Question about ideal program for fat loss.

[beavis1957]

Ok, I have a stupid question for you guys.

I started a workout regime back in Jan. where I would work out at least 3 days/wk and do 2 upper body and 1 lower body in those 3 days. I would do 15 to 20 min of cardio after each day's lift.

I also watched my diet (a little) during this time period. I lost a little bit of fat, but gained quite a bit of muscle.

I have been traveling for the past 3 weeks and unable to work out. I just started back yesterday, and am thinking about trying something different....doing only cardio for 4 days per week at least 1 hr total each day and not worry as much about lifting. I'll maybe lift one upper body day and one lower day per week as time permits.

Is this a better approach to fat loss than what I had been doing(?), cause I wasn't losing much then.

Thanks in advance for advice.

[benji]

the best approach to fat loss is to watch your diet. eat less calories than you burn and you'll be set. there is no magic formula or secret workouts. it's a boring, simple answer, but it is the truth. if you like doing cardio better than weights, go for it. i prefer lifting, eating right, and doing hiit.

[beavis1957]

I guess my question was, given a decent diet, should I concentrate more on cardio or will lifting give me enough of a calorie burn to lose significant weight?

It just seems that when I was lifting and doing a little cardio, that my body was stubborn to shed the fat. More cardio is hopefully the answer.

[California Jack]

I believe you should concentrate on high intensity interval training (HIIT) 3xweekly and weight training 3xweekly.

Good luck,
Jack

[California Jack]

I should have told you that the HIIT and weight traing should be done on alternate days. On lifting days, keep the time between sets to a minimum.

Something I think works for me is to train first thing in the morning on an empty stomach (water is ok) and than not eat for an hour after training.