Looking for advice on my first cut for the summer

[dsc123]

STATS
Age:21 when i plan to start cut
Height:5ft 10
Weight:184lbs
Bf%:unknown but holding a bit of fat around stomach
Supps: whey protein, Casein protein, dextrose
Training experiance: 4 years

DIET
8:00 100g oats with whole milk and 50g whey shake
12:30 100g pasta 1 chicken breast
5:30 125g rice 2 chicken breast
8:00 post workout 50g whey 40g dextrose
9:00 150g pasta 1 can of tuna
before bed 1 casein 30g shake

MACROS
Calories: 3500
Protein:318
Carbs:377
Fats:25

TRAINING

Chest/Shoulders/Abs
bench press 4 sets 8reps
Incline bench 4 sets, 8 reps
Pec Dec or cable crossovers 4 sets, 8 reps

Military db presses 4 sets, 8 reps
upright rows 4 sets, 8 reps
Lateral db raises 4 sets, 8 reps

Ab crunches 3-4 sets,

Back
chin ups 4 sets 5 reps
bent over rows 4 sets 8 reps
Seated rows 4 sets, 8 reps
Wide grip cable pulldowns to the chest 4 sets, 8 reps
Barbell Shrugs 4 sets, 15 reps
face pulls 4 sets, 8 reps

Legs/Abs
Squats or Leg Press 4 sets 8 reps
Leg extensions 4 sets 8 reps
Leg curl 4 sets 8 reps
Standing or seated calf raises 4 sets, 15 reps

Ab crunches 4 sets

Arms
Cable push downs 4 sets, 8 reps
Behind the neck db extensions 4 sets, 8 reps
Machine extensions 4 sets, 8 reps

Standing curls 4 sets, 8 reps
Preacher curls 3 sets, 10 reps using 3 cams (very brief rest between sets-15 seconds)
Hammer curls 4 sets, 8 reps


This is a general template and excercises and rep ranges vary. Weight is increased every set so the first 2 sets are sometimes higher reps and act as warmups. Utter failure is the goal on sets 3 and 4 and then forced reps are employed. Rest between sets is kept to a minimum. Tempo is changed from explosive to slow at random times.

Template was based on Heavy's training routine.

Anyways my plan is to start a cut in March for the summer, goal is to reach atleast 10%bf so abs are visible...but this will be my first cut so i need help with my diet, training and cardio as i want to make sure that everything is perfect to help maintain as much mass and strength.

Look forward to responses...let me know if i have missed anything out!

 

[Powermaster]

Your training looks good. When you cut you'll probably have to decrease volume a bit but keep weights heavy as you can.

Cardio: Try doing some HIIT after training.

Diet:

MACROS
Calories: 3500
Protein:318
Carbs:377
Fats:25

Your fats are too low. I'd say double your fat intake.
Protein can come down to 1gm per pound body weight.
Carbs can be cut in half.
This should bring your total calorie intake down sufficiently.

 

[dsc123]

As for HIIT to start with would 30 sec sprints with 1 min rest in between be a good place to start total of 10 sets?

Macros along the lines of:
calories:2500
protein:190
Carbs: 180
Fats:50

Which foods are best to eat?

 

[Powermaster]

As for HIIT to start with would 30 sec sprints with 1 min rest in between be a good place to start total of 10 sets?

Macros along the lines of:
calories:2500
protein:190
Carbs: 180
Fats:50

Which foods are best to eat?

That is a good HIIT routine.

Macro's look good there. See where that takes you.

I start out with whey (30 gm minimum) and hour before regular meals & post workout.
Your whole food choices are good except I'd cut out the pasta & rice for starters. Cut the dextrose if you have too to get the carbs down a bit.

 

[dsc123]

i'm after a new diet with different foods as im fed up of eating pasta, rice...any layouts which will meet the macros?

 

[Powermaster]

i'm after a new diet with different foods as im fed up of eating pasta, rice...any layouts which will meet the macros?

Eat any meats, fish, poultry, etc... plus supplementing with whey for protein.
Leafy green vegetables are great for fiber and nutrients.
Eggs, natural peanut butter, almonds, olive oil, etc... for fats.

For carbs stick with oatmeal, potatoes, rice etc but staying within your macro goals.

 

[ianbell121]

high class routine of diet. carry on.

 

[dsc123]

high class routine of diet. carry on.

im after a cutting diet now as the diet i listed has too many carbs in and carbs which i shouldn't be eating on a cut i.e white rice and pasta... i will try and put a diet together when i get time, and then look for feedback if thats cool!

my training will stay the same though apart from more rest in between sets and HIIT will be added 3x a week.. please bare with me whilst i try to come up with a strict diet...

 

[Big G]

calories:2500
protein:190
Carbs: 180
Fats:50

I see a problem with the math here.

190g protein x 4cal per gram = 760cal (40%)
180g carbs x 4cal per gram = 720cal (37%)
50g fat x 9cal per gram = 450cal. (23%)

So total calories = 1,930, not 2,500.

