training for cardio and losing fat?

[liquidmonkey]

after some time of doing the 5x5 program i've noticed two things.
- i'm starting to get fat, mostly around my belly which of course ok since i'm eating like crazy.
- my cardio is terrible

since i'm gonna take a 3 month break from the 5x5 (to change things up a bit) i'm wondering is there a specific type of training where i can train for both cardio and fat lose?

i was thinking of throwing together some weight sets but doing them really fast, as in 30 seconds rest between sets but am curious what the pros here say

oh, i can't run or do high impact leg exercises as i have a bad hip.


thanks for any advice or links!

[Off Road]

Prowler pushes, sled dragging, sprints, and barbell complexes are all pretty good to focus on for conditioning and fat loss. Do a search, there is tons of information here.

[Alex.V]

after some time of doing the 5x5 program i've noticed two things.
- i'm starting to get fat, mostly around my belly which of course ok since i'm eating like crazy.
- my cardio is terrible

since i'm gonna take a 3 month break from the 5x5 (to change things up a bit) i'm wondering is there a specific type of training where i can train for both cardio and fat lose?

i was thinking of throwing together some weight sets but doing them really fast, as in 30 seconds rest between sets but am curious what the pros here say

oh, i can't run or do high impact leg exercises as i have a bad hip.


thanks for any advice or links!

Extra sets and lifting circuits do next to nothing for aerobic conditioning or fat loss. The extra calories burned is negligible, and all they really do is compromise the quality of the lifting.

If you're interested in continuing to lift and stay strong, I would recommend relatively low intensity swimming or cycling- with swimming being your best bet. If you have any capacity to do either of those, I can toss out a few ideas.

Off road's suggestions are solid, but if you have a bad hip, those would all probably be pretty rough on you.

[yayeti]

Extra sets and lifting circuits do next to nothing for aerobic conditioning or fat loss. The extra calories burned is negligible, and all they really do is compromise the quality of the lifting.

If you're interested in continuing to lift and stay strong, I would recommend relatively low intensity swimming or cycling- with swimming being your best bet. If you have any capacity to do either of those, I can toss out a few ideas.

Off road's suggestions are solid, but if you have a bad hip, those would all probably be pretty rough on you.

Wait, so you're saying those metabolic supersets that are 3 or 4 exercises with high reps and no rest in between don't increase your metabolic rate or increase fat loss? It would be better to lift heavy and rest 2-3 minutes in between sets?

And what about stairs, elliptical or running?

[AdamC]

You can easily do that. I do it all the time by utilizing supersets and trisets. If I don't feel like lifting set after set I'll do wall ball throws, box jumps, or something similar to keep my heart rate from dropping.

[Alex.V]

Wait, so you're saying those metabolic supersets that are 3 or 4 exercises with high reps and no rest in between don't increase your metabolic rate or increase fat loss? It would be better to lift heavy and rest 2-3 minutes in between sets?

And what about stairs, elliptical or running?

The increases in metabolic rate/fat loss are a drop in the bucket, but the negative effects on your lifting are significant.

Trying to keep your heart rate up while lifting to burn more calories is a complete waste of time unless you're specifically training for an event where that is needed. You'll burn a few dozen more calories but your lifts will suffer.

Every workout should have a purpose- get stronger, get bigger, get faster, shed fat, build aerobic endurance, SOMETHING. If you try combining ones that work at cross purposes or don't directly compliment each other (or require overlap for your chosen sport), then you are wasting your time. Doing sled pushes in between sprints/stadiums, power cleans and medicine ball throws would make sense for a rugby player, but not for a bodybuilder, powerlifter, runner, sprinter, or someone trying to improve body composition.

Stairs, elliptical, running, all will burn far more calories and do more to stimulate positive aerobic adaptation.

[ZAR-FIT]

Bodybuilder's approach-

Cardio (stairs or stepper or incline treadmil) 45 minutes in the morning empty stomach w/ a fat burner (AtLarge's AXCEL)- FAT LOSS
Weights (later in afternoon) - heavy as possible with 8-15 being majority of rep amount- 1-2minutes rest.

[yayeti]

Bodybuilder's approach-

Cardio (stairs or stepper or incline treadmil) 45 minutes in the morning empty stomach w/ a fat burner (AtLarge's AXCEL)- FAT LOSS
Weights (later in afternoon) - heavy as possible with 8-15 being majority of rep amount- 1-2minutes rest.

Why such a short rest period? Would it be better to allow more time for your muscles to recover so you can lift more on the next set and exert a greater growth stimulus?

[synonymous]

Rather than start a new thread, I wondered what this would look like for fat loss/cardio doing this Mon, Wed, Fri. I assume complexes are that you would do exercises back to back. Once you've gone through each set once, you rest for (?) long. Add weight, or stay the same?

Overhead squat 8x3
Back squat 8x3
Good morning 8x3
Front squat 8x3
Rows 8x3
Deadlift 8x3

Would doing something like this Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri be too much? Fat loss is the goal, improved cardio is the benefit. Or have I got it all wrong?

[Off Road]

Complexes for Fat Loss; read it

[synonymous]

Alright.

So it says to do it after your regular workout or on off days. Unfortunately, I my off days are off days because of work. It sucks, I know. After my regular workout, I'm already pretty wreaked.

I guess my question is, would I be cheating myself if I went in only doing complexes? I'll have to give it a try after a regular workout to see how my body feels. I'm going into fat burning mode while trying to maintain mass and be able to sprint up 10 flights of stairs (My apartment) without feeling winded at the end (I do this once or twice a day).

[Alex.V]

Alright.

