Maintain Strength During Weight Loss
June 21, 2009 by Kris Jones
Filed under Weight Lifting
It’s great to get strong. It’s even better if you can slim down in the process. I’ve gained weight this summer (7 lbs). Undoubtedly some of my weight gain is muscle, but there is also some fat in there. With a wedding coming up in two weeks, I’d like to slim down but I don’t want to lose any of my muscle.
Image: istockphoto
My first step is lots of running – lots. Fitness is a numbers game. If I want to accelerate the process, I’ve got to take the cardio up a notch. By doubling a normal cardio day (30 minutes), I’m roughly going to shove 1 month of training into 2 weeks (maybe more, maybe less – can’t be sure).
Meanwhile, I’ll only work on maintaining the muscle with good weight lifting workouts, but nothing extensive. I may experience some gains nevertheless, but nothing major. This rapid fat loss-fitness plan is well short of ideal, but when you’ve got to cut weight fast, you need to make a big upgrade.
