Tim Taylor

Q. Hi Tim,

My name is Naim B. I am writing to you from İstanbul, Turkey where I live. I am 45 years old, 1.83 mt.tall (6 ft.) and weigh 178 - 180 lbs. I have done sports regularly throughout my life. Here is my work out program:

Swimming – 2 days a week for 1 hour (approx. 1.2 miles per workout)
Running – 1 day a week for 1 hour
Cycling – One day a week for 2 hours
Endurance Training – One day a week
Strength Training – Once or two days per week

For many years , I did strength training. At that time , I was training for 4-5 days a week in theGym.

Here are my targets :

I want to increase my endurance level so that I can reach higher levels in running/cycling. Running a half marathon is one of my goals.
I want to have six pack abs!
I want to have a muscular, lean, balanced body.

As far as nutrition is concerned , I do keep a high protein diet, (a lot of fish and chicken, less red meat). I eat carbohydrates, plenty of salads, vegetables and fruit.

I have been taking multivitamins for various years. Some days particularly when I do strength training and endurancetraining I drink whey protein shakes. I have used amino acid tablets (BCAA)in the past especially when I have increased my cardio work (e.g. running 3-4 times a week) for recovery. In the past, I have used antioxidants too.

I would like to find out your recommendations for me To reach my targets in terms of vitamins/supplements/Nutrition, etc. Your suggestions concerning training program Would be most welcome.

Best Regards, Naim B. Istanbul

A.

Greetings, Naim!

Thanks for writing, my friend. It's good to know there are fitness enthusiasts like you all over the globe who are tuning into our site to enhance their training in an effort to advance to another personal level. From the overview you've given me of your current training regimen, it sounds like you're already exercising more than the average person, both here in America, and abroad, and for that, you deserve congratulations.

Judging from your height/weight you've given me, I'd confirm that you're in the normal weight category, and having never seen you, I'd want to ask you to monitor your body fat percentage for me in the following fashion: take the measurement of your skin fold at two sites, the umbilicus (right beside the bellybutton), and the suprailiac (the proverbial love handle at the side of the waist, and the measurement of your waist. Depending on those measurements, I'd then want to talk with you about the portion sizes and timing, of your meal intake, because it sounds like your food choices are along the lines of what they should be, ie. it sounds like you're not eating much junk. What I'd be aiming to make sure of, however, is that you're not eating too much of the good quality food, which can be a reason why many fail to fully maximize their training potential from day to day and month to month, basically eating too much of what otherwise are considered good things, but if they would only cut back slightly, would see further improvement. Ideally, I'd like to see you spreading out your existing food intake over 7 to 8 meals per day, a small meal or snack approximately once every hour & 40 minutes to two hours, taking in the majority of your carbohydrate-intensive meals before 5pm with the last 2-3 meals of the day being concentrated more in protein and what fat they naturally contain. Given an assumed bedtime of 9 or 10pm, I'd like you to have your last meal in you by at least 7pm, going to bed on an empty or basically almost empty stomach.

Using those basic parameters, I'd then monitor your skin folds and waist measurement from day to day, and week to week and make small adjustments to the quantity of the various foods you're eating in your daily nutrition regimen so that your skin folds end up below 6 or 7 mm's and when there, take note also of where your waist measurement is at that time. It is these data points that will be a maintenance goal for you to keep in place as you train further in the months ahead, because it is at this point that you're body is carrying the least amount of extra fat and will be more able to train at the peak levels that will achieve the longer term goals you've set for yourself. You may find that with a reduction in bodyfat, there will be an almost effortless increase in your endurance levels under the same training protocols you're currently using in swimming, running, and cycling, and it will be at that point, that you will be able to possibly ramp up the intensity of selected workouts to push yourself a bit harder in the areas in which you feel you are the weakest, or the event that is the closest at hand.

I'm glad to hear you're taking a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement, while also adding anti-oxidants, such as Beta-Carotene, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E. I'd like to see you also drinking either Twinlab® Ultra Fuel® or Twinlab® Endurance Fuel™ before, during and after your workouts, your choice depending on your taste preference and your caloric requirements during your workouts, and also factoring in your daily energy needs. For your weight training days, which I'd encourage you to increase from 1-2 to at least 2-3 days per week, maybe giving up an endurance workout, I'd ask you to try both Twinlab® Creatine Fuel® & Twinlab® Glutamine Fuel®, sandwiching your workouts with doses before and after each workout session. Also, without knowing your tolerance for caffeine and other thermogenics, you might consider adding any of the Twinlab® Ripped Fuel® product line to your supplement arsenal.

If I'm assuming correctly that your training targets are in order of your personal priorities, I'd say that, while assuming that you're not at the 6 or 7mm skin fold level of "lean" already, that if/when you achieve that, you're endurance goals will already be several steps closer to your reach. Then, with the addition of some interval training protocols to your scheduled endurance workouts, you should be able to run that half marathon without a problem. Your Targets 2 & 3 revolve around weight training, thus my encouragement for more of these workouts in your training week. With proper nutrition (quality and adequate, but not excessive quantity), a well-balanced weight training program should start to reveal the beginnings of a 2, then 4, then finally your 6-pack as your skin folds & waist measurement decrease gradually, and you'll find that not if, but when, you achieve this 6-pack-goal, providing you're training your other major muscle groups as well, you'll end up with the muscular, lean, well-balanced body you're craving, and that will make heads turn, and start others around you, in your gym and on the street, start asking questions to you regarding your personal nutrition and training strategy.

All my best wishes for you and your on-going training efforts and let me know if you have further questions regarding what we've discussed here.

Wishing you well,

Tim Taylor
Team Fuel Athlete
2007 Mr. Fitness