So, about four months ago, weighing 480lbs at age 32, I decided it was high time for a massive change. I'd tried dieting a couple times in the past, but gave up very quickly. Always hated physical activity- walking in particular... I dreaded it... still do. The big difference this time around was that I found a physical activity which I actually liked. Boxing. It is probably the most physically-demanding activity I could've stumbled on, but the fact that it's so fun and engaging (and such a stress-relief) make it such that I've stuck to it... and not just in some casual way where I do it once or twice a week. I started going three times a week to a coach who knew I needed much more than "just" boxing... so we did a lot of cardio and strength & conditioning. Then I started going four times a week, eventually five- and know six times a week. Each workout is between 1.5-2 hours and spans various different activities from boxing (bag work, mitts, as well as moving around with coach or someone else- not full sparring quite yet though) to treadmill, bicycle, weights (shoulder press, row, deadlift, even pushing those big heavy sleds, etc.), etc.
I am constantly in a state of great discomfort while training and always sore after- things which in my past life would've definitely caused me to abandon immediately... but even after that very first gruelling session which had my extremely sore for close to a week, I found something highly addictive about it and just fell in love. So despite always being somehow in a state of discomfort, I am hooked and keep going back. Now I usually see my coach just twice a week (sometimes three) and signed up at a great full-featured gym (which happens to have a great boxing program) to work more on strength + condition and cardio since he was lacking the tools. It's a good balance, but I sacrifice 1-2 days of more boxing-oriented exercise as a result, which is fine for the time being. I do have a goal to compete on an amateur level, at least a handful of fights, so will go even more all-in on the straight boxing eventually once I hit my goal weight (around 230lbs).
The one thing I've noticed is that even despite months of these intense workouts (several of which (namely the boxing itself) are extremely cardio-intensive) and 80lbs lost, is that my cardio is still pretty abysmal. And of course at 400lbs I still have a ton of weight on me, so probably no surprise that cardio is still horrible... but it's just that I would've expected at least SOME kind of perceptible difference for the better. My heart is still pounding just as easily and as hard and fast just a few minutes into our warmup stretches/exercises just as when I first started. I just get gassed out so freakin' quickly. We normally do 30-45 second rounds, but at the gym I've toyed with three minute rounds a few times, and, well, felt like dying by the end of a few rounds of those- genuinely thought I might get a heart attack. I'm just curious if this is simply due to the weight, despite doing many cardio-intense workouts, or if it's something else?
Lastly, briefly wanted to touch on diet... I never did the calorie counting thing, but at the beginning of this new journey was what I'd call "very strict". I did (and still do) a 16:8-20:4 IF, usually two meals a day with a snack in-between. Also did a fairly drastic calorie cut from a ballpark 3500-4k cal/day before (diet had to semblance of regularity- I ate anything I wanted at any time, no order) to roughly 1,500-2,500/day when starting. I'm still around that point, but less strict. I do a weekly cheat, but sometimes it ends up being 1.5 cheats/week. On the cheat meal, I still stay relatively clean most of the time- not going nuts with burgers, fried chicken, pizza, etc. But I also don't let calorie counting impact my enjoyment of food or impede on social gatherings I attend (though I've NOT had the pizza and wings on every hangout night with my friends since starting). I have always loved food and continue to, but now am a lot more strict with what I feed my body. My diet routine is far from perfect as I'm still trying to tweak it so as to help get the most power and energy for the workouts. I can put down a lot of food if needed so don't need any protein shakes or such- would rather just eat an extra chicken breast. But it really is a slow science noticing what works for you and what doesn't. My coach can, incredibly, tell the difference between when I've eaten too much (often less-than-great food) vs. too little, despite the results manifesting themselves very similarly... sluggish vs. gassed-out. He's been right each time I've been either as a result of diet.
Going into this, I knew there'd be plateaus at times... and it seems I've hit a big one now. Three weeks in a row after my weekly cheat meal I got back up to 410lbs (+10lbs overnight, whether it's water weight, sodium, whatever) and had to bust my ass off all week to get back down to 400. Three. times. in. a. row. I knew there'd be discouraging moments, but this is a big one I'm currently in the midst of and trying to finally blast past- hoping this is the weekend by which I'm finally under 400 and not bouncing back up. Really sucks when you bust your ass off in the gym doing all these gruelling workouts for up to two hours each day six days a week only to have to lose the same weight again. Will just do two cheat meals a month instead- really not that hard for me to cut down on them since I try to make my daily food as enjoyable as it is regardless.
TL;DR Started boxing @ 480lbs four months ago, very intense training 6 x a week currently (1.5-2hrs each session), doing 16:8-20:4 IF and clean eating (drastic calorie cut), lots of cardio and strength and condition training, down 80lbs so far, but cardio is still awful... seems same as before... is this normal/what am I doing wrong/how can I improve? Also, hitting plateau going from 400-410 3 weeks in a row (lost + gained + lost + gained...)- do I take one cheat meal off or just keep going?
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/rbl9h5/why_is_my_cardio_not_improving_after_four_months/
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