Questions on "Real Fast Fat Loss" Exercise Program (T-nation)

(Edited to clarify title)

I have been following the Real Fast Fat Loss program since ... well, since I first came across it in one of melkor's posts. I am supposed to do Day 5 today so I am not that far into it, but this is the closest I've come to consistency with an exercise program on my own (not as easy as with classes! but I feel I get a better workout. Of course, the efficiency vs motivation tradeoff is a different story)

Anyway, my questions: 

1. After just about every workout I feel a tightness in my shoulder/tricep/serratus, that makes it difficult to stretch my arms up overhead. Other muscles are sore to varying degrees, but this is the most noticeable. Is this a temporary tightness as the muscles repair, or am I losing some sort of flexibility?

2. I am not in a consistent caloric deficit. I am trying to eat about maintenance. I am also not logging food or exercise, so am not sure if these workouts are putting me in a deficit, but ... will I still see results, just not as fast?

3. Along the same lines, I know some people measure themselves weekly. Does the tape measure really change over that short a time, and are the changes meaningful (ie not just fluctuations)?

Thanks in advance :)

Isn't it great? And believe it or not, it seems like over time you start to be able to do more reps of actually pulling yourself all the way up :)

I had a 5x5 day today. I like the 5x5 days best :)

So i did Day 1 today. Not too bad - although i started to feel nauseous near the end of the biking.  Normally once i drink a bunch more water and make it home, eat breakfast - i am fine. However, it has been about 1.5 hrs since i finished and still feeling kinda gaggy. 

i am using two 8 lbs dumbells and 20lb bar - think i can increase the bar, but i have bad shoulders so don't want to increase the dumbbells if i am extending arms above shoulders.

Question - exercise #3 - the 20 sec jump squats, etc - how many sets do you do of these?

I already know that i can not do chin ups - so a little amprehensive about work out B.

It took me a few times to work up to doing all the bike sprints. I started out doing just one set. I think part of the reason was psychological but they do get easier. Or, should I say, slightly less brutal. :)

Exercise 3 is done twice with a 45s rest between sets. So you do 20s jump squats, 20s squats, 20s squat hold all back to back, then wait 45s and repeat. And then go do your bike sprints :) same with workout B except it's 30s each back-to-back of plank, reverse crunch, Swiss Ball crunch, again with a 45s rest.

With the chinups don't worry -- I can't do them either but luckily these are only half-chinups! So while I can't do very many, I don't feel completely useless. Do they bother your shoulders though?

Thanks flowerbud.

I will give the chinups a try on Thursday - if they bother my shoulders, i will have to skip them for a bit.   

 

Actually, I have a question again, hopefully someone will get to this before the end of the day :)

Due to scheduling (aka LIFE!) it makes more sense for me to do my workout today rather than tomorrow, to be able to stick with 3x/week. However, I worked out yesterday... but I don't feel sore, I feel like I can work out today. Is it bad, then, to do this 2 days in a row?

I am in the same boat - to avoid dropping out of my spin classes i will attempt to do this program Tuesday/thursday/Friday.  i work out 5 days in a row now already, so i guess the impact should be judged on how you feel and how you recover.  if the workout is really hard to do - harder then normal - than i am going to assume i need a break and restructure my work out days. i like the two days off over the weekend.  if i schedule myself to go to the gym on Saturday or Sunday - i never make it because my spouse has the weekends off and we just get so busy.

Let me know how you feel after your work out today.

 

I did the workout (2 days in a row) and it went fine. It was hard, but it's a tough workout and I think the 4x10 days (which today was) are the toughest. So I don't know if it was any harder than it would have been tomorrow? I made it through the whole thing (bike sprints included) and upped the weight on the exercises -- maybe on all the exercises, acually.

So ... I think it went fine. I don't think I was at a disadvantage...

Let me know how you feel if you do them back to back!

I think I am a little more sore this morning than I have been after the last few workouts. Not sure if this is due to not getting a day break. My weight is also WAY UP this morning (like, 8lbs?) compared to yesterday morning. Again, don't know if it has anything to do with it.

