Getting lean - intense cutting workout. Thoughts?

[tman666]

Thanks for the in-depth advice, Tman! The idea of fasted cardio is something I may try. When you mentioned it in your previous posts, I thought you meant it as in walking fast/power walking, haha woops! I'll pop N.O Explode for that BCAA.

 

EDIT: What advice do you have for taking these walks in the cold? I see joggers out all the time in this weather, and I've thought about it, but im always a little worried i'll come down with something and halt my training altogether until it's through.

 

Regarding my weight lifting routine, yeah, the more I read - the more I realize it's an amateur's routine. Then again, you can say it was perfect for my inexperience at that point. I've been reading through tons of different workouts and up until this point I've been too focused on hypertrophy and the aesthetic appeal. However, each time I hit the bench I knew my gains were deceiving. I didn't feel strong, mostly because I wasn't.

 

When I started cutting and drastically improving my cardiovascular ability (I biked 18 miles in 65 minutes over hilly terrain last week), I felt more energetic and loved my new found endurance. I never had that 'true' satisfaction from my lifting routine, and I want to feel strong this time around - not look it.

 

I started researching alot of different strength training routines and I found a perfect fit: Eric Cressy's maxmimum strength workout. http://www.amazon.com/Maximum-Strength-Strongest-Ultimate-Weight-Training/dp/1600940579

 

In two weeks, I'm relocating for 4 months of job training. This routine is exactly 16 weeks, so it fits that time period perfectly. I'm hoping to come back with some killer strength gains and a beach bod to match

 

Glad to hear we cleared up what "fasted cardio" means haha.

 

I prefer to do low intensity steady state cardio while fasted (i.e. the walking) and reserve higher intensity work for when I'm in a fed state. Regarding the cold weather: I have been doing early morning walks all winter with no increased frequency of sickness. Bundle up and you'll be fine. Even on the coldest mornings, I'll find that I've been sweating despite my fingers and toes being numb. Another thing you definitely want to start doing all year around (but especially in winter) is supplementing Vitamin D. I would take AT LEAST 2,000 IU per day, and possibly 4,000-6,000 IU/day during the winter. I've found that this helps just about everything: mood, sex drive, recovery time, resistance to disease, etc. There's a lot of research coming out right now supporting the positive effects of Vit. D supplementation.

 

Eric Cressey is a very highly respected strength training and athletic performance specialist. Anything you can glean from him will likely be worth your while. It'll probably be the best 15 bucks you've ever spent. Do his programs as prescribed, and give them your all. 16 weeks is a short time frame, and it'll likely be highly repeatable over the long term (I'm assuming Mr. Cressey gives some guidance for what happens after 16 weeks).

[Sivok]

He sure does. Some of the exercises and stretches he recommends are definitely unique to say the least but from what people have told me about this program, I'll get amazing results if I stick it to the T.

 

I never knew that about Vitamin D! Definitely will add that to my daily intake - I'm gonna need that increased libido once I finish this program anyway .

 

Yeah, he does dedicate a whole chapter on the after which is cool.

 

Oh, and I felt I owe you + anyone else watching this thread some progress pictures. I don't have a 'posed' before, but I think it's pretty clear anyway. Here are the before and afters:

 

BEFORE (236 LBS, SUMMER 2011):

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/Sivok/summer_11.jpg

 

AFTER (208 LBS, 1/23/2012):

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/Sivok/january_2012.jpg

 

Still got a long way to go but yeah, that's what I got done so far

[USMCHokie]

Congrats, man, the improvement is pretty noticable, especially in the midsection. And your weight loss is gradual enough that the skin has a chance to tighten up on its own; very commendable. Keep up the good work!

[tman666]

It's amazing the difference 28 lbs can make!

 

Great work bro! Keep lifting dem heavy-ass weights!

 

(how you hid the girls' faces in your first photo made me laugh, btw, that's awesome )

[Chocolat]

Wow - big changes, Sivok! Congratulations.

 

I won't repeat anything Tman has said except to emphasize that you need more veggies in your diet.

 

I do like the idea of hitting each muscle group 2x/week. I think you will see some good growth this way.

[Sivok]

Thanks, guys . It feels great being able to share my progress - it's been a ride and all of it I owe to you!

 

So the #1 thing I'm concerned about right now going into Cressy's workout is my diet. I need to eat more, possibly alot more. However, I want to make sure to keep the fat gain at an absolute minimum since I worked so damn hard to get rid of it. Here are my current plans:

 

BREAKFAST - Veggie Omelet with 2-3 eggs + 1-2 egg whites. Spinach, red peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes.

