Hi

I started my 5x5 stronglifts program and am in week 4.

I'm feeling much stronger but I haven't lost alot of weight. In the 3 weeks previously I have been from 200lbs, down to 190lbs and then today I am at 197lbs. :bang:

I am only doing 3 weights sessions per week. Mon/Wed/Fri. Should I put cardio into my off days Tues/Thurs/Sat or do cardio after my gym session for an extra 10-20mins whilst my body is in fat burning mode.

:doh:

What have you been eating? That much weight gain in only a week cannot be from any exercise (or lack thereof). It sounds more like a loss of strict diet, or perhaps a LOT of added water.

Are you doing any cardio at all right now? Hard to tell from your post - I would suggest that if you are focused on fat loss/weight loss, you include cardio whenever you can. You are already lifting, and if your diet is sound the added cardio will help you lose weight and burn fat. Others here will disagree about the importance of cardio, but I will bet that almost everyone at JSF that has gone through a significant weight loss and body recomp used cardio pretty religiously at the start.

Once you are near your ideal weight and BF%, you can use only lifting to maintain and slowly recomp, adding cardio only as needed. But in the beginning, when you are still overweight and carrying too much fat, cardio is a great tool in the toolbox. Use it.

Thanks Kevin.

My diet is clean, but over the weekend I had 3-4 pints of beer and a few chips and a bite of a doughnut.

I'm not really doing much cardio except a dog walk.

I don't really have time in the morning for cardio but am thinking of doing my weights, then 10-20mins cardio on Mon/Wed/Fri...

What do you think?

Thanks

I do most of my weekly cardio after my lifts. It makes for an efficient gym visit, and my HR is already up from lifting when I get on the stair stepper, so I can get it to 150+ without difficulty. In contrast, when I do cardio without prior lifting, I can barely get my HR to 150 by the end of the workout - so for me lift then cardio is preferred.

Hi

I started my 5x5 stronglifts program and am in week 4.

I'm feeling much stronger but I haven't lost alot of weight. In the 3 weeks previously I have been from 200lbs, down to 190lbs and then today I am at 197lbs. :bang:

I am only doing 3 weights sessions per week. Mon/Wed/Fri. Should I put cardio into my off days Tues/Thurs/Sat or do cardio after my gym session for an extra 10-20mins whilst my body is in fat burning mode.

:doh:

Weird that you posted this today, because I was going to ask the same thing. I have been lifting like this (5-7 reps) lately and my weight has gone up 7-10 lbs, while I have gotten stronger. I am happy I am getting stronger, but I am in a cutting phase right now, so the weight increase is not good. I am not eating any worse than before. Of course I cheat on the weekends, but I used to do that before, when I got down to 199. However, it seems when I changed the # of reps to lower, the weight stays on when I eat bad and does not come off. Starting today, I am changing the # of reps to 10-12, maybe this will help. :confused:

Good stuff, thanks.

Is 3 times per week enough? Or should I be pushing myself towards 6 times per week cardio, 3 weights...

Good stuff, thanks.

Is 3 times per week enough? Or should I be pushing myself towards 6 times per week cardio, 3 weights...

Right now, I was doing 5x a week and it didn't matter, I was still gaining weight. I think most people would tell you that 6x may be a lot, but it kind of depends what your goals are.

I think that 5x5 program doesn't require much cardio. Are you measuring yourself too? I know my waist went up a bit, but if it was going down, I would not worry about adding too much cardio.

My trousers do feel a bit bigger fit on me actually... so I could just be gaining lean muscle.

It's just hard to realise without actually seeing the scale go down in numbers!

Weird that you posted this today, because I was going to ask the same thing. I have been lifting like this (5-7 reps) lately and my weight has gone up 7-10 lbs, while I have gotten stronger. I am happy I am getting stronger, but I am in a cutting phase right now, so the weight increase is not good. I am not eating any worse than before. Of course I cheat on the weekends, but I used to do that before, when I got down to 199. However, it seems when I changed the # of reps to lower, the weight stays on when I eat bad and does not come off. Starting today, I am changing the # of reps to 10-12, maybe this will help. :confused:

That's a good plan. It'd be interesting to hear the results from it :tucool:

I think that generally, if you're trying to lose fat, you're going to have to look at your diet much more than your lifting/cardio program. Your exercise routine is a large part of any body transformation, but diet, in my opinion, is more than half the battle. Eating "clean" foods is a good start, but knowing your complete intake, how much is made up of carbs, protein, fat, etc., is going to tell you quite a bit. It's also the easiest thing to see results from changing, whereas changing up your lifting and/or cardio routine, it'll take longer to see changes.

Weird that you posted this today, because I was going to ask the same thing. I have been lifting like this (5-7 reps) lately and my weight has gone up 7-10 lbs, while I have gotten stronger. I am happy I am getting stronger, but I am in a cutting phase right now, so the weight increase is not good. I am not eating any worse than before. Of course I cheat on the weekends, but I used to do that before, when I got down to 199. However, it seems when I changed the # of reps to lower, the weight stays on when I eat bad and does not come off. Starting today, I am changing the # of reps to 10-12, maybe this will help. :confused:

Yup, as Xing stated above it's the diet, not the training/cardio/# reps. Switching to higher reps during a cut would be a mistake since you want to retain mass by lifting heavier, not lighter. I'd keep the weights and reps where they are but work more quickly between sets on a weekly basis.

You also might be adding muscle if you're getting stronger. This is exactly what you WANT to accomplish. Checking the scale is a poor barometer for weight loss. Yes, you might be losing "weight", but where is this weight coming from? Muscle? Bone? Fat? Water weight? Hopefully it is coming from fat. Get a body fat measurement taken at a local gym from a credible trainer using a 7 or 9 site caliper.

I'd also suggest eliminating the weekly cheats. They are never beneficial, unless you absolutely must have them to maintain mental sanity.

I think that generally, if you're trying to lose fat, you're going to have to look at your diet much more than your lifting/cardio program. Your exercise routine is a large part of any body transformation, but diet, in my opinion, is more than half the battle. Eating "clean" foods is a good start, but knowing your complete intake, how much is made up of carbs, protein, fat, etc., is going to tell you quite a bit. It's also the easiest thing to see results from changing, whereas changing up your lifting and/or cardio routine, it'll take longer to see changes.

+1

If you are gaining weight on a cut, you are eating too much for your level of activity. Either increase your cardio, increase your intesity (reduce rest periods) on your lifting, or eat less.

Really look at the foods you eat, and check for hidden calories, especially if you are eating at restaurants.

Thanks for your time and input.

I have just got back from my gym session and have stuck to my current plan of 5x5, but I have also decided to put in 10 mins of cardio at the end of my session.

I definitely want to put on lean mass and think I am doing so... I just expected to see the scale weight dropping after I reached a 190lb low.

I've bought some great food in now, so I now need to make my food plans and stick to them.

Thanks! :D