If you had only 6 weeks...

[BrysZ]

....if you had only 6 weeks until Spring Break what are the main, major, most critical things you would be CERTAIN to do to get as cut as possible between now and then? Looking for bullet items, "must-do" techniques, workout routines, obvious and hopefully not so obvious things, secret weapons anything you got...lets here it.

[maxwkw]

This would depend on A LOT of individual factors like how lean you are now, your training experience, if you are on or not. etc. but 3 things that would be pretty universal

1. eat less
2. lift heavy
3. do cardio

[BrysZ]

This would depend on A LOT of individual factors like how lean you are now, your training experience, if you are on or not. etc. but 3 things that would be pretty universal

1. eat less
2. lift heavy
3. do cardio

That brings up a good question...I could increase my TRT...I was planning on 300mg/wk...what would be better?

[POPS]

That brings up a good question...I could increase my TRT...I was planning on 300mg/wk...what would be better?

you would be better off having a guy check your diet asap and do am fasted cardio AND pwo cardio until you leave....

[Damienm05]

you would be better off having a guy check your diet asap and do am fasted cardio AND pwo cardio until you leave....

This. Don't worry about supplements beyond the basics. Post your diet so we can make it perfect based on your stats/goals. With a good cutting diet, heavy cardio, and heavy lifting, you can achieve a lot in 6 weeks. TRT will help you gain/maintain muscle but simply won't burn fat. It shouldn't be a concern right now.

[SuperLift]

6 weeks? Lift heavy and hit cardio! Eat real clean. What's ur bf?

[BrysZ]

Okay tomorrow I'll provide all that info. What's your recommended body fat calculation?

[Damienm05]

Posting a pic so we can tell you or a caliper test.

[BrysZ]

Here is what I collected so far...will work on pics and more detail asap...

Diet:

This is a combination of what I currently do and what I plan on doing asap for my diet. Sorry it’s not the complete picture but I will continue working on the details and macros for you all. Thought I would see if there were any obvious changes I should do immediately…

5:30am: Shake - 50g Whey Protein, ½ Cup Oats, 1 TBSP Natty Peanut Butter, 1TBSP Milled Flax Seed

7:00am: ½ Cup Liquid Egg Whites scrambled with ¼ Cup of Reduced Fat Cheddar

10:00am: 2 – Low Carb Wraps With Ham , Turkey, and RF Cheddar…16g Fat, 18g Carb, 4g Sugar, 32g Protein total…

12:00N: Purchased (buy from cafeteria) Garden salad heavy in turkey, chicken, ham, and egg also lettuce with two pouches of fat free Italian dressing and Muscle Milk Shake with 25g protein

2:00pm: 1 Wrap like above

4:00pm Pre-Workout: Natty Butter on Slice of Whole Wheat Toast

Post-Workout: Shake - 50g Whey Protein, ½ Cup Oats, 1 TBSP Natty Peanut Butter, 1TBSP Milled Flax Seed

Last Meal: Huge Chicken Breast diced up and added to light vegetable soup or Tilapia 8oz and 1 cup of brown rice or turkey sausages or very lean steak.


Workout:

My main goal at the moment is to reduce body fat while maintaining muscle or maybe add some new lean muscle. I have listed my exercises below followed by the typical number of sets not including warm-up sets. For the 5 sets per exercise I typically complete 10, 8, 6, 6, 10 repetitions. If only 3 sets 10, 8, 6 repetitions. I strive to always finish my sets with at least one or two forced reps if I have a spotter available. Please excuse me if I don’t know all the proper names of the exercises I tried my best.

