Hey there, I hope you’re awesome
I want your opinion on an exercise question I have… and I’d love to hear your answer in the comment section below.
While trying to lean out WITHOUT losing muscle… what kind of strength training program DO YOU think is best?
I know for cardio HIIT intervals seem to be most effective, and nutrition plays the biggest role in losing the fat…
But what about strength training? … What kind of strength training workouts do you think are best for maintaining muscle while leaning out?
Here’s a few of the options I’m curious to get your opinion on…
Low reps and long rests? ( Powerlifting type workouts)
Or train with moderate reps and rests? ( Typical bodybuilder type training)
Higher reps and short rests trying to keep the heart rate up? ( Kind of like your typical boot camp workout)
… maybe throwing in heart rate training like rope skipping or running stairs between sets?
Or a combination all the above? ( One of the week this type… one day of a week another type… and so on)
Or possible periodizing back and forth between each type? ( Like three weeks of this, then three weeks of that)
Weights? Kettlebells? Bodyweight stuff? Barrels and Sandbags? Mix it up so the body doesn’t adapt?
Or whatever you enjoy… as long as you’re doing it? (Meaning it doesn’t matter all that much as long as you’re getting some resistance training in)
As a fitness professional and enthusiast I respect your opinion and would love to hear it…. so knowing what you know… what’s YOUR opinion on the best type of workouts for maintaining as much muscle as possible while leaning out.
Please let me know in the comment section below… and thanks in advance for your input.
I would go about it with conjugate training where you train multipple things.
The training session would be structured like this:
1. Plyo's, SAQ
2. Strength (main lifts)
3. Strength and hypertrophy (supplement, accessory lifts)
4. Metabolic Training (Combinations, Complexes and Circuits)
5. Finishers
This way you are "at least" maintinaing strength and muscle and really revving up metabolism and fat burning.
Defranco's Built Like a Badass program has a similar structure and its killer. Been training clients with those goals for a while now and it absolutely kills it with the results.
Luka
you can have the "greatest" workout program, but still lose muscle if you dont have an immaculate diet.
with that said, 10×3/4×8/4×12 on compound exercises with less than 40 secs rest in between should suffice… to put it plainly of course.
id even do some supersets like (heavy KB swings right into push ups)
Kettlebell intervals… interval hill running… love intervals, without a doubt
moderate weight, short rest periods and high volume metabolic circuits done with kettlebells has been the most efective thing I have ever seen
I like doing a combination of the above in one workout. Currently I start with powerlifting type segment, say squats, then I'll super set 2 opposing body parts, chest and back, higher reps moderate to little rest, and finish with some kind of resistance type cardio ex. kettlebell snatches….
Chris , best resource I can suggest is http://www.musclehack.com , this guy is no BS , and has done it all himself .
Jason .
Asking the body to lean out while getting stronger is like saying you are going to save money while going on a spending spree. Some bank accounts just won't be able to do it. I think it's more of a system than what type of workout. I would keep cardio minimum. 2 sessions of 15 min hiit. No cardio between sets. Focus on the weights. Lots of stretching. Maybe end with a fst7 set of 7×10. And then it's all about recovery and nutrition! I'd follow a carb rotation, and crank up the protein.
Monitor and adapt.
If you want to do just 1 movement and accomplish all that then just do heavy deadlifts that allow you to do 5-8 reps where you know you feel like your grinding but can leave 1 or 2 in the bank and rest just enough to know that you can repeat it.
tip: during the sets add plates and remove plates throughout the 20-30 minutes.
You definitely need a preiodized program regardless of your goals. Moderate reps with little to no rest between sets will help build muscle but also have a cardio effect…keeping you fairly lean. That being said, there's more than one way to go about it…no doubt.
I know that if you remeber the words change and energy. What I meen is that right before you get to the gym you put that cd in and Rock the f*$% OUT!!! Motley Crue Wild Side LIve,what ever then you know its on. This is so important to getting real results than just walking in with your tail between your legs. Gut energy and pumpd! Then the word change you change everything up every week or for some ppl they can chage it up every two weeks. Your routines need change. But I like to keep the energy high which keeps the heart rate up. Just do more sets per exercise and only choice 3 or 4 excercises to punish. Vocas without that your really not training anyway! Thats your power hour!!!
