Starting Rippetoe Today: A Few Questions Before I Start

[Snafu'd]

Alright, I've finally joined a gym and I'm going for the first time after work today. There are a couple of things that I'm still a little confused about, despite having read the FAQ. My plan is to start the Rippetoe program and here are my questions.

1. I understand that the arms are going to be worked during the compound lifts, but I have the problem of my left arm being significantly weaker than my right arm in both the bicep and the tricep. I would imagine that this is exaggerated somewhat because I used to play tennis competitively and my left arm was used very little. So the question is, when I do some arm specific exercises, is there anything different I should do in order to get the left arm to catch up? More reps, more weight, etc for my left arm? Or will it catch up on its own?

2. My next question is about preworkout nutrition. Right now, I've got Surge for my post workout drink and I'm trying to eat a Zone diet. What should I be eating prior to working out and how long before my workout should I eat (30 minutes, an hour, etc)?

3. Also, I'd like to know what you guys think about doing cardio right after my weightlifting. I'm in a fat loss prop bet so burning fat is a high priority for me. When I joined the gym, they required that I get a stress test and general assessment done - which was basically a physical. The guy that was administering the tests told me that for fat burning purposes, doing cardio right after a weightlifting session was the way to go. His reasoning was that your body has to dip into its fat reserves at this point because you've already consumed your carbohydrate reserves during the weightlifting session. Thoughts?

[kinda]

your pre-workout meals should be protein/carb meals so you will have energy to lift. I would wait an hour after eating to lift, 45 minutes at least, maybe. Trying to lift weights while digesting food will put too much strain on your body and you'll more than likely yak everywhere (I learned this the hard way).

Your first priority after lifting weights is your post workout shake. You have a short window to get enough protein to your muscles so they can receive the maximum benefit from it.

I've never heard anyone else say what that guy told you, and it seems really off to me. The way to burn the most fat from cardio is to do 45-60 minutes of light cardio @ 65-70% of your target heart rate (220-age) first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This level of cardio will burn off the most fat as higher intensity cardio will burn away protein/muscle after depleting the carbs.

Whatever type of cardio you choose, I highly recommend separating lifting from cardio.

[dethgrind]

I wouldn't worry about the arm imbalance for now. Start worrying after you've added a bunch of weight to your big lifts. I bet that'll fix it.

Drink a surge or maybe half a surge before your workout. Solid meal is fine too, but like kinda said, give yourself some time to digest it.

[ QUOTE ]
The way to burn the most fat from cardio is to do 45-60 minutes of light cardio @ 65-70% of your target heart rate (220-age) first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This level of cardio will burn off the most fat as higher intensity cardio will burn away protein/muscle after depleting the carbs.

[/ QUOTE ]Disagree. It's important to consider what is burned long after the workout, in addition to what happens during the workout. I'm pretty sure the consensus is building that HIIT pwns light cardio for fat burning purposes.
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Whatever type of cardio you choose, I highly recommend separating lifting from cardio.

[/ QUOTE ]Agreed.

[theblackkeys]

1. don't worry about it for now. You will likely be adding a lot of weight to the bar over the first months, so your arm will catch up.

2. I have no clue.

3. From the articles I've read, workouts lasting longer than 1.5 hrs are not as good as two separate workouts each around an hour long. I'm pretty sure your body starts breaking down muscle at a higher rate after 1.5 hrs or so. SO keep workouts short and hard, I think you'll be fresher this way as well.

[shemp]

1. I don't know. I doubt it is worth what it would take to turn around something that you spent several of your formative years training to-- it's not going away. And it doesn't have to be a "problem". I'd avoid things that reinforce it and look for tiny things to add some volume to your offhand-- carrying stuff, changing plates, etc. If you were using dumbbells, you'd want to do your off hand first, etc, but there's not of that on the program you are talking about.

2. Got nothing.

3. I've heard and read that. Personally, I keep cardio types of training for after any lifting, but because it hurts my lifts. I think you should do the most important/critical thing first-- and for most of us that would be strength. For one thing-- you can train your heart everyday, so getting the most of your lifts is important-- I realize none of this is addressing the fat-burning aspect-- no clue.

[kinda]

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[ QUOTE ]

The way to burn the most fat from cardio is to do 45-60 minutes of light cardio @ 65-70% of your target heart rate (220-age) first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This level of cardio will burn off the most fat as higher intensity cardio will burn away protein/muscle after depleting the carbs.

[/ QUOTE ]
Disagree. It's important to consider what is burned long after the workout, in addition to what happens during the workout. I'm pretty sure the consensus is building that HIIT pwns light cardio for fat burning purposes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, post workout cardio will burn fat because of the depleted glycogen levels. I'd say it's the second best time to do cardio for fat burning. AM cardio being the first. I guess if you get in a PWO shake beforehand and don't do HIIT, then it should be okay.

HIIT is going to burn a lot more than just fat. The reason I advocate low-intensity AM cardio on empty stomach (for 45-60 min) is because it lets you stay in the fat burning zone without sacrificing any of your muscle.

The battle between HIIT and AM cardio has been going on for a long time. I would hardly say there is a "consensus" towards either one.

[Thremp]

kinda,

You're backward.

[kinda]

Maybe if I posted of pic of a tiny bicep and started acting like a jerk to everyone then I'd be forward.

[dethgrind]

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The battle between HIIT and AM cardio has been going on for a long time.

[/ QUOTE ]
Just to be clear, there are actually two debates here. One is steady cardio versus HIIT. The other is AM versus some other time cardio. I mean, you could do HIIT in the AM.

Also, I think the debate between AM and some other time is much harder to decide. My internet research clearly favors HIIT over steady cardio.

[kinda]

Sorry, when I say AM cardio I mean "steady cardio in the AM"

My research has been the opposite. I think it will come down to whatever method works best for the person, or which they prefer.