Day One Chest/Triceps:
Flat Barbell Bench Press 5 sets
Incline Bench Dumbbell Press 3 sets
Decline Bench Barbell Press 3 sets
Incline Bench Dumbbell Flies 3 sets
Seated Overhead Two Handed Dumbbell Extensions 5 sets
Cable Overhead Rope Extensions 3 sets
Cable Pushdowns 3 sets
30 minutes Cardio
Ab workout of choice

Day Two Back/Biceps
Wide Grip Pull-Downs 5 sets
Narrow Reverse Grip Pull-Downs 3 sets
Seated Cable Rows 3 sets
T-Bar 3 sets
EZ Bar Curl Wide Grip 5 sets
Dumbbell Curls 3 sets
Cable EZ Bar Curl Narrow Grip (drop set) 3 sets
30 minutes Cardio

Day Three Off
30 minutes Cardio
Ab workout of choice


Day Four Legs/Shoulders
Squats 5 sets
Leg Curls 3 sets
Calf Raises 3 sets
Smith Machine Behind the Head Military 5 sets
Arnold Presses 3 sets
Cable Upright Rows 3 sets
Smith Machine Shrugs 5 sets
Cable Lateral Raises 3 sets
30 minutes Cardio

Day Five Biceps/Triceps
Straight Bar Wide Grip Preacher Curls 5 sets
Normal Grip Barbell Curls 3 sets
Cable Single Arm Curls (drop set) 3 sets
Skull Crushers 5 sets
Single Arm Dumbbell Extensions 3 sets
Bench Dips 3 sets
Ab workout of choice

Day Six Off
30 minutes Cardio


Day Seven - Repeat Day One

[Damienm05]

Here is what I collected so far...will work on pics and more detail asap...

Diet:

This is a combination of what I currently do and what I plan on doing asap for my diet. Sorry it’s not the complete picture but I will continue working on the details and macros for you all. Thought I would see if there were any obvious changes I should do immediately…

5:30am: Shake - 50g Whey Protein, ½ Cup Oats, 1 TBSP Natty Peanut Butter, 1TBSP Milled Flax Seed OK, remove the oats. You asked what the best things to do were if you only had six weeks, well separating carbs and fats is one of them. Eat this meal directly following a fasted cardio session. The lack of carbs will optimize fat burning. Pro/Fat

7:00am: ½ Cup Liquid Egg Whites scrambled with ¼ Cup of Reduced Fat Cheddar Again, you only have 6 weeks to get ripped - no cheese. Man up and eat for physique not taste brother! Regardless, now add back the 1/2 cup of oats and increase the egg white portion to 1 cup. Pro/carb

10:00am: 2 – Low Carb Wraps With Ham , Turkey, and RF Cheddar…16g Fat, 18g Carb, 4g Sugar, 32g Protein total… You need to cook your food in advance, 1 or 2 days a week and pack it in tupperware. Even in a dorm or military lifestlye, this can be done on a george foreman. No processed foods like wraps and shit. have 6 oz. lean protein like chicken breast, tuna, or tilapia with 25g complex carbs like 1/2 cup oats or brown rice.

12:00N: Purchased (buy from cafeteria) Garden salad heavy in turkey, chicken, ham, and egg also lettuce with two pouches of fat free Italian dressing and Muscle Milk Shake with 25g protein See above. Same thing.

2:00pm: 1 Wrap like above See above. Same thing.

4:00pm Pre-Workout: Natty Butter on Slice of Whole Wheat Toast No protein or decent complex carbs pre-workout? See above. Same thing.

Post-Workout: Shake - 50g Whey Protein, ½ Cup Oats, 1 TBSP Natty Peanut Butter, 1TBSP Milled Flax Seed i'd remove the oats and just do pro/fat PWO for optimal fat burning.

Last Meal: Huge Chicken Breast diced up and added to light vegetable soup or Tilapia 8oz and 1 cup of brown rice or turkey sausages or very lean steak. Carbs before bed? Bad idea if u wanna get lean in 6 weeks. Pro/fat again. 6 oz. slow digesting lean meat like a steak or lean ground beef or a scoop of casein or a cup of cottage cheese with the PB/flax. pro/fat.


