Help me fine tune my new schedule

[gbrice75]

What's up all! I was debating on whether to post this in my progress thread or to start a new one. I went with the latter since it's sort of off topic and really has nothing to do with my progress.

So here's the deal. My wife is starting a new position with her current employer. She'll have different hours which will allow me to work out in the early evening (can't do that with our current work schedules). I've always felt this scenario would be ideal for me for several reasons:

1) it will allow me to separate my cardio and workout, affording me the opportunity to do am fasted cardio without having to workout immediately after. With my current schedule, I do my workout and cardio both first thing in the morning, so if I want to do fasted cardio, I have to give up a pre workout meal AND do my workout after cardio which sucks (already spent from cardio), or have a pre workout meal, do my workout and THEN do my cardio, but then it's not fasted cardio obviously. In other words, I have to choose the lesser of 2 evils and something gets shortchanged no matter which way it's sliced.

2) I am tired as hell and groggy in the morning, low intensity, having to rely on Jack3d etc. just to feel like working out. Even though I am tired after work as well, I'm not 'out of it' like I am in the morning, my energy levels are higher, my body is warmed up just from being up and at it all day, and my strength is definitely better late in the day. I have no doubt my workouts will be much more intense, and I expect to see new growth from this change. I think this change will help me take myself to the next level.

3) I will be able to execute the ideal diet I have in mind - i.e. carbs in my first meal of the day (would be after the fasted cardio obviously), then pre and pwo and that's it. With my current schedule, my first meal of the day IS my pre workout meal, so again I am sort of getting shortchanged.

So obviously, i'm excited about planning this all out. Here's what I have in mind, roughly. Let me know your thoughts:

5:30am - wakeup - I was planning on downing a whey shake just to get a fast shot of protein in. In my mind, cardio would still be fasted since i'm really not taking in energy (carbs or fat) - what are your thoughts on this? yay or nay to the shake? True fasted cardio, or whey shake then cardio? I'll do BCAA's either way.

6:30am - Cardio - 45 mins to 1 hour of steady state, med. intensity. Mostly stepmill. I don't think HIIT or any kind of higher intensity cardio would be good here due to the fasted state i'll be in. I am not at all interested in breaking down LBM. Thoughts?

8am - Meal 1 - pro/carb - this will be in my truck on my way to work, so unfortunately all I can do here is another shake and was planning to add 1 cup oats. If you don't like the idea that all i've had so far is shakes, I can do egg whites (if anything) at 5:30am instead of the shake.

11am - Meal 2 - pro/fat

2pm - Meal 3 - pro/fat

5pm - meal 4 (pre workout) - pro/carb

6pm - workout, followed by 20-30 mins HIIT / interval cardio

7:30pm - 8pm (somewhere in that ballpark) - Meal 5 (PWO) - pro/carb? Or just a shake then do a pro/carb PPWO meal at home 30 mins later? Need opinions on this one!! Consider that it's late in the day, i'll be going to bed around 10:30pm so IMO the sooner I get carbs in, the better.

8:30 - 9pm - PPWO? Depending on what's ultimately decided for my PWO meal above, this meal may or may not be in the plan. If I do ONLY a whey shake PWO, then i'll do a pro/carb PPWO meal here. If I do a full PWO pro/carb meal, I probably won't do another meal here, or will but it'll pro/fat

10:30pm - (Meal 6 or 7 depending on the above) bedtime meal - pro/fat

I would appreciate all opinions, feedback, criticisms, etc. FG, if you happen to see this thread I would truly appreciate your input. I don't wanna bug you with pm's. =)

One more thing - I have the opportunity to hit the gym (for cardio) on my lunch hour, however I would then be doing cardio 3x/day. I'm thinking it's too much, however i'm trying to find something constructive to do with my lunch hour since it takes me 5 minutes to eat.

Let me know what you think guys! I have 2 weeks to get this right!

[SlimmerMe]

good luck
during lunch? IMO: change the subject and do something that will "fill you up" spiritually whether painting or writing or music....something that will feed your soul.

[gbrice75]

good luck
during lunch? IMO: change the subject and do something that will "fill you up" spiritually whether painting or writing or music....something that will feed your soul.

Thanks Slimmer! I hear u... it's just that I work in a very negative environment and need to get outta there for an hour. For a while I was actually sleeping in my truck, lol!

[SlimmerMe]

even more of a reason to do something spiritual.....get out of the office and go somewhere....find something else nearby to do....maybe yoga?

