In my bulking phase, I've gained 26 lbs. My arms and thighs have stretchmarks galore and my pants don't fit, which of course was expected with bulking. I started cutting 3 weeks ago, and I just want to make sure I have all my bases covered. As far as lifting goes, I'm keeping my routine the same as when I was bulking up. I've lowered the weight a smidge to increase my reps. To my routine I've added 30 min. of cardio. (I performed no cardio while bulking) I have also lowered my calorie count maybe a little less than a thousand then when I was bulking. I've cut out pastas and breads and added more salads.(still have pastas and bread but only sparingly.) Also, I have not had a cookie or junk food in 17 days. (A record for me) I'm down to 1 or 2 glasses of juice a day, everything else is just water. No soda, beer, wine, or punch, just water. In your experience and expertise, is there anything that I might have over looked?
stats:
25yrs old
5'5
170 lbs (lost 6 already)
approx 15% bf
lifting & cardio mon-fri.
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Kick the tires and light the fires big daddy!!
I'm no expert and it sounds like you have your bases pretty well covered, but make sure you're eating enough, and I would suggest having some dairy. Many studies have shown that dairy fats help you lose fat. Keep up the work and check in on yourself every week or so and adjust as needed.
-Kevin
First, if you've been doing the same routine for the entire time it took to bulk by 26 pounds and now cut for 3 weeks, it's time for a change on that basis - you need to change up in order to avoid your body adapting.
Second, for "cardio" most here would recommend intervals, or HIIT - which you may be doing, but I wasn't sure from your post. It involves (if you don't know) bursts of exertion at close to full speed, then a rest interval, then another full-speed exertion, then a rest interval, etc., and can be done with various types of exercise - i.e. sprinting, rowing, treadmill, Stairmaster, even possibly swimming. This is much better for fat-burning than steady-state cardio.
Eating clean and proper calorie counts sounds probably pretty good from what you said - definitely stay away from junk food.
For routines to use, if you want to accelerate your fat loss while maintaining muscle, check out the workout stickie on the FAQ page here, and give a look to Turbulence Training, Iron Manual phases 1, 7 or 10, and a few others in there.
You really have to tighten up your diet. In my book, fruit juice is considered junk food...replace it with Green Tea. Only drink water and Green Tea. Track you food intake every so often on Fitday and keep it clean. As someone said above, don't make the mistake of cutting too many calories. You'll lose all the muscle you gained.
Take some measurements to track your progress regularly. If you have stretch marks, that may indicate a gain of more fat than muscle since fat takes up more room than muscle. This tells me you probably gained too much fat during your bulk. This would indicate your diet may not be as clean as it should be.
Set both long term and short term goals and track them.
To repeat ausintwo's recommendation - HIIT for cardio or bodyweight circuits. It's much more efficient. Short, intense, efficient workouts combined with a strict diet with emphasis on protein, some fruit and a lot of veggies will get you where you want to be.
Good luck.
Ted
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Two Bears Dadda? Two Bears Benno, just two. ______________________________ ___________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
Black, not much of tea drinker, but I don't mind the water. I'll just sub out the juices with water. I didn't know that about stretch marks. It would probably be a good idea for me to re-evaluate my caloric intake. Is there an equation to find what my precise caloric intake should be? (I just cut out foods that amounted to about 1000 cals)
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Kick the tires and light the fires big daddy!!
Do a search online for BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate. There are a zillion formulas out there. Once you find your BMR, subtract about 500 calories per day from your BMR and you'll start losing some weight. That amount will add up to around 1 lb of weight loss per week.
Cutting...am I missing anything?
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