The worlds best personal training sales man. I did sell $175k in training. and I need a job any investors out there. I will travel.I got reffernces to back my numbers up!
412-408-3335 Now I helped you Chris help a brother out. Thanks and good luck!Jason
I would definitely say that mixing everything up is a very good idea. But mix it up all within a week. I'm sure you've heard of Elliot Hulse and his lean Hybrid training template. I had been experimenting with something like that, and when his program came out, it put everything together for me.
Basically you mix bodybuilding, powerlifting, strongman training, and cardio into one micro cycle. Workouts involving sandbags, dumbbells, kettlebells or even your bodyweight can be very effective. I suggest either if you know him personally to get him to hook you up with something, or if not, then go check out the free vids on his website. I'm not sure if you would want to buy the program though cause he gives just the theory and then you gotta pay monthly for him to give you the workouts, but up to you.
The training is INSANE man! I love it. I have been training like this for the past few months and I have put on a ton of lean muscle (though my nutrition has to come under right for my bodyfat to drop – still working on that). IN fact, his tagline is building muscle AND burning fat at the same time. It makes me all excited talking about it!
Seriously, go check it out. I recommend it with ALL MY HEART.
Peace.
forced reps work well for me
I believe in applying combination of muscle contraction and speed exercises in a short interval for no more than 30 min will get the muscles pump, you have yo determine how much energy you have at that moment to spare and listen to your body if your pretty tired take a day off. The rest is just enough rest and great meal balance according on your demographics and goal.
I think what would work best is a mixed session beggining with using 4 – 5 compound exercises, 8 rep range. Then end the session with a circuit with of isolation type exercises working the whole body, reasonably heavy, 8 – 12 reps, 4 – 5 exercises back to back with 1 – 2 minute rest in between each circuit.
Hi Chris,
I have been a fitness professional and enthusiast for the past 20 years, I have tried every type of training possible. I have been a marathon runner, weight lifter, aerobics instructor you name it. I have trained clients as well. I have found that by far the best way to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass is to do circuit type training alternating between cardio and weight training. I train my clients in this fashion, I have found that short duration, high intensity with little rest gives them the best results in the least amount of time. My women love that they have muscle but are lean and they can accomplish this in less then an hour a day.
hope that answers your question.
Barb
very short rest between sets, supersets and multisets,and higher reps
As far as strength training goes, I think that, while you are restricting calories for fat loss and doing intense cardio, that as long as you are doing some kind of resistance training you will be good to go. Studies show that doing resistance training during a fat loss program limited the amount of lean tissue loss during that time.
I would suggest a total body routine focusing on multi jointed movements such as squat, deadlift, bench press, rows, etc. If they are done in a circuit style fashion with little rest it will actually aid in one's fat loss efforts.
Thanks for the great info, as always, Chris!
I use different combinations, depending upon the sex, age, history of the individual. A "fat" former male athlete usually maintains muscle better than a 40yr old woman who has never touched a weight in her life, in my experience. So, I usually try different things initially until I find what works best for the individual. Sounds like a real "sit on the fence" answer, doesn't it???
I'll post my thoughts on leaning out whilst simultaneously adding muscle. WOOOO touchy topic, they say it can't be done.lol
It comes down to the individuals goals, nutrition and dedication at the end of the day. The problem with most peoples plans is, in my opinion, training like bodybuilders and having a bulk phase and cut phase that are independant of one another.
No good in bulking, adding 15lbs on the scale, 5lbs of which is pure fat, then transitioning onto a cut phase and loosing 5lbs of muscle. You end up with 5lbs net muscle gain.
Why not train smarter and aim to simply train to gain the 5lbs without any fat gain? At last that way you'll look leaner sooner and look better for longer.
What I do, and I did this for my 1st physique contest earlier this year, is to dedicate the 1st 30-40 minutes of my training session to strength work and hypertrophy and at the end I dedicated 10 minutes, sometimes 15 minutes, most times less than 10 minutes, to performing some metabolic resistance training work. Circuit style workout finishers, that improved my work capacity and allowed me to sneak in some fat loss specific work on my strength/hypertrophy days.
