5x5 or high rep?

[cevans0823]

goin to florida in june, been liftin heavy the last 8 weeks and gained a good base of strength....im a bigger guy 6'2'' 286 today, and im losin weight, question is ive been told for a better look and tightenin up some fat what would you stick to? 5x5 or the lower weight higher rep?

[mrmrbill]

Fat doesn't tighten. But like a stick of butter, it'll get very stiff in a cold refrigerator. You can, however, lose fat by expending more calories than you eat. Whilst cutting, it's preferable to stay w/ your current strength-based routine. Lower weights won't provide enough stimulus to retain the muscle that you've already gained.

[cevans0823]

Fat doesn't tighten. But like a stick of butter, it'll get very stiff in a cold refrigerator. You can, however, lose fat by expending more calories than you eat. Whilst cutting, it's preferable to stay w/ your current strength-based routine. Lower weights won't provide enough stimulus to retain the muscle that you've already gained.

thank you for the advice, we have just switched to 3x8 and 2 dropsets on major lifts, will that help with the physique as well?

[Jasonk282]

Eat less, lift heavy...that's it.

[ronmetrx]

goin to florida in june, been liftin heavy the last 8 weeks and gained a good base of strength....im a bigger guy 6'2'' 286 today, and im losin weight, question is ive been told for a better look and tightenin up some fat what would you stick to? 5x5 or the lower weight higher rep?

You wanna lose weight and fast? Eat less, eat no fat and do lots of cardio. I do cardio with a mountain bike. At my peak condition as BB I was 207 lbs. My peak condition as a runner I was 147 lbs. The fat just disappears when you do lots cardio and watch your diet.

BTW, 5x5 IMO is too arbitrary. I am an HIT/HD, Stuart McRobert, Brawn advocate and I always go to rep maximum on my work sets. Example I have been doing lying tricep extensions for years and have gotten burnt out on them. I went to tricep pushdowns and loved the pump. However I chose a weight that was too light so my work sets were 20, 21 & 24 reps. Next pushdown workout I will obviously use a heavier weight.