Workout:

My main goal at the moment is to reduce body fat while maintaining muscle or maybe add some new lean muscle. I have listed my exercises below followed by the typical number of sets not including warm-up sets. For the 5 sets per exercise I typically complete 10, 8, 6, 6, 10 repetitions. If only 3 sets 10, 8, 6 repetitions. I strive to always finish my sets with at least one or two forced reps if I have a spotter available. Please excuse me if I don’t know all the proper names of the exercises I tried my best.

Day One Chest/Triceps:
Flat Barbell Bench Press 5 sets
Incline Bench Dumbbell Press 3 sets
Decline Bench Barbell Press 3 sets
Incline Bench Dumbbell Flies 3 sets
Seated Overhead Two Handed Dumbbell Extensions 5 sets
Cable Overhead Rope Extensions 3 sets
Cable Pushdowns 3 sets
30 minutes Cardio
Ab workout of choice

Day Two Back/Biceps
Wide Grip Pull-Downs 5 sets
Narrow Reverse Grip Pull-Downs 3 sets
Seated Cable Rows 3 sets
T-Bar 3 sets
EZ Bar Curl Wide Grip 5 sets
Dumbbell Curls 3 sets
Cable EZ Bar Curl Narrow Grip (drop set) 3 sets
30 minutes Cardio

Day Three Off
30 minutes Cardio
Ab workout of choice


Day Four Legs/Shoulders
Squats 5 sets
Leg Curls 3 sets
Calf Raises 3 sets
Smith Machine Behind the Head Military 5 sets
Arnold Presses 3 sets
Cable Upright Rows 3 sets
Smith Machine Shrugs 5 sets
Cable Lateral Raises 3 sets
30 minutes Cardio

Day Five Biceps/Triceps
Straight Bar Wide Grip Preacher Curls 5 sets
Normal Grip Barbell Curls 3 sets
Cable Single Arm Curls (drop set) 3 sets
Skull Crushers 5 sets
Single Arm Dumbbell Extensions 3 sets
Bench Dips 3 sets
Ab workout of choice

Day Six Off
30 minutes Cardio


Day Seven - Repeat Day One

No time to critique your workout. At a glance, it looks ok. Diet is piss poor. Find a way to cook and pack decent food.

Am cardio

meal 1 - pro/fat

meal 2 - pro/mod-low carb (20-30g)

meal 3- pro/mod-low carb

meal 4- pro/mod-low carb

meal 5 pro/mod-low carb

Workout/cardio

meal 6 PWO pro/fat

Meal 7 pro/fat

Keep track of all macros/grams of pro/carb/fat and total calories around maintenance. Deficit created with 2x cardio. I see you're on clen in the AAS questions forum. You'll be shredded. Dont take my diet advice lightly. Stop what you're doing ASAP and follow my plan, please.

[BrysZ]

Okay...I'm in. Tonight is my day off of lifting so I will be cooking instead. Tomorrow I do AM cardio at 5:15 will 30 minutes be enough? Thank you very much for your help!!! I am sure I will have more questions if you don't mind leading the blind. I will post pics soon...

[MACHINE5150]

two words:

Tren Acetate

[BrysZ]

Please look this over....

5:20 Fasted Cardio (30 min)

6:00am: Shake - 50g Whey Protein, 1 TBSP Natty Peanut Butter, 1TBSP Milled Flax Seed

7:00am: 1 Cup Liquid Egg Whites scrambled 1 Cup Oats

10:00am: Chicken Breast ???ounces

12:00N: Half tin of tuna, 2 whole wheat slices of toast. Is Mayo okay in the tuna?

2:00pm: Half tin of tuna, 2 whole wheat slices of toast.

4:00pm Pre-Workout: Suggestions?????

5:00 Workout: Weights and/or Cardio

Post-Workout: Shake - 50g Whey Protein, 1 TBSP Natty Peanut Butter, 1TBSP Milled Flax Seed

Last Meal: Huge Chicken Breast diced up and added to light vegetable soup or Tilapia 8oz or turkey sausages or very lean steak.

