[michaeljannis]

I was reading on Mens Health the other day, and they were discussing the Abs Diet workout. click here to see the workout.

My usual workout looks something like this:

Mon: Chest/Tris
Tues: Back/Bis
Wed: Off
Thurs: Shoulders/Abs
Fri: Legs

I did the Monday section of the workout today, and I just didn't feel as though I was working out as hard as I normally do. I did my very best to stick to the 30sec rest intervals to keep my heart rate up.

Something to keep in mind.....my main goal is to lose the fat.

I'm 5'9, 234lbs. I don't know my BF% but If I had to guess, I'm probably looking at 25 -28%.

Let me know whatcha think.

[Hank Vangut]

i glanced at your split vs the men's health split and i can't guess which one would give better abs.

however, if you showed me two diets side by side i could tell you which one would get you better abs.

[michaeljannis]

haha good point...

Not so much looking for the Abs benefits, just the overall outcome.

I mean, do you personally believe that the split workout is better than the total body or vice versa?

Is there a difference? I mean I have not personal problems with the the Mens Health workout, it to me just didn't feel as though I was working out as hard as I normally do.

I know and understand that diet is most important over all...

[Hank Vangut]

i personally feel that total body workouts are great for general health and toning up.
suitable for 95% of people looking to stay healthy and look fit.
is there a way to turn up the intensity on the men's health workout? if so, then you may get a lot more from it.

i feel that split training is more suited for the more advanced and highly trained body building enthusiast. despite what many percieve, split training actually requires a lot more time and dedication to do properly and get results.

[michaeljannis]

IDK if I can kick up the intensity. Maybe I just didn't push myself hard enough today. I will try and stack on a little more weight next time.

I'm always up for suggestions

[EasyEJL]

Originally Posted by Hank Vangut

is there a way to turn up the intensity on the men's health workout? if so, then you may get a lot more from it.

or maybe less thats sort of the hope with routines like that put together by trainers + doctors, that they have it structured the way they do for a reason. So maybe what seems like lower intensity (what is normally strength training primarily) is better for fat loss.

Not saying it is or isn't, but you sound like you have a fair handle on your workouts and hopefully diet, so stick with this for a month~6 weeks and see the results.

If you were looking to gain mass or strength, i'd agree that the whole body is hard to manage to crank the intensity up high enough 3x a week

[Resolve]

Seems overly complicated to me - want to lose fat? Lift heavy, push yourself, throw in some sprints on off days and eat a clean diet.
Yeah, total body can somewhat improve metabolism over a split, but if your doing plenty of compound movements anyways and not taking enormous rests, it shouldn't matter that much. Only use isolation exercises to supplement several heavy compound lifts - to really hit a muscle that you want to single out.

[CopyCat]

For fat loss, toning, and streangth my reccomendation would be to start crossfit (and add some more cardio on top of their workouts) and follow the zone diet. Crossfit utilizes olympic lifts, gymnastics training with short duration, but high intensity. It really kick starts the metabolism more so in 20 minutes than an hour of running.

info on crossfit and the zone diet can be found at:
http://www.crossfit.com/
and zone diet info you can see my post titles fuel talk here
Fuel Talk Pt 1...Though I'd Share This

if this peaks your curiosity and want more detailed info just PM me and let me know. I'll be more than happy to fill you in.
You'll mos def not walk away from their excersices feeling like you didn't do enough. I can promise you that.