you find yourself really struggling to lose any more weight (which you don't need to do - better IMO to add muscle), or feeling fatigued all the time. Welcome to the forum!

[Mortimer]

For weight(I try to do alternate days, but I skip some parts like inverted rows/hanging on pull up bar if the gym is too crowded and stations are thus used):

 

5x shoulder press at 40 lbs

5x squat at 50 lbs (I suspect I can squat more but can't get that barbell over my head due to my fairly fail shoulder press) - I haven't learnt how to use a squat rack yet.

3x deadlift at 80 lbs

9x push ups (trying to work towards 10)

Jumping up to pull up bar, then holding for 10 seconds, 2x, with 10 sec break in between each. (recently replaced inverted rows since guys are using the smith machine..)

5x chest press with 40 lbs (I could use the bar alone - and do occasionally, but more often then not the guys hog the bench press bar)

5x clean and press at 40 lbs

8x one arm dumbell row with 12 kg weight

60 secs plank

 

I repeat the above 6 x if time permits and I'm feeling up to it, otherwise sometimes I only manage 4 x.

 

And yeah, I have been trying to gain muscle, I had better luck last month, but not so much of it this month (actually lost some according to the scale >.<).  If it helps with the calculations, I'm 31 (though they'll keep saying don't ask a lady her age =P). But I think in this case it may be relevant.

 

Also lately I've switched my pizza to a zucchini boat. Granted the zucchini does get mushy on reheating, but I can live with that. If anyone doesn't mind mushy zucchinis for breakfast I'm happy to share the recipe. 

 

And thanks for the welcome =)

 

 

[Defining]

Fun! If you've been lifting at those weights for a while now, you could maybe stand to bump them up (try goblet  or split squats instead of back squats for safer/easier setup). But generally speaking, you want to be seeing regular progress; that could be more weight, more reps, less rest time in between sets, lower perceived effort, improved range of motion, etc. Constantly pushing yourself will give you the best results, IMO. You may find that with a bit more muscle you don't actually need to lose much fat; but there's also a catch 22 here where you need to eat less to lose fat but eat more to put on muscle. If you keep things relatively even (ie. close to your TDEE), it would be something more like a body recomposition where both building muscle AND losing fat go slower - but with less yoyo weight results, which in the end may end up being a more sustainable option.

 

At any rate, it looks like you already have a pretty decent plan & setup, and now it's just a matter of tweaking things for what works best in YOUR body. Welcome again, and I'll look forward to seeing you around the forum!

[Mortimer]

Thanks for your encouragement, Defining! I increased my chest press to 50 lbs(was fairly comfortable),  increased my shoulder press weight to 50 lbs(yeah it was rough), but I made it! Also increased one arm dumbell row to 9 reps, and to my surprise after someone took the 40 lb barbell, I could actually do clean and press with 50 lbs! Though it was really bad so I cut down to 3 reps. 

 

 

Managed to get hold of the squat rack, loaded it up till it felt comfortable, since the bar itself is 22.5 kg, I loaded 5 kg plates on each side, total of 32.5kg which is about 71 lbs. I think next I'll try pushing deadlift to 90 lbs, and one arm dumbell row to 10 reps, and try to do 10 push ups. 

[Gibsorz]

Hello Mortimer,

 

I'm new too. But a lot newer to trying to get my life back on track by the sounds of it. 

 

If you can do a clean and press you should really figure out that squat rack, once you don't have that fear factor of what to do if you have to bail youll be able to increase weights quickly. You can also use the spotting arms for BB bench press.  If someone is hogging the bar, let them know you are waiting. It is easy enough to alternate while each other rests, and most people would be open to it. Alternatively if you are comfortable cleaning the bar, that sets you up nicely for a front squat. Different mechanics than a back squat, a little more isolated on the quads, but still excellent and you don't have to worry about getting the weight over your head. If you are starting to push your weight and miss the clean, it is pretty easy to bail.

 

But seriously, find someone doing squats and ask them to show you the rack. Most people aren't assholes, and if they are, find someone else. You can probably see the asshole a mile away and won't bother asking them anyways. I've always had a love hate relationship with squatting. Love the results, hate having to wipe myself off the floor when the wet mop has more rigidity than my legs. 

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the body fat if you also want to add muscle. Adding muscle will increase your BMR, which means when you are done adding muscle, cutting off that last bit of fat will be easier, if you even still feel you need it. You probably won't after adding the muscle, and that morning slice of pizza will feel less guilty.

