is it useless to work out unless you're lifting heavy?

[PlatoPacks23]

I workout about 3-4 days a week but only one of those days is bench press, squats etc.. aka heavy lifting. The other days are cardio, or circuit workouts at the place I go to..

For purely aesthetic purposes and someone who is sorta skinny fat (maybe 14-15% body fat), is it sorta counterproductive or useless to work out unless I am spending all 3-4 days a week ONLY weight lifting?

 

[Giovanni SouthSide]

When I feel that depression creepin in I backlash by hitting the weights and then incline fast pace power walk on the treadmill for 30min straight. That soul rinse is a God send.

You straight. Consistency.
Throw in some calisthenics for agility.

80% of your mass/muscle is harvested in the kitchen and sleep.

 

[PlatoPacks23]

When I feel that depression creepin in I backlash by hitting the weights and then incline fast pace power walk on the treadmill for 30min straight. That soul rinse is a God send.

You straight. Consistency.
Throw in some calisthenics for agility.

80% of your mass/muscle is harvested in the kitchen and sleep.

oh yeah that makes sense, my diet is **** lol. like sweets and alcohol too much but workout a lot

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

No, you can increase volume and reduce weight.

 

[Stanley]

I workout about 3-4 days a week but only one of those days is bench press, squats etc.. aka heavy lifting. The other days are cardio, or circuit workouts at the place I go to..

Of course! What are your goals? Are you more focused on losing weight or putting on muscle mass? Both??

For purely aesthetic purposes and someone who is sorta skinny fat (maybe 14-15% body fat), is it sorta counterproductive or useless to work out unless I am spending all 3-4 days a week ONLY weight lifting?

No offense, but 14% body fat is pretty darn lean, you wouldn't be skinny fat at that bmi. You would be vascular and have some abs showing even if you lacked muscle at that percentage.

 

[PlatoPacks23]

Of course! What are your goals? Are you more focused on losing weight or putting on muscle mass? Both??



No offense, but 14% body fat is pretty darn lean, you wouldn't be skinny fat at that bmi. You would be vascular and have some abs showing even if you lacked muscle at that percentage.

I want to mainly get more "ripped" looking and build muscle. but not too bulky if that makes sense

ok im probably closer to 16-17% body fat then.. I can see abs if I scrunch them lol but def have a minor beer belly

 

[Stanley]

I want to mainly get more "ripped" looking and build muscle. but not too bulky if that makes sense

ok im probably closer to 16-17% body fat then.. I can see abs if I scrunch them lol but def have a minor beer belly

Yeah that's the classic response lol. I wanna be RIPPED but no BULKY... Aka Brad pitt from fight club?

Cardio and circuits are good for losing the weight and getting toned, throw in some calisthenics with pullups/chins . If you want to put on muscle mass you wanna be hitting compound lifts at least twice a week, bench, bent row, deadlift/squat. Check out the stronglifts 5x5 or starting strength. Add some accessories in there for 'aesthetics'. Also, lifting hard in the gym burns a **** load of calories and elevates your metabolism for hours afterward, keep that in mind. Maybe try aiming for two full body lifting days and on the 'off' days doing some light cardio for active recovery

Also, Diet. Cut sugar out asap and focus on a lean diet high in protein. If you wanna put on some muscle you should aim to be in a caloric surplus at least a little bit.

 

[PlatoPacks23]

Yeah that's the classic response lol. I wanna be RIPPED but no BULKY... Aka Brad pitt from fight club?

Cardio and circuits are good for losing the weight and getting toned, throw in some calisthenics with pullups/chins . If you want to put on muscle mass you wanna be hitting compound lifts at least twice a week, bench, bent row, deadlift/squat. Check out the stronglifts 5x5 or starting strength. Add some accessories in there for 'aesthetics'. Also, lifting hard in the gym burns a **** load of calories and elevates your metabolism for hours afterward, keep that in mind. Maybe try aiming for two full body lifting days and on the 'off' days doing some light cardio for active recovery

Also, Diet. Cut sugar out asap and focus on a lean diet high in protein. If you wanna put on some muscle you should aim to be in a caloric surplus at least a little bit.

thanks, yeah what's weird is that with a heavy cardio workout I feel good but after weight lifting im just SOO hungry.

ugh, cutting out sugar will be tough but more of all alcohol

 

[Stanley]

thanks, yeah what's weird is that with a heavy cardio workout I feel good but after weight lifting im just SOO hungry.

ugh, cutting out sugar will be tough but more of all alcohol

You being hungry after a good lift is good man, you gotta slam some foods after a good workout session

 

[Fortune_favors_the_bold]

Of course! What are your goals? Are you more focused on losing weight or putting on muscle mass? Both??