One thing about this workout is that it has given me callouses on my hands... right at the bottoms of my fingers. I think mainly from the pullups but also from dumbbells. Any suggestions? (I may start a new thread asking this)

I am suppose to do Day 2 tomorrow and Day 3 on Friday - but am now going out of town for business.  I don't know if i will be able to get the work outs in til next week - really disappointed.  If i get to the gym by 5 am tomorrow morning, i might be able to do the work out, get ready and be at the airport by 7am - we will see!

Yikes -- don't miss your flight!! If you are staying at a hotel it might have a gym or weight room? Don't know if you'll have time but if you think there's any chance you might, you could bring your workout clothes on your trip! And a printout of the exercises if you need it. Just a thought!

i have callouses too flowerbud...likely from the pullups. maybe gloves would help? i should have had a pair of gloves long ago with as much weight lifting as i do, but i don't. i might have to pick some up -- or put them on a christmas list!

i did the chin up exercise by using a palm inward grip and it is much easier! i can also do several reps of actual chinups that way (though not going all the way down, but halfway, which is pretty impressive -- i can see the guys at the gym looking at me in what appears to be amazement)

it's awesome.

i still haven't done workout B all the way through. flowerbud, how long does this workout end up taking you? i ask because i often go to the gym during lunch hour, so i only have about 50 minutes or so to exercise.

my chest is SO sore! a good sore though  :-) 

Well I don't know if you saw the thread I started on this forum about calluses. In short, the advice was to not bother with gloves, but Krista (of stumptuous.com) does say they will keep your hands callus-free. But her advice is also to not bother and just exfoliate them with a pumice stone.

If you look at the video demonstrating the chinup exercise, it's hard to tell but looks like she is somehow doing them with palms facing each other? I don't have that option where I work out :) but is that what you mean by "palms inward" or do you mean facing you? I have heard and read that chinups with palms facing you are generally easier. Maybe I'll try that one day :) Do you think it uses the same muscles? Meaning, if I work my muscles doing the exercise with my palms facing forward, will I also improve my ability to do chinups with palms facing me?

I used to do this during my lunch hour and have since switched to evenings because it would take a bit too long. I would say about an hour. And then what would happen was I would get impatient during the bike sprints or kettlebell swings. In the evening I am more relaxed about staying to do these, plus I like having time to stretch afterwards. Maybe you could try it, at the risk of not having time for all your bike sprints? I would think you'd get a lot out of just one 4-min set even, and that would cut 9 mins off your time (5 mins easy pedaling + another 4 min set).

Interesting that your chest is really sore. For me it's definitely been my back... even though the pushups are KILLER, especially on the 3x15 days! But seeing improvements makes it all worth while :)

hey there, i did day two this morning - work out B 4X10 - seemed way harder than Day 1 - must be the increased number of reps.  my legs are feeling pretty tight and i absolutely can not do a chin up - i am going to do some reading on how to improve this technique.

Just wondering how much weight you guys are using for the exercises?  i am able to squat alot more than i can push with my arms - so i am meeting in the middle somewhere and will work on increasing.  

 

I am back found the following sites about chin-ups/pull-ups. (Does it matter which we are doing? Apparently pull-ups are a bit easier???

http://www.intense-workout.com/pull_ups.html

 The difference between pull ups and chin ups is how you grip the bar. Pull ups are done with your palms facing away from you. Chin ups are done with your palms facing you. Throughout this article I will only use the term "pull ups." However, everything written here applies just as equally to chin ups and really every other grip as well.) 

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?articl e=body_100back

 

 

I agree, the 5x5 days feel disproportionately easy compared to the other two. I was not sore after Day 1 and VERY sore after Day 2.

Weights are a very personal thing -- but yes, the arms are the limiting factor for me as well. Rather than meet in the middle, I would use a weight you can lift (with your arms) without losing form. I do this and somehow my legs definitely get the workout they need (to the point of shaking, last night). The only exercise I use a heavier weight on is Workout B, 2b I believe: the good-mornings to reverse lunge. No arms involved. But even, for example, 2a (the DB row), which you'd think is just an arm & back exercise, KILLS my glutes when done with a weight that's heavy enough but not too heavy to lift.

