Still Confused

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum and I've been search and reading post here and there but unfortunately I'm still not so sure about a few things.

I unfortunately am starting off in a tough spot. I'm 23 y.o 5'11 230. So I'm on the heavy side but I have strength from working out in the gym regularly and such. I recently lost alot of weight, I was 280 about six months ago. I work a 9-5 desk job and I'm a college student.

My questions are, should I focus on weight loss before I try any gymnastic training?

I recently discovered intermittent fasting, will that help? I'm getting coaches book as soon as I can. Money is really tight for me. Anything I can start working on now?

Thanks

I don't know about intermittent fasting, but congrats on dropping 50 pounds in 6 months... obviously, you are doing something right!

Start training immediately, there are no reasons to wait.

Congrats with your progress and of course start training!

About intermittent fasting, I read that it won't bring you much benefit, it's not a diet but a choice of time your eat. In 24h you chose an 8 hour window to eat and 16h to fast. This can be a good choice because less time to eat = less food you eat or less meals you do (not always the case but you get it). For example: wake up at 8 am, start eating at 1pm and stop eating at 9pm. You can arrange this window increasing hours fasting or eating.

I tried it for a week and it was a pain to wake up and just eat 5 hours later but I've heard lots of people reporting great results!

There is some science behind this method, I don't know exactly but it's something about using fats as energy instead of carbs when you are fasted.

Lots of info here: http://www.leangains.com/

Banzas said:

About intermittent fasting, I read that it won't bring you much benefit

It's just another trick to eat less. If it works, it works. I've done IF Mon-Fri for the last 2 years, as it's easier, and allows me to be more loose with my meals on the weekends.

phrak said:

It's just another trick to eat less. If it works, it works. I've done IF Mon-Fri for the last 2 years, as it's easier, and allows me to be more loose with my meals on the weekends.

It is! If it worked for you, great!

In my experience, fat loss will happen irregardless of diet if you are following the Gymnasticbodies protocol. I have gone down to 8% body fat from 13 - 14%. Surprisingly, I am on a diet heavy in dairy and grains (I'm Indian so I can't help it ) which breaks a lot of the diet rules people put out on the internet. I simply follow the WOD Coach Sommer posts. As Jack Lalanne said, "Exercise is King. Nutrition is Queen".

The point I'm getting across is that you may not need to focus on weight loss before gymnastics. Gymnastics seems to induce fat loss in itself (body recomposition?) For gymnastics, you can start with the very basic pre-requisite statics which should be manageable. If you follow the nutrition guidelines people have put on this forum, you will get even better results. But, CORRECT exercise is more important.

Thank you guys so much for the responses! I'm stoked yet nervous about getting started. I want to take things SLOW..I don't want to get hurt.

As far as trimming off the rest of this weight, a friend of mine suggested p90x. I've heard good things about it. What do you guys think??

I could say it's a waste of money but I tried it sometimes and I can tell you will sweat and burn a lot and even gain some muscle if you follow everything. I think it's a fine program but the problem about these programs is that they aren't specific. For getting the most results your training must be specific for you, following your progress and reaching your goals. P90x has some good cardio workouts which are good to burn some calories but I would save my money, do some cardio and we could help you creating a workout specific for you.

Awesome! I think I'll save my money. With me being a bit on the heavy side, I can't do handstands, levers, plaches, etc...so should I just work with FBE for awhile until the weight is off?

Paradox said:

In my experience, fat loss will happen irregardless of diet if you are following the Gymnasticbodies protocol. I have gone down to 8% body fat from 13 - 14%. Surprisingly, I am on a diet heavy in dairy and grains (I'm Indian so I can't help it ) which breaks a lot of the diet rules people put out on the internet. I simply follow the WOD Coach Sommer posts. As Jack Lalanne said, "Exercise is King. Nutrition is Queen".

The point I'm getting across is that you may not need to focus on weight loss before gymnastics. Gymnastics seems to induce fat loss in itself (body recomposition?) For gymnastics, you can start with the very basic pre-requisite statics which should be manageable. If you follow the nutrition guidelines people have put on this forum, you will get even better results. But, CORRECT exercise is more important.

If diet stays the same and exercise increases, as long as there is sufficient carbohydrate and protein you will see a shift towards leanness. Gymnastic work inherently works larger percentages of total body muscle because you are required to move your body through space while holding specific shapes. This leads to both higher energy expenditures and more tissue becoming and staying sensitive to insulin.

There are no true rules regarding dairy and grains, just a bunch of hype. The rules are simply:

1) get enough carbs to fuel your workouts and your base metabolism

2) get enough protein, preferably spread in smaller doses (15-20g) throughout the day but with whole foods larger doses (40-50g) will still work ok. The more evenly your protein is spread through the day, the more muscle you will build. This starts a cascade of higher metabolism + more insulin-sensitive tissue, which leads to a leaner body.

3) Get enough water. Without water your body can't properly synthesize proteins OR use carbs efficiently. Drink water.

That's it. Fat isn't a concern unless you are either chugging oil or eating out of supplement jars. A normal diet with real meat, real dairy, and/or real vegetables cooked in some real fat is going to have you completely covered.

There are certainly health concerns with certain foods, and a number of people report being able to stay EVEN leaner without gluten, but that has nothing to do with getting lean.

If you have dropped to 8% it simply means you already followed these rules. I certainly believe that gymnastic work is the most efficient way to get a full-body workout, and full-body workouts will lead to leaner bodies simply because you're stimulating your muscles more often. That means you keep reminding them to stay sensitive to insulin, and that helps keep you leaner.