# Advice with workout and weight loss



## Sammy19 (Dec 13, 2021)

Hello,

I am a 50 year old male, it pretty good shape (i have worked out most of my life), I have a degree in Exercise Sports Science, I am a blue belt, and I need to lose weight. 

Currently I attended TKD with my daughter twice a week for 2 hours per session.

I need advice from some experienced people please.   It is true I have a university degree in Exercise, but I have never been 50 before nor doing Martial arts heavily like now.   It is putting unique strains on my body.  Weight just is not shedding and I have read so many article and books....   

* So what do you suggest I do as a workout for the 2-3 days I am not in TKD?  Weight training, yoga, Cardio, interval training???? 
Yes, I am aware diet is important and that is already changed.*

Please,  any advice would be great.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Dec 13, 2021)

Sammy19 said:


> I need to lose weight. ... *I am aware diet is important and that is already changed.*


Have you considered running? 3 miles, 5 miles, ...

I'm trying to add weight so I can't help you on your diet.


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## bill miller (Dec 13, 2021)

Sammy19 said:


> *So what do you suggest I do as a workout for the 2-3 days I am not in TKD? Weight training, yoga, Cardio, interval training????
> Yes, I am aware diet is important and that is already changed.*


I would say that cardio and interval training would be your best options,along with a good, balanced diet. Weight training may help a bit, provided that you work with light weights and multiple repetitions.


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## Ivan (Dec 13, 2021)

Sammy19 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am a 50 year old male, it pretty good shape (i have worked out most of my life), I have a degree in Exercise Sports Science, I am a blue belt, and I need to lose weight.
> 
> ...


It depends on your goals, but personally I would recommend heavy weights training. At your age, it is more than recommended that you start light and build up, but regardless of what training you do, *training barely factors into losing weight or fat*.
If your goal is to lose weight, cardio won’t help as much as the myths claim - the reality is, that you would need to run for a whole hour to burn off just 400 kcals on average.

Continue your martial arts training for endurance, and shape up your diet to include more protein, preferably from sources such as red meat and eggs. Balance the diet with some carbs such as rice and potatoes. Then begin heavy weight training (building up gradually) so as to use your protein to build muscle. If you follow these steps, along with doing some research to find the nuances to this, you will be able to lose fat and build muscle by using the energy stored in the fat you’re burning as calories to build muscle (this is a bit oversimplified but I believe it sums up the process). *You need to maintain a caloric deficit in order to do this.*

I’m no expert, but this is how I go about my fitness personally, and I can state sources to back up any claims necessary. Please correct me if I am wrong.


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## angelariz (Dec 13, 2021)

Sammy19 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am a 50 year old male, it pretty good shape (i have worked out most of my life), I have a degree in Exercise Sports Science, I am a blue belt, and I need to lose weight.
> 
> ...


Meal plan and meal prepping, burpees & jump rope are going to help you.


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## dvcochran (Dec 14, 2021)

Sammy19 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am a 50 year old male, it pretty good shape (i have worked out most of my life), I have a degree in Exercise Sports Science, I am a blue belt, and I need to lose weight.
> 
> ...


First and foremost, if you have not already had a good, thorough 50-year old health checkup (yes, that means going in from the top and the bottom ) get it done. Make certain there are no extenuating circumstances making things harder than they already are.

I am going to give some of my answers in the form of questions and observations of your post, so the observations are based on very limited information. 
I am 58 so I fully get the 'I have never been 50 before' comment. 
My experience with sports science was with my trainer when I made my Olympic run. He was very good at understanding there is no one set of metrics that work for everyone and he took the time to figure out what worked best for me. The parameters were different; we were working on S&C while maintaining weight (slight gain). But he always talked about how important it is to determine the inputs and subsequent results to know what is and is Not working. In other words, don't waste time doing things that have little or no effect. You will figure out this includes the foods you eat. 

Some of my comments come from your othr posts. 

You said you are doing MA's with your young daughter. Is this literal? Are you taking the same class? If so, do you truly believe you are working out at a level that nets results for your body size/type? An adult and a kid workout are two very different animals. Some schools/instructors can merge the two together and make it work for everyone, some do not. 
Even though I feel two-hour classes are better, they are becoming less and less frequent. The key question is how much of each 2-hour block are you actually working out? For how long are you able to have a measurable increase in heart rate and cardio?  Don't be guilty of thinking a light sweat constitutes cardio. I see this all the time.  

