Rugger's gotta lose some weight - wanna fight - Fight Forum - MMA - UFC - Boxing - K1

rugger · 05-09-2007, 12:07 PM

Current weight 208
Target 195

I am pretty happy with my physique, general fitness and BF levels, but as of last night I started training MMA at the gym again (Grapplers Domain). Due to family and work commitments I haven't been training there in several months.

So I have decided that I might as well get into some amatuer grappling and MMA tournaments as soon as practically possible. I have the type of personality that compels me to compete in whatever I am doing.

Reportedly the amatuer grappling and MMA circuit in Texas and Austin is pretty active and organized. I am a novice, never competed and I have only attended abou 10 grappling classes and 2 MMA classes. At these local tournies (atleast some of them) the weigh ins are the day before the tournaments, so that means I need to drop down to a walking weight of 195 in order to compete in the 185 class.

Dropping from 208 to 195 will be very easy for me, physically (mentally I hate being below 200). Winter of 05 I dropped from 220 to 195 in a couple of months without losing much muscle mass.

So now, I have to pratice my favorite weight lose technique - empty stomach morning cardio. With summer coming up, that will be easier - not having to shuttle my son to school and then hurry to work.

Anyway, like Crash and now GSPalltheway I might keep a journal on here. People seem to like them and frankly I have many years of experience in the area of nutrition and fitness to share.

That it all.

sitnspin · 05-09-2007, 12:24 PM

Cool -- looking forward to reading it. And it's nice to hear you're heading straight into competition. There are a lot of people who will train themselves forever, saying they plan to get into competition as soon as they're "ready", but that definition of readiness will change forever, providing endless excuses.

AikaImmortal · 05-09-2007, 12:30 PM

Yeah dude, Austin is second only to DFW for active circuits.

Put a picture of Star Jones above your dinner table/oven/fridge and youll lose weight fast bro.

sitnspin · 05-09-2007, 12:35 PM

And you'll never get another erection...

ufc-Joseph-Bower-ufc · 05-09-2007, 12:59 PM

LMFAO I did not see that coming.

bayouboy · 05-09-2007, 03:30 PM

This thread sure took a turn for the worse.

So just a question from the original post. Is an early morning workout with an empty stomach the best the way to lose weight.

Also, I need some help on a little bet I'm in with some friends.
The bet is if I can get a six pack.

I am 5/10, 175, fairly athletic. What's the best advice?

rugger · 05-09-2007, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bayouboy

This thread sure took a turn for the worse.

So just a question from the original post. Is an early morning workout with an empty stomach the best the way to lose weight.

Also, I need some help on a little bet I'm in with some friends.
The bet is if I can get a six pack.

I am 5/10, 175, fairly athletic. What's the best advice?

IMO it happens to be both very effective and very easy. In my experience the easiest, no-brainer and very effective way to lose weight without sacrificing lean mass. The old school mentality that believes that it's difficult to lose weight without losing muscle is dead wrong. In fact you can lose BF and gain muscle at the same time (without gear).

Doing this cardio is easy in that it does not require that intensity be high at all, in fact if the intensity is more than moderate the body will resort to concerting protein to carbs - catabolize muscle for energy.

There are several threads about this including my very old one
http://www.fightforum.com/fight-trai...ng-winter.html, in which when it was all said and done I dropped from 220 to 196 in about 2 months without sacrificing much muscle.

Harms · 05-09-2007, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rugger

IMO it happens to be both very effective and very easy. In my experience the easiest, no-brainer and very effective way to lose weight without sacrificing lean mass. The old school mentality that believes that it's difficult to lose weight without losing muscle is dead wrong. In fact you can lose BF and gain muscle at the same time (without gear).

Doing this cardio is easy in that it does not require that intensity be high at all, in fact if the intensity is more than moderate the body will resort to concerting protein to carbs - catabolize muscle for energy.

There are several threads about this including my very old one
http://www.fightforum.com/fight-trai...ng-winter.html, in which when it was all said and done I dropped from 220 to 196 in about 2 months without sacrificing much muscle.

I read that also in I think an issue of Muscle and Fitness Mag on how to cut fat.

sitnspin · 05-10-2007, 06:52 AM

Hey Rugger. At the end of the day, it's still about calories in versus calories burnt, right? So does running on an empty stomach really make a difference if you're going to come home and eat your breakfast in a little while anyway?

rugger · 05-10-2007, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sitnspin

Hey Rugger. At the end of the day, it's still about calories in versus calories burnt, right? So does running on an empty stomach really make a difference if you're going to come home and eat your breakfast in a little while anyway?

Generally, yes it still boils down to calories in vs out. My diet will change slightly also, but not too much. I am still not a complete believer in that idea, different nutrients are used in different ways at different times and all of this can vary by the individual.

