Lifting weights 5-6 days per week (when not on anabolics) can be detrimental to gains. 24 hours after workouts cortisol levels have risen. You have to give your endocrine system time to recover. It's not just about your muscles or nervous system. I would limit actual weight training days to 3-4 times per week.[/QUOTE
can you give me a workout routine? for instence what muscle to work what day? when to rest?
question: should i be taking protien shakes when trying to cut weight?
question: what are good cardio things to do? when running ive herd run for 6 min take a 3 min walk and repeat. is this a good idea??
thanks for everybodys help.
Well your workouts usually depend on your experience level. For example, a beginner doesn't need nearly as many accessory exercises and isolation movements as an advanced lifter would need.
Muscle response in hypertrophy (growth) from the amount of stress placed on it each workout and is allowed growth through a surplus (more than you burn) in calories. Once both requirements are met, the muscle hypertrophies.
The "stress" placed on the muscle is called progressive overload. "Overload" is working the muscle harder than it is accustomed to working, which basically means that the you must either use;
1- More weight than the previous workout
2- Use more reps than the previous workout; for example, if last week you used 5X5, then this week hitting 6-7 reps on your first set and 5 on the rest would be overload
3- Use more total sets; for example, instead of 5X5 use 6X5
4- Vary the tempo- lifting the weight faster
5- Decreasing the rest time between sets
If you cannot meet these requirements, then using another exercise to further stimulate the muscle past its previous experience is overload. So if you did 225LBS last week on your bench press for 5X5 and couldn't progress in any of those ways, then throwing in a set of weighted dips could further stimulate the chest and activate more motor units.
If you're in the beginning stages of training, then progression should be easier for you since your body is just beginning to activate previously inactivate motor units in the muscles ("newbie" gains). Calories determine muscle growth (hypertrophy) or fat loss.
In your case, cutting weight is your approach so gaining LBM is very difficult to do, so your best approach is by trying to preserve as much muscle as possible to keep your metabolism high and keep a better physique.
As Rosie pointed out, supplements are not a requirement for weight loss. Infact, most supplements are scams anyway. I would advise you, if you're into buying supplements, to invest in a multi-vitamin, BCAAs, and maybe some whey protein. You DON'T need anything else.
HIIT cardio is good to raise your metabolism and burn away glycogen/glucose during cardio, so that your body has to burn fat afterwards. HIIT is a form of anaerobic performance (although it also trains aerobic performance) so too much of it can be catabolic.
I would recommend you, for routines, to look into a 3-day compound focused routine like starting strength or something similar. Focus on your basic squat, deadlift, horizontal push/pull, and vertical push/pull, and whatever other exercises you may need for your own genetic response to stimulus under those. Usually most people do not need more than that, especially if they are just starting out.
Workout A- Squat, bench press, deadlift, chins
Workout B- Squat, overhead press, power clean, barbell row
Your most important tool for cutting though is your diet. Weightlifting is for increasing metabolism and forcing your body to hold onto its muscle.
I would recommend a ketogenic diet.
Edit: As for your cardio plan, it depends on your experience level. Don't do too much. Something like HIIT could cause you harm if you're not ready for it. If you're a good runner then 35/25 is fine.
I do 20 seconds of walking, 20 seconds of a moderate jog, then 20 seconds of a fast sprint, usually for 14-15 cycles. Sometime I don't even do a walk. I'll just do 30 seconds of jogging and then 30 seconds of running, but it takes a lot out of me and I don't last as long.
Only if they're males, though, right - because average body composition for a female is 25.1% bodyfat (15% bodyfat on a female is more elite athlete levels).
~Team APPNUT
Yeah I agree. Only if they're males.