This workout is designed for people who have finished bulking and have some excess fat they'd like to lose. It combines heavy weight training with 3 days of cardio, and 1 day of rest. The choice of cardio is yours, whatever works for you. You can use low intensity early morning cardio or HIIT (high intensity interval training) in the evenings.
With this workout you get out what you put in. Your diet is more important that your workout. Make sure you're around 500 calories per day deficient.
| Tuesday - Abs & Cardio |
Workout Schedule
|
| 20mins core strength exercises (see ab exercises section for core strength exercises), followed by 1 hour of low intensity cardio or 45mins of HIIT |
| Thursday - Abs & Cardio |
Workout Schedule
|
| 20mins core strength exercises (see ab exercises section for core strength exercises), followed by 1 hour of low intensity cardio or 45mins of HIIT |
| Friday - Legs and Shoulders |
Legs
|
| Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
| Squat |
4 |
8 |
| Stiff Legged Deadlift |
3 |
8 |
| Leg Curl |
3 |
8, 8, 6 |
| Leg Extension |
3 |
8, 8, 6 |
| Standing Calf Raise |
4 |
15, 12, 10, 8 |
| Shoulders |
| Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
| Military Press |
4 |
8, 8, 6, 6 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise |
3 |
8 |
| Bent Over Rev Fly |
3 |
8 |
Workout Notes:
|
| None. |
| Saturday - Abs & Cardio |
Workout Schedule
|
| 20mins core strength exercises (see ab exercises section for core strength exercises), followed by 1 hour of low intensity cardio or 45mins of HIIT |
SUNDAY - REST DAY - NO TRAINING
Got Something To Say? Post Your Comments Below
Any one got any good core exercises for this routine?
Hi Jesse. Here are a few suggestions:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/abs.html
Steve, I have Degenerative Disc disease and it has greatly affected my lower back. I am 6ft. and weigh 240 lbs. I seriously need to lose some weight. What exercise could I do instead of squats and dead lift? Thanks.
Hi Cass,
I would use leg press and side/rear lunges instead.
i highly recommend P90X ab ripper X for the abs, by far the best ab workout ive ever done
Thank you for this sound and no nonsense plan.
Svala
DECLINE SIT UPS 4 x 25
HANGING LEG RAISES 4 x 25
TWISTING CRUNCHES 4 x 25
I start doing cardio last September 09 and I didnt loss weight at all. So I decide to do so lifting from the last 3 months and I see my body changes a lot. But I try to do everyday 60 min of cardio, them 15 to 20 mins of abs and 15 to 20 mins of lifting. But I just read that I should not overworkout, so how I know if I overworkout???? because I feeling really good after the gym I am not tired at all.
If you feel good you aren't overworking.
how long can you do this routine for? i just started it and i was wondering thanks
I would run it for 4 to 8 weeks, or possible a couple weeks longer if you are feeling physically strong. 6 days a week can be draining.
Hi Steve
is Their anyway got break this routine down to 3 days?
Regards
Mark
You could perform abs and cardio on the same day you perform resistance training. Do abs and cardio either first thing in the morning, or after weight training.
Hey Steve, What you can do is try and do like 2 minutes of cardio before each different workout set. 1:30 of moderate cardio and :30 seconds of sprinting. That way you will cut faster and can skip Tuesdays and Thursdays; at the same time your body is working so your burning way more fat than just doing weights. But its only if you can do that. Personally I am doing this workout and the Cardio and Weights workout (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/cardio-and-weights-workout.html ) by Jeremy Wood. So far I have cut down by like 8 lbs in my first week.
RANDY -
that's a great suggestion. i was thinking the same thing. Question: exactly WHEN on this routine do you throw in the 2min Cardio sets from the alternate workout?
Also, it's been four months since your post. Are you still netting the same results? I know with any new routine initial results are quick and/or misleading. wasnt sure if the gain was the same 4 mos later...
thanks,
MICHAEL.
