Need help with workout and diet plan

[goose21]

I am trying to get in better shape for my drop in caribou hunt in september. I live in Iowa so I do not get the benefits of doing any training on the mountains. I have some hills and bluffs living next to the mississippi river. I am currently 29 years old and 6'4 and weigh 240. I just ran my first half marathon last weekend and trained for 10 weeks to accomplish it. I was probably closer to 250 before that. My goal is to get down to 215 by hunting season.

My workouts are going to consist of 3 runs a week: one easy run, one moderate mileage, and one long distance saturday run.

I also am going to add a ruck run with pack one day a week probably 3-4 miles in length and starting with 20 pounds and work myself up to 60 or so.

With the cardio I am going to add in 3 days a week lifting: 1 day chests and shoulders, 1 day legs and back, 1 day arms

I am going to have 1 rest day a week.

Does this look like this will help with my burning fat and gaining some muscle? Is it too much? In my marathon training I ran 5 days a week, but I haven't lifted for probably 8 years. I want to get back some strength

Also what should I focus for diet and nutrition? More protein and veggies? I love potatoes, do those have any benefits or should I stay away from carbs all together?

Thanks for all the help. This site is fantastic

 

[Cant hit em]

I started this 12 days ago and its pretty cool not to rigorous but i feel stronger. There is meal plan, sup plan and videos everday. This will take me up to mid August beginning of bow season

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/lee-labrada-12-week-lean-body-trainer-tips-tools-overview.htm

I was running only and lost a bunch of weight but felt i lost muscle as well. I started this plan with cardio mixed in 4 days a week

 

[djsmith46]

You're going to have a hard time "recomping" while trying to lose body fat without the aid of "mexican" supplements, some argue if it is even realistically possible. Plus you're goal for weight loss is substantial (but doable) before hunting season. So an expectation of putting on muscle while losing 25 pounds of fat wouldn't be a realistic goal. But there's nothing wrong , in a general sense, with your workout regimen.

As far as diet....Low to no carbs is crazy effective for fat loss. However, with that type of volume in your training, no carbs will kill performance and make your training difficult to get through. So I wouldn't avoid carbs, just avoid shit carbs like bread, pasta etc if weight loss is the goal. With regards to protein, I don't know what your protein intake is so I don't know if I could tell you to "take more." I will say if you do go no carb, make sure your fat intake is high and your protein is moderate. After all, a low to no carb diet is essentially ketogenic, your body is fueling itself with fats for energy, and protein will move your insulin (a tad).

 

[goose21]

What are some good carbs that I should be eating?

 

[Cant hit em]

What are some good carbs that I should be eating?

Fruits , brown rice , sweet potato , beans , after work out banana , Oats. Get an ap , my fitness pal is what i use it will break down foods and show your macro intake. Get a good multi vitamin to take in the morning as well

 

[Take-a-knee]

Caribou = low altitude so that is a plus. You didn't say where you're going so I'd assume AK or northern BC/Yukon. That means tundra tussocks and if you've not walked 10-12 miles/day on them, ENJOY! Being able to finish a 13mi run means you have good cardio, and the fact that you are a big guy means even untrained you should be at least fairly strong. I'd worry more about injury prevention than anything else. Burpees, lunges, sprints, box jumps, hanging knee raises, glute-ham situps (don't go all the way back, just horizontal) back extensions on a glute-ham device. Learn to power clean if you don't know how, and do them for reps from now till you leave, twice weekly or so.

As for diet, meat and veggies, nuts, some fruit. No starch (potatos) should cross your lips until you are at your goal weight.

Notice I didn't advise a hard lifting program because that needs fuel and trying to loose fat and gain strength work against each other

Others here will say I"m FOS, but the Zone Diet Rx works for me. IE, 3 grams protein/4grams carbs ratio for everything I eat. I don't worry about fat. I'm 5'8"/170# and I've been at or around that weight for a decade.

 

[goose21]

So far diet is going very well. My meat sources are staying normal which consist of deer, ducks, pheasant, fish, and any other animals I was successful in harvesting the past season. Been trying really hard to eat more vegetables in my diet and so far am feeling great. So far this week have gotten in 2 lifts, 2 runs, and 1 pack hike. Sucks being in flat land country but if I keep this up my hunt to Alaska shouldn't be so bad!!!!

