Thread: Help critique my cutting routine please!

Okay, cutting, I'd ditch direct arm work while cutting, and move toward a routine that hits your parts with a bit more frequency. A two-day alternating program works well for this, with some upper and some lower in each workout. Stick to heavy compounds. I like the twice-daily workout idea - each workout can be twenty minutes long, and you won't be utterly spent. Eat your carbs at the end of the day; stay low carb through the day otherwise, and don't snack at all. No need for pasta on your running days; cardio doesn't need carbs unless you're running for performance.

Originally Posted by Built

Okay, cutting, I'd ditch direct arm work while cutting, and move toward a routine that hits your parts with a bit more frequency. A two-day alternating program works well for this, with some upper and some lower in each workout. Stick to heavy compounds. I like the twice-daily workout idea - each workout can be twenty minutes long, and you won't be utterly spent. Eat your carbs at the end of the day; stay low carb through the day otherwise, and don't snack at all. No need for pasta on your running days; cardio doesn't need carbs unless you're running for performance.

Awesome advice. Thank you! As far as a routine that hits with more frequency and with some upper and lower do you have any suggestions for the 2 a days? My lifting workouts have been under 30 min which leaves me with plenty of energy for cardio and not leaving utterly spent. Also, do you mind telling me a little more on why to ditch direct arm workouts while cutting?

On the 5k I am running to keep my time close to 24min which is hard in the dry desert when its close to 100F at 6am. I ran one with no carbs since I was depleting for a few days and I was dead by the 3rd mile so I tried just a little bit of pasta the night before and it helped. I came in at 26:31. If I switch my carbs from morning to night, then it should help. The variety of quality carbs are pretty lacking at night. Sometimes they have brown rice or sweet potato and a lot of times they dont. They always have pasta, yogurt and fruit.

If the cardio is something you are required to keep up, then do what you need to do. If you're doing cardio for fat loss, you may choose to do something less intense, like walking, and do it fasted or at least carbless.

On a cut, you're not going to bring up anything. Arms are easy to overtrain on sub-maintenance calories, which is why I suggest ditching most if not all direct am work until you're at maintenance, or bulking.

Re workouts - well, list the movement patterns you will train: vertical push, vertical pull, horizontal push, horizontal pull, quad dominant, hamstring/posterior chain dominant.

Now split it up. Perhaps do quads and the vertial plane one day, and posterior chain/hams with the horizontal plane the other.

This could be:
squats, cleans, chins, and shoulder press
and
deadlifts/Romanian deads/good mornings, bench press, rows (t-bar or dumbbell) on another.

Since you train twice a day, for day one it could be:
AM
squats
chins


PM
cleans/clean and jerk
shoulder-press/Olympic barbell corner press

Maybe do abs with one of the workouts, and of course post workout stretches, preworkout dynamic warmup

You could break the other workout up similarly
AM
Bench press
Rows (t-bar or dumbbell)

PM
deadlifts/Romanian deads/good mornings, abs, physio/stretches

Thoughts?

Originally Posted by Built

If the cardio is something you are required to keep up, then do what you need to do. If you're doing cardio for fat loss, you may choose to do something less intense, like walking, and do it fasted or at least carbless.

On a cut, you're not going to bring up anything. Arms are easy to overtrain on sub-maintenance calories, which is why I suggest ditching most if not all direct am work until you're at maintenance, or bulking.

Re workouts - well, list the movement patterns you will train: vertical push, vertical pull, horizontal push, horizontal pull, quad dominant, hamstring/posterior chain dominant.

Now split it up. Perhaps do quads and the vertial plane one day, and posterior chain/hams with the horizontal plane the other.

This could be:
squats, cleans, chins, and shoulder press
and
deadlifts/Romanian deads/good mornings, bench press, rows (t-bar or dumbbell) on another.

Since you train twice a day, for day one it could be:
AM
squats
chins


PM
cleans/clean and jerk
shoulder-press/Olympic barbell corner press

Maybe do abs with one of the workouts, and of course post workout stretches, preworkout dynamic warmup

You could break the other workout up similarly
AM
Bench press
Rows (t-bar or dumbbell)

PM
deadlifts/Romanian deads/good mornings, abs, physio/stretches

Thoughts?

That makes perfect sense. Your breakdown is pretty similar to what I was thinking of as well. Just to clarify on the lifts listed aboveI would pick one of the lifts divided by a slash? For example I would do either of the deadlifts but not both and either the shoulder press or corner press but not both right?

And as far as sets, would you suggest 4-5 sets of each to start and further into the cut lighten up a bit?
Also, 2 day on and 1 off should be ok right? And would you suggest purple wrath or bulk BCAA's?

On all the closed-form questions, the answer is affirmative. Re the latter, I am unfamiliar with purple wrath. Use whatever supps you find helpful.