No clue what HIIT is however if you want to pack on muscle, stay away from endurance training. The endurance runner vs the speed runner is a good example. Jokes aside back in the 90s before they started getting strict on steroids the speed runners looked like animals. Speed runners looked like thin weight lifters.

 

I'd rather die looking good and not feeling like ****, lol.

Insanity is not strict HIIT even though Shaun T says "MAX INTERVAL TRAINING" a lot. It's more conditioning. The problem is the length, you'll eventually start to burn muscle, but you will indeed lean out if you're a fatty. I dropped somewhere around 40lbs doing it, but I noticed that I was "floppy", so I started HIIT and lifting weights.

I'm not saying it's the same as solid state running 10 miles, but it's nothing like wind sprints could offer you. But the benefit is having an easy to follow routine when you're starting to get into shape is hard to beat. I'm not knocking the program at all, trust me.

Ex: My skinny-fat friend started running to "lose weight" and "get ripped". He did nothing but solid state cardio and constantly criticized me "wasting my time in the gym, cardio burns fat". Fast forward; I'm 2:30 seconds faster than him in a 1-mile run and was only doing cardio once a week for 15 minutes.

Fast forward: he asked to borrow my insanity dvd's. He follows it to a T thinking he'll "get ripped" without setting foot in a gym. After one cycle he's dropped 10-15lbs and now looks like a skeleton.

HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=HIIT

You're not kidding about sprinters vs distance runners.

 

I am still not clear in what way you are making a distinction between Insanity-style workouts and "HIIT." Hell, from your own links "HIIT" is such a generic term that it can mean almost anything.

You mention the length of the workout - what does a session of wind sprints look like for you and what are you calling a "wind sprint?"

 

I know. It sounded weird from just reading my post back to myself. I'm having a hard time explaining.

Real HIIT (max interval) should only be done 3x's a week and is usually done in less than 12-15 minutes. Mostly due to fatigue. Insanity gets by this using length and different movements to spread the workout longer. But you're right, there are tons of variations for HIIT workouts. I should have mentioned that I was talking strictly about max HIIT cardio. Nothing gets harder than stop/start wind sprints.

Wind sprints (what I do, at least) is a full on sprint from a stop for at least 20 seconds, then a 20-30 second break. I do that until I am no longer able to sprint past the 10 second mark. I also do them on the treadmill at the gym if I still have energy leftover. Set the incline to 3, jack the speed up and just run until you can't stand it, then jump onto the sides. Wait for that heart rate to drop, then repeat until you almost die.

It's almost sickening how exhausted you become.

 

Endurance training and gaining muscle at the same time is a very difficult thing to do. I probably consumed more calories and ate twice as much carbs the past two month than any other point of my life.

I did manage to put on 8 or so lbs of muscle during marathon training tho. I wonder how that would have changed without running 30+ miles a week. Sad thing is when I start school in 2 weeks I'll go back to my soda induced, fast food driven busy as days with no time for the gym or running.

 

That makes sense to me. I can see a distinction between sprints and Insanity, because there is no real way to go flat out doing walking push-ups and if you actually went flat out doing a couple of minutes of power jumps and high knees with proper form, you'd pass out.

 

Good grief.

Saturday, I decided to do some sprints. I did 6x ~40 yard dashes, with about 1-2 minutes walk in between. Then, I did stacked suicide sprints of about 20 yards. I started with 2 (there + back = 2). Then I walked about 2 minutes and ran 3 (there + back + there), then walked another 2 minutes. I finished with 6. I'm ballparking, I sprinted a total combined distance of about 640 yards.

Today, pretty much every part of me - from my shoulders and sides, to almost every major muscle from the quads down (plus some minor muscles like some in my feet!) - is sore.

 

Yup speed runs are fun.

 

^ tada!

Now do that 3 times a week. Also drop that rest period to 30-45 seconds

Congrats, man. That's a great way to start.

 

Well, good results. I managed to lean out and get stronger. Hanging around 200-2005 instead of 210-215. Set PR's for nearly every lift. That 199 is coming soon. Already taped out at the recruiter's office, so I'm stoked about that.

