lose fat/gain muscle

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abeckman612
abeckman612 Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
I am really interested in losing fat and gaining muscle. I love lifting. I lift 6 days a week for an hour to an hour and a half at 7am. I hate cardio. On days I do cardio, which is no more than 3 days a week, it's 3 10-15 minute sessions in between my weight lifting. What is the best thing to do in order for me to get some more muscle? I am really interested in strengthening my abs since it seems to be my trouble area.

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  • spazofthedead
    spazofthedead Posts: 175 Member
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    If you're actually interested in gaining muscle (not just strengthening what you have) you need to eat above your maintenance calorie level while lifting very heavy. If you want your existing muscle to be more defined with less fat, eat lots of protein and lift heavy things but still eat below your caloric maintenance level.

    Since you're lifting 6 days a week, are you doing a split and hitting different muscle groups every day? Make sure to give your muscles rest and time to repair themselves. Also look into basic compound lifts to simplify things.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
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    If you're actually interested in gaining muscle (not just strengthening what you have) you need to eat above your maintenance calorie level while lifting very heavy.

    This is good advice.

    The other thing...is that you can't build muscle without rest.

    Something to think about.
  • abeckman612
    abeckman612 Posts: 8
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    On only lifting days I try to do every muscle group but I usually focus more on one specific group different days. I could do arms, legs and abs in one day but focus more arms, the next day i will do all the groups but focus more on abs.
  • spazofthedead
    spazofthedead Posts: 175 Member
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    On only lifting days I try to do every muscle group but I usually focus more on one specific group different days. I could do arms, legs and abs in one day but focus more arms, the next day i will do all the groups but focus more on abs.

    You'll get better results if you give your muscles a day off to rest and repair.

    Look into a program like Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5 or the New Rules of Lifting. They're structured beginner programs that use traditional compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, etc) and they only require an hour a day, three days a week.

    I've been doing Stronglifts since January and I've seen a huge improvement in both my waistline and my lift numbers.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
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    On only lifting days I try to do every muscle group but I usually focus more on one specific group different days. I could do arms, legs and abs in one day but focus more arms, the next day i will do all the groups but focus more on abs.

    Ok...definitely...rest.

    I lift 3x a week...full body, an hour a day. I sometimes do HIIT cardio on my off week days, and I REST for 48hrs over the weekend.

    Your body can't build muscle if it has no time to repair. Overtraining is FAR worse than undertraining.
  • abeckman612
    abeckman612 Posts: 8
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    I hate taking days off. Since I am in college I do a lot of sitting and on Sundays I definitely don't go to the gym. I'm addicted to the gym. Some days I lift less and the next day I do more. I don't want to over work my body I just love the feeling of getting up early and going to the gym. I don't over work myself at the gym, I take my time but still do each set full out to feel a good burn the next day.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
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    I hate taking days off. Since I am in college I do a lot of sitting and on Sundays I definitely don't go to the gym. I'm addicted to the gym. Some days I lift less and the next day I do more. I don't want to over work my body I just love the feeling of getting up early and going to the gym. I don't over work myself at the gym, I take my time but still do each set full out to feel a good burn the next day.

    I don't think you're understanding. If you're breaking down muscle fibers (which is the point of lifting weights), then you need a day of rest in between workouts. It doesn't matter how fast you workout, or how slow, or how much effort (assuming you're lifting enough to need repair, which...if not, there's no point in going at all, much less 6x a week). It doesn't matter if you're lifting harder one day, or less the next (unless you're lifting so little as to be useless for building muscle, which is actually helpful for the increased bloodflow to the areas in need of repair...meaning like 15-20% your 1rm).

    Rest is the most important factor in strength training. I'm sorry, but there is NO way around that =(.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Your body can't build muscle if it has no time to repair. Overtraining is FAR worse than undertraining.
    Words to live by. Overtraining can take months, if not a full year to recover from.
  • spazofthedead
    spazofthedead Posts: 175 Member
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    I hate taking days off. Since I am in college I do a lot of sitting and on Sundays I definitely don't go to the gym. I'm addicted to the gym. Some days I lift less and the next day I do more. I don't want to over work my body I just love the feeling of getting up early and going to the gym. I don't over work myself at the gym, I take my time but still do each set full out to feel a good burn the next day.

    I don't think you're understanding. If you're breaking down muscle fibers (which is the point of lifting weights), then you need a day of rest in between workouts. It doesn't matter how fast you workout, or how slow, or how much effort (assuming you're lifting enough to need repair, which...if not, there's no point in going at all, much less 6x a week). It doesn't matter if you're lifting harder one day, or less the next (unless you're lifting so little as to be useless for building muscle, which is actually helpful for the increased bloodflow to the areas in need of repair...meaning like 25% your 1rm).

    Rest is the most important factor in strength training. I'm sorry, but there is NO way around that =(.

    This guy knows what he's on about. :)
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Options
    I hate taking days off. Since I am in college I do a lot of sitting and on Sundays I definitely don't go to the gym. I'm addicted to the gym. Some days I lift less and the next day I do more. I don't want to over work my body I just love the feeling of getting up early and going to the gym. I don't over work myself at the gym, I take my time but still do each set full out to feel a good burn the next day.

    I don't think you're understanding. If you're breaking down muscle fibers (which is the point of lifting weights), then you need a day of rest in between workouts. It doesn't matter how fast you workout, or how slow, or how much effort (assuming you're lifting enough to need repair, which...if not, there's no point in going at all, much less 6x a week). It doesn't matter if you're lifting harder one day, or less the next (unless you're lifting so little as to be useless for building muscle, which is actually helpful for the increased bloodflow to the areas in need of repair...meaning like 25% your 1rm).

    Rest is the most important factor in strength training. I'm sorry, but there is NO way around that =(.

    This guy knows what he's on about. :)

    Aww!

    :flowerforyou:

    Tigersword is probably a good bit more knowledgeable than I am.

    I just have a bigger mouth =D.

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