[gbrice75]

I didn't bother reading the other replies and i'm sure these were already brought up, but for what it's worth:

am fasted cardio
major diet tightening - lowering carbs depending on where they are currently
more cardio PWO
workout routine more intense - i.e. higher sets and reps, less rest in between sets, etc - make it 'quasi-cardio'
Drink tons of water

These would be major things i'd look at.

[BrysZ]

Thought I would add that in the past I have been able to achieve a six pack with nice definition but at the expense of muscle...basically lost all my muscle and weighed 165lbs. I don't want to go there again.

I will post pics if someone can tell how the heck its done...I go to advanced click on manage attachments, click on add files, click on select files, brouse to the pic select it and it shows up in the box but nothing else happens...no idea what to do next...I searched for info but no luck.

Please critique my dinner tonight (day off - cardio only): tuna on two slices of whole wheat bread plus mayo. 1.5g Fat, 15g Carb, 2g Sugar, 24g Protein plus a shake 40g whey protein, 1 tbsp natty peanut butter.

[BrysZ]

Okay lets see if this pic works...

[musclestack]

Damien, can you expain why you advise a pro/fat meal after cardio and weights? I thought the object was to replenish glycogen and get some quick protein in the muscles immediately after a workout?? Now all those nutrients are being slowed down by fat. The reason I'm asking is because I'm in somewhat the same boat as the OP. I'm going to cut for another 4-5 weeks, then go on a very Loooong bulk diet (probably at least a straight year). I'm around 14.5%bf now; would like to get closer to the 12% range....

Anyways, why the pro/fat meals??

[BrysZ]

Update: Well today I drug myself out of bed at 5:00 went to the gym and did 30 minutes of cardio (med-high intensity). Came straight home and drank a shake of 50g whey, 1/2 cup oats, and 1 tbsp milled flax seed. Going to eat one cup of egg whites, scrambled before heading to work. Bringing 4 precooked chicken breasts with me. Hope someone has the time to answer my questions above and approximate my bf%. Thanks again guys. I am going to follow your advice to a T...so please don't leave me hanging...

[Standby]

im not a diet guy so i cant help you there but your bf% id guess around 18%

[evil30]

You are not far off. I would guess 16%-17% IMO. Keep up the AM fasted cardio and kick it up to atleast 40 minutes if you can to really see the fat burning. 6 weeks of that a good clean caloric deficit diet coupled with hard weights, you will see a difference in 6 weeks. Stay committed, you can do it.

[BrysZ]

Crap...I see I added oats to this mornings shake after my am cardio. Just to clarify oats when???? I got a bunch of questions above I hope I can get some help on....

[BrysZ]

Please look this over....

5:20 Fasted Cardio (30 min)

6:00am: Shake - 50g Whey Protein, 1 TBSP Natty Peanut Butter, 1TBSP Milled Flax Seed

7:00am: 1 Cup Liquid Egg Whites scrambled 1 Cup Oats

10:00am: Chicken Breast ???ounces

12:00N: Half tin of tuna, 2 whole wheat slices of toast. Is Mayo okay in the tuna?

2:00pm: Half tin of tuna, 2 whole wheat slices of toast.

4:00pm Pre-Workout: Suggestions?????

5:00 Workout: Weights and/or Cardio

Post-Workout: Shake - 50g Whey Protein, 1 TBSP Natty Peanut Butter, 1TBSP Milled Flax Seed

Last Meal: Huge Chicken Breast diced up and added to light vegetable soup or Tilapia 8oz or turkey sausages or very lean steak.

Would somebody be able to look this over for me???

[Damienm05]

Mayo is not ok. 1 tablespoon is more calories than 4 oz. of chicken. Your pre-workout meal should be lean protein/complex carb.