Pusha took this pic for me, lol. Enjoying my super comfy 36" shorts and my slightly baggy large shirt.


The guy who writes my lifting programs asked me to take a form check video. This is after a deadlift contest with my best friend last Friday; so no heavy lifting, no working sets. 315x1 and 365x3. Yes, my Gundam Wing shirt is the ****. I wish it still fit.

 

I have the same flip flops as you

Ive been plotting my weight as measured every morning. Ive been too bust to exercise regularly, but Im drinking nothing but water and not eating bread or sugar (other than natural sugar in fruit).

 

Figure id update my stronglifts progress. I started the program by the book and didnt skip any increments. I have yet to stall on any excercise. Squats 215, overhead press 125, deadlift 255, bench 145, barbell pulls 145.

Squats, overhead press, deadlift are now feeling very heavy. It will be interesting to see when the stall point occurs.

Ive been taking protein powder, and coconut oil in my coffee. Ive gained 8lbs, and look like ive lost some flab.

 

Good job, everyone.

VoM - That's a wide-*** squat stance. Sumo style, eh?

FTB - Good work. I would probably graph a 5 or 7 day moving average to smooth out some of the noise of daily data. It should be interesting when you finally get some regular exercise in.

DJP - That's good progress. The row/BB pull and the overhead press were definitely the first to get heavy for me and still maintain good form.


I stopped lifting and started just doing cardio/plyo as part of a half-assed training regimen for a mini triathlon. I am pretty close to giving up on putting on significant muscle mass. I just don't have the dedication to commit so much time and effort in to cooking and eating.

 

Since my last bitch post here I've managed to knock off ~15lbs. Just water, green tea and coffee. No sodas for the past months and no significant changes in diet or exercize. Running/cycling and football (soccer) have been put off because of old knee injury that keeps acting up. When I get that sorted and can get some cardio in, I should see some decent results pretty quick.

 

I've done zero lifting since this thread started. But I did build a shed mostly by myself over the last 4 months. It included magically lifting sheets of sheathing up onto a steep roof without assistance and powerlifting some walls into place.

weight has remained fairly stable but the gut is slowly getting smaller.

Once the shed is done, I will be back at the gym.

 

I need to work on cardio, since going to the stronglifts ive gained a lot of strength, but would probably die if I tried to run up and down a set of stairs a few times. I do enjoy the lifting though. I can tell that I need to bump my calories again because the gains really slowed, but I also don't want to put on a bunch of fat. I'm pretty happy where I'm at. Sad part is that lifting gets boring when Just trying to maintain

 

You might want to check out bodybuildings website. Yes the forum is douchebags that show up at movie theaters to stalk 16 year old twilight lover girls but the profile section is quite useful. It allows u to put weight and measurements and what not as you go and make nice little pretty graphs.

On a side note i was at 13% fat when i started 2 years ago (130lb) at 5'7". Now i'm at 7% fat at 165.

 

How are you measuring that? I feel like I have been single digits before and I was shredded. I was also a LOT smaller and leaner with a lot less muscle than I remember you being, based on the couple of pictures you've put up.

Think: "130 pound Muay Thai fighter, sporting an 8-pack" skinny. Pro body builders compete in the 3 - 5% range, I think.


Ultimately, I guess the delta is more important than the nominal, but if you really put on 35 pounds and are walking around at sub-10% BF, you are doing serious work. I would offer you a toast, but I assume you are not drinking anything with carbs and/or sugars.

 

I think I'll start today.

I'm trying to go three times a week and I'm currently at squats 115, overhead press 75, deadlift 155, bench 115, and never done pulls. I'm signifcantly below what I was at this time last year (pretty sure I was deadlifting 225 before), but I haven't gymed regularly in just under a year. I'm picking it back up as I've gained almost 10 pounds back over that year.

 

Brain - If you are going to start the actual SL 5x5 program, I would do the full routine, "by the book" (i.e. start with really light weights and add each workout). If you start at the weights you were doing routinely before, I would be shocked if you made significant progress for the entire period.

If you've already done the SL 5x5 and know all this, disregard.