Trying something new! Opinions?!

[MarsAttacks]

hello everyone,

 

I have always trained for strength. Focusing on basic compound lifts. However I have gained some unwanted fat in the process. To be honest my diet is decent, except for eating late and I don't do any cardio, except for a walk on off days to help recovery. A friend suggested that I do HIIT but i feel that it would seriously hinder my recovery and I am scared that too much long low intensity cardio will affect my ultimate strength goals. So apart from trying to clean up my diet, i've decided to change my training workout for a while to focus mainly on fat-loss without seriously hurting strength and size. Let me know what you think

 

Right now I train with a 2 day split - 3 days a week, using 90% compound lifts. I would change it to.:

 

Day 1: - - Barbell Complex (5 compound lifts / 8-10 reps x 4 sets) 10%rm

Day 2: - - Dumbell Complex (5 compound lifts / 8-10 reps x 4 sets) 10%rm

Day 3: - - Kettlebell Complex (Swings/snatches/rows etc. )

In between days: RECOVERY; Brisk walk / foam rolling.

 

I'm thinking of doing this routine for 2-4 weeks (not sure yet) before going back to my strength routine. BTW, i'm looking to drop between 15-20 lbs. I am 6 feet/240lbs now.

 

Thnks

[Marcina]

I think HIITs are actually a great idea. Just start off doing 20 minutes. You can even do them on the elliptical trainer or bike, then it's less impact for ya. It shouldn't affect the recovery process.

[MarsAttacks]

So are you suggesting doing both HIIT and strength training at the same time(off days?).

 

I have tried that before but i really ended up cutting myself short on both. Pretty much all my lifts went down and I felt pretty sluggish. I'm assuming it's because I wasn't able to recover properly.

 

That's why i'm considering just training for fat loss and then going back to trainig for strength

[sydneyvegan]

Personally I have found the best way to keep the fat off, but also keep my strength is through Cardio in the fat burning range.

So I do 20-30 mins at the end of every weight session. Sure you don't burn as many calories as High intensity cardio, but you are burning a higher percentage of calories from fat. I also find that you can be pretty fatigued after a work out, and you are still able to complete the 20mins.

On mine non lifting days I tend to have sport or training for sport, which tends to be high intensity training. If I don't I'll make sure I walk as much as possible, walk to the shops, get off the bus one stop early, take the stairs etc.

It goes without saying that your diet needs to be good, but I guessing you already have that sorted.

[phillip]

I like to do some form a aerobic activity before I lift. It helps warm up and burns a few calories. Otherwise it's cycling for me. I don't know of a better method for losing fat while retaining muscle than that. Of course I'm a fatty atm but it has worked well for me in the past.

[Marcina]

So are you suggesting doing both HIIT and strength training at the same time(off days?).

 

I have tried that before but i really ended up cutting myself short on both. Pretty much all my lifts went down and I felt pretty sluggish. I'm assuming it's because I wasn't able to recover properly.

 

That's why i'm considering just training for fat loss and then going back to trainig for strength

 

I mean do HIITs on non-lifting days. If you want to do it on a lifting day, do it after your weights.

 

But if you wanna lose fat, even just intense lifting with little rest in between sets will help you burn more calories.

[blabbate]

Listen to Marcina. HIIT on off days is probably best. If you want to do it on lifting days, do it afterwards. HIIT won't eat at your glycogen stores during the workout as much as low-intensity aerobic exercise, but it'll kick up your EPOC for much longer. You'll also be nicely pushing your lactic threshold and VO2Max. Just be sure to eat enough clean foods to recover properly.

[MarsAttacks]

thanks for the input...

 

i just get pretty confused with the whole cardio thing. A good friend suggested HIT cardio before or on off days but I've always heard that if you're training intensely for strength, HIT will only hurt your recovery. So I thought of doing very low intensity cardio on off-days (just a brisk walk) but I've read (alwyn cosgrove, charles poliquin etc.) that aerobic training is very counter productive for strength athletes. lol

[blabbate]

thanks for the input...

 

i just get pretty confused with the whole cardio thing. A good friend suggested HIT cardio before or on off days but I've always heard that if you're training intensely for strength, HIT will only hurt your recovery. So I thought of doing very low intensity cardio on off-days (just a brisk walk) but I've read (alwyn cosgrove, charles poliquin etc.) that aerobic training is very counter productive for strength athletes. lol

In a basic sense, HIIT is much more similar to weightlifting than aerobic cardio is. They're both short, intense bursts of energy that utilize ATP-CP and anaerobic glycolysis through extreme stress. They utilize muscle in similar ways (short duration, power) and will build muscle correspondingly.

 

Aerobic exercise is long-duration and low-stress with most energy coming from aerobic glycolysis and some from fatty acids. It trains your muscles for endurance.

 

That's not to say you can never do endurance work if you do strength/HIIT or that you can never do strength work if you run for distance, but look at the legs of a sprinter vs those of a marathoner and tell me which one you think has the better squat numbers.

 

My only worry with HIIT is overtraining. HIIT and strength training are essentially complementary, but that means you have to be careful not to overexert. That's where you'll see deficiencies in recovery. If you overwork your muscles or CNS with intensity training, regardless of what kind, you'll pay the price. Also, I wouldn't do the HIIT before lifting if you want maximum strength performance. I've read that the ideal time is after lifting, since you add some burn, boost your EPOC even more, and don't take the chance of compromising your recovery day.

 

This is the kind of thing that differs by person, though. You'll probably need to play around with a few plans before you find what works best for you. Try HIIT at different times for different durations or at different intensities. Mix in different exercises (sprinting, bike, jump rope, elliptical, stairs, etc). It's about finding what works best for you.

[MarsAttacks]

Thanks a lot Bruce.

Edited May 21, 2009 by MarsAttacks

[Gaia]

You could also just try to maintain the weights you are lifting at now: maintenance cycle, while you play around with cardio to burn off the excess bodyfat. Just do a warm up set to get the blood flowing and muscles warmed up, and then lift your usual weight for a set or two: no pushing it! When the muscles can't lift the usual weight, then you are overdoing the cardio. Once you like where you are at, then back off the cardio and lift heavy again.