[tjax03]

What's up all! I was debating on whether to post this in my progress thread or to start a new one. I went with the latter since it's sort of off topic and really has nothing to do with my progress.

So here's the deal. My wife is starting a new position with her current employer. She'll have different hours which will allow me to work out in the early evening (can't do that with our current work schedules). I've always felt this scenario would be ideal for me for several reasons:

1) it will allow me to separate my cardio and workout, affording me the opportunity to do am fasted cardio without having to workout immediately after. With my current schedule, I do my workout and cardio both first thing in the morning, so if I want to do fasted cardio, I have to give up a pre workout meal AND do my workout after cardio which sucks (already spent from cardio), or have a pre workout meal, do my workout and THEN do my cardio, but then it's not fasted cardio obviously. In other words, I have to choose the lesser of 2 evils and something gets shortchanged no matter which way it's sliced.

2) I am tired as hell and groggy in the morning, low intensity, having to rely on Jack3d etc. just to feel like working out. Even though I am tired after work as well, I'm not 'out of it' like I am in the morning, my energy levels are higher, my body is warmed up just from being up and at it all day, and my strength is definitely better late in the day. I have no doubt my workouts will be much more intense, and I expect to see new growth from this change. I think this change will help me take myself to the next level.

3) I will be able to execute the ideal diet I have in mind - i.e. carbs in my first meal of the day (would be after the fasted cardio obviously), then pre and pwo and that's it. With my current schedule, my first meal of the day IS my pre workout meal, so again I am sort of getting shortchanged.

So obviously, i'm excited about planning this all out. Here's what I have in mind, roughly. Let me know your thoughts:

5:30am - wakeup - I was planning on downing a whey shake just to get a fast shot of protein in. In my mind, cardio would still be fasted since i'm really not taking in energy (carbs or fat) - what are your thoughts on this? yay or nay to the shake? True fasted cardio, or whey shake then cardio? I'll do BCAA's either way.

6:30am - Cardio - 45 mins to 1 hour of steady state, med. intensity. Mostly stepmill. I don't think HIIT or any kind of higher intensity cardio would be good here due to the fasted state i'll be in. I am not at all interested in breaking down LBM. Thoughts?

8am - Meal 1 - pro/carb - this will be in my truck on my way to work, so unfortunately all I can do here is another shake and was planning to add 1 cup oats. If you don't like the idea that all i've had so far is shakes, I can do egg whites (if anything) at 5:30am instead of the shake.

11am - Meal 2 - pro/fat

2pm - Meal 3 - pro/fat

5pm - meal 4 (pre workout) - pro/carb

6pm - workout, followed by 20-30 mins HIIT / interval cardio

7:30pm - 8pm (somewhere in that ballpark) - Meal 5 (PWO) - pro/carb? Or just a shake then do a pro/carb PPWO meal at home 30 mins later? Need opinions on this one!! Consider that it's late in the day, i'll be going to bed around 10:30pm so IMO the sooner I get carbs in, the better.

8:30 - 9pm - PPWO? Depending on what's ultimately decided for my PWO meal above, this meal may or may not be in the plan. If I do ONLY a whey shake PWO, then i'll do a pro/carb PPWO meal here. If I do a full PWO pro/carb meal, I probably won't do another meal here, or will but it'll pro/fat

10:30pm - (Meal 6 or 7 depending on the above) bedtime meal - pro/fat

I would appreciate all opinions, feedback, criticisms, etc. FG, if you happen to see this thread I would truly appreciate your input. I don't wanna bug you with pm's. =)

One more thing - I have the opportunity to hit the gym (for cardio) on my lunch hour, however I would then be doing cardio 3x/day. I'm thinking it's too much, however i'm trying to find something constructive to do with my lunch hour since it takes me 5 minutes to eat.

Let me know what you think guys! I have 2 weeks to get this right!

I'm about to go to bed so I will give you my thoughts on your first three items.

I would go without the protein shake before the cardio and just take some BCAAs in order to maximize fat loss from the fasted cardio. I have been using Xtend because it also contains B6 and glutamine. The B6 is supposed to increase absorption of BCAAs and glutamine is helpful to prevent muscle soreness and catabolism.

I would definitely keep the cardio low intensity if you're doing it in a fasted state. I think with fasted HIIT, you would notice way too much muscle loss.

I think that a shake and oats is ok there, given your limitations. Just make sure your next meal is strong to ensure adequate nutrition through that portion of your day.

