Loosing definition

[KC5689]

Hi Cathe,
I just completed a 7 week rotation of the Gym style series and really like the results. I have gained definition for the first time, especially in my shoulders and biceps. My muscles seemed to respond well to this type of workout because I was doing PUB and ME (kind of rotating between the two) and didn't see any noticable change. Well anyway, I still need to loose 10 lbs. and have been slacking off with eating so I'm going to do your Jan 06 (Let's Work) and Feb 06 (Keep It Going) rotations to get myself in gear.

My question is will I loose the definition gained during this 2 month time. I know that both have upper body work but is it enough to keep what I've gained. Also, in general, do you keep the strength that you gain during one particular rotation once you go on to another roatation or do you have to go back to the same routine every so often to "keep" your results? I hope that this makes sense
Thanks,
KC

 

[KC5689]

bumping

 

[Lusignan]

I am not Cathe, but here is my 2 cents, for what it is worth


Losing muscle definition can happen for a certian number of reasons, and the biggest reason of all is lack of exercise, if you are exercising it will not just disappear. If you are not weight lifting it can start to lose a little, but once you pick up the weight there it is again.

I switch back and forth from all weight training to a mixture of weight & cardio to all cardio just to change things up and when I am all cardio I do not lose my muscle definition.

Another way to lose muscle definition is when you do not eat right or not enough calories and protein and all that other fun stuff to track and your body has to start burning muscle to have fuel for the day. If you are dieting to lose the weight some people will skip meals to skip the calorie intake, bad choice!! If you don't feed your body the right foods your body will have to start burning muscle to give itself energy. Sometimes when I am hungry and I don't have time to eat right I will grab a protein bar. Skipping breakfast (most common meal to skip) is the biggest dietiers mistake, eat fruit if you are worried about calories, or grab a 80calorie yogurt.

Just a little hint to help get those last 10lbs off.... weight training actually burns more calories and fat than cardio alone, but mixing them up will explode the number count being burned. Try a rotation that has a cardio/weight mixure for a few weeks in a row, such as Cathe's new workouts. If you have them... put them into a 2 month rotation and look in the mirror after that, you might not be able to look away!

Hope that helped!

 

[KC5689]

Thanks. That did help. From reading posting from everyone it seems that fitness (whether its keeping definition or staying within a certain lb. range) is an ongoing process. I find myself getting so worked up over if I'm going to achieve my goals and how I'm going to maintain them. But I it seems that I should just focus on being active and taking care of my body.
Just thinking out loud
KC

 

[debfer]

Hi KC- not cathe here and I'm not an expert but I did just sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night-LOL-no really- a month ago I just finished up 3 months of Gym Styles and I was burned out- I had developed more def. than in the past but now I know I had a layer of fat covering the muscles- I wasn't happy (wanted even more def.)-well since it use to be impossible for me to concentrate on exercise and nutrition at the same time I used this last month to concentrate soley on nutrition-I ate 98% cleaner than ever before in my life-I started GS again this week and not only did I NOT lose def. I seemed more defined because I lost 5 lbs.- I am slightly weaker (can't lift what I did a month ago) but I'll get it back- now that I'm adding weight lifting again I need to add another healthy meal to my day-good luck--deb