Wheat toast is not a good carb source, especially with ambitious goals. Your last meal should be a lean steak because the digestion rates on the other sources are too fast. Protein portions should be 6-8 oz. but this depends on your protein/calorie needs for the day. No protein-only meals and no bullshit food like turkey sausages.

[baseline_9]

As far as the mayo

If u make ur own with only egg yolks and EVOO its g2g IMO

Just remember u need to factor everything in, if u use home made mayo then IMO it can be a fat source for a meal

[BrysZ]

Mayo is not ok. 1 tablespoon is more calories than 4 oz. of chicken. Your pre-workout meal should be lean protein/complex carb.

Wheat toast is not a good carb source, especially with ambitious goals. Your last meal should be a lean steak because the digestion rates on the other sources are too fast. Protein portions should be 6-8 oz. but this depends on your protein/calorie needs for the day. No protein-only meals and no bullshit food like turkey sausages.

Okay eat the tuna directly from the can...no mayo and no toast?

[Standby]

Okay eat the tuna directly from the can...no mayo and no toast?

youll get use to it, but also hate it with your life

[BrysZ]

youll get use to it, but also hate it with your life

salt and pepper? maybe a little lemon juice?

[BrysZ]

sorry to be a little bitch...but no oats? or just after workout? or ?????

[Standby]

salt and pepper? maybe a little lemon juice?

im not creative enough to come up with that crap lol. straight from the can for me

[Damienm05]

Well, another carb source with the tuna man. I'm getting frustrated with all these asinine threads. People just need to learn how to eat first and implement a little trial and error. I've been giving guys fish all week, they need to learn how to cast a line.

[BrysZ]

Well, another carb source with the tuna man. I'm getting frustrated with all these asinine threads. People just need to learn how to eat first and implement a little trial and error. I've been giving guys fish all week, they need to learn how to cast a line.

Hey man...little brash! Nobody is forcing you to reply.

You get a big kick giving out your infinite wisdom and then bash people for asking questions...sounds like a big power trip to me bud!! Do me a favor and let someone with a little empathy for someone who is trying to learn reply...seriously what a joke!

[BrysZ]

Thanks to all that have helped me with my "asinine" questions. I will be attempting to find more information and asking you all will most likely be one of my resources. If answering my questions in a mature and informative way is either too difficult or too painful for you please do not reply. I am sure I can find numerous members that know as much or more and are willing to teach others the same way they learned it themselves. Thank you again for all your help and your patience.

[Damienm05]

Hey man...little brash! Nobody is forcing you to reply.

You get a big kick giving out your infinite wisdom and then bash people for asking questions...sounds like a big power trip to me bud!! Do me a favor and let someone with a little empathy for someone who is trying to learn reply...seriously what a joke!

Nothing to do with a power-trip, just getting a lot of PMs with the contest stuff and people from the board. It can quickly turn a fun hobby to a chore. Wasn't referring to you specifically but it's very frustrating to give solid advice and see it not implemented in favor of a redundant question that's already been covered. By no means was I bashing regardless but if you're really trying to learn, just look at some other people's diets and read some informative threads. I'd find it hard to believe you've done either based on how this is playing out.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I have plenty of empathy for those who are genuinely interested in learning and not just being told exactly what to do and when. I also think it's an incredible dick move of you to bash me after everything I've contributed to your thread just because you took offense to my saying you need to learn how to eat before we go any further. Good luck.

[snowman]

IF i only had 6 weeks ???? KETO diet... normally i would not do it, BUT if i had 6 weeks to get shreded, YES I would do KETO... with you body fat ( looking at that picture) its very possible....just my 2 cents

[gbrice75]

I'm jumping in to defend Damien. I can 'hear' the frustration in his post, and I know it's not directed at you BrysZ. Speaking of empathy, I can empathize with his situation as I am also one of the remote trainers, and I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it can be to get the same PM's day after day from people who don't want to take the time to research or God forbid learn, but rather just want to be programmed and told what to do like robots. Half of the time you don't even get a thanks (that's not why I do this, but it is nice to hear) and most of these people are never to be heard from again.

