HIIT Incorporated into a 6 day a week weight lifting routine

[JoePaul39]

Hi all,

I am a 40 year old male that has been lifting weights for several years. I am currently on a 3 day on one day off split routine and on a cut consuming approximately 1900 calories a day. I am losing about a pound a week. I would like to accelerate fat loss, thus I was thinking of incorporating 3 twenty minute HIIT workouts a week in addition to my 45-60 minute weight training sessions, however I fear this may lead over-training. Do you think this would be overdoing it? Another option I thought of is to just do HIIT on my day off (i.e. 3 days weight training, one day HIIT, then repeat), but I don't know if even that could be overdoing it because I would then be exercising 7 days a week with no rest days. Is HIIT absolutely necessary for maximum fat loss?

 

[Whisky]

Neither HIIT nor LISS are essential for fat loss bro, what is essential is that calorie deficit.

1lb a week if you are natty and not that overweight is pretty decent btw.....

Personally I’d throw in the HIIT after your lifting sessions 3x a week if you want do more. Extremely unlikely you’ll get to a point where your over training and conditioning style finishers are a great way to boost calorie burn.

 

[R1balla]

I also vouch for doing HIIT after weights or on a separate day. Keep the weights heavy, calorie deficient (if you are stalled then decrease by 250 / day or so). Also, don’t be afraid to change up the cardio. I prefer stairs, jump rope and swimming as my cardio.

Personally, I keep my weight sessions 45 min or less. If I’m training over 45 min it’s either because I’m talking too much (rarely happens) or I’m resting for too long in between sets. Currently doing a P/P routine with 15-20 min of cardio after. My other cardio is simply jogging with my dog.

 

[Rosie Chee]

Hi all,

I am a 40 year old male that has been lifting weights for several years. I am currently on a 3 day on one day off split routine and on a cut consuming approximately 1900 calories a day. I am losing about a pound a week. I would like to accelerate fat loss, thus I was thinking of incorporating 3 twenty minute HIIT workouts a week in addition to my 45-60 minute weight training sessions, however I fear this may lead over-training. Do you think this would be overdoing it? Another option I thought of is to just do HIIT on my day off (i.e. 3 days weight training, one day HIIT, then repeat), but I don't know if even that could be overdoing it because I would then be exercising 7 days a week with no rest days. Is HIIT absolutely necessary for maximum fat loss?

First, just an observation, but even for fat loss, 1900 calories seems low, especially for a male.

Second, HIIT is not absolutely necessary for maximum fat loss.

Third, HIIT can be incorporated into your resistance training. And it is NOT going to be overtraining including it in your training regime. Just be SMART about it and set things up for optimal training and recovery.

Four, I recommend giving yourself a scheduled rest day to recover, whether fat loss or not. Training every day is not going to get you faster or better results, especially if you are NOT giving your body the recovery that it NEEDS.

 

[JoePaul39]

First, just an observation, but even for fat loss, 1900 calories seems low, especially for a male.

Second, HIIT is not absolutely necessary for maximum fat loss.

Third, HIIT can be incorporated into your resistance training. And it is NOT going to be overtraining including it in your training regime. Just be SMART about it and set things up for optimal training and recovery.

Four, I recommend giving yourself a scheduled rest day to recover, whether fat loss or not. Training every day is not going to get you faster or better results, especially if you are NOT giving your body the recovery that it NEEDS.

Thanks. I am going to keep my two rest days, rather than do HIIT on the off days. Like you said the recovery days are important. I am going to do weights 3 days on, take one day off, and do my HIIT on days 1 and 3 of the weight training which effectively means I will be doing HIIT 3.5 times a week. I tried combining HIIT before into my weight training regime by following Jim Stoppani's Shortcut to Shred program. I was doing a set, then following it up by doing a minute on the stair stepper, rather than resting a minute, then another set of weights. It really kicked my a##! The problem that kept occurring is someone would get on the stair stepper machine when I was doing the weights! The reason I am at only 1,900 calories a day is probably because I have been cutting for so long my metabolism has adjusted to the lower calories so I had to keep cutting calories in order to see weight loss. I probably should stop cutting shortly too rev my metabolism back up and then start back up on a cut. I am at 22% body fat so I have a lot still yet to lose. Started at 30% BF though so making progress!