 

MID-MORNING - Chobani greek yogurt

 

LUNCH - Either Chicken, Turkey, or Fish with tons of veggies

 

MID-AFTERNOON - Protein Bar

 

Post Workout - 2 scoops protein

 

Dinner - Chicken or Fish with tons of veggies

 

Before Bed - 1 scoop protein

[tman666]

Thanks, guys . It feels great being able to share my progress - it's been a ride and all of it I owe to you!

 

So the #1 thing I'm concerned about right now going into Cressy's workout is my diet. I need to eat more, possibly alot more. However, I want to make sure to keep the fat gain at an absolute minimum since I worked so damn hard to get rid of it. Here are my current plans:

 

BREAKFAST - Veggie Omelet with 2-3 eggs + 1-2 egg whites. Spinach, red peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes.

 

MID-MORNING - Chobani greek yogurt

 

LUNCH - Either Chicken, Turkey, or Fish with tons of veggies

 

MID-AFTERNOON - Protein Bar

 

Post Workout - 2 scoops protein

 

Dinner - Chicken or Fish with tons of veggies

 

Before Bed - 1 scoop protein

 

The diet you posted above appears to be very low carb and also low in fat. I think you'll find that eventually you might need to add in a few (or a lot, depending on your goals) more carbs and/or more fat in order to ensure the long term success you are looking for. Cycling carbs and fat is a good way to do this (higher carbs/lower fat on training days, lower carbs/higher fat on non-training days) as it maximizes the benefits of each macronutrient while minimizing fat gain. If you're going to be following Eric Cressey's training program, you're going to be training hard. Hard training requires the proper fuel.

 

Your protein intake looks good in my opinion. You may need to add in more protein eventually if your goal is to put on muscle mass or gain a lot of strength, but I think you're at a good starting point.

 

If I were you, I would start off with the diet you outlined above and keep a daily journal of approximately what you ate (no need to be anal retentive about it, but it's good to put in on paper sometimes). Make sure that you track daily how good your gym performance was, how well you're progressing (don't worry about making massive amounts of progress on your lifts right now while trying to lose fat, but regressing in strength or stalling out is a sign that your recovery is out of whack-often linked with poor nutrition), how well you're recovering from your workouts, how well you're sleeping, your overall mood/outlook on life, libido, etc.

 

Learning how to read your ability to recover from your training is important to maximizing your progression. Running yourself into the ground builds up cortisol (very bad for fat loss), lowers testosterone (bad), and increases your chance for injury (very bad). Getting plenty of restful sleep each night, staying hydrated, and managing your nutrition and training to match your recovery requirements are some of the keys to long term success.

 

Might I ask what protein bar are you using?

[Sivok]

Honestly I haven't picked one out yet.

 

What kind of fats do you recommend for the cycling? Nuts?

[tman666]

I'm honestly not a big fan of the vast majority of protein bars that I've tried, simply due to the fact that they're expensive and usually taste crummy.

 

That being said, there is one brand that I was introduced to by my buddy (who, full disclosure, is a rep. for the company) called Quest Bar. They are hands down the best protein bar that I've had, both taste wise and nutrition wise. They taste more like "real" food than any other protein bar I've had. While my friend and many of the people he trains use them as part of their daily nutrition, I've found that they are extremely handy for applications where bars are convenient (mostly during outdoor activities such as backpacking, hiking, skiing, etc.) The downside is that they're a fairly small company at this point, so you'll most likely have to order them online if you want to try them out.

 

As far as alternating high carb/low fat and low carb/higher fat days, just make sure that you're getting your carbs and fats from nutritious sources. Some of my favorite carb sources are sweet potatoes, quinoa, and oatmeal pancakes . Fat sources should generally be focused towards (as you mentioned) nuts, olive oil, avocados, etc. but it's fine having some animal fats in your diet too. Just don't load up on fried chicken wings on your low carb/high fat days and call it good haha. Mostly just use common sense.

[Sivok]

Cressy is BRUTAL. I've never worked this hard in the gym and at the same time, I've never seen faster results. 3 weeks in and I'm already regularly squatting my old 1 rep max. I'm loving it!

[Sivok]

UPDATE

 

So I've been on Cressy's workout for about two months and a bit now. Had to take 3 weeks off due to hurting my back when remounting the barbell while doing deadlifts, but I managed to get in about 10 swimming sessions to make up for some of that lost exercise.

 

Interms of strength, my 1 rep max has gone up in every category:

 

Bench: 175 (up from 150)

 

Deadlifts: 245 (up from 215)

 

Squats (biggest jump): 245 (up from 185)

 

There's still another two months to go now that I'm back into it. I can't wait to see more progress.