Sorry i'm getting off on a tangent. I didn't come here to bitch about how bad we have it, I do this because I generally enjoy it. I'm just saying that I understand where Damien is coming from and I know he didn't mean to direct this at you, that's all.

Now both of you kiss and make up! =)

[SlimmerMe]

Attitude with Gratitude will win every single time.......my .02

[baseline_9]

At this point i have 6 weeks to get my ass into shape

What am i doing?

450 mins of cardio a week over 10 sessions

4 balls to the wall weight training session

Eat clean all week with only one meal of choice on a saturday

Basically busting my ass


The main thing is u need a goal...

Once u have somthing to work for it is easy to stay focussed on the prize.

Well it is for me anyway!

[baseline_9]

And

High protein
Moderate carb
Low- moderate fat

Cycle carbs and keep them around training or at breakfast

[BrysZ]

Nothing to do with a power-trip, just getting a lot of PMs with the contest stuff and people from the board. It can quickly turn a fun hobby to a chore. Wasn't referring to you specifically but it's very frustrating to give solid advice and see it not implemented in favor of a redundant question that's already been covered. By no means was I bashing regardless but if you're really trying to learn, just look at some other people's diets and read some informative threads. I'd find it hard to believe you've done either based on how this is playing out.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I have plenty of empathy for those who are genuinely interested in learning and not just being told exactly what to do and when. I also think it's an incredible dick move of you to bash me after everything I've contributed to your thread just because you took offense to my saying you need to learn how to eat before we go any further. Good luck.

Honestly, I don't believe I was bashing you as a person but mostly how you respond to my posts, profanity, shortness, and genuine contempt. My point is nobody is asking or forcing you to reply so I don't understand why you can be so angry about it. Why not just NOT reply? I understand I took your post wrong and I apologize for my last post.

You are wrong...I have read and researched and read and researched...what do I find is contradiction and misinformation over and over again. Maybe its been a while since you had to research the topic of diets and weight loss, but there is a TON of misinformation and contradicting information. Fat-No Fat, Carbs- No Carbs, Cardio-No Cardio, on and on and on... I was merely trying to nail down the details...the same details that are apparently second nature to you, but still vague and under defined for me. Hell I have been dieting for 20 years easily and each year I find out I did it wrong the year before. Its frustrating to bust your ass on a diet to find out later you were "spinning your wheels". If I would have know I was pushing to hard for information I would have backed off...but seriously you don't HAVE to reply if you don't want to. I do appreciate all the help I receive from this forum and you can ask the guys on the HRT forums I do express my graditude often. I am sorry I wasn't expressing that in this thread...I guess I was still trying to grab as much info as I could and didn't take the time yet...again I apologize.

[BrysZ]

Quick Outline of my first day (attempt) 2/15/11 to get in shape in 6 weeks:

5:15 am Fasted Cardio - 30 minutes
Post Cardio Shake whey/oats 55gP, 2.5gF, 27gC, 0gS (today used whey/Natty PB/Milled Flax Seed...no oats)
Meal One: 1 cup Egg Whites 24gP, 0gF, 4gC, 1gS (today added 1/2 cup oats)
All Day Meal (snacked on it all day long) of three 6oz Chicken Breasts for a total of 99gP, 13.5gF, 0gC, 0gS
Preworkout: 4oz Chicken Breast on steamed veggies 22gp, 2,5gF, 10gC, 0gS
Workout Chest/Triceps/Cardio (30 minutes) Increased all rep to 8 - 12
Postworkout Shake Whey/Oats 55gP, 2,5gF, 27gC, 0gS
Last Meal: Lean Steak 4oz 25gP, 12gF, 0gC, 0gS

Total: 280gP, 33gF, 68gC, 1gS