Cutting is nothing more than lowering your fat percentage by adhering to a strict diet plan. This makes your muscle mass more visible. The difference between cutting and a regular diet is that with a regular diet you often lose muscle mass. Cutting is adjusting your diet so that the loss of muscle mass is minimal.
In general, an athlete loses an average of 500 grams to 1 kg per week during the cut. It may be possible to lose more, but the body may suffer harmful consequences without the athlete being aware of it, and this is already muscle loss.
If you're cutting, one of your main goals will be to maintain muscle while in your calorie deficit, and protein will help with this.
It's pretty simple. If you're lean enough to bulk (10-15% body fat or less for a man, or 18-23% or less for a woman), you should probably bulk first. If you're above these ranges, you should cut first. And if you're a beginner who's somewhere in the middle, you should recomp.
A cutting diet lasts 2–4 months, depending on how lean you are before dieting, and is normally timed around bodybuilding competitions, athletic events, or occasions like holidays ( 4 ).
The truth is that working out for the first time after a break will probably be challenging at first, but I have some encouraging news: It is actually a lot easier for your body to regain strength and muscle than it is to start from scratch.
Despite what many novices (and even some strength coaches believe), lifting heavy is still an essential part to cutting. Lifting heavy, relatively speaking, is ideal for preserving strength and muscle mass during the cutting phase.
Furthermore, the longer the cut, the more muscle mass is lost overall since it is impossible to avoid muscle loss, so keep this in mind. Most bodybuilders do not exceed cuts of 4 months but usually do at least 2 months.
If you want to gain muscle and strength as quickly as possible and you're at or below 10% (men) or 20% (women) body fat, then you should bulk. And if you want to lose fat as quickly as possible and you're at or above 15% (men) or 25% (women) body fat, then you should cut.
Once you reach a body fat percent of 15% for men or 25% for women, that's when you'll want to start the cut. With a calorie deficit and ensuing weight loss, you'll start losing that fat gain you've put on over the winter months.
Your diet is what makes or breaks your cut. Two to three 20–40 minute cardio sessions per week are enough for most bodybuilders.
Adding cardio into a cutting phase is not necessary, however, it can help in that it burns additional calories. In some instances, burning 200 calories more a day may be easier than eating 200 calories less per day. That is ultimately up to the individual.
But, can you lose fat during a cutting phase without doing cardio? Yes, you can 100% lose fat, maintain muscle mass, and have a successful cutting phase without doing ANY cardio.
There is no such thing as toning workouts
This is typically suggested to be done by using higher reps. However, the truth is that there are no difference between the various rep ranges in the context of losing body fat or building muscle to get "ripped".
Skeletal muscle can regenerate completely and spontaneously in response to minor injuries, such as strain. In contrast, after severe injuries, muscle healing is incomplete, often resulting in the formation of fibrotic tissue that impairs muscle function.
If you then return to training, however, you essentially get to experience beginner gains all over again. This is a phenomenon known as muscle memory - we tend to build muscle and strength (or by extension, any fitness quality) much more quickly a second time around.
Generally it doesn't matter a whole lot the frequency you choose what's important is to keep going until you achieve the desired results. However, for most I recommend bulking for 2-3 months, then cut down for however long you need to get rid of the unwanted amount of fat. Everyone will need a different amount of time.
For a slower cut, an decrease of 10-15% calories is advisable. I often advise starting with a decrease of 10% for a few weeks, take measurements (weight and photos) and see how things go. If fat is being lost, stay with the 10% deficit until things stall and then lower to 15%.
Generally, in the cutting phase, calorie adjustment is opposite to the bulking phase. Calorie intake is approximately 10% to 20% below the number needed for weight maintenance. If your weight maintenance is 2,000 calories per day, you can reduce to 1,700 for cutting.
Choose cardio that is easy on the joints (low impact) and easy on the muscles in subsequent days (won't make you sore). Rowing, cycling, swimming, elliptical trainers, or even lightweight barbell or kettlebell complexes could all be used.
He puts in an hour and a half daily, cycling for 45 to 60 minutes and lifting weights for another 30. That's a hell of a daily workout, especially for a 75-year-old, though it's down considerably from his peak bodybuilding days.