Shape up for summer

As we scrape ice off of our windshields in many parts of the country, it is hard to imagine that summer is just around the corner. Soon enough however, it will be beach season, and time to be in shape!

When it comes to weight loss, too many people wait until the last minute before starting to diet. How many times have we all heard in the gym "I need to lose 20 pounds, because I am going to the beach in a month"? While it is possible with a severe diet to drop large numbers of pounds, the problem is that you will end up losing as much muscle as fat, and the end result is you don't look your best.

Slow and steady is the key to losing that fat you accumulated over the winter months. The more you restrict calories in your diet, the more your body will eat into your precious muscle. Therefore, what you want, is to have a moderate caloric reduction and a longer cutting cycle, as opposed to a short cycle with severe caloric restrictions. Typically, a 12-week cutting cycle is ideal, with the goal being a 1-2 pound weight loss per week. In the first few weeks, weight loss will be probably greater, then as you drop bodyfat, the weight loss will slow, but if you are averaging that 1-2 pounds a week, you are on the right track.

Cutting Diet

There are thousands of different diets out there, each with their own spin on things. From ketogenic diets, to high carbohydrate diets, to the latest waffles and ice cream diet on the front page of the supermarket tabloids. When it comes down to it, all of these diets work, and work well (with the exception of the waffles and ice cream diet) My personal favorite is to just keep it simple. Take your bodyweight, and multiply it by 12. That will give you total calories for the day. For example, I am 254 pounds. My caloric needs for this diet would be 254 x 12 = 3048. Now lets figure out where those calories are going to come from.

Proteins: The building blocks for muscle. You need to keep your protein high while cutting, to preserve as much muscle as possible. A minimum of 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight is ideal. For myself, that would be 254lbs x 1.5 grams = 381 grams. Since each gram of protein contains 4 calories, 381 grams x 4 calories = 1524 calories.

Carbohydrates: Your body's primary energy source. When dieting, the most important times to consume carbohydrates are pre and post workout. The worst time to consume carbohydrates is in the evening, when you are not doing much to use them for fuel. Approximately 30% of your daily caloric needs are going to come from carbohydrates on this diet, but we will use them strategically. Consume mostly complex carbohydrates throughout the day, with the exception being pre and post workout. Thirty minutes before and thirty minutes after your work out, drink a protein shake with a blend of simple and complex ca rbohydrates.

Fats: Thanks to ketogenic diets, fats have lost a lot of the bad reputation they had a few years ago. 20% of your daily intake should come from fats, primarily of the unsaturated variety. Oils from plants, as well as fatty fish are ideal. These products contain unsaturated fats that are high in essential fatty acids linoleic and alpha-linoleic acids, which are fatty acids our body cannot produce naturally, so we need to get them in our diet. As a male, another reason you should be concerned about keeping fats in your diet is your testosterone levels! Typically, when males cut their dietary fat levels too low, natural testosterone production plummets. Since you are trying to keep as much of your hard earned muscle as possible, keeping testosterone levels up is essential.

The Workout

There are two facts you will have to face when cutting. The first is that your body will not recover as quickly when you are limiting calories. The second is that as you drop bodyfat, your strength will decrease. The goal is to structure a workout that will take into account decreased recovery ability, and will allow you to maintain as much strength as possible.

When I am bulking, I am an advocate of heavy volume training. However, when cutting season comes around, it is time to switch gears. Short, intense workouts with limited worksets are ideal for the limited recovery, as well as limited energy you will have in the gym.

Split your workouts into upper and lower body. Pick your two favorite exercises for each bodypart that utilizes compound movements as much as possible. That means no cable crossovers, tricep kickbacks, or other so called "shaping exercises". Now set up four different workouts, one for upper body, one for lower body. An example would be:

Sets and reps:

Typically you will hear you should increase reps when you are cutting, to "bring out definition " This is plain and simple bullshit. Definition is increased by reducing the fat covering your cuts and striations, not by increasing reps. Keep your rep range in the 8-12 area. For each exercise, you will be performing 4-5 sets, but only two real worksets. For trainers who are not in the "big leagues" with the weights they throw around, you should be performing 4 sets. The bigger guys who move the heavier poundages should be adding an additional warmup set in their progression to avoid injury. Your first sets are warm-ups, to get you ready for the last two sets. Your last two sets should be using a weight you can lift for 8-12 reps with GOOD FORM, going to failure on each of these sets. Recording your weights on these two worksets is essential when cutting. Each and every workout you need to review what you did the last time, and attempt to beat those numbers. While this will get to be more and more difficult as you drop bodyfat, it will keep you focused on maintaining as much of your strength as possible, which will in turn, allow you to keep more of your muscle.

