2017 is all about getting body fat percentage down. Where do I start?

dave_in_ni

A lot will know my story of 2016, it was all about losing weight and I managed to drop 60lb which was more than I planned but i am happy with my weight of 76kg 183cm.

What I'm not happy with is body fat percentage of 23%. My goal for 2017 is 10-15% body fat with a good percentage of lean mass.

I lifted all year but being in a deficit gained no muscle. I'm currently doing the Fierce 5 routine 4-5 times per week. I never did any cardio last year but am thinking about adding some static bike HIIT 4 times per week.

Any other advice for maintaining my same weight but getting a lower BF percentage?

sijomial

Isn't that designed to be a 3 day a week program?

HIIT needs recovery time and IMHO would be a poor choice of cardio to add.

My advice would be:
Pick a program that suits your status, goals and frequency you want to train and follow the program as written. If it's designed as 3 days a week then don't do it 4 or 5 days a week. The rest days are part of the program.

Pick some cardio that you enjoy and that won't interfere with your lifting.

My other tip would be have patience.

jemhh

I will echo the advice to follow a program as written. Eat sensibly. No huge weekday deficit followed by weekend blowouts. Do cardio that you enjoy. Be patient.

jessef593

Um you can't.. You'd have to gain a significant amount of muscle. You're looking to make a drop of over 10% in body fat. You'll still need to lose a significant amount of fat while lifting progressively at a mild deficit to give your body the ability to build muscle. Which is quiet possible for a newbie with extra stored energy. Same as everyone else. Patience. Just think though. Depending on your weight that could be 20lbs of fat to 40lbs in that extra 10%. Any added muscle will not be visible through that, so in the end you will still need to reduce your body fat.

TavistockToad

Wasn't the issue from this year that you had a massive deficit while cutting, meaning you were losing any gains that way?

irishshorti

I'll third (or fourth) that you should do your program as prescribed. Muscles are not "built" while you workout, but while you rest. Do your weightlifting 3x a week and take recovery seriously. If you want to supplement that with anything, use LISS -- Low Intensity Steady State -- on recovery days so they become "active recovery" day. On LISS days you don't want your heart rate to go above 60-70%. The goal is to get moving but without adding stress to your body. You really do want to let your muscles recover before weightlifting, otherwise they will not grow.

joemac1988

FACTS
1. You want your weight to stay the same which means you need to "replace" fat with muscle
2. You can't TURN fat to muscle; they're 2 completely different things
3. You can't gain muscle without eating a surplus (more cals in than out) and you'll add a little fat along with the muscle.

SUGGESTION
1. Start by cutting. Reduced calories, emphasis on cardio, get below your current/ideal weight.
2. Then add that weight back through increased calories, reduced cardio, increased weight training.

NOTES
1. I suggested cutting first then gaining because vice versa is tough mentally. If you gain first then cut, you'll stray a lot farther than your target weight and it plays games with your head.
2. This is going to take a while. Set realistic goals and time frames. i.e. cut for 8-12 weeks, gain for the same, repeat.
3. When "bulking" keep in mind that LEAN weight is what you want. Don't use this as an excuse to eat whatever you want.

dave_in_ni

Thanks for the advice guys, yes I am a bit keen with my training I guess, I just feel I should be doing more ya know.

dave_in_ni

TavistockToad wrote: »

Wasn't the issue from this year that you had a massive deficit while cutting, meaning you were losing any gains that way?

Yeah went about it wrong, These newbie gains you have went lifting well I never had any because of my deficit and 12 months in now I think I can pretty much forget about them.