So it says to do it after your regular workout or on off days. Unfortunately, I my off days are off days because of work. It sucks, I know. After my regular workout, I'm already pretty wreaked.

I guess my question is, would I be cheating myself if I went in only doing complexes? I'll have to give it a try after a regular workout to see how my body feels. I'm going into fat burning mode while trying to maintain mass and be able to sprint up 10 flights of stairs (My apartment) without feeling winded at the end (I do this once or twice a day).

Cheating yourself? If you mean burning fewer calories and building less strength than you would by lifting heavy and doing steady state cardio, then yes.

[synonymous]

I might be beating a dead horse here, but is doing complexes after heavy lifting not overtraining? Or is the idea to have the weight set so that it's challenging but not for the purposes of strength training...

[Off Road]

Click the link and read;
Utilizing Gym Complexes for Power & Conditioning
by Tom Mutaffis: Competitive Strongman
http://www.wannabebig.com/newsletter/090109.html

[synonymous]

Click the link and read;
Utilizing Gym Complexes for Power & Conditioning
by Tom Mutaffis: Competitive Strongman
http://www.wannabebig.com/newsletter/090109.html

Thank you very much for that link. It explained a lot. Forgive me if I still have questions. I don't want to mess things up.

Would this be a good way to start:


Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: Lower Body
Wednesday: Upper Body Accessory
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Upper Body
Saturday & Sunday: Rest / Active Lifestyle

This is the split that was shown as a way to do it, so I'm comfortable here. How about the choices of exercises and sets/reps


Monday: Wide Grip Chins, Weighted Dips, Hammer Curls (5 sets of 8)
Tuesday: Back Squat, Conventional Deadlift, Hack Squat (5 sets of 8)
Wednesday: Upper Body Accessory (I still don't quite understand accessories. Is this meant as a way for you to pick up on body parts that may be lagging?)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Same as Monday
Saturday & Sunday: Rest / Active Lifestyle

Again, I apologize for still not fully understanding everything. The article didn't mention whether these were done after your regular lifting routine or if this was your routine in order to, depending on rest time, add strength, mass or conventional health for athletes. Since I'm looking at body recomposition (Fat loss), I will assume my time should between sets should be 1 to 1.5 minutes.

Also are my sets to reps good for the beginner/intermediate phase? I'd gladly move things around to make optimal use of my time.

[synonymous]

Just gonna give this one bump.

I have to shed the weight and work on overall health. My overall h1ac blood sugar is 5.5 (Normal in my country is anything between 5 and 6) but fasting blood glucose is 170. Doctor has no idea why. Going in for another test in 2 weeks. He said (According to blood tests) that I've been putting my body through too much. There is a chemical (Hormone) that can tell a doctor how much pain your body is going through, skeletal muscular pain...and it was high. I never heard of this but he said to focus more on fat loss than muscle gain.

It sucks losing power, losing mass. Hopefully the gain in endurance will help motivate me to keep up with a more 'fat loss routine' and 'fat loss diet'....the diet being a bigger issue.

[Alex.V]

Again, if your cortisol levels are elevated and you are burned out from strength training, you should not be doing lifting-related circuits or complexes. These will not make you stronger, they are inferior at improving aerobic endurance, and they are delaying muscle and CNS recovery.

[synonymous]

So, for fat loss, just keep lifting hard (5x5 routine), adjust calories, and keep climbing the stairs would be the way to go?

[3fingerVic]

Thank you very much for that link. It explained a lot. Forgive me if I still have questions. I don't want to mess things up.

Would this be a good way to start:


Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: Lower Body
Wednesday: Upper Body Accessory
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Upper Body
Saturday & Sunday: Rest / Active Lifestyle

This is the split that was shown as a way to do it, so I'm comfortable here. How about the choices of exercises and sets/reps


Monday: Wide Grip Chins, Weighted Dips, Hammer Curls (5 sets of 8)
Tuesday: Back Squat, Conventional Deadlift, Hack Squat (5 sets of 8)
Wednesday: Upper Body Accessory (I still don't quite understand accessories. Is this meant as a way for you to pick up on body parts that may be lagging?)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Same as Monday
Saturday & Sunday: Rest / Active Lifestyle

Again, I apologize for still not fully understanding everything. The article didn't mention whether these were done after your regular lifting routine or if this was your routine in order to, depending on rest time, add strength, mass or conventional health for athletes. Since I'm looking at body recomposition (Fat loss), I will assume my time should between sets should be 1 to 1.5 minutes.

Also are my sets to reps good for the beginner/intermediate phase? I'd gladly move things around to make optimal use of my time.

Not an expert by any means. The above workout seems like a good one, but the upper body portion seems to have you confused. On the first upper body day, you would do heavy compound movements. On the "accessory" day you would do isolation exersises, like hammed curls, tricep extensions or lateral raises.

[liquidmonkey]

Hi liquidmonkey,
To reduce fat around your belly watch what you eat and avoid skipping meals. Take low carb meals, increase water intake and add green tea, broccoli, green beans, celery, asparagus and apples more in your daily diet plans. Do take more proteins through your meals and manage stress with regular workout. Avoid eating before going to bed.

thanks for the sound advice! gonna up the vegetables a bit more...

[Alex.V]

So, for fat loss, just keep lifting hard (5x5 routine), adjust calories, and keep climbing the stairs would be the way to go?

Exactly.

[Crosby]

Hi all
cardio exercise is much better for health and lose weight we get the good result from cardio exercise.Every workout should have a purpose- get stronger, get bigger, get faster, shed fat, build aerobic endurance, something. If you try combining ones that work at cross purposes or don't directly compliment each other or require overlap for your chosen sport, then you are wasting your time.


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