No offense, but 14% body fat is pretty darn lean, you wouldn't be skinny fat at that bmi. You would be vascular and have some abs showing even if you lacked muscle at that percentage.

Yeah true, at 15% bodyfat currently I can see the 4 upper abs but not the lowest two while my delts are very visible and separated but again it depends where people stores bodyfat.

 

[EyeBRollin]

If your goal is to build muscle, you should lift at least 3 days a week, with at least one heavy compound exercise per day.

I’m sorry but this is just not true.

 

[EyeBRollin]

why not?

Muscle is built during recovery. Unless he’s sleeping 10 hours a day and getting 5,000 calories daily (doable but unlikely for most men with a FT job / business), quick route to overtraining syndrome. A heavy squat session alone will put you on your ass for at least 48 hours.

 

[EyeBRollin]

oh yeah that makes sense, my diet is **** lol. like sweets and alcohol too much but workout a lot

Sugar is okay if you’re bulking. If you’re cutting then you should remove sugar. Just keep sugar within your pre-and post workout windows if you go that route (no don’t starting drinking soda, talking about white rice, table sugar, and pasta). Most natural lifters undershoot the carbohydrate macro requirements. Don’t listen to the low carbers if you’re trying to get stronger. You need a shvt ton of carbs. More than what most people can comfortably eat. If anything pull the calories away from fat.

 

[EyeBRollin]

I know, thats why I said 3 days. I didnt say three days in a row and I didnt say to work muscle groups out multiple times per week. Compressing a targeted muscle building regimen into 2 days won't achieve better results in terms of maximizing recovery, and wont target muscle groups effectively within those workouts.

If the major compound lifts are done with any kind of intensity (80%+ IRM sets), 3 times a week is probably too much for most guys over 30. He should be okay if he’s younger.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Just to be clear, you're saying that the human body can't tolerate 3 reps of squats, 3 reps of bench press, and 3 reps of shoulder press over the course of 7 days?

Are we talking only 1 set of 3 or 3-5 sets of 3?

 

[Fortune_favors_the_bold]

I trained like @LARaiders85 says for like 10 years and for two years I also trained MMA meanwhile, all that as a natural.

It can be done easily as long as night sleep and nutrition match the new demand.

When I was 32 I trained MMA 6 days a week and lifted heavy stuff 3 times a week in the early evening even with heavy lifts for bench and dead lift and high volume for ancillaries.

Of course I was not ripped but size, strenght and energy levels were top.

 

[Stanley]

I guess the traditional bodybuilding split is not as common these days, that people would act like its Martian or something?

Seems like bro splits are in vogue. Lots of guys also doing PPL.

Full body with compounds 2-3x a week is plenty especially for a noobie.

 

[EyeBRollin]

I trained like @LARaiders85 says for like 10 years and for two years I also trained MMA meanwhile, all that as a natural.

It can be done easily as long as night sleep and nutrition match the new demand.

When I was 32 I trained MMA 6 days a week and lifted heavy stuff 3 times a week in the early evening even with heavy lifts for bench and dead lift and high volume for ancillaries.

Ya, lots of food, sleep, and some of it genetics helps I’m sure.

 

[Fortune_favors_the_bold]

Seems like bro splits are in vogue. Lots of guys also doing PPL.

Full body with compounds 2-3x a week is plenty especially for a noobie.

The issue with full bodie workouts is that they dont allow the trainee to do some isolation on aesthetics muscles like side/back delts and biceps.

Yeah those muscles are stimulated through compound movements but military presses and pull ups wont make them big and round.

In my case people think that Im big only cause I have very developed and full delts/arms, if it wasnt for them I would look like a normal guy in decent shape.

 

[Stanley]

The issue with full bodie workouts is that they dont allow the trainee to do some isolation on aesthetics muscles like side/back delts and biceps.

Yeah those muscles are stimulated through compound movements but military presses and pull ups wont make them big and round.

In my case people think that Im big only cause I have very developed and full delts/arms, if it wasnt for them I would look like a normal guy in decent shape.

You can still hit delts, arms on a full body day. If you add in calisthenics and bar work your hitting them too. I've got decent delts from all the weighted calisthenics and adding 3 sets to failure of lateral raises at the end of a full body. That said, after a while the gains slowed down and I needed to isolate more which is why im doing an upper lower split now. Depends on where op is at to see those noobie gains