My approach in working with physique-oriented goals is a very simple one. I've got a handful of templates I use, based on 3-4 sessions a week, but the strength sessions are always oriented around limited volume and economy of training.
Metabolic type training is thrown in as assistance work after the muscle-preserving workouts are handled. Metabolic training should not be a priority in place of muscle retention; diet is going to be 90% of your weight loss results. Metabolic training is icing on the cake, and it will under no circumstances replace the core strength sessions.
A full-body workout might be
Squat/Front squat - 3-5x3-5 + 1x8-12
Bench/Incline bench/OHP - 3-5x3-5 + 1x8-12
Chinup/Barbell row - 3-5x3-5 + 1x8-12
Assistance exercises can be thrown in as follow-ups in a single session or in separate modules on a different day; this is also where I'd throw in your metabolic work.
I've had some of my girls training on a six-day schedule like this:
1 - Heavy Volume Strength
2 - Assistance
3 - Light Strength
4 - Assistance
5 - Heavy Load Strength
6 - Assistance
Or
1 - Heavy Volume Upper Body
2 - Heavy Volume Lower Body
3 - Assistance
4 - Heavy Load Upper Body
5 - Heavy Load Lower Body
6 - Assistance
In this case, heavy volume = 24-40 reps per part per session, so potentially anything from 5x5 to 4x10 would be workable
Heavy load training would be maximal-type stuff.
The assistance work can be anything from pump-n-tone stuff for the upper body to circuit-type stuff to barbell complexes. True intensive intervals, if they're in the program, are done on the strength days. Ideally in a different session, but most don't have that kind of time so they're done after strength work.
The key factor to me in a dieting individual is stress management. Recovery is at a premium on lowered calories, and this only becomes more pronounced as you become leaner and have to further reduce calories. Leptin is a hell of a drug.
So what works in a well-fed person likely won't have the same effect.
The main steps I take:
1) reduce volume. 5x5 will inevitably have to become 3x5 or on some exercises 5x3. Sets of anything over 5-6 reps will need to be reduced to 1-2 per session. After awhile even doing sets of 5 might be too much; they can create large amounts of eccentric stress in their own right, so dropping back to triples or even singles/doubles will still have the required effect on muscle mass
2) ie, this is maintenance time, not development time. This also means no
PR chasing. I always say you can take a
PR if it comes to you, but you shouldn't be aggressively trying to force them out
3) frequency of exposure to muscle-retaining loads needs to be high to keep PS high. At least 2-3 times a week, but possibly scaled back to once every 5 days. Only less than this as a last resort.
4) when in doubt, do less. Recovery is more important than being in the gym. The order of scaling back your training should be something to the effect of volume --> frequency --> intensity. Do less per session, do less sessions, then as a last resort take weight off the bar.
5) Activity is good, but all activity has effects. HIIT, complexes, etc are nice and all, but they require you to pay the piper in terms of systemic stresses. I'd rather see people doing 20-40 minutes of low-intensity work on the treadmill than doing sprints or complexes at a time when recovery is at a premium. I tend to take my girls off any of that intensive anaerobic work 4-6 weeks out. I limit it to modified tempo runs and low-intensity work for that very reason.
In other words, I stick to basics, an emphasis on diet, and stress manipulation.
What I don't like about that workout:
- Too much emphasis on the "metabolic" stuff
- Not enough emphasis on muscle maintenance
In other words, it's exactly the opposite of what I like to see.
Exercise substitution help
Linear Mode
