HIIT vs. Strict Strength Training

[pokemonster]

I've (M35) been on Reta for a few weeks now, all of which I'd been rather sedentary (sick, unfortunately). It's working as prescribed and I've already lost all the weight I gained over the holidays.
Now that I'm feeling better, I'm wondering if I should get back into my routine before the Reta, i.e. F45 HIIT workouts (boot camp type with more of a focus on weightlifting) or just do strict lifting in the gym. I swapped to F45 before I started the Reta as I wasn't able to shed any lbs and wanted a more cardio-centric workout. It worked to some extent, but wondering if the Reta eliminates the need for the extra cardio. I don't want to overdo it and shed too much muscle.
Goal is to maintain / increase muscle mass while shedding the fat. Those with experience, let me know your thoughts!

 

[Peptoidian]

You should lift weights ~3x/week to maintain/build muscle. Your caloric deficit on Reta will take care of the fat loss. Make sure you are eating enough protein too. For cardio, I'd stick to walking and 1 short (20mins max) HIIT workout per week where you hit your max HR.

 

[pokemonster]

You should lift weights ~3x/week to maintain/build muscle. Your caloric deficit on Reta will take care of the fat loss. Make sure you are eating enough protein too. For cardio, I'd stick to walking and 1 short (20mins max) HIIT workout per week where you hit your max HR.

I had a feeling this was the answer... Partially blinded by my expensive $200+ F45 membership per month. We'll see if I can get out of it... Lifting is what I do best so that's a consolation lol.

 

[StingerBee]

I recently gave up my coaching F45 after 9 years. I was a fanatic. I loved how the sessions made me feel, and they worked (to an extent) but after moving on I realised that that style of training— yes even those “weights days” are not meant to be done long term. I switched to heavy old school (long rest in between sets) training and my body is thanking me and showing results.
Lift heavy, find a good split that works for you. I do cardio everyday on a stationary bike for 30 or so mins. Because it wakes me up, and one short 30 or so mins HIIT workout a week (f45 style if you will) - because it keeps me fit. But this works for me. Everybody is different.

 

[hexagonal]

I've (M35) been on Reta for a few weeks now, all of which I'd been rather sedentary (sick, unfortunately). It's working as prescribed and I've already lost all the weight I gained over the holidays.
Now that I'm feeling better, I'm wondering if I should get back into my routine before the Reta, i.e. F45 HIIT workouts (boot camp type with more of a focus on weightlifting) or just do strict lifting in the gym. I swapped to F45 before I started the Reta as I wasn't able to shed any lbs and wanted a more cardio-centric workout. It worked to some extent, but wondering if the Reta eliminates the need for the extra cardio. I don't want to overdo it and shed too much muscle.
Goal is to maintain / increase muscle mass while shedding the fat. Those with experience, let me know your thoughts!

HIIT is going to be great for your vo2 max and beneficial for lipids/atherosclerosis/etc. - all sorts of heart health stuff.

But it isn't going to do much of anything for preserving muscle mass, and we also know through a fairly significant body of work, including doubly-labeled water studies, that on the calorie burning front, bodies tend to adapt to regular exercise. We evolved to get good at conserving calories when still having to work quite a bit for food, so you see people that walk 20k steps having their bodies compensate by doing a lot less smaller movements throughout the day, etc. and ultimately having similar total caloric expenditure rates to people with the same body composition that walk a quarter of that and don't otherwise exercise.

Constrained Total Energy Expenditure and Metabolic Adaptation to Physical Activity in Adult Humans - PMC

Current obesity prevention strategies recommend increasing daily physical activity, assuming that increased activity will lead to corresponding increases in total energy expenditure and prevent or reverse energy imbalance and weight gain [1-3]. Such ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Unless you're exercising a *fucking lot*, in which case, yeah, calories in vs. calories out reigns supreme and energy has to come from somewhere. But we're talking multiple hours every day or doing an activity like through hiking, etc.

I'd focus on weightlifting as the primary exercise, and a smaller quantity mixture of moderate cardio for longer periods and HIIT for shorter periods well separate from your lifting sessions.

 

[zpped]

Same as everyone else has said. Cardio is great for your heart health. weight lifting is great for your muscle mass.