Losing Body Fat

ArroganceInStep

This is HORRIBLE advice. Switch up your workouts so your body doesn't get confused? That is horrendous advice. You can't plateau unless there is an increase in either weight of reps/sets. An increase in heavier weight will create a hypertrophic response in muscle fiber plus an increase in myonuclei and and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and an increase in size of myofibrillar fiber size all in regards to compound movements that utilize multiple motor units within a movement.

Keep heavy weight, utilize time under tension, progressively make small increments to training and you shouldn't plateau and don't spew psuedoscience without knowing exercise physiology

If you can't explain it simply, a lot fewer people will listen to you.

Muscle confusion is a strategy touted by many (the most notable I can think of is P90X). Some people find success with it. I think it has more to do with the workouts not getting boring than it does with the actual merit of muscle confusion, but that's my opinion and isn't grounded in science. I don't do P90X as my main source of resistance training, but I will do it with my fiancee on occasion since she enjoys it. It's better than sitting on the couch certainly and it's not an easy workout by any means (well not for me anyway).

I have personally (along with a number of people here) found simple heavy lifting to be the most effective method of retaining muscle mass while cutting and the best way of building muscle mass while bulking. It has also been the most effective for me at increasing raw, functional strength. My personal favorite program is Stronglifts 5x5, but there are a number of effective programs out there (NROLFW being one of them). They focus on compound movements that target multiple muscle groups simultaneously, and utilize a high weight/low repetition philosophy that generally lets you increase your maximum lift potential the fastest.

I enjoy cardio, but I try to alternate it with my lifting days so I don't spend forever in the gym of get overtired. So far it's been working for me.

Diet is equally important, and getting enough protein cannot be stressed enough. 'Enough' is obviously debatable but I always go for 1 gram per pound of lean body mass as an absolute minimum and 1 gram per pound of total body weight as a target (I'm very overweight, so my top end target is pretty high, you may need to adjust your target depending). That seems to work for me. A lot of people vary their protein requirements based on if they're lifting that day or not, but I find it easier just to keep the target constant day to day.

There's a ton more information out there on specific details, and a lot of it is unfortunately conflicting. At the end of the day though, if you have a good lifting program that challenges your body consistently and a diet that reflects your goals, you're like 99% of the way there.

ArroganceInStep

I have a few ways you can change it up:

I just got back from a fitness conference and i participated in a lecture: Cardiovascular Exercise vs. HIIT. As far as building up cardiovascular strength, HIIT beats CV exercise in the following to areas: Fat burning and Post workout burning. So I know you do cardio 5-6 times a week. Try incorporating speed intervals in your cardio workouts. The intervals don't have to be long. So you can do a 1 minute sprint and 4 minute jog. This can be done on the elliptical too.


Also, since you do cardio 5-6 times a week, you probably stay in your carb burning zones. You might need to throw in some Zone 1 training. This is where you are burning fat the most. Have a zone 1 day at least once a week. With more training, you zone 1 will start to move up. For me, i run on the treadmill at 6 mph for an hour. If you don't know you zones, You should be able to breath in and out your nose in your zone 1 (or hold a conversation).

Strength training: I am not recommending extreme heavy lifting mainly because women don't have the same amount of testosterone to support the same muscle building in males. However, you can train for endurance and strength. Not necessarily for power. Endurance requires 12-15 reps with light weight, Strength is 8-10 reps. I spend about 3 weeks on endurance, 2 weeks in strength, and 1 week in power (4-6 reps with heavy weights). Make it a cycle.

Lastly, diet is a factor. Lower your recommended fat intake by 10-15%. Not too much. If you are going to do HIIT workouts, you need fat.

If HIIT training is a superior burn why are you also suggesting cardio in the 'fat burning' zone. I thought the zone theory was debunked...

Also, lower muscle mass would just mean (potentially) slower progress and lower numbers on the lifts, not that power lifting will have any less effectiveness...I'm not arguing that the endurance or strength rep ranges you listed don't have uses, I just disagree with the assertion that women have any less to gain from lifting in the power range than men (other than having slightly fewer plates to haul on and off the bar when they're lifting).

Nigerianebony

If HIIT training is a superior burn why are you also suggesting cardio in the 'fat burning' zone. I thought the zone theory was debunked...

