HIIT/LISS/Lifting

I’m loving how informative and in depth the articles on this website are, however, it’s so much info, I’m getting a little over-inundated when it comes to structuring my work outs. I’m trying to arrange lifting each day with cardio, 6 days a week, and put everything in the right order. I get that if I do HIIT, I should do LISS after, but where does lifting tie into all this, and if I only do HIIT 3 times per week, what do my other 3 days look like?

The more serious question is: why do you think you have to lift 6x/week AND also do cardio 6x/week?

Mmmmm I lifted 6 days a week in the past and added some cardio to it. It worked well for me. Since then I’ve gained weight, and I decided to do 3 days cardio/3 days lifting. However, i dread my cardio days, so in order to make them more enjoyable, I decided to add some lifting to them.

How do you split up your weight training?

If you want to lift six days a week here are several ways you can set it up.

Either

Day 1,3,5- Main Heavy Lifts, HIIT
Day 2,4,6- auxilary lifts or circuit training, SS

or

Day 1,4- Heavy Lifts, HIIT
Day 2,3,5,6- auxilary lifts or circuit training, SS

This should allow you enough recovery as well as improving your hormonal profile.

So, my concern if I do cardio immediately after lifting, is that I’m not consuming a post-work out meal soon enough, that I’m using muscle as a fuel source for those cardio sessions, and the length of the workouts, if considering cortisol release. I’ve been lifting for years, but lately have become more interested in details and would like to compete bikini. However, my research on different theories has been so overwhelming, I don’t know what to latch on to. I should probably just follow someone’s program really. Haha

[quote]Daria333 wrote:
So, my concern if I do cardio immediately after lifting, is that I’m not consuming a post-work out meal soon enough, that I’m using muscle as a fuel source for those cardio sessions, and the length of the workouts, if considering cortisol release. I’ve been lifting for years, but lately have become more interested in details and would like to compete bikini. However, my research on different theories has been so overwhelming, I don’t know what to latch on to. I should probably just follow someone’s program really. Haha[/quote]

These are legit concerns. However, IMO the flaw in your planning is to be found in a previous comment, in which you said:

In short, attempts at weight loss should initiate with diet modification, not increased output. The plan you are contemplating seems like a recipe for frustration and stalled progress. Shelve the overly-aggressive cardio program for now, and tighten up your diet. If/when weight loss stalls, cardio can be added slowly and incrementally as needed to get the needle moving again.

[quote]Daria333 wrote:
So, my concern if I do cardio immediately after lifting, is that I’m not consuming a post-work out meal soon enough, that I’m using muscle as a fuel source for those cardio sessions, and the length of the workouts, if considering cortisol release. I’ve been lifting for years, but lately have become more interested in details and would like to compete bikini. However, my research on different theories has been so overwhelming, I don’t know what to latch on to. I should probably just follow someone’s program really. Haha[/quote]

If you do HIIT after training you won’t have to worry about cortisol (theoreticlly). If you get past your lactate threshold you will release growth hormone which will negate the effects of cortisol. You could also take some BCAAs during training if you are worried about it.

Hmmm I do use aminos while training, so that helps with that concern. As far as diet, I guess I’m on the same indecisive path. About a month ago I began keto, wanting to cut sugars, and I’m enjoying that for now, however, I’m still stuck in this tug of war about how many calories to aim for. I know the calculations and ideal deficits, but given my weight-loss plateau, I can’t decide if I’m overeating on days where I have 1600 calories, or under-eating on days of about 1200-1300 calories…

There’s no need to do strength followed by HIIT followed by LISS all on the same day.

Have strength followed by HIIT days, and HIIT followed by LISS days. Preferably, the HIIT wouldn’t be the same for the two - so really strength followed by some sort of finisher.

1600 calories is quite low. For Keto, its called breakfast. Present condition (height, weight, etc) would help for better info.

You are not stuck in a tug of war. You are lacking basic knowledge.

You just need a proven program and decent food.

Lots of women here that can lend a hand. I would start there if I were you.

Heres a good workout for cardio without a stupid treadmill!