RANDY -
Question for you because I am doing the same thing. When in your workout are you throwing in these Carido-bursts?
I've been warming up 20min Cycling or Elliptical, then doing say a Chest/Tri set, Cardio burst and next round of Chest/Tri + Cardio 2-3x more. I wrap the workout with Abs.
You mentioned 8lbs lost in one week. How is this going for you 4mos. later?
45 minutes of HIIT? I've never met anyone, who doing HIIT properly, could do it for 45 minutes.
Maybe we have different ideas of HIIT however. Perhaps explain what intervals you would recommend, instead of a generic all-encompassing "HIIT".
Yeah, I totally agree. 20 minutes is about my max, and I have been doing HIIT for years. I usually do 20-25 minutes HIIT or intervals, plus 20 minutes at a lower intensity. Would this be an acceptable way to approach my cardio?
Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. 45 minutes of HIIT is impossible. I have done it for 4 years now, and the max I am at is half recovery time with 15 minutes workout plus warmup (10 minute elliptical and 5 minute stairs = LOW intensity) and 20-30 minute "cool down", just low cardio.
I think I would approach it this way for fat loss, but i don't know what the author of this workout had in mind. Regular intervals perhaps? That would make more sense.
Is this a good program for a beginner that wants to bulk up and trim down???
if not, what is a good program?
Hi Jesse.
It is extremely difficult to gain muscle while losing fat. I would zero in on one specific goal, and go after that.
So would you recommend this program to slim down? cos i am 6ft 2in and 92kgs, so i am not a weed. Cos i have been doing this program and i have seen results, but it seems that i am gaining muscle aswell. Is that fine?
Muscle gain is always nice. If you are gaining on this program then I would keep at it. You can always cut a bit of fat when the muscle gains slow...
no worries!! thanks.
hey im a 20 year old female trying to lose some extra body fat especially on my stomach. i already train 6 days and have noticed my body toning up and have lost about 5 kilos but cant seem to melt the fat on my tummy, diet needs to be re adjusted but does anyone know if this routine is going to help that??
This routine, along with a good diet, will definitely help you reach your goals.
understand that you will slowly lose weight throughout your whole body as you are doing weight loss exercises but the weight on your belly is always the last thing to go. you can also get abs as well but it is always the last thing that you obtain because your body has to be below 10% body fat to start seeing your abs. hope that helps
When you loose weight especially in strenght workouts your stomach is the first thing to loose. Everybody has abs but from all that fat you can't see them. Try eating fruits and vegetables plus wholegrain. Eat low fat yogurts for dairy and stay away from chips, fast food and high saturaded fat foods. Drink plenty of watter too.
im doin dis wrkout but idk if im doin it properly..do i do ech muscle wrkout simultaneosly wit eachother??or do i do the specific muscle 1st then switch 2 the other muscle wrkout??
Perform all the exercises for one muscle group before advancing to the next muscle group.
Chest
Exercise Sets Reps
Dumbbell Bench Press 4 8, 8, 6, 6
Incline Bench Press 4 8, 8, 6, 6
while decreasing the rep from 8 to 6 shall we increase the weight also
i mean for eg. for 4 sets 1st 2 sets of 8 reps with 20kg and the next 2 sets of 6 reps with 25 or 30 kg or do all the sets with same weight.
Hi Afi,
You want to use as much weight as possible for each stated set. This will require some trial and error, as you learn what your body is capable of. In general you will have to decrease weight to hit each stated rep range for an exercise.
What kind of diet would you recommend with this workout plan? High protein? Is this purely a fat burning routine or can I expect some muscle addition and toning as well?
Thanks!
Hi Miguel,
Make sure you are eating enough daily protein - generally around 30 to 40 grams every 2.5 to 3 hours. You also should be eating somewhere around 2300 to 2500 daily calories if fat loss is your goal.
It is virtually impossible to gain muscle while losing fat.
