I've been building some muscle mass but I want to change pace and cut all my fat. I'll be doing more cardio (both high and low intensity) and eating less calories. But should I change my workout routine?

Should I lessen the intensity and continue the same frequency? Or lift less frequently but still go to failure?

Is it detrimental to continue lifting as much or is it just kinda useless since I won't be building much mass?

Is it possible to actually lose fat and gain muscle at the same time? What kind of diet and workout routine would that demand?

AoN.DimSum

United States2983 Posts

December 23 2008 04:08 GMT

I would lift and do cardio. For lifting, try the 5x5 full body workout.(http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/) Lifting heavy = burns more fat. Cardio also helps. I'm guessing your cardio is running? There are some HIIT programs maybe could be useful, ill look it up..

there are plenty of hiit workouts, i just googled one http://www.intervaltraining.net/HiitTraining-30.html
The idea for all of them are the same.

Xeris

Iran17695 Posts

December 23 2008 04:09 GMT

what is your current routine ?

OmegaFang

United States156 Posts

December 23 2008 04:11 GMT

When I was trying to lose some weight but still keep muscle, I would lift like I normally did (alternate upper and lower body everyday followed by a core exercise each day) and then afterwards I would do high intensity cardio on upper body days and low intensity cardio on lower body days.

I think you would be find continuing at the same frequency, you may end up having to lower the intensity on lower body days if you find it not allowing you to do all of your cardio.

Lifting to build muscle shouldn't have a negative effect on the loss of fat, the fat will go but the muscle will continue to build up.

I'm not the best with the diet part of it, but I think cutting most of your desserts and eating a good amount of vegetables and fruits will be good. Make sure to keep eating protein though to keep building your muscles up. I heard that it is actually better to eat many small meals a day, rather than three main meals.

Maybe someone else can give better advice than me though, especially on the diet part. Good luck with this!

nAi.PrOtOsS

Canada784 Posts

December 23 2008 04:14 GMT

You could play more starcraft?

Jibba

United States22883 Posts

December 23 2008 04:16 GMT

You could probably go to 20-30s~ rest time while lifting so your heart rate stays up. I've heard that you can only lose a lot of fat/gain a little muscle at one time and vice versa, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. I don't think you really need to change your lifting routine though.

Just make sure to keep up with maintenance protein intake.

Rekrul

Korea (South)17174 Posts

December 23 2008 04:16 GMT

big sexy hunk of progamer meat

liger13

United States1060 Posts

December 23 2008 04:35 GMT

On December 23 2008 13:16 Rekrul wrote:
big sexy hunk of progamer meat

mmmmmm, progamer meat.....

CommanderFluffy

Taiwan1059 Posts

December 23 2008 04:38 GMT

drink lots of water, keep track of calorie count based on daily exercise.
don't take in more calories than you use.

thedeadhaji

39489 Posts

December 23 2008 04:38 GMT

#10

best cario is to bang korean bitches all night every night imo.

CDRdude

United States5625 Posts

December 23 2008 04:39 GMT

#11

I am no expert, but I believe that for cutting fat the ideal is long but not intense workouts. My understanding is that walking long distances is quite good for consuming body fat, perhaps an ancient biological reflex from when humans had to travel long distances to follow prey migration.

Hittegods

Stockholm4641 Posts

December 23 2008 05:39 GMT

#12

On December 23 2008 13:38 thedeadhaji wrote:
best cario is to bang korean bitches all night every night imo.

Serial killing at night is not always the answer, you silly japanese person.

CaucasianAsian

Korea (South)11590 Posts

December 23 2008 05:41 GMT

#13

doesn't estro have a routine where you have to work out (i.e. running up that hill that idra was talking about) etc...?

iNcontroL

USA29055 Posts

December 23 2008 05:48 GMT

#14

trying to both lose fat and gain muscle at the same time is hard (considering you are one of those lean metabo freaks I am guessing).

A healthy balance of both cardio and weight training will certainly help you do both but it isn't optimal for either catagory specifically. Split workout time in half and do half cardio and half muscle training. If you want to build muscle focus on fewer reps with more weight. Go to failure but work different muscle groups with at least 3 days inbetween.

That is a rough bit of advice but I can go on with more specifics.

tonight

United States11130 Posts

December 23 2008 17:35 GMT

#15

Bench your team mates in stacks of 2-3.

lwstupidus

United States74 Posts

December 23 2008 18:23 GMT

#16

Oh jesus, everyone's giving the same overplayed advice.

"Eat Healthy, don't eat bad foods!"

"Do this workout plan!"

"Incorporate HIIT into your training."

"Get lots of protein! Take your vitamins!"

Well unless he's retarded, he probably has the common sense to know all this. Here's some useful advice, take creatine and yes, it is much easier to lose weight and still gain muscle as long as you are cutting completely clean. Get a pre work out supplement too, such as NO-Xplode or SuperPump250.

Lift hard, gain hard, lose weight, and complain when your fingers are so muscular you can't press the keys.

iNcontroL

USA29055 Posts

December 23 2008 18:50 GMT

#17

roflfl

"everyone is giving the same ol bad advice! Here is good advice: Take creatine"

Roflflfl

FXOTheoRy

United States519 Posts

December 23 2008 20:53 GMT

#18

don't take creatine that uses alcohols as a tranporter for protein. make sure u get the kind that uses amino acids so that muscle building blocks are left over instead of junk.

Louder

United States2276 Posts

December 29 2008 01:00 GMT

#19

HIIT is by far the best cardio approach for weight loss, but like inc said, a combination is best. For people who are not very overweight, though, it's going to be nearly impossible for you to burn fat + build muscle simultaneously. You need a caloric excess to build muscle - so cutting your calories and intensifying your cardio while still lifting heavy (like 6 or less reps for failure) is going to put some strain on your body and probably not yield very good results.

For weights, aim for amounts that you can do 10-12 reps to failure on and like Geoff said, 3 days break before you work the same group again. In fact a lot of pros will tell you do just work each group once per week, alternating heavy/light weeks.

Anyway... if you eat to your resting metabolic rate + exercise daily, you should lose weight. It varies by metabolism - being a guy who eats foot long subs at subway and stays thin, I'm guessing you've got a strong one, so just do HIIT cardio and eat a normal calorie load and you should be fine.

I looked this up for an RMR calculator, this will give you a rough idea of the calories you need: http://www.start-losing-weight-today.com/rmr.html

Of course for the best results, spend $200 and go consult a dietitian or hire a personal trainer for 1 session per month.

naonao

United States847 Posts

December 29 2008 03:30 GMT

#20

On December 23 2008 12:56 Liquid`NonY wrote:
Is it possible to actually lose fat and gain muscle at the same time? What kind of diet and workout routine would that demand?

I don't know much about workout routines that will best reduce fat, but I do know that it is not possible to both gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, as my swim coach has told me millions of times. Losing fat requires a decrease in calorie intake whereas building muscle requires an increase, causing it to be impossible for both to happen.

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