Hi guys, thanks for making this forum a great place.

I am 35 years old, stand at 1.7m and weigh 75kgs
My fitness goal is 3-fold:
a) to lose more fats
b) to build and maintain some muscle mass in my upper body, particularly in my shoulders and chest area (basically to look good but because I am not tall, I do not want to look too bulky)
c) to build my cardiovascular fitness and improve my fitness in general

I have got a few questions and hope someone can help me.

1) I do about 5 sessions of cardio exercises on the EFX Machine a week, with each session lasting anything from 45 to 60 mins. In addition, I attend spinning classes 2 to 3 times a week, with each session lasting 45 to 60 mins. I have seen some visible reduction in fats especially in the abdominal area but would like to speed up the process. I have heard about the HIIT programme. Can someone tell me more about it and whether it will offer a faster and more effective way to lose my fats than the schedule I am adopting now?

2) I do about 2 to 3 weight training sessions a week (usually before I do those cardio exercises listed above) with some focus on the chest and delts:
- 3 sets of Dumbell (Chest) Press, 65lbs each hand, 8-9 reps per set
- 3 sets of Dumbell Flys, 35lbs each hand, 10 reps per set
- 3 sets of Dumbell (Delt) Press, 45 lbs each hand, 10 reps per set
- 3 sets of shoulder shrugs, 70 lbs each hand, 10 reps per set
Am I doing things wrongly?

As this is my first time participating in such a forum, I hope my questions are not too rudimentary.

I'd stop doing so much cardio. Clean up your diet, and you won't need to do that much. HIIT is going from bursts of high intensity for 20 seconds or so, then rest for 40 seconds, repeating this until 10-12 sprints are completed. The way I like to do HIIT is sprinting on a track. To me, nothing else comes close to that intensity. Run as fast as you possibly can for 20 seconds, rest for 40 seconds. Complete that 12 times. After 4 weeks or so, try sprinting for 30 seconds, rest for 60 seconds. This should not be done more than twice a week, since it's incredibly intense.

As for the weights, I'd start training more than your chest and delts. Start off with a full body workout, maybe a four day split if your schedule permits it.

Hope this helps. Good luck

Yes.

1. You're not working your legs. The muscles in the legs are some of the biggest in the body and you're neglecting them.
2. Fifty percent of your weight training is isolation work.

I recommend you pick up "New Rules of Lifting." It'll get yourself in shape.

I agree :]

Sorry I didn't mention the fact that I have got relatively well-developed and powerful legs. I have got a number of people - who have much more well-developed upper body than I do - come up to me to tell me I have got nice legs and ask how I train them.

I am usually quite careful about the food I eat:
- I seldom take fried and/or fatty food
- I only drink max 2 to 3 cans of beer every month
- I try to take less carbohydrates in the evening (Asian cuisine is usually quite rice-heavy)

I really want to lose more weight (right now, my waist line is about 31.5 inches) but do want to have some substance (but not excessive bulk) in my upper body.

You need to do your legs. Squats are one of the best excercises you can do for fat loss. It hits a lot of muscles, which in turn burns calories, which in turn helps with overall fat loss.

If you feel you have good legs, then do higher rep workouts for them. 15reps/set or so.