# How does one GET RIPPED and retain STRENGTH ??



## angel77 (Nov 1, 2008)

I've made some very good gains during my cycle and I want to know the best method for cutting fat (get ripped) without losing strength gains. I'm not as concerned with mass but they pretty much go hand in hand. I'm 6'1" 205 and pretty lean already but not ripped. 

Cardio? I know it melts muscle if not done properly or over doing it. I know High Impact Cardio is effective but how much and what kind? 

Cutting calories? That's a fine line as well if your looking to retain strength gains. 

Types of diet? i know for sure about cutting major carbs and I've lived it. It works but I feel very lethargic and feel I would definately lose some strength? 

Any advice guys? Cheers


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## DiGiTaL (Nov 2, 2008)

What is the Secret to Six Pack Abs?

I know the article is about abs, but it does mention about the overall conditions of getting ripped and mainly what to focus on the diet.


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## Built (Nov 2, 2008)

What are your current calories, and approximately what bodyfat are you currently at?

What have your typical macros been recently? 

How many days a week do you like to train

What is your timeline to getting the fat off?


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## angel77 (Nov 2, 2008)

Built said:


> What are your current calories, and approximately what bodyfat are you currently at?
> 
> What have your typical macros been recently?
> 
> ...



1._3500-4000 calories a day_
2._I don't know body fat % - i've attached  pic to give an idea._







3._diet-
6-am-6 eggs 1 cup cooked steel cut oats w/ 1 tbs. milled flax seed 

9-am-Protein shake- EAS -3 scoops-69grams, 1 Banana, 2 Tbs. Natty PB

12:00pm -Protein, PB, Banana

3:00pm -2 skinless CHX breasts, 1 head Broccoli (steamed), 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup cooked Whole Wheat pasta

6:00pm-Lean Beef Burritos (3/4 lb. before cooking) w/ Whole Wheat Wrap w/ vegatable

9:00pm-Cottage Cheese & fruit (apple, banana, ect.)_

4. Train 5 days a week mon-fri weights only ( i know I'll have to include some cardio but what kind and how often?) I used to be a runner and I was thin as Hell!! I DON'T want to melt muscle!

5. I'd like to have the fat off in 6 weeks or less if possible. 

Cheers!!


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## Built (Nov 2, 2008)

Oh - you're pretty yummy! *cough*  Did I type that out loud? 

Okay, so you're quite lean now, cals nice and high. What is your current training? What is your squat, dead, bench? 

How do the legs look?


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## angel77 (Nov 2, 2008)

Built said:


> Oh - you're pretty yummy! *cough*  Did I type that out loud?
> 
> Okay, so you're quite lean now, cals nice and high. What is your current training? What is your squat, dead, bench?
> 
> How do the legs look?



benching around 250 / 260 max. I have a bad back so no dead lifts and careful with squats.  I love squats but must be careful. I have numerous herniated discs.


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## Built (Nov 2, 2008)

Dammit, that blows. How do you train legs and back? What do your quads and calves measure - you got any size at least?


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## angel77 (Nov 2, 2008)

Built said:


> Dammit, that blows. How do you train legs and back? What do your quads and calves measure - you got any size at least?




always had big legs due to soccer and sports throughout my life. no measurments though.


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## Built (Nov 2, 2008)

So how do you train legs and back now? It'll be important in terms of how you train while cutting up.


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## GoLdeN M 07 (Nov 2, 2008)

so training heavy while cutting will preserve muscle mass and strength right?


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## Built (Nov 2, 2008)

Yep. You reduce the volume before you take iron off the bar; risk manage the muscle while running lean.


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## angel77 (Nov 2, 2008)

Built said:


> So how do you train legs and back now? It'll be important in terms of how you train while cutting up.




sitting leg lifts, squats with 185, reverse decline sit ups(lwr back), calf raises, treadmill.


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## angel77 (Nov 2, 2008)

Built said:


> Yep. You reduce the volume before you take iron off the bar; risk manage the muscle while running lean.



what do you mean here exactly?


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## OneWheyOrAnother (Nov 2, 2008)

angel77 said:


> what do you mean here exactly?



Basically he means, reduce the amount of sets and/or reps you are doing but keep the weight high. When cutting your goal is to retain as much muscle as possible. And higher volume results in higher cortisol and estrogen levels, which in turn GOBBLES UP YOUR MUSCLE!!!!

But when you are doing less reps, that means you have to up the weight a bit so that you can ONLY PERFORM maybe 4-6 reps, NO MORE. This way you are blasting your muscles in as little time as possible, but still getting an intense workout (which means less cortisol, lactic acid, estrogen, etc) If you don't feel it's enough, you aren't lifting heavy enough or you're lacking intensity. Also heavy compound lifts like squats and deadlifts will signal higher testosterone and GH production and are essential to maintaining muscle mass while cutting. The only things that work as good as squats and deadlifts while cutting are steroids.



angel77 said:


> i know I'll have to include some cardio but what kind and how often?) I used to be a runner and I was thin as Hell!! I DON'T want to melt muscle!
> 
> 5. I'd like to have the fat off in 6 weeks or less if possible.
> 
> Cheers!!