I'll give this another look tomorrow, but I'm too tired to do anymore right now.

[gbrice75]

I'm about to go to bed so I will give you my thoughts on your first three items.

I would go without the protein shake before the cardio and just take some BCAAs in order to maximize fat loss from the fasted cardio. I have been using Xtend because it also contains B6 and glutamine. The B6 is supposed to increase absorption of BCAAs and glutamine is helpful to prevent muscle soreness and catabolism.

I would definitely keep the cardio low intensity if you're doing it in a fasted state. I think with fasted HIIT, you would notice way too much muscle loss.

I think that a shake and oats is ok there, given your limitations. Just make sure your next meal is strong to ensure adequate nutrition through that portion of your day.

I'll give this another look tomorrow, but I'm too tired to do anymore right now.

Thanks brotha, I appreciate your feedback. If I skip the early shake, then I don't mind the shake and oats at all as a first meal (as you said), and yes, the following meal would likely be 6oz chicken breast w/ veggies or something along those lines.

[tjax03]

What's up all! I was debating on whether to post this in my progress thread or to start a new one. I went with the latter since it's sort of off topic and really has nothing to do with my progress.

So here's the deal. My wife is starting a new position with her current employer. She'll have different hours which will allow me to work out in the early evening (can't do that with our current work schedules). I've always felt this scenario would be ideal for me for several reasons:

1) it will allow me to separate my cardio and workout, affording me the opportunity to do am fasted cardio without having to workout immediately after. With my current schedule, I do my workout and cardio both first thing in the morning, so if I want to do fasted cardio, I have to give up a pre workout meal AND do my workout after cardio which sucks (already spent from cardio), or have a pre workout meal, do my workout and THEN do my cardio, but then it's not fasted cardio obviously. In other words, I have to choose the lesser of 2 evils and something gets shortchanged no matter which way it's sliced.

2) I am tired as hell and groggy in the morning, low intensity, having to rely on Jack3d etc. just to feel like working out. Even though I am tired after work as well, I'm not 'out of it' like I am in the morning, my energy levels are higher, my body is warmed up just from being up and at it all day, and my strength is definitely better late in the day. I have no doubt my workouts will be much more intense, and I expect to see new growth from this change. I think this change will help me take myself to the next level.

3) I will be able to execute the ideal diet I have in mind - i.e. carbs in my first meal of the day (would be after the fasted cardio obviously), then pre and pwo and that's it. With my current schedule, my first meal of the day IS my pre workout meal, so again I am sort of getting shortchanged.

So obviously, i'm excited about planning this all out. Here's what I have in mind, roughly. Let me know your thoughts:

5:30am - wakeup - I was planning on downing a whey shake just to get a fast shot of protein in. In my mind, cardio would still be fasted since i'm really not taking in energy (carbs or fat) - what are your thoughts on this? yay or nay to the shake? True fasted cardio, or whey shake then cardio? I'll do BCAA's either way.

6:30am - Cardio - 45 mins to 1 hour of steady state, med. intensity. Mostly stepmill. I don't think HIIT or any kind of higher intensity cardio would be good here due to the fasted state i'll be in. I am not at all interested in breaking down LBM. Thoughts?

8am - Meal 1 - pro/carb - this will be in my truck on my way to work, so unfortunately all I can do here is another shake and was planning to add 1 cup oats. If you don't like the idea that all i've had so far is shakes, I can do egg whites (if anything) at 5:30am instead of the shake.

11am - Meal 2 - pro/fat

2pm - Meal 3 - pro/fat

5pm - meal 4 (pre workout) - pro/carb

6pm - workout, followed by 20-30 mins HIIT / interval cardio

7:30pm - 8pm (somewhere in that ballpark) - Meal 5 (PWO) - pro/carb? Or just a shake then do a pro/carb PPWO meal at home 30 mins later? Need opinions on this one!! Consider that it's late in the day, i'll be going to bed around 10:30pm so IMO the sooner I get carbs in, the better.

8:30 - 9pm - PPWO? Depending on what's ultimately decided for my PWO meal above, this meal may or may not be in the plan. If I do ONLY a whey shake PWO, then i'll do a pro/carb PPWO meal here. If I do a full PWO pro/carb meal, I probably won't do another meal here, or will but it'll pro/fat

10:30pm - (Meal 6 or 7 depending on the above) bedtime meal - pro/fat

I would appreciate all opinions, feedback, criticisms, etc. FG, if you happen to see this thread I would truly appreciate your input. I don't wanna bug you with pm's. =)

One more thing - I have the opportunity to hit the gym (for cardio) on my lunch hour, however I would then be doing cardio 3x/day. I'm thinking it's too much, however i'm trying to find something constructive to do with my lunch hour since it takes me 5 minutes to eat.

