Cutting

E

Endo

0
I almost feel silly for asking this question, as I've been lifting for the last 3-4 years, but here I go...

For the last several years I've always lifted for mass and I'm finally getting to the point, where I really don't give a rats a** about packing on lots of mass. I'm much more interested in cutting and toning/sculpting, but I've never had to put a routine together with that in mind.

Also, I've recently started going back to school to pursue my degree (I've been out of college for 12-13 years) and I've decided to cut back on my 5x/week routine to something a little more managable with my additional homework responsibilities. So, I'm hoping that some of you can help me put something together for a 30 something who's looking at cutting/toning and can do it by being in the gym 3x/week. Keep in mind, I'll still be doing cardio on my off days and I still play competitive volleyball, so I get plenty of cardio.

Also, with my metabolism I've always been told that 10 x body weight is approximately the correct amount to be taking in to maintain. Does that hold true for when you're cutting as well?

Thanks in advance...
 
hey endo, IMO when trying to gain or trying to cut i still like to hit the basic movements with just a few isolation exercises thrown in. right now i'm hitting the weights MON, WED, FRI and doing abs and cardio Tues, Thurs, Sat. sunday is for washing the cars, cutting the grass and cooking up my food for the week so i'm still getting a workout that day too. :D

like this morning i did stiff leg deadlifts, bent over rows, chins, arm curls and wrist curls. 3 sets each of 8-10 reps. with warmup and cool down about 50 minutes total. i usually dont train my arms directly but just going with a nice change of pace from normal.

personally, i like to keep my protein and fats up and lower my carbs. so i slightly reduce my calories week by week and guage how things are going before dropping.
 
pretty much how i posted above. i'm hitting the weights hard 3X a week doing mostly compound movements with a few isolation exercises thrown in. doing HIIT on the bike 3 mornings a week plus a session in the late afternoon each day. i read somewhere that dividing up your cardio sessions and doing them twice a day could be a good idea. have to see if i can find where i saw that.

still eating all my meals. roughly eating 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fats. i screwed up a few weeks ago. my goal was to be under 15% at this point. so i'm trying to get under 15% before the end of the year.

but honestly, this sucks big time. i'm never letting my bodyfat % get so out of hand again. here we are in the middle of november and i'm cutting. :mad:
 
Thanks abear... I appreciate the feedback... I was pretty much committed to doing my lifting M/W/F along with abs and doing cardio on T/Th/Sat. I'm still a little torn on if I should do more of a circuit trianing routine, where I hit multiple muscle groups each day and do that 3x/week or if I should do something more along the lines of Chest/Tri's, Back/Bi's, Shoulders/Legs? Any feedback is welcome.
 
i hear alot about circuit training during cutting so i assume its effective but personally that not for me. i tried it once and disliked it. i say try both for a equal amount of time and see what you respond best to.

this morning i did squats, split squats and standing calf raises

wednesdays i do bench press, shoulder press, pushups and dips

and fridays i'm doing stiff leg deadlifts, bent over rows, chins and curls.

i'm hanging on to my size and strength which is important cause i dont have much size and strenghth to begin with. any loss would be bad. :p
 
Circuits are superior to a bulking workout for weight loss. Fact. The biggest problem I see today besides bad form is people who think the rep/set scheme bodybuilders use is 'working out'. I see people all the time on this schedule yet they are trying to lose BF%. True, doing just about anything will bear some results, and this is why the myth propagates I think. There is a big difference between a bodybuilding workout, strength training, agility training, cutting and sport specific training. In truth, you should decide whether you want to be on a muscle growth cycle, or a cutting cycle. You can't have both with equal results. Additionally, it's better to cycle these two methodologies every few weeks to keep the body from adapting. It is possible to cut while maintaining muscle mass. You just have to tweak your program here and there to achieve CUSTOM results. There are no 'pocket' workouts that you can plug a person into and have it fit.
You could do the latter workout you posted keeping your rest intervals low, use slightly lower weight, and you would in essence have somewhat of a circuit.
 
Thanks Johnny... I appreciate the feedback and I totally understand that you can't effective bulk and cut at the same time.
 
Johnny, you're totally right about the bulking / cutting. its impossible.

what exactly is circuit training? and why is it better, in your opinion, for cutting? I would like to try it.
 
i like to use traditional workouts because its helping me maintain my strength and size. not going for more just to keep what i got and its working.

last time i did this i lowered poundages and increased reps to "get cut" and that bombed big time. :)
 
Johnny said:
Circuits are superior to a bulking workout for weight loss. Fact. The biggest problem I see today besides bad form is people who think the rep/set scheme bodybuilders use is 'working out'. I see people all the time on this schedule yet they are trying to lose BF%. True, doing just about anything will bear some results, and this is why the myth propagates I think. There is a big difference between a bodybuilding workout, strength training, agility training, cutting and sport specific training. In truth, you should decide whether you want to be on a muscle growth cycle, or a cutting cycle. You can't have both with equal results. Additionally, it's better to cycle these two methodologies every few weeks to keep the body from adapting. It is possible to cut while maintaining muscle mass. You just have to tweak your program here and there to achieve CUSTOM results. There are no 'pocket' workouts that you can plug a person into and have it fit.
You could do the latter workout you posted keeping your rest intervals low, use slightly lower weight, and you would in essence have somewhat of a circuit.
Click to expand...