Is your work/lifestyle sedentary? This is very important. As you know, the body is akin to a hydraulic system, including a logic controller and a power source. The greatest efficiencies in any system like this are netted when the machine operates for a long(er) time. Running in steep peaks then steep valleys leads to all kinds of problems. The same is true with the body. Going from full start to full stop gets SO much harder as we age. Jumping into an exercise program from a baseline of near zero (sedentary) is simply harder. Doable but harder. It is very important to recognize this and set expectations accordingly. 

***Disclaimer*** I am not trained in exercise science and only know what I have experienced firsthand and have seen. I do know everyone's 'engine' performs differently. The system is quite complex. When someone figures out how to truly modify the logic controller to affect weight loss they will be a go-zillionaire. 
What is important to reconcile is that none of this matters for you. I wonder if you are basing your personal results off your 'established' norms from you education. That dog just will not hunt. 
1.) because they were partly or mostly wrong in the first place (way too broad) 
2.) because you are 50. Deal with it. 

Have you ever applied your education and knowledge? Actually pressure tested them? Taken it beyond the classroom? Because this is exactly where you are right now. 
Create a plan around the measurables you are seeing from your current exercise work. No, I doubt they will necessarily follow what you were taught. Whether that is surprising or not does not matter. But you should have the knowledge to understand and process the known inputs to determine what is working and what information is missing. This may sound complex but it really is not. 

If you are like me when I passed 50 keeping my strength has been much harder. So smart strength training with weights is a very important part of the recipe. As you can, add incremental cardio and interval training. I have very, very messed up legs and one of the best exercises I still do are bleacher runs (walks for me). They pretty much take care of everything. Balance, coordination, lower body strength, cardio conditioning, spatial conditioning, But do what you can; Yoga is great for everything I mentioned except the cardio. 

All in all, I really feel you are looking at yourself and expecting your body to react like it did when you were 25. Ain't gonna happen.


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## Yokozuna514 (Dec 14, 2021)

Sammy19 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am a 50 year old male, it pretty good shape (i have worked out most of my life), I have a degree in Exercise Sports Science, I am a blue belt, and I need to lose weight.
> 
> ...


When you say shed weight, you probably mean shedding fat.   Getting the six pack abs and the rippling muscles when you take off your T.   As many people have already said, it is more about your diet than anything else.  I'm slightly older than you and train about 10 hours a week.   I've been doing so for years and as you said, weight isn't shedding off.   I do a variety of exercise and sports as well as martial arts so the muscle is there, just underneath layers of 'insulation'.   In the spring, I pay more attention to what I am putting in my mouth and the fat just melts off.  All of this to say, pick activities you enjoy and that will either give you a good sweat (cardio) or help you pack on the muscle you want (weight training).   See a dietician to discuss the changes you can make to your diet to get the results you want.  Then all you have to do is follow it through.  That's the hard part.  Often, these plans include eliminating all the empty calories you are currently consuming.   Some people call it flavour others joy.   

Good luck on your journey


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## Sammy19 (Dec 14, 2021)

Wow,  Thank you for all the advice and thoughts.  No feel good crap, but real thoughts from experienced people .  So thanks for that.  

In answer to a few questions...

I am in the same class as my 16 year old daughter but do not train with her per se.  On average, according to my "fitbit" I burn on average 680 calories per 1 hour session and I do 4 sessions per week.

I would call my self in shape for a 50 year old male.  I do apply my degree and college football training to my daily life, but since I turned 48 my body "turned on me."   I understand the decreased metabolic rate, and all that science stuff....  But here I am gaining fat were I used to have none.  

My diet, due to a plethora of reasons has been terrible.....  I know that is the first place to start, so I have....  Meal prep, removing junk foods from the house....  it is great that my wife and family support this.

I did Karate as a child had to stop..... It has been a goal my whole life to be a black belt, and now that I am in Taekwondo I see this as a permanent part of my life.  It fulfills the "athlete" desire in me and is very difficult and challenging.  It helps me balance the pressures and stress of life because I belong to a dojang that is more than just me and I get to sweat like crazy.

Keep the thoughts coming if they occur.

Thanks again,


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## Kung Fu Wang (Dec 16, 2021)

Sammy19 said:


> *Weight training, yoga, Cardio, interval training???? *


I just finished 4 miles walking. During my walking I did 2,000 punches and 100 kicks.


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## Oily Dragon (Dec 17, 2021)

I think you should see this movie..then come back and let me know how it compares to the original.


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