Let me know what you think guys! I have 2 weeks to get this right!

OK I said I would be back so here are my other thoughts.

First, I personally would choose to stick with LI cardio after workouts if I have already done some fasted cardio earlier in the day. It may be possible to overdo things. At this point in your day you are most likely going to be at your most fatigued, and you don't want to risk causing any nagging injuries. If you decide to do it be careful and start out slow.

Since you are still cutting, I would just do a shake right after working out. Then have a protein/low GI carb meal when you get home. IMO opinion the total amount of carbs consumed after the workout is more important than the timing with concern to fat gain/loss. If you were looking for all out muscle gain then that would be a different story. I am cutting right now and personally I make this meal my last carb meal of the day with the exclusion of indirect carb sources like green veggies.

For the rest of your meals I would just try to get in appropriate meals of protein/fats until you reach your macro goals. You obviously know what you are doing with respect to that.

I would not recommend cardio during lunch. Three times a day is overkill. I think you will lose too much lean mass if you aren't taking any anabolic agents. Maybe use this time to work your abs. I never want to do them after a workout when I am exhausted from blasting another muscle group.

[MBMETC]

I'm gonna start a cut this week and your schedule will be the same as mine am fasted cardio and evening workout followed by more cardio. So I'll be following you gbrice if you don't mind. I'm in the process of sorting out a diet since I just finished a bulk 2 months ago. Never did a cut before and not quite sure how to set it up. I have another thread started on that and working on it. Any input would be appreciated.
Now I'll see if I can give you some input
True fasted cardio is obviously on an empty stomach so if you can skip the shake, I'm dead in the morning so I was thinking taking a hit of 5 hour energy and hitting the gym.
You make a good point on the li cardio muscle wasting is something I'm not interested in either.
I work out in the evening now just not doing the am cardio yet, and it's tough sometimes after a long day so stay focused.
I like the way with the new schedule it affords you to get consistent diet and separation of fats and carbs giving you that energy to get through the evening workout.
I suppose the shake on the way to work is ok if that works for you, I hope it hold you till 11:00
Other than that as far as your diet goes I won't comment on that because what I know about a cutting diet can fit in a thimble.

[baseline_9]

You new plan is exactly what im doing ATM

A verry educated decision you have made there LOL

Oat in ur PWO meal is a defo, however these are the first carbs i would reduce when needed if ur cutting

Keep ur fasted cardio LIC

Will u be doing cardio PWO, i only scanned over ur post TBH

Everything is layed out just as I would do it

I like to drink some dextrose at the start of my weight session with creatine and BCAA's. Then a drink with BCAA's and Glutamine b4 my PWO cardio. Then post cardio do ur PWO shake, oats and whey in water

Whats ur cardio schedule? 6-7 fasted session in the mornings


If u do decide to give the dextrose a try inta workout make ur PWO cardio high intensity. Some kind of intervals since you are fueled for it

Good luck GB, lets get some pics up

[gbrice75]

OK I said I would be back so here are my other thoughts.

First, I personally would choose to stick with LI cardio after workouts if I have already done some fasted cardio earlier in the day. It may be possible to overdo things. At this point in your day you are most likely going to be at your most fatigued, and you don't want to risk causing any nagging injuries. If you decide to do it be careful and start out slow.

I'm just not sure LI 2x/day is the way to go... I do like the idea of mixing it up. However, I agree with you in taking it slow, monitoring and seeing how my body reacts. Remember that the PWO cardio will only be 15-20 mins tops if it's HI

Since you are still cutting, I would just do a shake right after working out. Then have a protein/low GI carb meal when you get home. IMO opinion the total amount of carbs consumed after the workout is more important than the timing with concern to fat gain/loss. If you were looking for all out muscle gain then that would be a different story. I am cutting right now and personally I make this meal my last carb meal of the day with the exclusion of indirect carb sources like green veggies.

This is the biggest issue right now, I really need to give this one some thought, or again, choose one and monitor.

For the rest of your meals I would just try to get in appropriate meals of protein/fats until you reach your macro goals. You obviously know what you are doing with respect to that.

Thx!

