Question for Natrushka - BodyRX Cycles
 

Hi Natrushka,

I am very new with weight lifting and I have a question about BodyRX cycles.

I read the book and I see (besides the carb/fiber intake differences) that each cycle has different number of repetitions with different amount of rest in between. Cycle 1 is to get stronger and Cycle 3 is for burning fat. I am lowcarbing anyway, so I am not going to the high carb that Cycle 1 allows, but as far as the weight lifting part is concerned, what's the difference between doing fewer repetitions to failure with longer rest (Cycle1) and doing more repetitions to failure with shorter rest (Cycle3)?
Would doing more reps to failure with less rest work better in burning fat rather than making you stronger? I'm at this point just interested in losing weight (preferably fat) and toning.

I would greatly appreciate your comments on this.

Tomo

Sorry Tomo, I missed this - combination of being away last week and being a little dizzy this weekend :daze:

The different cycles of BodyRx have differing goals - exercise and nutrition wise. The first Cycle aims at getting you used to eating adequate protein, more fiber and less carbs. Exercise wise you're working to build muscle. Lifting heavier with fewer sets and lifting to failure quicker leads to more fast muscle fiber recruitment and greater strength. This is intensified by the amount of carbs and protein you are eating. You are lifting and eating to bulk up. Cycle 2 has you decreasing carbs further and increasing fiber and protein; lifting is more reps and sets and less heavy with less time to rest between sets - you are trying to sculpt that muscle you grew in Cycle 1. Cycle 3 involves eating even more protein and fiber and a drastic cut in carbs (for anyone other than a LCer, that is). Reps are increased as are sets, this is the fat burning. By decreasing the time between sets you give the muscle less time to recover and you keep your heart rate higher. This cycle tends to be more aerobic.

If you've been working out for a while and have developed some muscle mass, and if you've been eating higher protein (higher than Atkins and the Protein Power minimum requirements) then going to cycle 3 wouldn't pose much of a problem for you, IMHO. However if you're new you might find eating 1.5g of protein per lb of body weight and 60g of fiber difficult. I would suggest easing into this by following the protein and fiber recommendations for the first 3 cycles and limiting your carbs as you see fit, while following the exercises as written.

I understand the desire to burn more fat in place of growing more muscle. It's the muscle that is needed to burn the fat - so you have to get some somehow. If you're not new to lifting then I don't see why you can't jump into Cycle 3.

Nat

Thank you, Natrushka. You answered my question.

Well, I am totally new to weight lifting and you can say I am rather flabby all over (except my legs from playing vball), so I will do Cycle 1 exercise. What you said makes sense. I guess you use muscle to burn fat, so if I have no muscle to start with, it won't be as easy to do the fat burning thing. And YES! I do need to build some muscle!!

As far as the food requirement is concerned, I have done Atkins (induction) but I never ate as much protein as Body RX requires (especially Cycle 3). I could probably do Cycle 2 diet fairly easily (I need to include more fiber). Cycle1 carb is too high for me for sure, but I guess the amount specified in the book is the upper limit, not the requirement, so I think I'll do Cycle 1-2 diet while doing Cycle 1 exercise for now and see how it goes.

Again, thanks a bunch for your help in clarifying the cycles for me!

Tomo

Tomo, just a note of caution - if you've never lifted before take things nice and slow. BodyRx workouts are a killer. Working muscles to failure can lead to injury if you're not using proper/correct form. It's not so much the muscle injury that can sideline you as it is the connective tissue injury. Be sure you have a mirror handy to check your form and take your time through the exercises. I started out with BFL (Body For Life) and I found doing a few practice runs made things go much more smoothly.

Re the protein/carb requirements. The numbers for carbs, if you go by the book, are the max for carbs. You don't have to eat that many, but you're supposed to aim for that number. The highest I've ever gone was 100g a day and that took some planning (I refuse to eat grains of any kind with the exception of steel cut oats). Connelly doesn't use fiberous veggies as carbs or toward your carb count, when I do the program I do. These are just a few of the modifications I've incorporated after a year of LCing. I'm a big fan of cherry picking from other plans :)

HTH
Nat

Thank you so much, Nat for more sound advice.

Yes, I understand about the injury, especially because I am very new at this weight lifting (plus I am doing this at home. I bought a bench with leg extension and chest(?) extension that I can use to do most of the workouts except for a few - and the few I found on www.exrx.net to replace the machine exercises). Connelly recommends use of machines especially at the beginning to avoid injury, etc, I know, but I don't want to go to a gym (I might someday in the near future just to get a session with a trainer to get a better idea of things in general) because I totally enjoy doing this in my own bedroom in my pajama shorts and sportsbra; I would hate to have to get in a car, drive over, park, etc.