 

Speaking of Progress, here's so far:

 

Summer 2011: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../summer_11.jpg

 

January 2012: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...nuary_2012.jpg

 

April 2012: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/Sivok/april_19th.jpg

 

(I suck at self pictures lol )

[tman666]

You've put on some muscle! Good work brotha!

 

You'll be amazed at how different you look in six months if you keep lifting like this.

[Sivok]

I'm looking forward to it! The biggest struggle I feel I have right now is controlling the diet. I'm getting alot hungrier these days

[tman666]

I'm looking forward to it! The biggest struggle I feel I have right now is controlling the diet. I'm getting alot hungrier these days

 

Ya know... being on a restricted calorie diet for a long time is a good way to stall your progress. Re-vamping your body composition is a long journey, not a sprint. It's highly likely that you will have to cycle "bulking up" and "leaning out" phases. Now when I say bulking, I don't mean that you start eating like a sumo wrestler and put on a bunch of fat. Just like when cutting using a slight caloric deficit, you can bulk efficiently long term with a slight caloric surplus.

 

There are people that will tell you that you have to eat 8,000 calories per day and put on a bunch of flab to bulk, but I think that this method's drawbacks outweigh its benefits. Patience and small changes with diet is key with bulking, just as it is with cutting. It's like steering a cruise ship, not a jet ski.

 

Whether you continue to cut or if you decide to bulk is up to you. If I were in your shoes, I'd be tempted to get out of the fat loss mindset and get into the "clean" bulking mindset: slight caloric surplus from nutritious sources, and focus on bringing more intensity into the gym with each session.

 

What does your diet look like these days?

[Sivok]

Yeah when I started Cressy I started going into bulking. Right now my diet is:

 

4 egg omelet breakfast

 

chobani yogurt

 

footlong subway turkey on wheat w/ spinach, red onions, olives, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, red vinegar.

 

protein bar

 

can of tuna

 

2 scoops of protein (after workout)

 

1 scoop of protein (before bed).

 

I've been cheating alot lately though

[Chocolat]

Yeah when I started Cressy I started going into bulking. Right now my diet is:

 

4 egg omelet breakfast

 

chobani yogurt

 

footlong subway turkey on wheat w/ spinach, red onions, olives, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, red vinegar.

 

protein bar

 

can of tuna

 

2 scoops of protein (after workout)

 

1 scoop of protein (before bed).

 

I've been cheating alot lately though

 

Where are the veggies?

[Shinobi]

Hello all, I read and watched some of your pics and opinions. Let me tell you that I did not like your progress. Do not take offence, I do not mean that. I'm just trying to be useful here- there is my opinion. Have you ever heard of P90X and P90X2 ? Take a look at it. I am doing P90X since 6 weeks and the progress is remarkable and clearly visible. I am ripped and athletic for my weight- I am 68 kilograms and 1.78 high (sorry for not using the US measurments, I am from Europe). It works really great for me and there is a nutrition guide, recovery drinks recommendations and many more. Research for it and you'll make your judgement. Let me give you some more advice- it will be tipically European- remove your body hair and get some nice sun tan. Work on your abs and chest, just check P90X and you'll see. Take care.

[Sivok]

Haha, well everyone's entitled to their opinion and visions of attraction. Thanks for the advice about P90X. I've looked into that and Insanity before - I might try them out for cutting workouts, as they both seem to be more focused on toning/weightloss than bulking.

 

 

Chocolat, I know, I've been really slacking on the veggies! It's a chore cutting them up and tossing them in the omelet but I know I need to. I have been taking multivitamins though.

 

Interms of progress, I managed to get my bench to 185 last Saturday! I've been thinking about my current bulking cycle and I believe I'm going to do another 4 month cycle of Cressy's Maximum Strength training with a little bit of cardio added on. From there, I'll try cutting for summer 13

[tman666]

Hey Sivok! Congrats on your bench PR! Beating personal records of any sort is always highly motivating, at least to me.

 

I'm a firm believer in developing a passion for improving one's athletic and strength performances, even if the ultimate goal is just to look better. I don't currently play any sports or compete in any activities that require me to be strong, but the simple fact is this: I like being strong, big, and explosive. I love squatting/pressing/deadlifting big weights. It's a pursuit of increasing my abilities that I find extremely fulfilling. This indirectly helps my physique goals as it keeps me motivated to train hard and give each session my all, every time.

[Sivok]

Exactly! I used to only care about looks but I hated the process. Now it's vice versa - I'm much more in love with the process and the looks part is only a smaller aspect of my goal.