I am a 20 yrs old male with 162 lbs and I have little big belly. I want to tone my body and get some shapes. I am cutting my calories to less than 1000 per day. Does that help me to get nice shape and burn my fat. I also do elleptical at least half hr daily. But I really need to rip off my belly. Any particular suggestions from you please... I started this work out a week ago and have some muscle pain also. Help me out please.
Hi Sacheet,
You should never drop calories that low. You will lose quite a bit of muscle, and when the diet is over you most likely will experience a weight rebound. I would go no lower than 1800 to 2000 calories per day unless you are older and sit most of the day.
Do you have muscle pain or soreness?
yes, I do have muscle pains. In fact, i have pains to that particular area which i workout. like if i do chest and triceps today, then my chest and triceps will kill me the next day. i am trying to eat a lot of protein these days but at the same time i do not want to gain weight but build muscles. so these workouts help me get six packs even i eat 1800-2000 calories per day?
my other concern is do i lift heavier loads and not complete the reps. or lift light weight and complete the reps? i always use elliptical for half an hour and then only do the workout, is it ok if i do so?
You have to eat enough to build muscle. Eating at that low level will not build much, if any amount of muscle mass.
What is your height, weight and age?
As far as weight, using good form, always push yourself on every set. When you can perform the recommended number of reps for a set, add weight. Failure to push yourself in the gym will result in little to no muscle mass. Don't worry if you can complete all the reps in a workout. That's not important. The important part is to push yourself for more.
Never do cardio prior to lifting. Save your energy for muscle building.
I am 5 foot 11 and weigh 190. I am definitely not overweight or fat but i do have a little bit of belly fat. What would you suggest is a good daily calorie intake with this plan.
If you are trying to cut fat, I would eat around 2300 to 2500 calories for a couple weeks and watch the scale. What is your goal weight?
I am wanting to get around 175 or so, or at least until i have lost enough body fat to where i feel good enough to start working on gaining more muscle again. For about the past week my calorie intake is averaging around 2000 calories. And i have been taking GNC Amplified Muscle Igniter 4x before every workout. Is that still ok to be taking, along with whey after workouts, if I am cutting?
I'm not familiar with that supplement. I assume it has Nitric Oxide? Most pre-workout supplements are great to use during cuts because they keep your metabolism rocking.
Hey steve
im a bit worried about losing muscle mass,im 17 and been training in the gym since for 2 years now. im not fat but i have a bit of belly fat and i want to have a six pack before i continue building muscle, would this workout be useful to achive that?
Hi Jhon,
This workout can help you reach your goals. The real key is to train for more reps and weight on every set of every workout, and to eating enough daily protein - generally around 30 to 40 grams every 2.5 to 3 hours. You also should be eating somewhere around 2300 to 2500 daily calories.
just wondering can i do HIIT for my warm up? coz i can only exercise at night.
and i'm just the fat loss program. is this program good for me?
Hi Duke,
I would perform low intensity cardio for 5 to 10 minute3s as a warmup, and HIIT after resistance training. You want to save most of your energy for when you hit the iron!
Hi Steve, I'm 40 now and I've been doing HIIT also with some small weight's and at lease 25-30 min's on my ab's 4-5 a week since last sep 09 but still seem's to have alittle belly fat, well I lost about 30 lb's so far I'm down to 191 lb's and also seem's stock at that number.Any tip's? will be very much appreaciated.
Hi Ricky,
Congrats on the weight loss. One of the real keys to losing weight and leaning out is the utilization of heavy resistance training. You want to make sure you are pushing yourself on every set of every workout, focusing on more reps and ultimately more weight. Failure to do this can result in you losing muscle and fat while you diet. Bottom line...you could end of skinnier but not lean. I would recommend that you really start to focus more on the weight training aspect.
Thanks man, I think you're right cause my arm's and leg's got skinnier but no muscle's, I'll give your recommendation a shot and maybe the 6 day weight/cardio cutting workout cause I love to run it make's you feel great the next day, again thank you very much, will keep inform.
Ricky.
Best of luck!
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