Now my nutrition was also strategically timed/planned around the types of workouts I was performing. There was also periods were I performed interval work 1-2 times per week and other periods were intervals were ruled out altogether.
Every 2 weeks my weight was either maintaining or increasing whilst my bodyfat was simultaneously decreasing. NICE… exactly what we wanted.
My training was all free weights and bodyweight.
Ian
Hey Chris,
First off – after seeing you last wednesday I gotta tell you you're looking GREAT.
And regarding your question….I would totally mix the workouts up….as long as you're taking in PLENTY of Amino Acids.
Most Bodybuilders 'hyperdose' on Amino's when they're in a cutting stage.
Since you're on a caloric deficit, you're not getting the amino's you need to maintain muscle, so getting them in through supplements is a great low-calorie way and it's worked WONDERS for me in the past.
Btw, email me if you want some great products (I use them 24/7) – not sure if I want to endorse them on this blog.
Hey Chris,
I think whatever you enjoy as long as you enjoty doing it goes a long way. High intinsity interval training is great cardio for burning calories and boosting metabolism, but I have always felt that when your on a diet and kind of low on fuel it can lead to burnout. I have prepared for bodybuilding shows doing a 2-3 way bodypart split training 4-5 days per week for approx an hour and then just walking for 30-40 min 1-3 x's per day depending on time and energy. If I was up for It I would maybe run or ride my bike, but you can almost always talk your self into going for a walk. Just keep a good pace, or even wear a wt. vest. I also feel that the kettle bells and sand bags are very effective, but also kind of like hit cardio. Just listen to your body. Hope this helps!
Hey Chris,
I train my clients like I train myself, I never do the same workout. In fact, I don't even write down my workouts. As trainers we know hundreds of individual exercises – so I use that knowledge and throw combinations of exercises together: circuits, supersets, trisets, no breaks, cardio breaks, whatever. My preference is total body workouts that focus on big muscle groups – so instead of doing biceps curls, I do close grip pushups.
I also love doing workouts outside. I live in Winnipeg, Canada and we have extreme weather – hot summers and cold winters with lots of snow. I use the 30 steps at the Legislative building to run sets up and down, then throw in bodyweight exercises like squats, pushups (hand/feet elevated, 1 foot elevated, close grip, wide grip) mountain climbers and walking lunges. Repeat that for 20 minutes and you'll be dripping in sweat.
-Sara
For myself and my clients I use circuit training. You get to do so much but in less time
for gaining size nutrition is huuuuuge!!! eat and eat the right things. but as for lifting the main goal for hypertrophy is time under tension. if you do 8 reps incredibly fast it will do nothing. the entire set needs to be atleast 30 seconds. think tempo….. if you did 8 reps for bench press lets says…. 3 seconds lowering (eccentric) no pause at the bottom and push up fast (1 sec) that takes 4 seconds per rep x8=32 seconds. check out jason ferrugia's stuff he went from 170 to 215 without drugs and claimed to have spent $60,000 trying different supplements but found the ones that work. i have yet to red his stuff but he have heard great things.
Casey is Right On! Your Nutrition is going to be the Most Important when it come to leaning out and without losing muscle. 10 to 8 reps Time Under Tension…Breathing….Concentrate on the muscle you are working!
i agree with most leaning out while maintaining muscle bulk is a sweet science. i have somewhat mastered it for myself because I know what works for me. DIET – The right amount of calorie intake is the key. Muscle confusion – keeping the body guessing with new fresh exercises is key.. I don't not always concentrate on lean or bulk but when I feel like I need to I do a combination of something similar to below.
Workout
1. Plyo = beach, park or track workouts (free fresh air cardio)
2. Track & field sprint workout = a combination of short burst sprints 5×10 meters 5×20 5×30 at 70 to 90 %
3. SUPER SETTING = starting at 90% max (max reps) down to 50% max (max reps) – 45sec – 1 minute recovery time between sets.
