Jump to content

Introducing HIIT to my bulk program


Recommended Posts

Hey everybody,

 

I've been reading some of the forum articles on here (in particular, this one http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1774) and have a couple of questions.

 

I have been doing a bulk for the past few months (eating like crazy and lifting heavy) and have seen some good results. I have definitely got a lot stronger and put on some good muscle mass. However, with that muscle, came the chubs. I've been planning on moving into a cutting phase soon, but after reading the above article, I was wondering if instead I should continue my 3-4 days a week of heavy weight/low rep lifting and eating, and simply introduce a HIIT program on my off days? I have read that HIIT doesn't burn that many calories, but instead the unwanted blubber and ups my metabolic rate. And (from what some of the comments in the post say) I can still continue to put on muscle mass. Is this realistic?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi pb,

 

Sounds like the problem is more to do with your diet, i would recommend a simple calorie deficit diet or just being more cognizant of what your putting in your mouth. Also keep in mind, the body has a very limited reserve of sources, aka recovery ability, you dont want to set up an overtraining situation, besides, Your already upping your metabolic rate with your resistance training.

 

Give the body what it needs, intense training and REST.

 

best

Rob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, thanks for your response.

 

Yeah up until now I've just been concerned with getting the calories in and lifting heavy, then dealing with the excess fat afterwards. I haven't put on a lot of fat at all, but I just don't have much definition of the muscle I've made. I haven't been eating junk or many simple carbs or fats at all, just a lot of meals around whole foods. Lots of nuts, beans, tofu, lentils, fruit, veg etc. The occasional processed food like soya sausages.

 

So you would just recommend dropping down my calorie intake, continuing with my lifting regime of heavy and low rep (to maintain my gains, but not make any new gains) to trim the fat, then amend my diet to bulk as clean as possible when I'm down to the body fat percentage I want?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Indeed,

 

I personally was able to shift 50lbs of fat without the need for any "cardio", not to mention, HIIT is in most cases, high force/impact activity, there is a damage element to it. Simply decrease your calories 500-1000 below your maintenance level and you'll lose 1-2lbs of fat per week.

 

Best

Rob

Edited by HIT Rob
Link to comment
Share on other sites

pb,

if you like eating big, but still want to reduce bodyfat (and maintain lean tissue), then perhaps intermittent fasting (IF) might be for you. Besides reducing your bodyfat, there are many other health benefits that come alone with IF, such as better recovery ability, reduced blood pressure, improved resting heart rate, improved cognitive abilities etc.

 

Takes some a wee bit of getting used to, others find it easy.

 

Best

Rob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Make sure to eat about 500 kcal below maintenance in your cut and do your cardio on your off days, never after heavy weight training. I did Dorian Yates' Blood & Guts training with 2 times per week HIIT cardio on the off days in my cut. SO that's 4 weeks of weight training, 2 days of HIIT cardio and 1 day of doing absolutely nothing and go even lower in calories (about 1.000 calories below maintenance). To protect the muscles, I went higher in fatty acids and in protein and lower in carbs. Worked like a charm!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...