Also, lower muscle mass would just mean (potentially) slower progress and lower numbers on the lifts, not that power lifting will have any less effectiveness...I'm not arguing that the endurance or strength rep ranges you listed don't have uses, I just disagree with the assertion that women have any less to gain from lifting in the power range than men (other than having slightly fewer plates to haul on and off the bar when they're lifting).

As far as at the fat burning zone, many people just don't know what their true Zone 1 is, and actually train under it (This is where the problem lies). My Zone 1 is 160-165 bpm. It seems pretty high to many but I burn about 70%/30%, fat to carb ratio. This is where i burn most of my fat. I had to take a metabolic test to get my ratios. Eventually your zone 1 range will start to move up. I went from 150bpm to 160bpm. People also don't adjust the Zone 1 training after training for a while. That's why we hit plateaus.

Nothing wrong with training in power. I still do. i just spend a week in power mode. By going through a cycle (3-2-1), you are doing muscle confusion with weights. It does however, take longer for women to see results with power weight lifting. but it will work eventually. But i did see faster results with myself and myclients when i did plyometrics. Power with body weight. Example: 10 squats, then follow up with 10 jump squats (switching back and forth from endurance to power). Sound familiar...It becomes a HIIT workout. ;

Nigerianebony

I forgot to add. I Zone 1 train, once a week.

palmerig88

This is HORRIBLE advice. Switch up your workouts so your body doesn't get confused? That is horrendous advice. You can't plateau unless there is an increase in either weight of reps/sets. An increase in heavier weight will create a hypertrophic response in muscle fiber plus an increase in myonuclei and and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and an increase in size of myofibrillar fiber size all in regards to compound movements that utilize multiple motor units within a movement.

Keep heavy weight, utilize time under tension, progressively make small increments to training and you shouldn't plateau and don't spew psuedoscience without knowing exercise physiology

WHAT

liftingheavy

My body fat percentage is too high also. It wasn't until I got my HRM that I realized that when I do cardio 5-6 days a week I'm almost always in zone 3, which is cardiovascular fitness but not in the fact burning zone. I tend to stay within 86-95% of max heart rate for the whole hour.

For example today, I burned over 500 calories, but only 18% was body fat. So I'm going to have to stay within the 75-80% of max heart rate a couple times a week to burn fat. I can get there by walking, but I find walking so boring.

erickirb

My body fat percentage is too high also. It wasn't until I got my HRM that I realized that when I do cardio 5-6 days a week I'm almost always in zone 3, which is cardiovascular fitness but not in the fact burning zone. I tend to stay within 86-95% of max heart rate for the whole hour.

For example today, I burned over 500 calories, but only 18% was body fat. So I'm going to have to stay within the 75-80% of max heart rate a couple times a week to burn fat. I can get there by walking, but I find walking so boring.

The higher you HR the more cal you burn the more fat you burn. HR zones are a myth when it comes to weight/fat loss. there is not need to not push yourself to keep your HR down.

liftingheavy

I didn't realize that. So even though I showed burning only 18% body fat, are you saying that I am burning more fat for the rest of the day even at rest? My HRM suggestion was to stay out of zone 3 for the rest of the week....

kateroot

My body fat percentage is too high also. It wasn't until I got my HRM that I realized that when I do cardio 5-6 days a week I'm almost always in zone 3, which is cardiovascular fitness but not in the fact burning zone. I tend to stay within 86-95% of max heart rate for the whole hour.

For example today, I burned over 500 calories, but only 18% was body fat. So I'm going to have to stay within the 75-80% of max heart rate a couple times a week to burn fat. I can get there by walking, but I find walking so boring.

The higher you HR the more cal you burn the more fat you burn. HR zones are a myth when it comes to weight/fat loss. there is not need to not push yourself to keep your HR down.

Ditto this. There's no magic fat burning HR zone.

erickirb

I didn't realize that. So even though I showed burning only 18% body fat, are you saying that I am burning more fat for the rest of the day even at rest? My HRM suggestion was to stay out of zone 3 for the rest of the week....

You are correct.

UponThisRock

Worrying about how much fat you burn while doing cardio is like worrying about how much muscle you built while lifting weights.

70davis

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