 

[SDHNTR]

You just ran a half marathon and are worried about fitness? A caribou hunt is not a goat hunt. Keep doing what you've been doing and you'll be more than fine. Surely better than the vast majority of caribou hunters that will hit the field this year.

 

[307]

Your lifting should not be in the bodybuilder tradition of muscle isolation movements for many reps. Think in terms of more compound movements. Squat, Deadlift, Pullups, Pushups.

If you want to simulate hiking hills, drag a tire from a waist harness.

 

[blackdog]

I agree with most of what has been advised here so far. In terms of diet, if you're wanting to lose fat as a primary goal, along with the bread, pasta, and starches like potatoes, I'd also avoid fruits for the most part. Some are worse (bananas) than others (strawberries). Fill up on green, leafy vegetables. Learn to love spinach and broccoli.

Also, do a search on how to do Turkish get-ups and throw those into your workouts. A great all around core workout movement. Also, try to walk or run 'off road' as much as possible. There's lots of smaller muscles in your feet and lower legs that don't get stressed simply pounding the pavement the way they will walking in the woods or on the tundra.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Your lifting should not be in the bodybuilder tradition of muscle isolation movements for many reps. Think in terms of more compound movements. Squat, Deadlift, Pullups, Pushups.

If you want to simulate hiking hills, drag a tire from a waist harness.

Agreed. Try to use dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells and do compound lifts (i.e. working a number of muscles groups). Lift 2 days a week and go full body.

Might also want trade in a day of interval type runs, hill repeats, etc in your running regimen. Keep the long run and the easy run (for active recovery).

Good luck, hope you have a great hunt!

 

[goose21]

Thanks for all the insights. Trying to cut out breads and pastas as much as I can. Also trying to only drink beer one day. Right now I lift 3 days a week. Do one easy run, one long run and one intermediate run. and I also ruck 3 miles iwth weight one day so I am working out every day. I rotate a rest day somewhere during the week also. I have been doing this for 3 weeks now. Should I change up my lifts or sets or anything?

 

[Jason Snyder]

Depends on what your lifts are. How long are your lifting sessions?

Also, is the intermediate run a tempo run, jog, what is it? Unless you're running because you enjoy running, which I do myself a lot, each run should have a specific purpose. Either hill repeats or a tempo/anaerobic threshold pace will give you better bang for your buck than just an intermediate length run.

All of my runs are trail runs, so I get a lot of it rolled into one.

 

[goose21]

My lifting sessions are about 60 minutes. I do chest and shoulders, legs and back, and arms for my 3 lifting days. Each day has about 8-10 excercises and I am doing about 3x10 for sets and reps.

My runs are one recovery at a slow pace, one intermediate distance at whatever pace I feel at the day and the same for my long run. I usually try stay between 8:15 and 8:45 a mile on most days and let it slip to over 9 on my recovery days.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Here's my opinion, take it for what it's worth.

There is now way I would devote an hour lifting workout to specific areas the way that you are. I only lift for about 45 minutes, two or three days a week. I concentrate on compound lifts and superset them, i.e. dumbbell press/pullups, when I can to make things more efficient. I focus on lifts like squats, front squats, deadlifts, kettlebell swings, etc. that work the entire posterior chain.

Also, 3x10 reps, what are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to gain strength, endurance? Where you are running a lot, you would possibly benefit more from working on your strength, i.e. 5 reps instead of 10.

Also, as I said, your intermediate run isn't really serving a specific purpose. I'd either make it hill repeats, or a tempo run, or alternate weeks, unless you're doing a trail run on semi-hilly terrain where you're already getting that stuff mixed in.

I would also add in one other type of cross training. Either biking, swimming, plyometrics, etc.

 

[Cant hit em]

Hill Intervals on the Elliptical are a good mix

 

[9ftleader]

I really like this site for training: http://crossfitendurance.com

I'd think twice about long mileage runs this close to a hunt and go more interval training. The last thing you want is injury as you increase your mileage.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Done properly, a long run is no more likely to cause injury than an interval workout.

 

[Take-a-knee]

Hill Intervals on the Elliptical are a good mix

Be careful on an elliptical that allows your heel to lift off of the pedal. I got on a cheap one in a hotel gym one time for about 45min and my calves were so sore I could barely walk the next day. Those were pre-POSE days so I'm sure I'd fair better now from the knee down but IME, a Precor elliptical is only one worth bothering with.