This is something I have been wondering about for a while. If I do a Testosterone style workout, meaning the principles of Poliqiun, King, etc, will I burn a significantly greater amount of calories than if I used a FLEX style training regimen? I am thinking that the Testosterone workouts make me more sore, and also work harder in the gym, but I just wanted to know if this amounts to any noticable change in my bodyfat?
I haven’t read Flex in years, so I’m assuming that you are comparing very high volume workouts versus high intensity workouts? I think this is a complex question that hinges mostly on diet. Sure you burn more calories on a very high volume workout, but if you can built more muscle mass using a smarter approach, then you may burn more calories at rest. I think that is important because you spend most of your time at rest, not in the gym. Another factor is recovery. If you really beat yourself up in the gym, then no matter how much protein or calories you take in, there is a finite maximum rate at which your muscles will recover. Any excess nutrients beyond the muscle’s ability to use it to recover will probably go to fat. We all know that the human body’s ability to store fat is much greater than building muscle. So, to sum up, I think you will achieve the max fat loss if you lift smartly to build or maintain muscle, eat just enough protein, carbs and fats to recover from the workout. That being said, I think that you can temporarily achieve even lower fat levels by overtraining for a short period, like if you are trying to “peak.” The increased caloric need for recovery can help you to tap your fat reserves, but if kept up too long, stress hormones such as cortisol may make you start to store fat instead. Just my thoughts.
Don’t read Flex. Just use it to wipe your ass if yo run out of toilet paper.
That said, the higher the workout intensity, the more glycogen (carbs) are used as fuel. Weight training uses primarily the anaerobic energy system. This system involves energy production without oxygen and therefore uses glycogen as its primary fuel source. Fat is not burned. The fat loss from weight training is a secondary adaptation as a result of hightened metabolism and increased muscle mass.
Oh yeah, Flex is GARBAGE.
I read Flex for all the gossip, but I don’t read the training advice. When I said a Flex workout, I meant like a back workout of pull downs and cable rows, and no pull ups, etc.