 

[R1balla]

Thanks. I am going to keep my two rest days, rather than do HIIT on the off days. Like you said the recovery days are important. I am going to do weights 3 days on, take one day off, and do my HIIT on days 1 and 3 of the weight training which effectively means I will be doing HIIT 3.5 times a week. I tried combining HIIT before into my weight training regime by following Jim Stoppani's Shortcut to Shred program. I was doing a set, then following it up by doing a minute on the stair stepper, rather than resting a minute, then another set of weights. It really kicked my a##! The problem that kept occurring is someone would get on the stair stepper machine when I was doing the weights! The reason I am at only 1,900 calories a day is probably because I have been cutting for so long my metabolism has adjusted to the lower calories so I had to keep cutting calories in order to see weight loss. I probably should stop cutting shortly too rev my metabolism back up and then start back up on a cut. I am at 22% body fat so I have a lot still yet to lose. Started at 30% BF though so making progress!

What types of foods are you eating? A lot more factors go into it other than calories.

 

[JoePaul39]

Don't have the exact macros calculated, but I always eat a gram of protein per pound of weight (about 190 grams) which includes four 30 gram protein shakes a day, and also protein from other sources such as lean meat like ham and chicken breast.. Mostly low glycemic carbs (whole grains, fruits, vegetables) and some fats. A fairly low sugar diet too.

 

[Whisky]

Don't have the exact macros calculated, but I always eat a gram of protein per pound of weight (about 190 grams) which includes four 30 gram protein shakes a day, and also protein from other sources such as lean meat like ham and chicken breast.. Mostly low glycemic carbs (whole grains, fruits, vegetables) and some fats. A fairly low sugar diet too.

Just my opinion bro but 4 shakes a day is way to much - protein source does make a difference and personally I’d want at least 2/3rds of my protein coming from whole food sources....

 

[JoePaul39]

Just my opinion bro but 4 shakes a day is way to much - protein source does make a difference and personally I’d want at least 2/3rds of my protein coming from whole food sources....

Its mainly because I am too lazy/don't cook and travel a lot for my job so it is convenient. I could eat a lot of ham and microwavable chicken breast I suppose, etc, but then I would be overloading myself with sodium. The first ingredient of the shake is "milk protein concentrate" which I know is high in aminos so I don't think it would be too detrimental to have it as my primary source of protein (other than I know your body has to work harder to digest whole foods as opposed to shakes so you burn more calories if you eat more whole foods). Also contains whey protein concentrate.

 

[Whisky]

Im not knocking shakes at all bro, couldnt live without them myself.

I'm not saying I'm right on this but my personal belief is that the processing involved in creating a powder will affect the protein quality. Its better than not getting enough protein but whole food sources would provide a higher quality of protein as well as the host of other micros you.get....

 

[Whisky]

Im not knocking shakes at all bro, couldnt live without them myself.

I'm not saying I'm right on this but my personal belief is that the processing involved in creating a powder will affect the protein quality. Its better than not getting enough protein but whole food sources would provide a higher quality of protein as well as the host of other micros you.get....

 

[R1balla]

You need to learn how to meal prep then. Start slow and ease your way up. It can be overwhelming if you go all in at once. Baking chicken is very easy and simple. You can get a lot of chicken cooked that way. Same for hard boiled eggs.

 

[JoePaul39]

You need to learn how to meal prep then. Start slow and ease your way up. It can be overwhelming if you go all in at once. Baking chicken is very easy and simple. You can get a lot of chicken cooked that way. Same for hard boiled eggs.

Well I know I can do the hard boil eggs lol! When I was on a Keto diet I use to eat about a half dozen a day!

 

[AntM1564]

Hi all,

I am a 40 year old male that has been lifting weights for several years. I am currently on a 3 day on one day off split routine and on a cut consuming approximately 1900 calories a day. I am losing about a pound a week. I would like to accelerate fat loss, thus I was thinking of incorporating 3 twenty minute HIIT workouts a week in addition to my 45-60 minute weight training sessions, however I fear this may lead over-training. Do you think this would be overdoing it? Another option I thought of is to just do HIIT on my day off (i.e. 3 days weight training, one day HIIT, then repeat), but I don't know if even that could be overdoing it because I would then be exercising 7 days a week with no rest days. Is HIIT absolutely necessary for maximum fat loss?

HIIT is not necessary for fat loss. Cardio in general is not needed either. All that is needed is a caloric deficit. People use cardio to create that, but if you are at a deficit without cardio, you do not need cardio.

