bulking / cutting cycles.

[presto]

since i stopped the cardio the bulking has been been a bit better. the muscles feel less worn out, so i think this is the way to go. but not sure how to split the cycles. i was thinking 6 weeks bulking then 2 weeks cutting. or would a 3 week bulking 1 week cutting work better? bearing in mind i could do to lose quite a bit of weight - around 2-3 stone.

i will be going on holiday in around 6 weeks so am allowing myself 4 weeks beforehand for a cutting cycle.

basic routine: (still not fully started it)
bulking:
squats
deadlift
shoulder press
flys
lats
will also be adding an all round multigum routine to this aswell soon.

cutting:
exercise bike HIIT
heavy bag 9X3mins 1 min interval
jogging
will also probably do some lightish weights, and probably the all round on the multi gym, not for bulking, more to stop losing the muscle.

[John]

You've devised yourself a nice plan there, but if you're bulking three times as much as you're doing CV, you're going to find it a lot harder to lose weight. Just be sure that you know this in your mind and you are prepared to make sacrifices in losing weight if you are wanting to bulk first. I know it's common sense but I don't want you feeling disappointed as you're slowing down your speed in losing weight this way.

Good luck!

[podtog]

To be honest Presto, if your main goal is to lose weight and tone up I would personaly just be doing High rep weights without worrying too much what the actual weight is. I cant remember what the best Heart rate is to lose weight and burn fat but its not by doing the heavy stuff and it would probably surprise a lot of people but its not the high heart rate stuff either, its inbetween, fast walking gets you near to your optimum heart rate for a healthy person to optimize fat burning, so I suppose if you took an hour for fast walking and took your heart rate and then devise a workout than can achieve this with weights you should have your optimum weight losing set-up while developing muscle tone.

[podtog]

I rough idea if my memory serves me correctly would be around 130-140 BPM, but this differs with different ages.

[huckabuck]

presto,start your cutting cycle now forget about 2 more weeks bulking.
forget about jogging and bike,do speed walking.the most important thing
is diet,diet,diet.just clean foods for six weeks:( and 5 lts of water a day.
try not to lose more than 3 pounds a week because you will start to lose
muscle mass.do not train light do your max 6-10 reps you want to tone
and hardern your muscles.ive been on my diet for six weeks but still training
hard,done back yesterday and was deadlifting 190kgs for reps.

abs,try this incline sit ups or sit ups max reps,(no rest) twists with broom
stick 50 each side,(no rest)hyper extension for lower back 25 reps,if you can,
(no rest)lay on a bench 25 leg raises.rest for 3 min and do it all again,try for
3 sets.i have lost 2" on my waist in six weeks and only 9 pounds in bodyweight.
huck

[presto]

decided for 20kg weight - 10 reps per set.

barbell
curls
lunges
reverse curls (tricep)
squats
deadlift
shrugs

the 20kg's is probably not enough for the squats / deadlift - but for getting the correct form it's probably ok. also even the 20kg's is a little uncomfortable resting on my neck even with a towel wrapped round. also no shoulder presses as i moved the barbell into the garage where there in not enough height.

dumbell
hammer curls
shoulder press
lats
flys

with 8kg's ea.

will do this routine every other day to allow recovery. theres quite a range there. hopefully i will be able to manage 5 sets of 10 reps. and maybe have a 1 hour rest between the barbell and dumbell workout's.

will keep the diet clean - been quite impressed with the way i have kept with it since starting, but dissapointed with the results so far :( - how does this sound:

breakfast:
porridge / yoghurt (low fat)

lunch:
chicken / tuna
not a big fan of sandwhiches so losing the bread will also help, chicken cooked in a little olive oil + pepper, tuna with a dab of mayo - i just can't eat plain tuna.

dinner:
fish / chicken / beef
- with either a stir fry, salad or veggies.

between meals:
piece of fruit. maybe a protein shake after a workout.

...........................................
just out of interest why not the bike / jogging. from what i have researched these are pretty good for cutting, as they elevate the heartrate to burn fat, wheras the long walks don't burn much fat as they don't elevate the heart rate enough.
the heavy bag routine is also very good from what i hear for CV workout. - i know i am absoluterly dripping with sweat when i finish.

[vegyjones]

Al this talk of exercise and health foods...

Seriously, you lot should take it somewhere else. Its not welcome here! :mad:

[presto]

was wondering why you were in this area of the forum vegy :doh

[vegyjones]

I was going to masturbate over pictures of your six pack,
but alas there are none here! :D

[Street cry]

presto you have really got to hammer yourself to get cut , i wouldn't worry about bulking just do the heaviest you can for the longest amount of time ie as much as you can take when i was at my most ripped i was just hammering my big reps for as long as possible and that was the best results i ever got . I was on liquid creatine then and a few grams of soy and a muscle up drink but that was all product wise . I always found it easier to get cut and ripped then add to it ie more protein than blow up and cut down . Sc

[huckabuck]

I was going to masturbate over pictures of your six pack,
but alas there are none here! :D

im not going to put any of my photos on here now competing:yikes:

[huckabuck]

presto,jogging lose to much muscle mass. cut out bread use wholemeal
pitta bread.(low carbs high fibre.) try not to have more than 150 grams
of carbs a day.no less than 5 small meals a day.
no less than 35 grames of fibre.
2 pitta bread will give u 12 g of fibre.
best source of fibre .
1 pear will give u 7g
100g broccoli=5g cut out your stir fry(no good)
100g cauliflower=5g have this every night boiled
50g uncle bens wholegrain rice 2.5g
25g of cashew nuts for your fats and fibre 11g of fat,1.5g of fibre
no more than 40 g of fat a day.
bake your chicken with no skin on.
cut out your dairy products to much gives u a smooth look
for your oats use water and semi skimmed milk for 40g oats=125ml/125ml
this will give u 4g of fibre.try 200g of protein a day.

[podtog]

Just keep your heart rate within the optimum zone for fat burning, running doesnt fall into this catogary.

[podtog]

If you really want to cut up then Huck sounds like he knows what hes doing with the diet, never got that serious myself, like a beer to much :) .

[podtog]

Also agree with SC, just give 110% with everything you do, dont stop when you dont feel like carrying on, keep pushing all the time.

[podtog]

Never agreed with this 3-4 sets at such a weight, when I did train like this gains were slow, went through the roof when I just went all out mixing it up to exhaustion point on each body part.

[podtog]

1 more even though I know Ive mentioned it before which is not for anyone just starting out but one of my favorites, SUPERSETS= Growth, these really shock your body into growing or at least they do for me.

[presto]

cheers folks - some good advice there.