[Mortimer]

I did try to do front/goblet squat on 60 lbs. Tried to clean it and couldn't, so that was that>< I found the squat rack unused and decided to do a little experimentation with it and I guess I can use the squat rack now, assuming it's not used.  It's a lot easier then hauling that barbell over my head. The Smith machine isn't that good for loading squats either, the bar feels odd on my shoulders. 

 

Again today I ran about 3.8km in the morning, did weights, did vinyasa yoga for 1.5h, then ran another 5k for charity(timing was 26:44 when I self timed using fitbit, but distance was only 4.07k according to fitbit). GPS tracking was off since I didn't feel like carrying my hand phone through a run of unfamiliar area.  It was harder then the usual park runs I do, but again it was afternoon and I didn't do it with a full tank so to speak. Also more gradient. I am so glad I made myself run on trails, run uphill for training before the charity run. Some people were having trouble when it was uphill. I could do uphill, just needed to slow down. 

 

Pretty knackered now, I'd say =) 

[Gibsorz]

Rock on, pretty intense day! Good job for taking a look at the rack, if you start using it regularly and get to weights that are approaching failure, make sure to walk back into your squat after picking up the weight. It feels like you are using it backwards, but then when you are gassed at the end of the set, it is a lot easier to go forward to put the weight back.

 

26 minutes is a good time! you smoked your PB even with all that activity throughout the day. Most people would save themselves for the run and even rest a couple days before the run. I would think Fitbit was off. Ive had Fitbit be off before without GPS because it is trying to make a distance calculation based on stride length for your height, and unless you personalized it, it isn't set to you. I don't know if all fitbits do it, but the Charge does. My legs are pretty stubby for 5'9 so it would always tell me I've gone farther than I did until I set my personal stride.

[Mortimer]

Hmm I don't know very much about fitbit fiddling with regards to stride. And thanks on the congrats on timing =)  I ran 10k before(timed myself with no audience just to see if I could so at least I know what I can sign up for without embarrassing myself on race day ), so I figured I should be able to do 5k even with some extra activity packed in between =P 

 

But I honestly don't think I would have been able to do a 10k in the afternoon after all that activity. Had it been a 10k run I would probably have cut most activity out. 

 

Today is a fairly relaxed day, but again I was busy preparing my zucchini boats(might have over toasted them since one got mushy) and vegetable tubs - each day has 322g of cauliflower, 160g of brocoli and 40g carrots. Only workout I got done was an hour of Tae Bo. 

 

[Mortimer]

Today's weights... 

 

5x shoulder press at 50 lbs

Used the Smith machine with a towel on my shoulders to squat 30 kg. Squat rack was being used by an (asshole?) 

3x deadlift at 90 lbs =) 

9x push ups (still) 

Jumping up to pull up bar, then holding for 10 seconds, 2x, with 10 sec break in between each. 3x, and 2x 8 inverted rows. 

5x chest press with 50 lbs

5x clean and press at 40 lbs (3 sets), 3x clean and press at 50 lbs(someone took the 40 lb barbell). (2 sets) 

10x one arm dumbell row with 12 kg weight

60 secs plank

 

About the squat machine - I saw a woman walking to and fro from it while carrying weights, the weights on the squat machine was my squat weight. I asked her nicely if I could use it for a while(using that designated weight) , and she snapped no, she was using it. Didn't look like using it pretty much =o

 

Did only 5 sets due to time constraints. I did try to clean and press the bar, I can, but not comfortably. 

 

Also joined a run clinic for their training in the evening and they were doing sprints >< They split themselves into 3 different groups, with Group 3 being the slowest and group 1 fastest. 

 

For Tempo/Fartlek/Hills, I fall within group 2, but I make one crappy sprinter so I wisely put myself into Group 3 =) I really don't sprint well, heh. 

 

Could be because I can't use my usual breathing pattern (it's also a focus tool for me) for sprinting(don't take in oxygen fast enough) and also I don't sprint very much normally. 

 

I also signed up for a 10k run in August (that was before I finished my 5k charity run) so I don't want to embarrass myself after finding out running 5k on open road was more taxing then expected. 

 

I'm getting married in November so it's the get in shape so I don't need to use a corset, and while I'm at it, must as well work on being a badass =) 

[Mortimer]

18.6 percent PBF, now 49.7 kg. I may try to pull up again soon, since there's less of me to pull up.