CUTTING

WHAT IS CUTTING?

Me at 190lbs 10% BF

Cutting is a term used by bodybuilders that basically means they do not want to build any more muscle but instead want to get lean, loses body fat and looks ripped to shreds. The process of cutting simply involves increased amount of cardio, high weight and low rep range with resistance training and reduced calorie intake through food.

TYPICAL CUTTING NUTRITION

The typical cutting diet consists of complex carbohydrates, low intakes of fats and regular intake of protein. Depending on your basic metabolic rate (the number of calories your body uses in all metabolic reactions) you should aim to eat 500-700 calories less than that per day, this can result in a 1lb loss of fat per week without any cardio. However if you do cardio exercise as well you can burn sufficiently more. 1lb of pure fat is equivalent to 3500 calories of energy, so by burning 500 calories on the treadmill every day you could burn another 1lb of fat per week also. So in terms of ratios of macro nutrients, the typical diet is 40:40:20 or 30:50:20 (carbs, protein, fat respectively).

THE IMPORTANCE OF WEIGHTLIFTING

When cutting your body is not taking in as many calories as it needs and it will do anything to get those extra calories, even break down muscle tissue if needs be. This can be prevented by frequent high weight, low rep range weightlifting. Not only does this help maintain your muscle mass, it will also tell your body that you still need to use this muscle and so it will be more reliant on fat reserves to break down for energy. Sufficient protein must also be taken in daily around 120-180 grams in order to help keep your muscle strong and maintain size. You will find you will not be able to do hours in the gym at the time like you used to because your body simply does not have the energy to do so.



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