7m at 2.2mph, 6m at 6mph, or HIIT cycle 6/10 for 60

Training Over 35 Lifter
1

OK… 41 years old and been lifting off and on my whole life.

I have been lifting steadily for the last 2 years and made some gains, however I see now that no matter what I do with diet and lifting… I have to integrate some sort of cardio/fat burning into my regime. I didn’t have to back in the old days, but I can see that I am NOT losing the fat which has found its way to my waist, butt, and thighs.

Unfortunately I HATE cardio type work, hence my reticence to do it. And since I no longer have the metabolism I used to have, I can’t simply workout and expect to see any definition.

So…

I typically work a split routine 5 days a week.

M/Th - Chest, shoulders, triceps, calves
T/F - Back, Bis, abs
W - legs

I hit legs only once a week, because any more and I have to squeeze into my jeans given thigh size. I have some fat which I would like to reduce, which goes along with the size of my thighs. But I would need size 40 pants for legs and size 36 waist.

So finally, I realize that the ‘old’ me isn’t going to cut it with the ‘current’ me.

Now to the crux of the situation…

I have a treadmill in my office and since a portion of my day is spent at my desk, I can walk about 7 miles a day at 2.2mph.

I can keep a pretty steady 6mph for an hour ‘running’.

I can do the 6 sec/10 sec protocol stationary bike for the 60 intervals.

Which would you recommend to retain as much muscle as possible while I diet?

I like the treadmill because it is almost like ‘free’ exercise, but it really doesn’t feel like I am doing much, just walking along as I work on my computer. The running and HIIT make me feel like I am working, but I would rather keep what I have built as much as possible.

Given the same diet… which would you expect to give the best results for muscle maintanence with best fat loss in a 41 yo?

2

My .02 would be to walk on the treadmill, but at an incline -“hill walks” if you will. Use the bike for a change of pace, but no need for HIIT unless you want to.

No to running.

3

i am trying kettlefagbells because I cant run or walk or do anything cuz of my knees. to soon to recommend it.

adopt 5/3/1 as your training template, or we shall kill and eat you.

4

Grab the treadmill in both hands, clean to chest, press overhead, repeat several times. Switch to the stationary bike, use for squats.
I’ve always thought that for fat lose, not cardio, it’s all about the distance covered, speed you do it in doesn’t matter. Seems the bike would use more muscle though.