Frequency.

This workout should be performed on a Mon, Wed, Friday schedule, following your workout rotation. So your first week, you will be doing workouts 1 to 3, with the next week starting with workout 4, then repeating the cycle.

Cardio:

You should perform 20 minutes of light cardio before each workout to warm up your body prior to hitting the weights, as well as to burn additional calories. On Tuesdays and Thursday, you should perform 40 to 60 minutes of light cardio to keep your metabolism running along at a high rate.

The supplements:

There are three supplements I highly recommend for this program.

	Product X Transform: Featured in last months Planet Muscle, Product X Transform is an incredible blend of ingredients that will help you preserve your hard earned muscle mass while shedding bodyfat. Powerful anti- catabolics and cortisol blockers help you preserve lean body mass, while mild anti-estrogens will help you shed fat. While many products on the market claim to block cortisol, they block it at a systemic level. When you block cortisol at a systemic level, your body responds by producing more cortisol. Now, once you stop taking the product, your body will rebound with elevated cortisol levels, which is going to drop the bodyfat right back on! Product X Transform contains 3-alpha, 7-alpha-dihydroxy-5-beta-cholanic acid, which decreases local levels of cortisol in specific tissues in a targeted manner. It does this site-specific action, based on the presence of the enzyme it inhibits and it does so, without changing the circulating levels of cortisol. Thus there is no rebound to worry about. The result is a strong anti-catabolic effect in skeletal muscle tissue, as well as increased fat burning.
	LipoXene: To keep your metabolism running at top speed, there is no better product than LipoXene on the market today. LipoXene contains a complex blend of the best thermogenic compounds on the market and the best herbal blend for reducing appetite. Synephrine , octopamine and caffeine keep your metabolism supercharged, and blast you through the low calorie/low energy doldrums, while compounds such as calcium, green tea, and acetyl-L- Carnitine help your body burn fat thru mediating insulin response and nutrient partitioning. Additionally, LipoXene contains two patent pending ingredients Fo-ti , and berberine . Fo-ti is a fatty acid synthase inhibitor. Fatty acid synthase is the only enzyme that can generate fats within the cell; all other fat comes from the diet. The inhibition of this enzyme can help to reduce fat storage and production in the fat cell. Berberine has many actions in the body, including the inhibition of PPAR-gamma receptors. PPAR- gamma is responsible for the maturation of fat cells as well as their accumulation of fat.
	LipoAssassin: Typically, most of us start our day with the best of intentions. Our diet starts out strict, and our willpower is strong. When most people fail is at the end of the day. The problem is that by the end of the day, our energy and will power are starting to run low. The hunger pangs are getting louder, and that box of cookies on the shelf is looking better and better. Unfortunately, most diet aids are stimulant based, and popping a few will leave you wide awake and staring at the ceiling at 2 AM . LipoAssassin is the premier stimulant free product that supports a reduced appetite, increased fat burning thermogenesis and increased lean body mass. Guggelsterones and acetyl-L carnitine keep your metabolism from slowing down, while evodiamine and green tea slow digestion and absorption of foods, allowing you to feel full longer, and reduce appetite. Momordica , Fo-ti and berberine work to reduce blood glucose and insulin levels, while reducing fat storage and production within the fat cell. Taking this product with LipoXene during the day will allow both products to work synergistically together, to help you strip away the fat. However, when the end of the day rolls around, you will find that LipoAssassin is truly your best friend, helping you lose the hunger pangs, while keeping your willpower, AND fat burning at a higher level, while letting you sleep at night!

Remember, summer is just around the corner. Start your cutting early, and do it right, so that when it is time to step out at the beach or pool, all the hard work you put in over the winter is obvious to everybody!

Posted 3/23/06

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