I would not recommend cardio during lunch. Three times a day is overkill. I think you will lose too much lean mass if you aren't taking any anabolic agents. Maybe use this time to work your abs. I never want to do them after a workout when I am exhausted from blasting another muscle group.

Yea, I agree - even if it weren't too much on my body, mentally it will be torture

response in bold above

I'm gonna start a cut this week and your schedule will be the same as mine am fasted cardio and evening workout followed by more cardio. So I'll be following you gbrice if you don't mind. I'm in the process of sorting out a diet since I just finished a bulk 2 months ago. Never did a cut before and not quite sure how to set it up. I have another thread started on that and working on it. Any input would be appreciated.

Nice bro, I don't mind at all - you, me and Baseline will do this together!

Now I'll see if I can give you some input
True fasted cardio is obviously on an empty stomach so if you can skip the shake, I'm dead in the morning so I was thinking taking a hit of 5 hour energy and hitting the gym.

It'll be Jack3d for me

You make a good point on the li cardio muscle wasting is something I'm not interested in either.
I work out in the evening now just not doing the am cardio yet, and it's tough sometimes after a long day so stay focused.
I like the way with the new schedule it affords you to get consistent diet and separation of fats and carbs giving you that energy to get through the evening workout.
I suppose the shake on the way to work is ok if that works for you, I hope it hold you till 11:00

If not, i'll drop it to 1/2 cup oats in that shake and then eat a real meal as soon as I get to work around 9am

Other than that as far as your diet goes I won't comment on that because what I know about a cutting diet can fit in a thimble.

lol!

reply in bold above

You new plan is exactly what im doing ATM

A verry educated decision you have made there LOL

Must be, if you're also doing it! =P

Oat in ur PWO meal is a defo, however these are the first carbs i would reduce when needed if ur cutting

So what do you think of a PPWO meal then? Should I do one at all? If so, should it be pro/carb or pro/fat? This is my biggest issue right now, as this PPWO meal will come about 2 hours before bed

Keep ur fasted cardio LIC

Agreed!

Will u be doing cardio PWO, i only scanned over ur post TBH

Yes, i'm leaning towards 15-20 mins of HI / intervals

Everything is layed out just as I would do it

I like to drink some dextrose at the start of my weight session with creatine and BCAA's. Then a drink with BCAA's and Glutamine b4 my PWO cardio. Then post cardio do ur PWO shake, oats and whey in water

I just drink water TBH... not much into the intra-workout supplementation.

Whats ur cardio schedule? 6-7 fasted session in the mornings

M-F, am fasted. M-F, pm HIIT

If u do decide to give the dextrose a try inta workout make ur PWO cardio high intensity. Some kind of intervals since you are fueled for it

I probably won't be doing the dextrose - do you still suggest doing intervals with PWO cardio?

Good luck GB, lets get some pics up

Even though I don't wanna consider this ANOTHER new endeavor like my cut log, I will probably post pics the Sunday before I start this new schedule as it happens to coincide with also starting a new workout routine which will go on for 3 months. Pics will probably be every 2 weeks if i'm being realistic

^^^ bold =)

[baseline_9]

Make ur PWO meal ur last carb meal and keep it to oat's, i know u will do oats anyway. A good amount aswell, 1 cup, 60g of carbs

Why consume another carb meal b4 bed? If you were gaining yes, but IMO when cutting just keep all ur carbs around ur training or breakfast. You wanna walk around all day using fat, do fasted cardio using fat and train in the gym using glycogen, makes sence rite. This is what you were not doing b4, so I am glad to see this change and think it will help you TBH

Ok now my views on HIIT are strong. I personally would like to treat them as a weight session and fuel for them in the same way. IMO catabolism is rite around the corner with HIIT in a semi fasted state and that is why I would drink the dextrose Intra workout.

I may not win you over on the dextrose but let me try;

Consuming dextrose intra workout will raise free glucose, increase energy, help to increase strength, spike insulin which in turn will create a verry anabolic enviroment and stop the release of cortisol from the pancreas (creating a less catabolic enviroment when catabolism would normally be at its highest)

It will also put you in a state where PWO you will have some 'extra' carbs/glycogen to fuel you HIIT (Remember that HIIT is a glycogen dependednt training system and PWO is not optimal if you are depleted)

IMO I do not see a single negative in adding a small amount of dextrose during ur workout.

Whatever you do I would add a bit of time onto the PWO cardio. If you do 20 mins of HIIT add 10-15 mins of LIC after.