My goal is to lose FAT, not WEIGHT. By doing cardio (not running) in the morning in this manner you are doing several things - you ensure that you are burning fat rather than carbs or protein. If you are doing cardio during the day or evening you are going to be burning calories, but those carlories will be in the form of glycogen most likely, not fat. I want my carbs to fuel my activities and protein to repair my muscle, not to simply be "used". I also believe that your metabolism is generally higher during the day and there is a carry over affect from the morning session that keeps your metabolism in high gear throughout the day. I believe that you will also get more out of your food from this method - your body is primed to uptake nutrients and shuttle them to replace the glycogen stores and along with that the protein.

I have said it before - on paper this looks like a bad approach and a recipe for muscle loss, but I have done it time and time again with great success. I have had several clients and friends also do this with great success.

The key to not using muscle during these early workouts is keeping the activity easy to moderate. Generally low impact and pretty low intensity, riding, light rowing, light skipping, walking, maybe a very easy jog (more of a powerwalk).

rugger · 05-10-2007, 03:15 PM

I'm going to jump right in an probably do a tournament hosted by my school on June 2nd. So, whatever weight I am that day is the class I will be in. The grappling tournies have weigh in the day of, it's the both the Amatuer and Pro MMA that are the day before.

Next up after that:
July 7 (my anniversary, not so sure the wife will dig that)
August 18 - definitely doing this barring anything unforeseen

AikaImmortal · 05-10-2007, 03:31 PM

Let us know how everything goes.. best of luck to you!

rugger · 05-10-2007, 04:31 PM

Thanks AkaI. Do you compete, ever get to Austin.

The NAGA rules are a bit disorganized. Can someone confirm for me... no gi rules state that clothing can be used against you but not for the purpose of submission. If I am interpreting that correctly that means that I can grab someone's shorts to maneuver or control, correct? I think I have asked this before.

This will help not only with understanding the rules, but with determining my choice of shorts - probably get the nut hugger vale tudo shorts rather than board shorts.

AikaImmortal · 05-10-2007, 04:42 PM

Dude, I can't make heads from tails for NAGA rules but one of my buddies has competed before.. let me give him a call after work; perhaps he knows.

rugger · 05-10-2007, 05:04 PM

Thanks again. I go to a school full of competing grapplers, the school hosts tournaments often also, so someone will answer my questions, but I figured someone here would know.

rugger · 05-10-2007, 09:37 PM

Reportedly refs will warn against use of your opponents clothing in no gi grappling. Our school typically has NAGA refs at our tournaments.

June 2 is a mistake, so July 7 is probably the earliest opportunity for me, but that is my anniversary and my wife is rather high-maintenance...she wouldn't "allow" me to play in a rugby tournament the morning of our wedding...pfft. My teammates are going to see if there is anything close (Austin/SA) in June.

We are hosting XFC on June 22 but that is a pro MMA event only- the owners of Grapplers Domain own XFC also. beta2

texmo · 05-11-2007, 02:22 AM

Hey Rugger,

What is your normal form of exercise in the morning and how long do you work out for? Do you use a heart rate monitor to keep track of your BPM?

Sorry excuse me for being a idiot I just read this.

rugger · 05-11-2007, 08:09 AM

texmo,
Prior to last year I did not use a HRM, but now I do. I used to exercise at a perceived 'easy to moderate' pace. A pace that I could easily hold a conversation if I wanted and a pace at which I experience no muscle burn whatsoever. I would do that for 20-45 minutes - really dependant on how much time I managed to give myself.

Now I would do this with a HRM and stay on the low end of 60-70% of my (theorectical) max HR again for about 30 minutes.

I found this method a guaranteed way to lose fat very quicklly without losing muscle - diet again is king, 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% good fats - my carbs are higher on resistance training days to fuel and refuel and my fats are lower. Pre and post resistance training I want no fats in my blood or in my diet, because I am spiking my insulin with the carbs.

Chances are we'll have only 4 weight classes at these local tournament, so after I get clarification I think I might not be dropping much weight after all unless I decide to go into the MMA fights. I woke up weighing 204 today, I could easily lose 5 lbs of water (and solid waste) within a hour or 2 with no ill effects, putting me at 199 - the top of the middle weight if we have 4 classes. However, with a goal of maximizing my efficicency I should probably try to change my body composition, losing some BF while losing very little weight.

MTKrav911 · 05-13-2007, 01:52 PM

RUgger, if that's you in your AV WTF are you worried about weight for?

Lol.

Just kidding, good luck, just don't drop much weight you'll lose power. You'll need some in the cage/ring bro.

Good Luck!

rugger · 05-13-2007, 02:31 PM

That is me in my avatar, but that is me a little heavier and leaner, not much different though. Hovering around 205 so I am not going to worry much about my weight, I'll just drop 6 lbs within a day of the weigh in to make sure I am not in the bottom of the HW division. At worst I'll be 6 lbs shy of the ceiling for the LHW, at best the heaviest of the 185-199 div.