DIET
8:00 100g oats with whole milk and 50g whey shake
12:30 100g pasta 1 chicken breast
5:30 125g rice 2 chicken breast
8:00 post workout 50g whey 40g dextrose
9:00 150g pasta 1 can of tuna
before bed 1 casein 30g shake

Personally I can't go 4 1/2, or 5 hours, between meals. And I'm not sure I would advocate it. In a caloric deficiency diet I would recommend lean protein every three hours.

In one of powermaster's posts he recommends cutting out rice, but then in another post recommends eating rice, potato & oatmeal. Personally I wouldn't eat any of those while cutting. There's the glycemic index issue (which some will argue with) but also, you just don't get much food.

For example, I had a huge dinner this evening with seasoned baked chicken with collards, cabbage, & broccoli. Yesterday I had a stir-fry with water-chestnuts, celery & beansprouts. Both were absolutely delicious, plus I got loads of food with minimal carbs. Win-win.

Just food for thought.

 

[dsc123]

would you say 1900 calories is a little low? maybe start at 2500 macros 40%protein 20%carbs 40%fats

 

[Big G]

would you say 1900 calories is a little low? maybe start at 2500 macros 40%protein 20%carbs 40%fats

Seems reasonable to me. If weight-loss stalls after a few weeks, drop calories a little further and/or increase cardio frequency.

Occasional higher carb reefed days can also help. I've heard of people doing refeeds every fourth day when they get very lean, whereas I know of others on four week long protein-spared-fasts that only did one reefed midway through.
If you ask 20 bodybuilders about carb intake, you will likely get 20 different theories, but I think most would agree that starchy carbs be restricted to breakfast or post workout (PWO).

Varying (cycling) your carbs day-by-day makes sense too. Being carb starved for a prolonged periods results in adaptation & diminished leptin levels. There's an easily readable article here that might help you... Bodybuilding.com - Carbohydrate Cycling: What You Need To Know!

I don't consider myself a nutrition expert, and I've never ripped to 3% for a pro body-building show, but I can say that the last time I ended up in hospital with kidney failure (turned out to be sodium deficiency) the nutritionist (after an hour or more talking) told my wife that she "was going to teach me something before she left." She was eventually right... Apparently the protein source most comparable (in amino ratios) to human meat is egg-whites. News to me. =)

Good luck, and if I can be of any help please feel free to ask. I'm sure everyone else on this site will be happy to help you too.

 

[dsc123]

2400 cals 40/40/20
40% of 2400 = 960 cals need to come from Protein
40% of 2400 = 960 cals need to come from Carbs
20% of 2400 = 480 cals need to come from Fat

960 divided by 4 = 240G of Protein
960 divided by 4 = 240G of Carbs
480 divided by 9 = 53G of Fat

8:00 oats&shake

12:00 chicken salad

6:00 200g chicken 250g new potatos and veggies and shake

8:30 2 scoop shake

9:00 150g salmon and veggies

TOTAL MACROS

Calories- 2345
Protein- 227
Carbs- 125
Fats- 79

How do these macros look, i no they don't exactly match the proposed 40/40/20 as the carbs are slightly lower and fats a little higher, any advice?

Any suggestions for a meal which hold the following macros?

calories- 55
protein- 13
carbs- 115
fats- 0

 

[dsc123]

Bump

 

[dsc123]

I'm after expert advice, anyone?

 

[Big G]

Try cardio until your legs fall off.

 

[dsc123]

Cardio will be pushed beyond the beyond but would you say that the above diet is okay?

 

[Big G]

2400 cals 40/40/20
40% of 2400 = 960 cals need to come from Protein
40% of 2400 = 960 cals need to come from Carbs
20% of 2400 = 480 cals need to come from Fat

960 divided by 4 = 240G of Protein
960 divided by 4 = 240G of Carbs
480 divided by 9 = 53G of Fat

No-one suggested 40% carbs. Re-read above.

Any suggestions for a meal which hold the following macros?

calories- 55
protein- 13
carbs- 115
fats- 0

Poptart sprinkled in magic fairy dust?

 

[Big G]

Check my food journal from yesterday... 7 meals, 2250cal, 40/30/30 (P/F/C). Today carbs will be cut in half, then increased a bit tomorrow (etc).

Eat any meats, fish, poultry, etc... plus supplementing with whey for protein.
Leafy green vegetables are great for fiber and nutrients.
Eggs, natural peanut butter, almonds, olive oil, etc... for fats.

For carbs stick with oatmeal, potatoes, rice etc but staying within your macro goals.

^^^ Great advice (although if I eat any starchy carbs I do it in the morning or after a workout).

 

[dsc123]

Where can I find your food journal?

 

[Big G]

Where can I find your food journal?

"Food log" link in my signature below

VVV down here VVV

PS. Ignore the fact I had 5 beers last night!

 

[Whoznxt]

Wow, I'm astonished. Now not to thread hijack here....But me being 220 18.2 b.f. 6'0...Could I use that as a base for a cutting cycle. I would obviously have to bump the proteins up to around 200....but I'm looking to have a severe cut cycle.