A little background information on me first.
I’m 27 years old, 5’ 11", and weigh 173 lbs… bodyfat is 17.3%. I’m Former Air Force (read: I know the effects of pushups, situps, and running all to well). As far as body type, I believe I am an ecto… hard to gain etc.
I’ve been a long time reader and decided yesterday to join up on the forums. Anywho… I have planned out the following schedule for myself with a high proten (200g+), low carb (60g-), high calorie (3500+) diet spread over 5-6 meals.
Sunday: Chest / Back
Monday: HIIT
Tuesday: Biceps / Triceps / Shoulders
Wednesday: HIIT
Thursday: Legs / Abs
Friday: HIIT
Saturday: OFF
Workouts no longer than an hour, going for strength over size but will take size as well 
My question is, with this schedule and my moderate diet should I increase my caloric intake because of my HIIT training? I’m worried that I’ll be burning a lot more calories (fat) than I am taking in for muscle (size+strength).
My goal is to break 200lbs, with lean muscle, and between 9-12% body fat(give or take). I’m also concerned that I might never make the 200lb mark because of the HIIT training (although it’s designed to burn fat/cals).
On workout days up the carbs, on non workout days keep the carbs low like you say. Honestly if your BF is that high i would just drop it down to say 12-14% and then just full on bulk and not worry about anything, or you can just full on bulk. I dont do any cardio while im bulking but thats just me. When its time for me to cut ill start carb cycling and doing HIIT.
I know it’s virtually impossible to bulk and slim down at the same time but I’m basically trying an experiment with this workout plan. I up the carbs about 10 minutes after my workouts (my 2nd bigger meal of the day besides breakfast) and on my HIIT days I eat basically the same thing on my workout days except I don’t do a post workout meal aside from a protein shake. I’m just wondering if maybe I should cut out the Wednesday HIIT training and put in an extra session for chest and back.
fella… cutting carbs for 10-minutes means nothing.
pick a goal and chase that ONE goal
HIIT will do great if you are trying to shed weight.
If you are building muscle, go for some low intensity cardio
don’t freak out.
so you lose weight for 3-months. LOSE YOUR FAT.
then you have all the time in the world to build muscle.
Now are you FAT, OBESE or just chubby?
Don’t lie.
a chubby guy can build muscle and burn off fat.
a FAT man can’t
Don’t lie, decide and go with a focus.
I’m not chubby or fat 5’11" at 173 lbs, i’m within my BMI range but still it’s not where I want to be physically. I can see the definition in about 28-33% of my abs (upper).
As I stated my ultimate goal (which is a long way off is to be at or above 200lbs, lean). My immediate goal is to shed the fat while increasing my functional strength (not necessarily size [yet]). That’s why I included the lifting sessions around my HIIT.
So to sum it up…
Goal 1 shed fat
Goal 2 keep and increase strength
Goal 3 gain size
I tried to put a plan into action where I can achieve all the goals in a certain length of time (over the course of 8 months to a year)… the 200lb thing won’t happen over night, and probably won’t happen this year unless i drop my first 2 goals.
The revised goals look good. OctoberGirl gave some good advice as well. All I’d say is to mix lifting and HIIT with a smart diet and you’ll lose fat.
Keep at the lifting and play with the HIIT/diet and (given a little time) you’ll add muscle.
As far as the time frame goes, I hear you all too well. I really, really want to squat 450 with a 38’’ vert and run a sub 11 second 100 TOMORROW, but I know it takes time. Make small goals and keep hitting those and before you know it you’ll be closer than you think.
I’m in the same situation, maybe a little ahead in terms of playing around with things. When I found this site I wanted to lose fat, dieted down at 2400 calories to lose a couple pounds. I was very chubby when I started, and when I started to see my first couple of abs from the side I stopped weighing my food, ate when I was hungry, and ate clean. My bodyweight maintained and I still lost some fat and put on muscle. It was a fine approach, but not good in terms of monitoring and really charting progress.