During a cut, especially with a very low intake, I would opt for LISS over HIIT. John Meadows has a very good video on his YouTube channel about that.

Personally, I do HIIT once a week. I also follow a PPL routine. I do HIIT on Wednesday. I do legs Tuesday and Saturday. I am in a surplus and my legs are still a touch sore Friday and feel almost 100% on Saturday. I would not do HIIT in your case and even if you do it post workout another day, it won't be a true HIIT session if you are training like you should while lifting.

Also, 1900 seems a little low for calories. Did you calculate your TDEE?

 

[JoePaul39]

HIIT is not necessary for fat loss. Cardio in general is not needed either. All that is needed is a caloric deficit. People use cardio to create that, but if you are at a deficit without cardio, you do not need cardio.

During a cut, especially with a very low intake, I would opt for LISS over HIIT. John Meadows has a very good video on his YouTube channel about that.

Personally, I do HIIT once a week. I also follow a PPL routine. I do HIIT on Wednesday. I do legs Tuesday and Saturday. I am in a surplus and my legs are still a touch sore Friday and feel almost 100% on Saturday. I would not do HIIT in your case and even if you do it post workout another day, it won't be a true HIIT session if you are training like you should while lifting.

Also, 1900 seems a little low for calories. Did you calculate your TDEE?

Thanks for your input/reply.I used a calorie calculator that factors in exercise frequency and job type (sedentary vrs active) plus age to calculate calories needed for weight loss. I use to lose weight around 2300 calories, but had to make slow cuts and eventually landed at 1900 calories a day, however once a week I do go to the theater and treat myself to a large butter popcorn (it is basically me rewarding myself for following my diet all week). The popcorn probably has near a 1,000 calories in it, so if you divided that by 7 days that adds in an average of about an additional 150 calories a day and would bring the total to 2150 calories a day. I do not feel the amount I am eating is too little as like I said I am only losing about a pound a week which is a healthy amount of weight loss.

I don't want to do LISS because I find it boring and won't sick to it. 30 to 40 minutes or so walking on a treadmill just isn't appealing to m. Also, HIIT is more time efficient as 20 minutes is considered a good length and I really don't have that much extra time as I lift for 45-60 minutes on a 3 day on 1 day off format. There are also a lot of study that HIIT is best for maintaining or even building lean body mass. I am getting old (turn 40 on March 19), thus I know I won't always be able to do HIIT. One day when I get too old, I will probably have to switch to LISS since it has the advantage of being less of an injury risk as HIIT. How long do you do your LISS sessions for and how many days a week ?What type of exercise, walking?

 

[Whisky]

Thanks for your input/reply.I used a calorie calculator that factors in exercise frequency and job type (sedentary vrs active) plus age to calculate calories needed for weight loss. I use to lose weight around 2300 calories, but had to make slow cuts and eventually landed at 1900 calories a day, however once a week I do go to the theater and treat myself to a large butter popcorn (it is basically me rewarding myself for following my diet all week). The popcorn probably has near a 1,000 calories in it, so if you divided that by 7 days that adds in an average of about an additional 150 calories a day and would bring the total to 2150 calories a day. I do not feel the amount I am eating is too little as like I said I am only losing about a pound a week which is a healthy amount of weight loss.

I don't want to do LISS because I find it boring and won't sick to it. 30 to 40 minutes or so walking on a treadmill just isn't appealing to m. Also, HIIT is more time efficient as 20 minutes is considered a good length and I really don't have that much extra time as I lift for 45-60 minutes on a 3 day on 1 day off format. There are also a lot of study that HIIT is best for maintaining or even building lean body mass. I am getting old (turn 40 on March 19), thus I know I won't always be able to do HIIT. One day when I get too old, I will probably have to switch to LISS since it has the advantage of being less of an injury risk as HIIT. How long do you do your LISS sessions for and how many days a week ?What type of exercise, walking?

There studies that support both liss and HIIT as optimal. Pro’s and cons for both.

Bottom line is do the one you enjoy and which fits your lifestyle as that will be the most sustainable.

Personally I run around 40 mins 5-6 mornings a week

 

[R1balla]

My wife and I just started a new cardio routine that we will do about twice a week. The other days we run with our dogs. It’s a circuit type cardio routine that includes burpees, jump rope ...etc.