As far as cardio goes, doing it after your workouts may results in too high of cortisol levels. I personally have had great results as far as fat loss goes first thing in the morning doing; drink a serving of BCAA powder first, then prepare another to sip during your exercise, followed by your breakfast.

And for the exercise, do whatever cardio and ABS you can handle. I usually do 15 minutes abs, 30 min cardio.... You won't be able to go FULL INTENSITY here because you have an empty belly, but do whatever you can for around 30 - 45 minutes (Not much longer!) And sip on your BCAA powder during the workout, this will help perserve your muscle mass! This is one of the best ways to lose fat, as your glyco stores are low in the morning and pretty much any exercise you do upon waking is burning straight fat. 

Then for your breakfast, just have whatever. You already have amino acids circulating in your body so whey protein is not necessary, but easier on the stomach in the morning, especially after empty stomach exercise lol. Just include protein and carbs (and fat if you wish) for breakfast! Good luck!


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## OneWheyOrAnother (Nov 2, 2008)

Arms and Shoulders will overtrain alot easier than you are used to while cutting as well, so keep the arms volume to a minimum, I would focus more on chin ups, pull ups and tricep dips for arms. It's the worst feeling when your arms start losing strength or size, so again intensity UP, volume DOWN.


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## Built (Nov 2, 2008)

Built said:


> Yep. You reduce the volume before you take iron off the bar; risk manage the muscle while running lean.





angel77 said:


> what do you mean here exactly?





chronicelite said:


> Basically *he *means,


  Hee hee hee hee I'm a girl LOL!





angel77 said:


> reduce the amount of sets and/or reps you are doing but keep the weight high. When cutting your goal is to retain as much muscle as possible. And higher volume results in higher cortisol and estrogen levels, which in turn GOBBLES UP YOUR MUSCLE!!!!


That's interesting about the cortisol and estrogen. That's right, I forgot about that - cortisol mediates aromatization doesn't it. 

I don't think estrogen gobbles muscles though. Cortisol, yes. 


angel77 said:


> But when you are doing less reps, that means you have to up the weight a bit so that you can ONLY PERFORM maybe 4-6 reps, NO MORE. This way you are blasting your muscles in as little time as possible, but still getting an intense workout (which means less cortisol, lactic acid, estrogen, etc)


Specifically, it sends a strong signal to your body to maintain that pesky muscle it would rather drop. Since you keep using it to lift really heavy things, you need that big muscle, right? So your body grudgingly has to drop fat. 

If you lift light for high reps all the time, you send a different message: "These big muscles aren't needed - drop 'em!"



angel77 said:


> If you don't feel it's enough, you aren't lifting heavy enough or you're lacking intensity. Also heavy compound lifts like squats and deadlifts will signal higher testosterone and GH production and are essential to maintaining muscle mass while cutting. The only things that work as good as squats and deadlifts while cutting are steroids.


Don't forget protein and fat. 


angel77 said:


> As far as cardio goes, doing it after your workouts may results in too high of cortisol levels.



Not if you don't do too much, and not if you have your shake first. 


angel77 said:


> I personally have had great results as far as fat loss goes first thing in the morning doing; drink a serving of BCAA powder first, then prepare another to sip during your exercise, followed by your breakfast.
> 
> And for the exercise, do whatever cardio and ABS you can handle. I usually do 15 minutes abs,


I don't do 15 minutes of abs all year lol - a few weighted heavy sets are plenty. You can drop abs completely as your cut progresses. 


angel77 said:


> 30 min cardio.... You won't be able to go FULL INTENSITY here because you have an empty belly,


No need to do cardio empty, either. 


angel77 said:


> but do whatever you can for around 30 - 45 minutes (Not much longer!) And sip on your BCAA powder during the workout, this will help perserve your muscle mass! This is one of the best ways to lose fat, as your glyco stores are low in the morning and pretty much any exercise you do upon waking is burning straight fat.


Yep. Grams and grams of it. 



angel77 said:


> Then for your breakfast, just have whatever. You already have amino acids circulating in your body so whey protein is not necessary, but easier on the stomach in the morning, especially after empty stomach exercise lol. Just include protein and carbs (and fat if you wish) for breakfast! Good luck!


I don't see the need for any carbs in the AM, particularly if all you did was cardio. I save what few carbs I get for pre and post workout, but that's just for appetite control. My .02


chronicelite said:


> Arms and Shoulders will overtrain alot easier than you are used to while cutting as well, so keep the arms volume to a minimum, I would focus more on chin ups, pull ups and tricep dips for arms. It's the worst feeling when your arms start losing strength or size, so again intensity UP, volume DOWN.



This is excellent advice. Drop concentration work as your cut progresses, stick to heavy compounds. 

chronicelite, where do you train?


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## danzik17 (Nov 2, 2008)

Take everyone's advise about intensity and volume.  I tried to cut calories while maintaining the same intensity and volume that I had previously.  