Now, I’m strictly trying to lose fat, doing a carb cycling approach, 2000-2200-2400 calories, straight out of CT’s carb cycling codex article. Weighing and monitoring everything that goes into my body. Training is basically 2 heavy total body days, 2 lifting complex sessions, basically lighter weights and shorter rests, and 2 jump rope or rower intervals days a week.
This way I can see how my body responds on a weekly/monthly basis to the fat loss and make adjustments as needed. Then after a couple of months, I can really start setting realistic long term goals.
I’m going to keep cutting down until I am between 150-155 lbs, which will hopefully be mid-June, then I can really work on a clean bulk and hopefully add on about 10-15 lbs of muscle. My overall goal is to get my LBM up to about 145 lbs, and walk around between 160 and 165 lbs at a little under 5’7’'.
I like this approach better, basically because it is easier to chart progress and make adjustments, and you don’t have to worry about trade offs between goals.
I was in a very similar situation to your own when I started. I wanted results, and I would do anything to get them. I wanted to get leaner and build muscle. So I cut carbs low, lifted heavy with a simlar program, and did HIIT. Not much happened; or I should say I DID see results, but not what I wanted.
I was doing too much for my experience and the calories I was allowing myself. I cut out the HIIT for moderate-low intensity cardio, switched to a basic, proven program (rippetoe), and most importantly - started eating good carbs regularly, and the weight went up and the fat fell off.
Just an anecdote that might help.
how has this experiment gone?
[quote]dharmabum31 wrote:
I was in a very similar situation to your own when I started. I wanted results, and I would do anything to get them. I wanted to get leaner and build muscle. So I cut carbs low, lifted heavy with a simlar program, and did HIIT. Not much happened; or I should say I DID see results, but not what I wanted.
I was doing too much for my experience and the calories I was allowing myself. I cut out the HIIT for moderate-low intensity cardio, switched to a basic, proven program (rippetoe), and most importantly - started eating good carbs regularly, and the weight went up and the fat fell off.
Just an anecdote that might help.
[/quote]
Hi and first of all welcome (to the main poster)! I'm new as well to this site. Been a lurker for a month or so and finally decided to be loud and obnoxious a few weeks ago. I actually am in the exact same situation as you. Similar BF% and similar weight, believe it or not.
2 weeks ago, i asked for help on this very same question, and after hours of doing some research and talking with people, I came upon Rippetoe's Starting Strength program. Now it seems like you've had experience in strength gaining before (being in the military and such), so you may have a good foundation in terms of strength.
In my case, I had good definition of arms and upper chest, but core and legs were weak. I realized, if I want to get serious, I better take a step back in the 6+ years I’ve been doing wussy machine workouts and step into the hardcore compound exercises. I completely agree with the poster that I quoted, as even in the 2 short weeks I’ve officially been on this program, I have already noticed a few things:
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i feel a physical difference in my strength
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my weight has stayed the same, but i can visually notice less abdominal fat than before (maybe loss of water and/or glycogen, but regardless, Im happy with it)
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my lifts have been going consistently higher
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increased my kcal consumption by ~500 without worrying about fat gains (still eating healthy of course)
Also, I attempted to try HIIT a few months ago, and didnt have very much results at all (after a month on it, lost a pound). I was thiking of doing both SS and HIIT at the same time (HIIT on the off days), but I felt like I was getting great results as it is on SS and didn’t want to hinder my strength gains.
A word of advice someone once gave me: “don’t do bodybuilder splits until your actually a bodybuilder”. Obviously makes sense, but thats what was wrong with my workouts previously, I was focusing on the wrong things. I also greatly advise on stopping the bodybuilder splits and delving into compound lifts. I’m still in the early stages of it, but I’ve heard waay too many benefits of SS on both strength gains and fat loss to pass it up. Whatever you choose to do, I wish you good luck and hope it helps!