So a few weeks ago I posted a question on Compound lifts over Isolation lifts, and I want to pose another question/topic.

Reading some of ZenPharoas information and others...it seems that Compound Lifting can be used as a form of Cardio and for fat loss, as far as calories burned, and heartrate, etc.

What would you guys suggest as a good 3 day a week Compound Lifting Routine for Fat Loss/Cardio.

I am looking for a workout that by the time I am done, I am really sitting there thinking...

Damn Dude that was Brutal!!!

You can definitely do compound exercises for "cardio", but that's partially missing the point. Every plan IMO should have resistance training for resistance training benefit as well to help you hold on to or build muscle during a cut. So a lifting plan can be "strength based" and still boost metabolism and aid in fat loss.

But if you want to focus on metabolic lifting, here's a paragraph I posted in my journal to some questions I was getting about my complexes that I've been doing on a mini-cut I'm doing (3 weeks). This was to kind of give examples of "plans" similar to what I do right now that aren't as customized to my needs:

For off the shelf plans you might look into that are similar to the metabolic lifting stuff that I've been doing, look at Cosgrove's Complexes for Fat Loss (http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/complexes_for_fat_loss&cr=), Cosgrove and Waterbury's Real Fast Fat Loss (http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/real_fast_fat_loss&cr=), or even some of the complexes in Waterbury's Blood on the Barbell (http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/blood_on_the_barbell_waterbury&cr=).

Complexes or combined exercises are the focus of those articles, and are a very good way to get the HR up.

The Cosgrove complexes can be combined with strength training pretty easily as they are smaller than some of the others. So you could do two "heavy" lifts, then go into complexes for the rest of the workout.

But really, do a long squat set and tell me that isn't somehow "cardio". Same for deads, pullups, etc.

I grew up in a time where you ran in play or for sports. So when people started running or walking on treadmills and in the streets! I thought it was not the thing to do. Sprints, I understood but the long distance types??

Well guess what? When I started lifting, I ran across something where one of the Mr. Americas of that time said he always took 60 sec or less rest between sets and I have been doing that for over 50 years. I still haven't picked up that cardio thing. So it you are doing compounds or isolations cut the rest time, you will get the cardio effect.

The average person spends more time resting in exercise session then they do exercising. :bb:

If you want some good examples of weighted circuits you can do, check this out (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4977653). I've added some of his circuits in my training along with using some of LL Cool J's circuits (his jump rope circuit) as well. As you get to where you can handle them, just start adding weight to them and do less repetitions. But whether you are bulking or getting cut, many athletes use these exercises to get to where they build some serious strength or endurance.

If you have a relatively significant amount of adipose tissue you wish to rid your body of, if you are currently "cutting" w/a nutritional approach that contains less energy (food) than it takes to maintain weight, etc., then I'd personally recommend you rely on actual cardio as your "form" of cardio.
Weight training with shorter rest periods between sets merely keeps the heart-rate elevated higher than weight training with longer rest periods between sets. If you are lean already and wish to use what I call "Hyper Lifting" to keep the h.r. higher, & your focus is not lifting as heavy as you can each set for a rep range such as 6-8 to gain strength and muscle mass, then go for it.

With an appreciable/significant amount of adipose (fat) tissue to lose (which is when you hear people announce, "I'm going to start cutting and leaning out"), then I'd execute a staple 45 minutes daily of cardio @ 65-75% of MHR done in the a.m. upon rising, and then perform the weight training later in the day, allowing longer rest periods between sets to gather as much "gusto" as possible for the next set. I personally NEED/LIKE TO/ALWAYS lift as heavy as I can while "cutting" so as to constantly remind my muscles that they need to stay this big/strong to be able to complete the torture I am serving myself when doing my serious lifting. Just because I may be "cutting" doesn't mean I resort to lighter weights and higher reps, as all that does (to me anyhow as I found out unfortunately 6+ years ago and will never screw up in that regard again) is send a constant signal to my entire body and all of my muscles that they don't need to lift the weights they used to, so w/out that demand being place upon them, they simply compensate by shrinking and I experience some atrophy. I am already eating to maximize fat loss, so to keep as much muscle as possible I lift heavy to place that demand that signals, "muscles, you MUST DO THIS" every trip to the gym". I also, of course, use my SGX program which not only rips fat off of me/my clients in record time, but it also focuses on anabolism as a portion of the entire protocol, and that is when the continuation of normal heavy lifting as I was executing before my cutting diet continues. My diet is spot on to support that heavy lifting that is a constant with post-workout nutrition being a very big part, if not all, of me being able to keep all of my muscle mass and staying "full", not flat/stringy/etc.

Basically, if you have a good deal of lard to lose, make cardio your buddy. You don't HAVE TO, but I most certainly would never leave it out. Even if I don't need it to get ripped (which I don't now as I stay lean year round as I no longer do shows, but do photos, appearances, performances, etc.) however I still do some for INTERNAL health, as the HEART is the most important muscle of all. Who wants to look good/ripped in wooden pajamas? (casket)

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Basically, if you have a good deal of lard to lose, make cardio your buddy. You don't HAVE TO, but I most certainly would never leave it out. Even if I don't need it to get ripped (which I don't now as I stay lean year round as I no longer do shows, but do photos, appearances, performances, etc.) however I still do some for INTERNAL health, as the HEART is the most important muscle of all.

Just remember that unless you are in crappy shape (and you are not) then the 60-70% MHR cardio is doing essentially nothing whatsoever to improve your cardiovascular health other than burning Calories. If you don't do the LISS for high volume (typically a couple hours a go) then you are also not getting the one metabolic thing that you can get from LISS that intense intervals tends to be less effective for - expanded mitochondrial population.

Whereas interval workouts which have heavy intervals that expend energy well above 100% aerobic capacity do a whole lot for your cardiovascular capacity.

One of the main benefits of high intensity cardio work is that it's the only time you get a lot of lactate specific adaptation. Almost all the arguments in favor of doing limited intensity or duration work more or less center on a trainer who does not maintain a high lactate threshold. The only really effective way to increase the lactate threshold is to do work at an intensity which piles up a lot of lactate; and that is normally at an intensity which cannot be sustained aerobically. Of all the special things about the heart to remember, one of the bigger ones is that the heart burns lactate like nothing else in the body. If you want to develop that metabolic pathway, then you have to show some lactate to your heart on a regular basis.

Now most exercise approaches have some sort of work that helps maintain an elevated cardiovascular capacity with decent lactate threshold. About the only way to NOT do that is the combination of LISS cardio and long rested heavy lifting.

So I'm in sympathy with the idea that the heart is a really important muscle, and that cardiovascular fitness is hugely important. But you do need some sort of lactate threshold work if you want to develop that effectively.

Well guess what? When I started lifting, I ran across something where one of the Mr. Americas of that time said he always took 60 sec or less rest between sets and I have been doing that for over 50 years. I still haven't picked up that cardio thing. So it you are doing compounds or isolations cut the rest time, you will get the cardio effect.

The average person spends more time resting in exercise session then they do exercising. :bb:

I couldn't agree more. My wife and I have been lifting weights together regularly since October 2007 and we are both getting the results we are looking for without cardio. We have both lost weight and have added muscle.

The funny thing is we bought an elliptical in April 2007 and used it religiously until July 2007 and didn't notice any drop in weight. But after a couple months of lifting - high reps with little rest between sets - we are both losing weight and adding muscle. She does higher reps than I do (15-20 reps per exercise) because she is not looking to get big. I do 12-15 reps per exercise while adding weight to each consecutive set. The best thing is my wife tells me I am getting the chest back that I had when she met me when I was 20.