GymSamurai: System Reset

"Modern bodybuilding is ritual, religion, sport, art, and science, awash in Western chemistry and mathematics. Defying nature, it surpasses it." - Camille Paglia

After two hectic weeks of holiday celebrations with family and travel, my routine has been completely disrupted. My diet has been crap, but ironically I haven't gained more than a pound or two - putting me back where I was two weeks ago.

Celebratory pictures revealed to me how much weight I really have put on - not flattering - and I've decided to change up my workouts for the next eight weeks. Instead of continuing the Shortcut to Size program, which has been successful in the past for me - I really like it, I'm going to focus on adding more cardio to my workout mix to burn off some of this big belly before emphasizing muscle gainz.

I will lift one body part a day, immediately followed by a short cardio session, so I'll maintain muscle while burning more fat. I've done this in the past with good results, let's hope I can still achieve them 15 years later.

Focusing on one body part a day limits lifting time to 20-30 minutes, so the entire workout only takes an hour or so.

Monday: Chest + 30 min cardio/intervals
Tuesday: Back + 30 min cardio/intervals
Wednesday: Shoulders + 30 min cardio/intervals
Thursday: Arms + 30 min cardio/intervals
Friday: Legs + 30 min cardio/intervals
Sat/Sun: Active rest days

When doing intervals, I'll probably drop the exercise time to 15 minutes, as they wipe me out pretty quickly. Numerous studies have shown that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts burn more fat and preserve more muscle than steady-state cardio, and extended steady-state cardio can actually be detrimental to muscle mass. My main goal is to get my daily total caloric expenditure up while continuing to eat well (and not overeat.)

Let's do this! :)