This helps me stay lean and maintain muscle bulk
So many options. I'll have to second the Joe DeFranco reccomendation. One guy following his template on the Westside For Skinny Bastards III dropped 271 pounds!!!
Lift heavy, get the heart rate up and stay consistent for at least 12 weeks. And as was said nutrition is huge. The hybrid workouts seem to be the most successful for this. Zach Even-Esh, Jim Smith/Diesel Crew, Elliot Hulse, etc. Not only that, but I think their style and personalities will meet yours better which means better commitment and drive.
Anything will work for the first few weeks, its what you do after that could make or break it.
I would probably mix it up during a session like this:
1)Body weight exercises to warm up.
2)Heavy weights/low reps.
3)Cardio: boxing/interval sprints etc.
4)Kettlebell whole body exercises
5)Cool down with lower weight kettlebells, then bodyweight exercises.
Also, of course, the main factor is diet.
Without proper nutrition, nothing will work. NOTHING! I'm not going to write out a program here, but with that being said, I'd go with heavy weights, cardio, medium weights with higher reps, cardio, and so on. Keep it in a circuit.
Start off with a good eating program of 5 meals a day with good amounts of high quality protein and stay away from saturated fats (anything fried) and simple sugars (not even fruit or fruit juice). I love the mix things up approach. It always keeps the mind fresh and the body guessing. If you do not feel comfortable with changing things up every workout, at least change things every other week. Mix up all of the exercise approaches!!!
you can't go wrong with tabata training. 10 sec rest in between sets or I would do moderate rest 10-12 reps with moderate rest no more than 40 sec rest
1.focus on the eccentric contraction of your exercise to develop strength TEMPO – SO IMPORTANT
2.superset for heart rate up to stay up and increased caloric expediture
3.cardio 3x/week, time (20-60 min) and intensity depend on if your client needs to burn surgar or fat in order to reach their desired goal
OH, AND THE BEST WORKOUT TO DO FOR YOUR CLIENT IS OVERALL WITHOUT A CHOICE, THE ONE THEY ENJOY! THE MORE YOU ENJOY SOMETHING THE MORE YOU STAY COMMITTED, AND COMMITTMANCE IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS ANY TRAINING PROGRAM!!!
to maintain strength while getting lean. id say low reps/long rest, cheers!
German Body Comp hands down…..lays out like this:
A1 6 reps on a 4-0-2 tempo 10 sec rest proceed directly to A2 = 12 reps on a 3-0-1 tempo 10 sec rest proceed directly to A3 25 reps on a 1-0-1 tempo then rest 2 minutes repeat 3-5 sets…..
It will help put on lean muscle, while amping up your metabolism into the stratosphere I promise!!!!
Cheers,
Chris Watson
To build muscle and lose fat, it's more about what you eat than the type of exercise you do.
You can't out-train a poor diet!
Cut out all the junk and nutritional sewage, eat clean 6 times a day. Lean protein, complex carbs, tons of veg, some fruit, 'good fats' in moderation, and lots of water between meals.
I would say try slowing down the movement of each set, it not only burns more calories & increases strength, you will have to reach for lighter weights to complete the exercise. You will be exhausted when you are finished in half the time!
Good luck!
Donna Vittorio
I have been experimenting with Alwyn Cosgrove's idea of small circuits comprised of non competing muscle groups. I have been trying circuits comprised of a leg exercise, an upper body pull, an upper body push, an abdominal exercise and a whole body exericise to finish the circuit to get the heart rate up. Have been using reverse barbell lunge, dips, pull ups, grappler twist and kettlebell swings. I have been using lower volume (Max 6 reps on each movement) and high intensity (as much as i can handle for the reps through 4 to 6 circuits). Not been on it for very long, just a couple of weeks, so can't say how it is going to work out in the long run but it seems like a way to expose yourself to high intensity for strength whilst also having a pretty high cardiovascular demand.
Wow a whole lot of replies there… Ok well first things first your goal is to maintain muscle / get stronger while losing body fat sounds good to me.
I am going to be one of the few Fitness Pros that is going to tell you I think IT IS absolutely possible to do this.
