G’day folks,
First thing…thanks heaps for all of your work. You’re all awesome and very appreciated.
I’ve just started phase III of the Beginner template and am looking at what to do afterwards.
I’ve lost just over 8kg so far (down from 85.7kg/189lbs to 77.6kg/171lbs as of today) over the last 13 weeks whilst still making strength gains on the beginner program
(last week of phase II, squat was 120kg/264lbs x 4 @ 9, bench was 75kg/165lbs x 4 @ 9 and deadlift was 140kg/308lbs x 4 @ 9) which has been excellent.
For reference, I’m 39, 173cm/5’8" and 77.6kg/171lbs. Last measurement my waist was 98cm/38.5in down from 108cm/42.5in.
I’ve lost quite a lot of fat from the other areas like arms, legs, face, chest, it’s just the stuff around my waist and lower back that is taking the longest to come off, which I was expecting.
Now that I’m reaching the tail end of the beginner program, I think my main focus should be to get rid of as much of the belly fat as I can before focusing on anything else. I spent 20 years as a heavy drinker, so it’s not going to come off easy. I also understand that my novice gains will have been mostly exhausted so any further weight loss will potentially include muscle/strength loss. I’m not too worried about that because I will be coming back to focus on strength afterwards.
My question is…between Hypertrophy I and General Strength and Conditioning, which would you recommend as a weight loss program? Also, I am working out at home, so my equipment is somewhat limited. I have a power rack, power bar, ez curl bar, flat bench, adjustable bench, chin up bar, dip bars, bumper plates and some change plates. I do my cardio/conditioning on a bike trainer. Would the lack of dumbells be a problem for Hypertrophy I? Would the lack of other conditioning equipment be an issue for GS&C? As I can’t see what exercises are in the programs, it’s kind of hard to know what is recommended and what are the alternatives.
My initial thought was to go with GS&C as I’d like to introduce some running and more endurance work, but I think I should introduce that slowly as I haven’t run properly for a long time and that’s going to take a while to adapt to again, so I might focus on that as it’s own side project. I hadn’t thought about Hypertrophy I as a weight loss program until I read that you recommend it, as muscle size isn’t really my biggest goal right now, but I would like to maintain as much muscle as I can whilst cutting too. So, I’m in two minds. What are your thoughts?
Cheers.
Liam.