Bored With Cardio

"Mr. James,

"It's good to talk to you again. I took a break from lifting, and now I'm getting back into the mesocycle. My primary goal is to get lean, and so I've tried to do more cardio like treadmill running and limiting myself to a 2000-2500 calorie diet. I'm 6' and weigh 198 pounds.

"I was wondering if doing an 8x8 type of workout during my off days like the weekends can serve as a form of cardio? I love doing the Neo-Classical System even though its not primarily for weight loss, and I'd rather stick with that during the week. And is the purpose of the 8x8 exercises to achieve 64 reps on as few sets as possible on 8 exercises or to constantly maintain 8 reps for 8 sets for 8 exercises?"

Thanks,
Larry


My Answer: 8x8 requires that you perform 8 sets of 8 reps. It is an ideal program for both fat loss and overall conditioning. I have found it to be far better than cardio for fat loss.

HOWEVER, I would not perform 8x8 in combination with the Neo-Classical System, because you will surely overtrain. You're essentially running 2 different programs at the same time. I suggest you do one or the other, but not both concurrently.

Another option would be for you to use the 8x8 program as a 2 week density phase, then follow it up with a 2 decompression phase. In other words, do 8x8 for 2 weeks, then perform the decompression phase found in Strength and Physique Volume 2.