Hey there. I don’t know what advice I’ve got but I’ve done this. Lemme explain.
I’m 46, been lifting on and off for a few years. I’m emphatically not bodybuilding, but getting strong while improving cardio-respiratory fitness seems to put meat on me.
I needed a protocol that would burn body fat and achieve these goals. Tall order. Met with Chad Waterbury’s ideas about doing a circuit of one pull, one push, one man-maker, three times a week. For each exercise, bang out each rep at max speed until you notice any change in form (less range of movement, slower, set takes longer than 15 secs, etc). Set the weight so this happens within 3-6 reps. Then stop the set. Move on to next exercise without resting. And so on. Complete the circuit, rest for, say, 30 secs. And on to the next circuit. Keep doing sets of each exercise until you total 25-30 reps for each exercise.
This has you gasping for breath by the end and you’re shot through. I mean it: you are wiped. You won’t be able to shift max weights on this, but you’re moving quite heavy weights in those few reps and the speed engages more muscle fibres.
Lifting heavy and fast for few reps triggers the anabolic response, hormones kicking in to grow muscles. The circuit protocol produces EPOC, excessive postexercise oxygen consumption, which adds up to your metabolism going into overdrive and picking on fat to burn. My weight’s remained steady but I’m running out of tee shirts and I’m having to tighten my belt. Result.
Now I see you’re actually doing more work than me, with lifting 4-5 times a week plus cardio. If you’re not losing fat then try this protocol (read Chad’s articles on it). Oh, and like the others said, really look at your diet. There’s something wrong somewhere mate.
Hope this helps.
