…and by that, I mean do you prefer to cut calories initially and only add cardio in when progress stalls or do you start with minimal cardio and modify calories slightly as needed?
I’ve been on a prolonged cut (from 290-205), but my bodyfat % is still relatively too high at about 18%. I’m sick of cutting and calorie restriction and cannot wait to get on a building phase, but I do not want to bulk from virtually 20%.
Anyways, fat loss went really well for the longest, but I’ve been stalled at 205 for the longest. My methodology was simple I added weight training and began slowly reducing calories throughout the cut. I’ve done minimal cardio this whole time. I believe part of the reason for the stall is that my metabolism is fucked from such a long fat loss period (basically since last April) and thus I’ve began increasing calories slowly in hopes of getting the engine fired up again. The plan, is to continue increasing calories slightly for a little while and starting adding consistent cardio in? Is this the approach I should take or is raising calories to lose fat as stupid as it is counterintuitive?
I don’t give a shit about abs or any of that, I just want to get to a reasonable 10-14% so that I can start accumulating some lean mass.
Weight training is first. If your a member here, you’ve already got this part covered. Then I always bring calories down to a reasonable level, for me about 2,500. I start consuming at least 1-1.5 grams of protein and decide between a fattier or starchier diet (I’ve had success with both).
When fatloss stalls, I switch my carb and fat ratios until I plateau again. Then (this is where some may disagree) I slightly decrease cals until that stops working. I wouldn’t drop below your BMR. Then I add cardio last. I do this because I feel if I leave it until the end my body will react more to it, than if I had it incorporated since the beginning.
Cardio is in no way necessary for fat loss. You can achieve a ton with just weight training and diet if you do things right.
You can lift heavy, do supersets, lactic training, circuits, etc.
As for your specific situation, it depends how long youve been “cutting” and “dieting” and some more specifics, but you may want to take a short 2-4 week from cutting.
Increase your calories a bit, drop your protein, and increase your carbs. Still eat clean, but just shift the macronutrients around, and up the calories by eating more frequently.
At the same time, if youve been training hard, cut back a bit, do a little 1-2 week recovery, and then get back into training. Start training hard while your in the increased carb and calorie state.
All of this will help you break through your plateu and speed your metabolism back up.
Then get back on your cutting and continue your progress.
Other than that, make sure your not doing the same training program for too long.
Light cardio first thing in the morning working up to 2 1 hr sessions a day depending on how ripped you want to get. I’ve done the Anabolic Diet and Bodyopus but my favorite diet is Dave Palumbo’s.
Do the bear or any other form of metabolic exercise.
1) Power clean (from the hang position usually, but it can also be done from the floor)
2) Front squat
3) Push press (from front of shoulders)
4) Back squat
5) Push press (from behind the shoulders)
Or other variations. Such as:
Dead lift
Stiff leg or romanian deadlift
Barbell row
Clean
5)Front squat
Push press
7)Back squat
8)Push press
From 1-8 is one rep. Do six and you’ll be dripping sweat in two sets.
Of course you have to maintain strength training of some sort, but the next adjustment I make, is dietary. I will slightly lower my carbs for a couple of weeks in little ways. Sort of a ‘cleaning up’. After that, I will usually go into a carb cycle approach, where M-F I will have very low carbs (usually just postworkout and incedentals that cannot be avoided), but on Sat and Sun, I will eat higher, but cleaner carbs.
This will usually work well for a long stretch. When things beging to stall a bit (where I currently am), I add in small amounts of cardio, usually just after the weights, and even trying to find some extra NEPA to do.
You have to realize that it is a unqiue situtaion, how your body responds to cardio. I have always had to be very careful, as if I do too much (and I don’t mean hours and hours here) combined with my weight training, I lose too much LBM.
If you’re going to do barbell complexes such as the ‘bear’ mentioned above, is that your workout for the day, or is that what you do for cardio after/before you’ve done your normal workout.
Meaning, should you devote a week/month/couple of months to just doing complexes to lose weight, or do you find a way to work it in to whatever else it is that you happen to be doing at the moment?
Apprectiate the input of everyone who has shared so far. Definately some good strategies to choose from and find something that will get the ball rolling again.
I like to lose fat the way all successful bodybuilder lose fat. Keep training as you always do with the weights. Increase cardio. Drop calories. Increase protein. Monitor results bi-weekly if you are a regular dude and monitor them weekly or perhaps daily if you have a show or some other occasion in which you need to be shredded. Make adjustments along the way. Done deal!
I once tried metabolic training with weights a la Alwyn Cosgrove. I had my post workout shake and post work out meal of egg whites and oatmeal and a banana. This was in the evening.
I lied down in my bed feeling completely nauseated and ill. I lied there sweating and with each passing breath felt closer and closer to barfing. Finally, I got up to go to the bathroom and barfed up a bowl of oatmeal and a banana and a plate of egg whites and orange gatorade. I lied back down and had to return to the porcelain god again. I also had to call in sick the next day to work.
Also, don’t plan on looking like a bodybuilder after 3 to 4 months of metabolic training.