I did a week of "familiarize myself" workouts and I think I am OK so far. I would hate to hurt myself doing this, cuz I am really motivated right now and I don't want to spoil it by some stupid injuiry. Thanks much for the sound warning.

As far as the food requirements are concerned, Cycle 1 allows way too much carb for me (well for any lowcarber), and the kind of carb I normally try to eat are in the green carb category, so I cannot even count those. I hope I won't have to up the carb count too much in Cycle 1. (Are you supposed to bulk up and gain weight with Cycle1? I'm totally interested in getting some muscle under my flabby body and get stronger, but I don't want to gain any weight!!) 240g of carbs is kind of high. I can't see anybody losing weight with that much yellow carb, and if you eat some green carb on top of it, that will become A LOT of carb. Wouldn't you start gaining weight?? What's your opinion on this? I am very interested in hearing what you think.

For example, today, my total meals came up to be about Fiber 27g (I need to eat a little more Fiber One cereal!), Protein 118g, Carb 86g (counting the green carbs too; without it the way Connelly does it, it is only 23g). I can think of upping the carb part a little more and aim everything toward Cycle 2 (for protein/fiber/carb(yellowcarb 120g.)) Also, what's new for me is the fat restriction (compared to Atkins which requires none) with low fat this and that, so I need to watch that.

I do know though that whenever I play volleyball a lot, I *must* eat some yellow carbs beforehand to keep me going for 2 hours (sometimes I have to eat balance bars/gatoraid during), so if I can find a way to up my carb without gaining weight, that will work for me.

I see you do your *own* version of meal plans and it sounds like things are working for you nicely. I may have to invent my own plan too :0

Any comments/inputs greatly appreciated.

Tomo

Tomo, yes, the goal of cycle 1 is to bulk up, and yes, it usually involves some weight gain (the only exception I would see here is if you're a newbie and still able to lose fat / gain muscle simultaneously) Most people I've seen starting BRx have done a few BFL challenges so they are no longer 'newbies' (like me, I can't do both anymore, it's one or the other).

That being said, those of us on this board who've been using BFL and BRx for months to gain muscle/ lose fat have been doing it LC - totally negating that concept that carbs are necessary for muscle growth. Yes, some are required, but 240g is not.

IMHO, it's the protein that is far more important of the 3 macro nutrients when muscle growth is the desired result. It is also important that you eat enough to allow growth to occur caloriewise. This means making sure your fat intake is high enough.

It takes some tweaking - but once you're closely in tune with the old body you get to know what works for you.

Good luck!
Nat

I have to agree on the proteinfor muscle issue. I've been doing CKD, which allows only 20 g carbs but demands 200g protein, and I've been gaining muscle like mad. I've only been lifting for 3 or 4 months, so I'm still reaping the 'newbie bonus' and losing fat as well. I'll be transitioning to BodyRX for eating, too, but with LC tweaks. For me this will mean even MORE protein, more LC veggies and more fiber. I expect my ECC to go up, but probably only to 40 or 50. If it stalls me, I'll tweak again.

Cheers,

Friday

Thank you Nat for your explanation!

I am like 28% body fat (Is that possible? I weigh 120lb and I only need to lose about 10 lb! The number is much lower when I use web sites for calculation, but with a caliper, it is 28%. ) That being said, it is pretty obvious 1) I am a total beginner (as I said before) 2) I have LOTS of fat I can burn, so I guess I'm a good candidate for losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time :eek:

From what you said and what Friday said, it sounds like it is totally doable to lose fat and gain muscle (being a beginner) while lowcarbing, so I think I will continue in that vein with a little more carb than I have been eating. I need to make sure that I take in enough calories too. I will look at some websites and find out what my "requirements" are. When I calculated my daily intake for yesterday, the total calories came up to be 1200, so I believe I need to up it some.

Thank you all so much for your help!

Tomo

Tomo, 28% BF at 120 lbs isn't as abnormal as it sounds :) You may actually end up surprizing yourself - it's quite likely that your ending weight will not change much from what it is, but your body composition will dramatically. It's very possible to lose 10 lbs of fat and replace it with 10 lbs of muscle - resulting in little or no scale change but 2 or 3 dress sizes biting the dust.

For more detailed info on using a weight training program like BodyRx and with LC nutrition, check out the sticky in the BFL forum on BLF and LC (Tips and Hints). While it's geared to the BFL program there are some links and some general info on resistance training and LC that should come in handy.

Nat

Wow! Wouldn't that be cool! (ending weight the same but all fat converting into muscle and you lose inches!) I measured myself at the beginning so only time (and a lot of weight lifting) will tell how things turn out.

I will definitely look at the sticky in the BFL forum to get more info!

Thanks again Nat!

Tomo