Suggestions for Workout/Diet plan (Weights/HIIT)?

adam212121

Hi all,

Was just hoping to get a little bit of advice on a workout/diet plan based on my goals. I'll add some details in point form. I know that diet will play a huge part in all of this so I am committed to that, but am curious how to work in my exercise (i.e. what type) and if there are specific diet recommendations.

- 34/Male - with 2 kids so plan to workout 4-5 nights a week
- Want to lose body fat percentage and be leaner
- Am concerned about losing muscle and wanted to look "bigger" but feel leaning out will be better for my body type (wife things I look naturally big now)
- Have quite a bit of equipment, lots of free weights, bars, a squat/bench rack
- I believe 30-40lbs weight loss would be my ideal goal but prefer inches over weight

Anyway - i've read weights can be good, but then I read HIIT can also be good for quicker weight loss. Just not sure if others have opinions or if there is a hybrid between the 2 that is effective? I'm not a huge fan of cardio.

Thanks!

jjpptt2

Personally, I'd focus on diet to control your weight, and exercise to control your body composition.

Dial in your intake (total cals)... and get/keep your protein high. Besides that, you can pretty much do what you want regarding diet.

For exercise, anything at a high intensity will help retain muscle. Lifting is obviously easier to do at higher intensities, but you're not limited to it. Since you've already got the equipment, I'd start there. There's a thread somewhere on here that lists out the popular strength routines - I'm sure someone will post it - read through them and pick which ever one sounds most appealing.

After that, it's really just about effort, consistency, and patience.

Simple. Not easy, but simple.

stanmann571

I'd suggest picking just one goal.

If it's lose weight, then that's your focus.

Then, select a program to supplement it. Or 2 programs.

There's 3 components here.
Diet: set calorie and macro goals to support your focus. ie deficit or maintenance.
Strength training: Select a 2-3 day a week total body program to increase strength and determine what direction you want to go at the end of your trial period---You said you have a lot of equipment, that suggests you may be a serial starter, or may have tried this before with limited success. Pare down your training to something manageable and achievable
Cardio/aerobic training: Select a 2-3 day a week program that will complement(and not impede) your selected strength program. For example: C25K can be run as a 2 day/11 week program.

Alternately, you could select a GPP program like Pavel's Kettlebell series. that combines strength and general cardio/aerobic fitness. Or ~Shudder Crossfit. although it sounds like you want to train at home.