HIIT and weight lifting - same day

[scottaii]

Hi guys,
Haven't posted in a while.

I need some help, Ive searched the forums but haven't found any posts which match what I'm looking for.

1st question: I'm about 16-17% BF and want to get down to about 8-10% for the summer (April). How long can i keep bulking for before i have to start loosing the fat?

2nd question: I want to try to keep as much muscle mass as possible (worked hard for it), I weight train 5 days a week (sat + sun off). If i want to include HIIT into my training to loose fat, would it be possible to do it on the same day as weightlifting (obviously not on leg day).

I would like to do HIIT in the morning, then weights in the afternoon - possible?
Also how many sessions of HIIT should i do?

Cheers,
Scott

[nutswego]

I'm gonna try and shed some input.

I may not be getting this, but you can keep bulking until you feel your satisfied or stop when you get to a body fat % your not ok with then cut.

As far as HIIT goes, I do it on days that I don't lift. For one, I dont recommend lifting everyday. Secondly, if you were to do HIIT on lifting days, i'd do it after you lift and not before. You need your days worth of energy to lift, and if you burn it all before with HIIT you won't be as fresh and energized when you go to lift.

I'll lift monday, then HIIT on tuesday, then lift on wednesday and repeat. I used to do cardio every day and before I lifted like a fool. It wasn't untill I stopped that I started seeing substantial gains.

[PeterGibbons316]

For your first question - it depends. If I were you I'd start now though. I've been losing weight at or slightly above 2 pounds per week, and for me it's translated to 1-2% of body fat a month. So if I wanted to drop 6-8%+ of body fat it would likely take me 4-6 months, well past your April timeline. Some people (i.e. you) might be able to drop body fat more quickly, but if your main goal is to be there in April, then you might as well start now and then if you get there sooner just bulk til April or whatever your goals are at that point.

For your second question - yes, you can do cardio on lifting days, just do it after.

[scottaii]

Cheers for the input guys.

Both comments make sense, i no longer feel entirely comfortable with my BF%, i mean in no way am i that bothered about it, but stripping off some BF will take for cover off my hard work.
I like going to the gym, helps me de-stress so a 5 day split works out great for me.
I guess ill look into starting now.

How many days would you recommend doing HITT a week?

[Driver42]

3 to 4 times a week with hitt works great for me but everyone is different. Make sure to never do your hitt on leg days could result in over training your legs. My opinion on start day- it needs to be today if you want to maintain as much muscle as possible. there is always a snag somewhere for me in my cuts at about 11-12% bf you need to plain for that.
Goodluck

[scottaii]

3 to 4 times a week with hitt works great for me but everyone is different. Make sure to never do your hitt on leg days could result in over training your legs. My opinion on start day- it needs to be today if you want to maintain as much muscle as possible. there is always a snag somewhere for me in my cuts at about 11-12% bf you need to plain for that.
Goodluck

Cheers for the reply, Yeah don't worry, i wouldn't do HIIT on my leg day.
Thinking about it, i think it may be better for me to do HIIT after my weight lifting. I want as much energy as i can muster for my weights. And it only lasts 10 mins so i can't see it hindering my muscle recovery.

I'm also looking forward to being generally fitter as well, not just having muscle mass and strength.

Cheers guys

[Kaistro]

This is exactly what i want to do, weight train on Mon through to Friday, split sets, with some hiit first thing in the morning before breakfast (see if that fasted cardio does shred u up). Ive done insanity and was going to use this as early morning hiit, as i can squeeze in 30 minutes of it before family wakes up, however ive just read that insanity will dampen my (just started) muscle growth.

Difficult to know exactly what to do when wanting by build muscle and cut bf %. Anyway good luck to ya mate