Let's just say this is week 3 after I utterly destroyed my hamstring, so I can't even do any serious leg lifts right now (105lb front squats were even questionable......god I felt like a wuss).

Don't make the same mistake I did - realize that when you are cutting you will not be able to do the same stuff you did on maintenance or bulking.


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## DiGiTaL (Nov 2, 2008)

> Take everyone's advise about *intensity and volume*.



Im sorry for sounding stupid, but I know intensity is how heavy of weight you lift but what exactly is volume?


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## Hench (Nov 3, 2008)

volume = the amount of sets/reps you do per exercise/workout


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## angel77 (Nov 3, 2008)

what's a good amount of sets and reps then for a cut? 
6-8 sets at high weight and lwr reps? maybe even less sets?


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## Built (Nov 3, 2008)

I'll give you an example based on how I train. My usual workout is this one. 

For example, for the day one workout, I'll cut the 5x5s down to 4x5s then 3x5s, and ditch the 12-rep work completely. 

Toward the end of cut, that whole workout might look like this:
3x5 incline bb press
3x8 low incline db press
3x5 pendlay rows
3x8 one arm dumbbell rows
3x8 weighted crunches

and that's it.

Does this help?


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## angel77 (Nov 3, 2008)

Built said:


> I'll give you an example based on how I train. My usual workout is this one.
> 
> For example, for the day one workout, I'll cut the 5x5s down to 4x5s then 3x5s, and ditch the 12-rep work completely.
> 
> ...



IS THIS 3 SETS AT 5 REPS EACH?


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## CG (Nov 3, 2008)

angel77 said:


> IS THIS 3 SETS AT 5 REPS EACH?



Yeah man.. Th??*ts where I'm at too.. She is saying 3 sets at 5 reps per set, done. I personally go with 3 sets of 6 reps, but that's just me, idk I have an aversion to odd numbers lol.. Keeping gains and mass while cutting can be a bitch, and as I learned the hard way, cardio can easily be overdone and it can royally fuckup your lean muscle


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## Built (Nov 3, 2008)

Thanks Cgrant - angel, that's what I meant. I do a few warmups for the heavy work, usually some sort of dynamic warmup/stretches for about 3 minutes before squats and deads, and a few escalating short (under 5-rep) sets before something like bench or cleans. I don't really warm up for chins - I just do 'em. And certainly no preworkout cardio or static stretches.


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## CG (Nov 3, 2008)

Built said:


> Thanks Cgrant - angel, that's what I meant. I do a few warmups for the heavy work, usually some sort of dynamic warmup/stretches for about 3 minutes before squats and deads, and a few escalating short (under 5-rep) sets before something like bench or cleans. I don't really warm up for chins - I just do 'em. And certainly no preworkout cardio or static stretches.



Imo an active warmup can't b beat I'd its in tune to what you're working on.. I do an active warmup of some sort before every workout


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## OneWheyOrAnother (Nov 3, 2008)

Built said:


> Hee hee hee hee I'm a girl LOL!



lol OOPS! I figured with an avatar like that, it only made sense you were a guy. Your knowledge of body building impresses me then!





Built said:


> Not if you don't do too much, and not if you have your shake first.



I will have to research more into this, maybe I will implement this myself!




Built said:


> chronicelite, where do you train?



I train at a local private gym called Fitness 2000 in BC, Canada
Best gym ever!


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## Built (Nov 3, 2008)

Over off Lougheed!  You ever go up to SFU to train?


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## danzik17 (Nov 4, 2008)

Uh........what?


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## OneWheyOrAnother (Nov 4, 2008)

Built said:


> Over off Lougheed!  You ever go up to SFU to train?



Hell yeah I live right by Lougheed Skytrain!!!

I never go up to SFU though because I've never been a student there, and I don't even know where the gym is. My room mate goes there though, he just finished a semester there.


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## OneWheyOrAnother (Nov 4, 2008)

rose007 said:
			
		

> Anyway keep doing the cardio. It burns the muscle. But while doing it take a look of it. Do yoga daily . It gives better result
> 
> Eat egg without boiling it. It gives calories as well as muscle
> What is your timeline to getting the fat off?



I'm confused by this post, may you please clarify ? I believe he wants to RETAIN muscle not burn it.


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## Built (Nov 5, 2008)

SFU gym for non-students costs about 120 a year. 

I'm serious. Nice gym, too.


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## OneWheyOrAnother (Nov 5, 2008)

Built said:


> SFU gym for non-students costs about 120 a year.
> 
> I'm serious. Nice gym, too.



NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Built (Nov 5, 2008)

It's about $60 a year for alum. I have a membership, lemme know if you wanna go up sometime.


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## Merkaba (Nov 5, 2008)

Built said:


> It's about $60 a year for alum. I have a membership, lemme know if you wanna go up sometime.



<-----is jealous


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## Built (Nov 6, 2008)

Come to Vancouver, cutie.


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## Merkaba (Nov 6, 2008)




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