Hey guys I have been looking at this forum on and off and I figured I'd stop in for a little bit of advice. I recently enlisted in the United States Army and I am shipping out April 29th for basic training. I have a little over 3 months to get in shape for basic. I have already started training for about a week and a half so far and I just want a critique on my workout and any suggestions or advice.

I am 5'8 and 180 pounds, looking to lose about 10-15 pounds of fat and put on some muscle.

My current plan is to work out 7x a week, alternating between upper and lower body (I do abs everyday) and on the 7th day just doing some cardio and light lifting.

Monday:
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
60 minute workout
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
30 minutes swimming

Tuesday:
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
60 minute workout
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
30 minutes swimming

Wednesday:
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
60 minute workout
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
30 minutes swimming

Thursday:
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
60 minute workout
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
30 minutes swimming

Friday:
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
60 minute workout
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
30 minutes swimming

Saturday:
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
60 minute workout
5 minutes stretching
30 minutes cardio
30 minutes swimming

Sunday:
30 minutes cardio
Abs
30 minutes swimming


I eat around 2000-2500 calories a day, I have a pretty balanced diet, I stay away from junk and I drink a protein shake during my workout (half during and the other half when im finished).

I have recently been reading a lot about cardio and I have seen SO many different views on whether or not it burns muscle or fat if you do too much and how you do it so I am worried I might be doing too much. Any advice on that would be much appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

You shouldnt workout 7 days per week. You'll get enough overtraining in boot camp..lol. Seriously though 5 days a week would be much better cuz your body needs time to rest and recover so it can get stronger and in better condition.

GL in the army and with your fitness goals.

What wesrman said is dead on.

1) If days does not matter, train for 3 days and take one day off. But 7 days is too much. If you are determined to train that much then take out Thursday and you might be alright since sunday is a "light" day.

2) Move the Stretch out AFTER the warmup cardio and between the weights.

3) I'd cut the 30 minutes cardio before weights to 10-15 minutes and add that to the 60 minutes and make it 75-80 minutes.

4) While doing weights try to aim to do 3-5 sets at 10-15 reps per for glycogen depletion.

5) if you main goal is to lose weight, cut the carbs back to 20% or less. It's tough. Also always eat 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight so in your case, aim for 180g of protein.


Good luck man and THANK you for serving our nation, God bless.
--Tic