Ok well via NSCA and NASM text book it would put you in-between 2 types of training, Muscular Hypertrophy and Muscular Strength. I know that doesn’t address losing body fat but look lifting weights in any form or fashion has nothing to do with trying to get lean. That has to be one of the biggest mistakes new comers in our industry are making these days.
So the biggest factor is going to be your rest periods and your repetitions. Text book tells us that for strength we need to focus on staying between 2 to 6 reps with 2 to 3 min rest periods after each set. But on the other hand Hypertrophy training will put you from 8 to 12 reps with no more than 1 min rest in-between sets.
My suggestion is try and stay at the bottom end of your hypertrophy training and top end of your strength training, this way you may get the effects of both. Shoot for 6 to 8 reps with 1.5 min rest period’s in-between sets.
Everyone has to keep in mind the whole goal for muscular growth and strength has nothing to do with exhausting the Glycogen and ATP storage (which is what intervals and short rest period circuits do). It has to do with tearing the fiber so it can repair itself bigger and stronger. We can’t effectively bring our muscles to max fatigue to the point of tearing unless we have a full storage of energy to lift as much as possible.
We as Fitness Pros have to understand that Anaerobic Training (weights) and Aerobic Training (cardio) serve 2 different purposes. It seems to be a huge myth these days that by doing the circuits, ply metrics, and intervals we are able to get bigger and stronger. The fact is science shows us otherwise; as a matter of fact it has the opposite effect. If we are not careful it can be very catabolic to our muscles.
Even though Circuits, Intervals, Boot Camps, etc… have a place in the Fitness world especially when it comes to most of our clients (the BUSY weight loss client not interested in building muscle) it doesn’t mean this style of training is sufficient for building strength and Muscle (for a conditioned trainer).
Coming from a competitive fitness model, trust me when I tell you I have been in situations where I needed to get very low in body fat and keep as much muscle as possible.
Your best bet, Keep your diet 100% low fat, high protein, carb front loaded and train between 6 to 8 reps with 1.5 min rest periods in-between. Crank out your cardio on something low impact and steady in the mornings, like a recumbent bike. (Jump Rope, Treadmills, and other high impact cardio can destroy that hard earned muscle.)
Good Luck Brother
Sincerely
Mr. Exercise
C.J. Woodruff
PFTA Master Personal Trainer / Nutritional Specialist
INBF Competitive Fitness Model
Lead Fitness Professional BWB
http://www.BusyWomenBootCamps.com
CJ@BusyWomenBootCamps.com
COO Corporate Fitness Revolution
http://www.MyCorporateFitness.com
CJ@MyCorporateFitness.com
Fitness Marketing and Consulting / Marketing Design
http://www.CJWoodruff.com
Heavy power-bodybuilding style workouts, spit routine
double cardio for 45 min each – steady state. Burns the most fat and least muscle. Bodybuilding diet: 6 meals/day high protein low carb, medium fat.
Don't train like a girl.
Hey Chris,
Hope you are doing well buddy??
Now with you and those bad shoulders of yours I would be sticking to a higher intensity circuit/crossfit that will cover all bases for you.
Obviously you still need to plan out the week and have a mix of high intensity no rest type workouts, then also some heavier weight lower rep, lower intensity days.
To be really honest though you need to listen to your body and just do what you feel is best on the day. Mix it up bro….
As you know I have been on the Cross Fit train now for 4 months and in that time I have gained 3kg of muscle and lost around 9kg of body fat ( not bad for an old bloke)…
I highly recommend this type of training ( even for guys our age), and believe it really suits the individual wanting to gain muslce and lose the flab…
Scottie
Heavy weights with a good diet and not being a pussy will do wonders for 99% of the people out there. My advice would be to ask someone who has done it. Find a former fatass and ask him what he thinks. You will be better off if you find someone who has been/was fat for most of his natural life. I bet you get a much more honest opinion from him. Even moreso, you will find out what DOESNT work, which is, in my important than trying to guess.
Jason
Sounds good Luka. Can you give some more detail on your workout, i.e. what would be a typical workout for each of those and what exercises?