400 meter training/dieting..suggestions desperately needed

The Forums New to training
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Okay guys, here’s the situation. Right now I’m around 195ish with about 10 percent bodyfat. My goal, since I am on scholarship for track and field as a 400 meter dash sprinter, is to get to 180 lbs 6-7 percent bodyfat by practice, which is August 16th, without losing much strength/lbm and also increasing my endurance. I know that a lot of you guys are probably a bit skeptical about having me cut down to that low of bodyfat, especially when I’ll be running a lot during practice. My question is, what type of diet/training should I optimally be on? Should it be the typical bodybuilders cutting diet or should it be tweaked to fit a more active schedule for an athlete? here is what my training is going to look like:

Day 1- am weightroom-backsquats, lunges, step ups, core work

Day 2- pm sprints-nothing over 1000 meters of combined distance(8x100 meters, 200x4, 300x3)

Day 3- am weightroom- powercleans, hang cleans, one legged squats, weighted hyperextensions
pm sprints- 2-3 200 meter dash timed sprints, goal is to beat previous time each week

Day 4-am weightroom- barbell bench, incline dumbell, barbell shoulder press, core work, arms, calves

day 5- am plyometrics
pm sprints- 4x400s

day 6- am-tennis, basketball, or football.
pm- weighroom-whatever I want to do(my choice)

Day 7-rest

usually i’ll eat 5 meals or so a day including lean meats, complex carbs 2x a day, protein shakes after my workouts, and a fat source before bed.

please help. reps for well thought out replies and ideas.

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I can suggest advice on diet only: get adequate protein, adequate carbs, the right fats, plenty of fruit and veg and supplement well: get the basics right.

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If you are are truly 195 and 10% BF, you will be 2.5% BF at 180 if you don’t lose any muscle. In order to get down to 180, you’ll have to shed some muscle, or you’re more than 10% right now.

Dropping to 7% BF would put you at 189lbs.

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Here is a picture. I am leaner than in this picture ATM, and the only reason I say 10 percent is because that’s what my caliber says. Right now I’m not in very good shape overall by any standards, at least, not near where I am by mid-season(which is where I want to be to begin track season, I want to show up in incredible shape.) Where should I start? I’m trying to educate myself but there aren’t a whole lot of threads especially applicable to my situation.

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ok, it’s hard because I want to be able to not only supply my body with the energy it needs to be productive in my training, but also with a diet appropriate and closely resembling something that will help me cut down weight without losing much lean body mass.

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In that picture, you don’t give the appearance of your average 400m runner - it looks like you’ve been bodybuilding. What times are you running this season, and how tall are you? Are you graduating from high school right now?

If you want to drop weight - you can lose some muscle from your arms, shoulders, and chest in addition to fat loss. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but you can lose some muscle from your back as well. You’re significantly over 10% BF in that picture.

Looking at your picture and your training routine, you need to increase the amount of running you do, and decrease the amount of weightlifting you do. Currently, you’re doing 3200m a week, and it’s mostly sprinting. You don’t run more than a 400m atm, and that needs to change.

Look in some of the training journals. There are quite a few good ones, and I’m sure you can find a good program for 400m in there.

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Yeah, I put on a lot of mass within the last six months. i’m 5’8’’. my best time is 51.02 for the 400 this year. I actually got my GED this last year(long story.). I need to find a way to be able to SLOWLY get into getting my body back into shape for the 400…I don’t want to absolutely annihilate myself right away…I want to come in slowly.

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Or you could always check under “Fundamentals” and look at the 400m training thread titled something like “lactate threshold”… a lot of people have oput together a lot of 400m training and racing knowledge. You might start from Page 7 where some 400m coaching philosophies and structures are discussed in some detail…

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It’s time for a new Forum review :slight_smile: V2