workout suggestions to lose fat and maintain muslce

[w100hcr]

I have a good amount of muscle on me, but I have some unwanted fat also. I'm about 190 lbs and 35% body fat. I wouldn't mind building some more lean muscle, but my primary goal right now is to get down to around 20% body fat. I know one of the most important aspects of losing fat is diet, which I think I have down ok. Right now I'm lifting moderate weight(12-15 reps) 5 times a week and doing cardio 3-5 times a week. I'm doing some HIIT and some moderate running/other cardio also. Does anyone have any other suggestions or am I on the right track?

[SocratesTX]

With diet alone you should be able to lose 1lb. per week pretty easily, with working out, 2lbs. should be easy as well. Eat less, run more, continue to lift heavy. Not much more you can do than that.

[kimm4]

the key to losing fat is your eating plan. training and cardio come into play after.

[formula1]

Assuming your diet is locked down, i.e. -500 to -1000 calorie deficit per day, concentrate on routine. You aren't going to gain mass when eating a caloric deficit. Your current routine will certainly burn fat, but you mentioned you wish to maintain muscle mass. There are two things you should be doingmaintain muscle mass during this period of burning fat, and neither of them involve the word cardio. 1 -- lift heavy, lower reps, focusing on compound movements (bench, standing military, squats, deadlists, pullups, dips are best). 3-6 reps per working set. a 3x5 or 5x5 routine is probably a good choice. So this means you need to up the weight. lifting heavy is the absolute best way to maintain mass when not eating a lot, which you won't be. It also burns a ton of calories. 2 - supplement with HIIT. HIIT is an excellent way to burn calories, second only to lifting weights. Is also allows you to maintain mass (that is, very small posibility it will cause you to burn muscle, whereas cardio brings a high threat).

[BaronH]

Originally Posted by w100hcr

I have a good amount of muscle on me, but I have some unwanted fat also. I'm about 190 lbs and 35% body fat. I wouldn't mind building some more lean muscle, but my primary goal right now is to get down to around 20% body fat. I know one of the most important aspects of losing fat is diet, which I think I have down ok. Right now I'm lifting moderate weight(12-15 reps) 5 times a week and doing cardio 3-5 times a week. I'm doing some HIIT and some moderate running/other cardio also. Does anyone have any other suggestions or am I on the right track?

I found that cardio mixed with endurance training helped me cut back the fat and maintain muscle along with healthy eating. I started at 192 with 22% body fat and dropped down to 177 with gym clothes on and 16% in under a month. I stuck with a diet of complex carbs, high protein and low healthy fats at 1800-2000 cals. a day. I would generally start my day with protein and healthy carbs and taper of the carbs through out the day, dont forget the fruits and veggies! I found that this worked well for me. Now that Im closer to my goal of 10% and Im focusing more on lifting Ive upped the carb and fat intake a bit along with more protein. I hope this helps a bit. Good luck!