Ok so is cutting 6-8 or 8-12 or 12-14???

M

Mico

0
I've been working out for about a year now. I've been "cutting" for 6 weeks and my diet hasen't been too awesome so it's taking me a while longer to lose the 10lbs i'm trying to lose. I completely don't have time to run, MAYBE once a week if i get a chance. When I'm building I do about 6-8 reps, sometimes it goes as low as 5, i try not to get below that. When I'm toning, I've heard a lot of "up the reps, and drop the weight" theories. Are any of those right? I've now heard to stay consistant with the weight, and just change my diet and add cardio... but like i said i don't really have time for cardio. For the passed 6 weeks i've been cutting I've been doing about 14 reps for every excercise (except for the ones i CAN'T do 14 reps of.. like pullups). I'd really love to get back to building, but I refuse to let myself until I become a little more defined.



that's a picture I took of me attempting to flex about a month ago..... yes i know i have big nipples >.< :D It's quite a way from where I came but I could still use some more help cutting.
Also, does anyone know anything I can take for excess skin? I used to be 5'1 and around 205lbs (not strong) so I was really fat. I have excess skin.. like when i stand up I can see my stomach muscles but the skin is much stretchier than it is for most people.
Thanks for all the help.
 
What do you mean by building??

You already answered your own question by saying that your diet isn't where it needs to be, that's the biggest thing holding you back guaranteed. I would work in lower rep ranges, 6 and below, but that's my opinion.
 
I don't think my diet is terrible, i just know i've been messing up from time to time. Primarily though, i'm just concerned that my reps aren't what they should be. I like the idea of staying consistant with 6-8 reps through cutting and building (by building i mean building muscle mass) but I'm not exactly sure it's the way to go.
 
well when you're cutting, you're probably not going to make many gains in the weight room. Since low reps are for strength building, I would stay in the 8-10 range while you are cutting. That will maintain what you already have, but don't expect to get much stronger.
 
Since your cutting you should go for strength since you can't add size. Get 80-100% of your 1 rep max and do 5x5 routines.
 
'toning' through a rep count is a myth.

stick to your 5-8 rep scheme and keep it heavy. 8-12 is too much hypertrophy which your diet won't support well. beyond 12 is just endurance training and not too effective.
low reps and heavy weight trick the body into keeping lean mass while you have lower calories. its not an advantage to have lots of muscle mass, so your body will drop muscle unless you convince the body you need to keep it.

if you think your diet hasn't been great, and your cutting results aren't great, look exclusively at your diet for the reason things aren't going well. diet is crucial.
 
Thank you very much. Malkore your advice is the one I was looking for, you always seem to know best :p. Right now though I'm forced to take a week away from working out, :'( doctor said I should b/c I hurt my wrist. I'm just going to replace Weightlifting with jogging / HIIT running for the next week or so. Thanks again for the help :D.
 
A lot of different opinions about this. I would not call high reps a waste at all. In fact, I usually have good results with clients using high rep scheme and they obviously will increase their endurance and tolerance for acidosis.

From my experience..... not taking away from other rep scheme.... the combination of power/endurance training shows best results for getting down in bodyfat fast. Power endurance would incorporate a big move like max deads or squats or even full cleans AND an endurance exercise i.e. farmer's walks, speed squats, burpees. This is a scheme I usually use on my athlete type clients who have a good understanding for basic exercises. The workout would look something like this:

HIIT bike 10sec hi/1 min mid ....8 min
Deadlift 90% 1RM 1@4
Speed Squats 30% 1RM 2min
Depth Plyo pushups 1@8
Pushups 2min
Weighted Chins 1@6
Standing lat pulldown 2min
Low box jump up and press with med ball 2-5min

Cardio 10min walk on treadmill

This is just an example. The workout allows for not so perfect diets. In fact, my clients will usually have to increase calories to keep up. Ballistic reps have been shown to help facilitate more fat burn as the body shifts its primary energy system to anaerobic glycolysis.

Diet is definitely a good way to get lean. However this combining power and endurance does well with not so good diets
 
well as far as ive heard and seen on videos, the best way to get toned (lose fat) is extremely high reps, do like 3 sets in this format using the same weight, reps= 30,25,20 for each muscle group.
sorry to burst ur bubble but running is the way get toned
 
Trainerty,

Ok, I was too generic when I said high reps are useless. But they aren't the prescription for 'getting toned'. Active recovery, endurance training...sure. But high reps don't get you toned.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top