The reason I am not putting actual numbers down for weights is that there's no reason to compare and it has the potential of leaving one of us feeling inadequate :)

Well, give me a couple more weeks to finish my current program and I'll be joining you on this one.

 Couple things that come to mind on the 5x5 day - it's supposed to be a max-strength day where you lift heavy enough that you can only complete 5 reps with good form. This really takes it out of you though, so if you're choosing between extra rest after a 5x5 day and moving a workout up closer to it - take the extra rest. Increased recovery time makes you stronger for the next workout, letting you move more volume for the subsequent workouts, which should let you see better results.

 Oh, and don't skip pre-workout nutrition; this program is too brutal to be done on an empty stomach first thing in the morning - if you can't face the thought of oatmeal and an egg white omelet for breakfast before you do it, a protein shake will do. This is also consistent with the 21st Century Eating and The Top 10 Post Workout Nutrition Myths by Barr - of course figuring out what works best for you is a matter of experimentation and adjustement, but I've found that making the transition to the pre- and post-workout protein shake that Barr recommends has helped the quality of my workouts immensely.

 I resisted the idea of protein shakes myself for a long time - but at one point I found myself opening my third can of tuna for the day and knowing that I had one or two more to go. That made me rethink my position - I like tuna, but there's a limit to how much you can eat :) Besides, whey protein is more or less concentrated milk protein - mix with some actual milk and what you've got is essentially protein-fortified milkshake.

 It's not strictly speaking neccesary of course - very few things are - but I've at least found it very helpful with keeping the quality of my workouts high.

(edited to add:) Oh, and give Mistressing the pullup a go if you're interested in doing more pullups/chinups. 

I wanted to stress in melkor's comment about the 5x5 day that you want be lifting as heavy as possible -- with good form. I have found that I've used the 5x5 days to work on my form, which in some cases means I don't go up (or not much) in weight.

hey! just jumping in to say that as i mentioned i did day 2 workout b yesterday - and wow am i stiff today - my back is pretty sore - good sore.  I have always worked my legs pretty hard, doing lots of squats, lunges and deadlifts - but am feeling it in a few new spots today.  Especially my lower butt!

i don't know if i could have done day 3 today??

The reason i asked about the weight amounts is i am not sure sometimes if i am lifting too much or too little for my goals.  i know they say girls can't bulk up, but i am pretty strong and seem to be able to lift quite a bit of weight - but really want to lose the underlying fat. Especially in my arms - i don't want them to get bigger without losing that fat.  i already have 14 inch arms - and they aren't very flabby, but i hate them and want to lose a couple inches on them.

 

I have to confess I've been off for a few more days than I would have liked. I planned on going yesterday, but ended up shoveling instead -- for almost 2 hours, which was a nice workout in and of itself! I will get back on the program either tonight or tomorrow night, depending on ... well, life :)

As for the weights -- my advice would be to follow the authors' advice and go with the highest weight that allows you to complete all reps with good form. Because the # of reps varies, my feeling is that you should be ok. The 5x5 days will be more muscle building and the 3x15 not as much. Also the compound moves and exercises 3 & 4 (the ones without weights) are more endurance exercises. So I guess I'd do that for a few weeks, and then see how your measurements change.

If your muscles grow more than you'd like, maybe you could do 3x15 for all your days? Maybe if someone else happens to read this (melkor, bodyscience?) they might have some insight as to whether that would help or take away a lot of value from the program. 

thanks flowerbud.

I too have been off since Friday, have spin on MOnday mornings, so am doing day 3- work out B 3X15 tomorrow morning. 

 

I couldn't resist and I went in at lunch time. Nothing like a 2-hr lunch break! One step at a time to undo the damage done at the Hanukkah parties this weekend :-P

I noticed that I am having trouble with the form in Workout A, Exercise 2b: the Bent-Over Row - Back Extension Hybrid. A possible problem is that I am doing this with dumbbells because I don't have access to a barbell, but I would think that should be fine as long as I can figure out the form. The next time you do this one, do you think you could take notice of where exactly you are feeling it and let me know?