NEWBIES Looking To Get Cut....Read Here
I've come across a few threads from newbies who want to get cut, but it got me thinking....
There's a lot of different factors that should be considered when cutting that aren't always addressed, and then there are those that are obvious to us who've already researched, experimented and experienced...so why not help everybody.
Somethings to consider before deciding to get cut:
1) First and foremost, no Steroid will get you cut. As much as this has been mentioned before, I just thought I would stress this again. All a Steroid does while you decide to cut is hold onto existing muscle and help keep you in an Anabolic state while depriving the body of foods and increasing your calorie expenditure. What does that mean? Move onto point #2...
2) Unless you have a solid base underneath that fat, don't bother getting cut. I know some people will give me some heat on this, but look at it like this. If you got a guy who's 6'1", 165lbs and 20% bodyfat, he's going to look like a twig if he cuts his weight and bodyfat down, which would completely defeat the purpose of cutting. A lot of people are under the assumption that underneath all the fat there's an awesome body. I'm sorry to break it to them, but in most cases there's not. The point I'm trying to make is that unless you have a solid base, some muscle earned from hard work and dedication, you can cut all day long but remember my words when I say you will be very, very disappointed. It's not your gear being "bunk", but lack of muscle underneath the fat.
3) As mentioned in point #1, no steroid will burn fat. As much as you've probably heard this before, I'll say it again. Diet is virtually everything to the serious bodybuilder. Without a sound and serious diet, your goals are as far away as they can get. Unless you have a well thought out and educated diet, you're going nowhere fast and will probably end up doing more harm then good.
4) Second to your diet and before your gear is your workout schedule and what it entails. The not-so-obvious part of getting cut is retaining as much muscle as possible, which while cutting, often times results in training less but more intense. Why? Simple...you want to keep the release of Cortisol (a catabolic hormone) to a minimum. Since you're already in a caloric defecit, you want to make sure your workouts are short and intense. Keep in mind your actual weight workouts aren't meant to "burn fat" but stimulate your muscle enough to retain it.
5) An offshoot of point #4, Cardio is your best fat burner. You can take as many supplements and gear as you want, you can workout for hours, but without cardio frequency and consistancy, the fat isn't going to come off as fast. No one likes cardio, suck it up and be a man.
6) When you're cutting, even with gear, it's very, very rare to increase your poundages on any exercises. When you're cutting, you're depriving and overworking the body, how the hell is it going to get stronger? Why I mention this is because alot of people give up and let the numbers of the iron game get to them. Keep in mind it's part of cutting. You will not get stronger. Many times you'll feel like utter ****, but with patience and consistancy, you'll be happy with the results. Just don't get discouraged when the numbers you push become harder and you start feeling like crap. Just think of the beach and the women and get back on the treadmill.
7) Avoid sugars, which many times means avoiding taking 10 low-carb shakes a day. Stick to real foods. I cannot stress that enough. Sugars contribute to us gaining fat just as much as saturated fat, if not more. Most protein shakes are loaded with sugars, or Aspartame as a substitute. You can get into a whole debate on Sugar vs. Aspartame, but that's not the point. The point is avoiding sugars as much as Saturated fats. Stick to real foods. Why? Shakes are easily digested by the body, which is great. But when you're dieting, you want to hold onto as much food as possible or else you're going to start to get hungry. Real food takes a hell of a lot more to digest, which means it's going to stick in your body longer and you won't be craving any sort of food as much as downing protein shakes.
8) Cycle your calories. If you're constantly eating 1500 calories a day, your thyroid is going to slow down. Pick one day out of the week to up your calories significantly. It helps reset your thyroid and get you into high gear again. One thing you'll notice is that you start to sweat a hell of a lot more, which is a very good sign for those severely dieting. You body is in shock, it's digesting and in turn your metabolic rate goes up resulting in the risen body temperature. If you need more detail on cycling your calories, go too www.T-Mag.com and do a search for "Cheat To Win".
9) Be patient and be consistant. It takes time. Don't be discouraged.
Feel free to add anything that I missed to touch up on.