So Johnny, what would be a good cutting cycle?
 
Honestly my favorite circuit requires kettlebells and most people don't even know what those are. I do a workout called the . When I cycle that out I generally just do cals.
Pull-up x 10
push-up x 25
hanging leg raises x 15
Flutter kicks x 25
Dips x 15

These exercises are done right after the other with no rest in-between. If I get out of breath (sometimes) I wait a few seconds for my HR to drop a bit then hit the next. Each circuit is followed by a 30s-1m30s rest interval before the next begins. Work your way up until you can keep doing the circuit for 45min. Then I run or swim after. Then stretch out.

This is just what I do. You guys can get creative as you want.
-Important point is to try for complex movements.
-Push-ups or weighted push ups are better than bench press because of the muscle recruitment. Try and pick exercises that have the most muscle recruitment.
-Go for the harder exercises early on in the circuit.
-Stay under 25reps for high rep exercises. Don't tire out the small muscle groups early.
-Keep your heart rate in the mid range for the duration. Not too low where blood flow slows, and not too high where you go completely anaerobic.
-Don't go over 45min. Shoot for at least 30min and tweak your exercises and reps to accomplish this.
-Form REALLY counts here. Use perfect form and make sure you tighten up for all exercises.
-Breathe when you are performing the reps, don't hold your breath like you would for a dead lift.
-Pick at least 3 exercises for your circuit. If you can't last the whole time period without tiring, then tweak the numbers a bit and try next workout. If you use a calisthenics circuit you can do this every day if the numbers are low with great results. Beginners be wary of this though. Don't just jump into it, build up slow. Start with a low number of circuits or time and build from there in true periodization form.
-Do this for only a few weeks and then change it up. Your body adapts fast.

Good site with sport specific info even
 
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Thanks... so would you go through that circuit 3-4 times? Just want to make sure... I'm sick right now, so I figure I might as well spend the time preping.
 
This is where the custom part comes in. You can do as many circuits as you can fit in. Try starting with three. If that is easy then add only 1 circuit per workout until you get to where it is challenging. If you feel strong and haven't hit your time limit, then keep going. Once your form starts to deteriorate, stop and call it a day. By that I mean....if you are aiming for 5 reps and your 3rd makes you strain hard enough that you think you may be able to get another rep in, but 5 reps sounds like it is pushing it.... stop after that 3rd rep. Write down what happened in your training log (better have one) and adjust the circuit for next time. You see this all the time.....guys are aiming for 10 reps of the easy curl bar with some weight they don't even know how to use and start straining after 5 reps but keep going. They rock their shoulders first, then their back to help them get the weight up. Then once it's up, they basically DROP the weight down for the next rep. Ridiculous. The guy should have stopped after 5 reps. Simple mistakes I see are people doing what ever they can to get in the reps. Or people going for miles instead of time. Most people are missing the point completely.
Don't be THAT guy. Always use perfect form and don't worry about what everyone else is doing. If you are only doing 3-5 reps who gives a $hit. Get er done and watch the next couple of months while you progress past all the stagnated lifters who think they know the score. :D
 
Thanks Johnny... it's always good to know that there are other people out there that preach the word on good form. I've always held the belief that it's always better to the right or not at all. No sense in risking injury...
 
I can't handle the thought that I'm wasting my time by doing it wrong. Secondly, why would anyone want to stand out in front of everybody and look stupid by inventing some crazy form in order to throw more weight around? I don't get it....these guys want to look cool with stacking up all that weight and they can't even perform the exercise correctly because it's too much. Ok, yeah, wow, you can make the weight move. I'm impressed. Now tell me if you please, what are you doing exactly? ....they never know.
That’s why I like this forum. People come here because they have an interest or goals and want to educate themselves. I will help out anyone with the drive to learn how to become better at something because I admire that. Now...... the guy at the gym who has crazy form... doesn't even rate my attention.
 
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i train at home but i've heard horror stories of guys doing bench presses with the only the back of their head and their feet touching anything. their back and butt completely off the bench.

then there's talk of ppl doing curls in the squat rack. :(
 
Yeah, I lost the mentallity of, "I've gotta put up more plates then the next guy, a long, long time ago... The only person I'm working out for is me, so I'm the only one that matters.
 
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