Weight Training - More Cardio Based Training for the Summer

Next week I will be trying a new program but I will still be using the Weight Lifting Journal to track my progress. For this routine I will be changing up my lifts every week, like usual, but I will not have a 3 minute rest period between sets. I will decrease that to one minute to make this more of a cardio workout instead of just a mass and strength workout. For the summer months I want to trim down a little more for definition and during the winter months I eat more and train heavier.

With having one minute rest between sets, this allows for little time for me to catch my breathe. After completing one set I barely have time to add new weight and then lift again. The nice thing about lifting this way is that it shocks your system, if you are used to something else, and is a great fat burner. I lost the most weight when I was doing this system and I also increased my endurance and stamina. The only thing that I do differently with this method is I increase very slowly throughout my progress. I do that because if I try to go to fast then I will actually see reverse effects. When you increase your weight to much to soon you might hurt yourself or you don't do as many reps and therefore don't do as good of a workout. If you can't get the reps out of the workout, then you are treading thinly on a fine line of reverse effects because your muscles haven't been as fatigued

My protein intake will increase substantially due to the switching of routines. I have found that if I switch up routines I will be sore sooner and for a longer period. Because of this I will increase my protein intake to help fill in the new gaps that my lifting has opened. I will then start to see a fat lose for a certain time period until I a plateau. Once I hit that plateau I will do more cardio outside of the gym, if I haven't started already. The key though, and this is something that I need to keep in front of me, is to control my diet and my portion size. I will need to create me healthy snacks and more healthy drinks. My normal snack option is to have a mixture of celery and carrots. I think this year I will change it to include green peppers and broccoli. If anyone else has a good suggestion for a nice healthy snack, please let me know.

You can download the excel file on the right side of this site.