Natural Pursuit: Nutritional Consultant

[NaturalPursuit]

Reply + New Article on Static Stretching

I'm looking to buy a good Juicer for everyday use. Can you recommend me one?

TriggerHappy

For juicers, I received the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer as a gift about 2 years ago and it has worked amazing for me! Never any problems and very reliable!
Shop around for the best price though, as it's Christmas time I'm sure there are some great deals out there! Let me know if you decide to get it!

Thanks
__________________________________________________ _______________

Static Stretching

"You've probably heard that old school against the joint static stretching before training can reduce force production and power output. A new meta-analysis of studies published in the January edition of the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise suggests that your training or competition won't suffer from a good stretch as long as you hold each movement to under a minute. Researchers analyzed 106 different studies that met their strict requirements after sorting through a total of 4,559 scientific papers. They found that 30% of the large group of papers didn't provide reliable statistics. Of the well-designed studies accepted for this analysis, scientists found clear evidence that short duration static stretching of less than 30 to 45 seconds didn't reduce force or power output. You had to stretch a joint for a minute or longer before the action held back performance. So stretch out before heavy lifts. Short-duration pre-exercise warm ups shouldn't compromise maximal effort."

taken from and credit given to abbperformance.com/news/limit-static-stretching-to-less-than-1-minute-n1496/

[NaturalPursuit]

#10 - 7 Rules of Strength Training

"

7 Rules Of Strength Training



1. Focus On Compound Exercises
Compound exercises are those that work lots of the muscles in your body at the same time. The most important compound exercises are the deadlift, squat and bench press. As an example, the deadlift is often thought of as a back exercise but it also works your hamstrings, abdominals and pretty much every other muscle in the body. Compound exercises will do far more for your body than isolation exercises and will probably account for up to ninety percent of your results in the gym.

2. Use Good Form
Good form is vitally important when you start lifting heavy weights as it will prevent injury in the long term. As the weights you lift increase, form becomes more and more important. Work on building good form with light weights before you try and achieve a personal best. An injury caused by bad form can keep you out of the gym for weeks or even months and you should never underestimate the importance of good form.

3. Increase Your Weights
Obviously in order to get stronger, you need to challenge your body by lifting progressively heavy weights each time you are in the gym. You must always keep in mind that if you want to get stronger, the weights you lift must increase. You will not always be able to lift more weight each week, because other factors such as tiredness or lack of focus may prevent you from doing so. You should aim to increase the weights you lift by a small increment each time you go to the gym. If you fail one week, try again the next.

4. Set Targets
In order to make progress and succeed at anything, you need to have a solid and achievable set of goals to work towards. If you go into the gym not knowing what you are doing then you will end up with an unfocused and unproductive workout. Before you set foot in the gym you should know exactly what exercises you will be doing and exactly what weights you are going to try and lift. I recommend getting a notebook to take with you so that you can write down the sets and exercises you will be doing along with the weights you are want to lift. If you have a clear set of goals, you will find you achieve much more during your workout.

5. Don’t Over Train
Over training is your worst enemy when it comes to strength training and athletic performance. If you workout too often, your body will not be able to recover properly and you will eventually find that you stop making progress and eventually become weaker. Your body grows stronger and repairs itself when you are resting, not at the gym, and so you need to make sure you are getting enough food and sleep for your body to repair itself. Mike Mentzer took this idea to the extreme and suggests that as you get stronger you need to leave longer rest periods between workouts. Mike would often suggest that it could take up to one or two weeks for the body to fully recover from a heavy workout. I would suggest that you leave between two and three days between workouts if strength is your main goal.

6. Focus On Nutrition
Nutrition is the most important part of any strength training program. In order to grow strong and build muscle, you will need a diet rich in whole foods, vegetables, protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. Nutrition can account for as much as eighty percent of your overall results in the gym and should never be neglected. If your diet is bad, your strength and physique will suffer. Anyone wanting to get stronger or build muscle should be eating at least six protein rich meals at regular intervals throughout the day.

7. Be Persistent
No one achieves success week in week out and there will be many times when it seems like you are making no progress. Building muscle and getting stronger is never a predictable affair and you must keep working hard even when it seems like you are hitting a brick wall. Most people find at some stage no matter how hard they try, they just can’t seem to get any stronger. This is perfectly normal and as long as you keep working hard in the gym you will eventually become stronger and gain muscle. Focus on eating well, getting enough rest and eventually you will see results.
I hope you enjoyed reading these seven rules of strength training. If you follow these seven tips then you will soon find yourself stronger and fitter than ever before."

taken from and credit given to bodybuildingphilheath.blogspot.com/2011/12/7-rules-of-strength-training.html

[josh-hill]

Natural Pursuit, i keep meaning to reply here to thank you for your help with my program, although so far i havnt been able to start it because i have just come home for Christmas and don't have access to a gym.

i was wondering what you think the optimum split of macro nutrients for fighters is. i have heard some people say you need lots of carbs for energy, others say that ketogenic diets with fat as the main energy source are much better, some say these are dangerous. i was wondering what the opinion is in the professional community at this time

thanks in advance, josh

[NaturalPursuit]

answer + #9 - Keto

Natural Pursuit, i keep meaning to reply here to thank you for your help with my program, although so far i havnt been able to start it because i have just come home for Christmas and don't have access to a gym.

i was wondering what you think the optimum split of macro nutrients for fighters is. i have heard some people say you need lots of carbs for energy, others say that ketogenic diets with fat as the main energy source are much better, some say these are dangerous. i was wondering what the opinion is in the professional community at this time

thanks in advance, josh

Sorry for the delay everyone! The holidays kept me busy!

Josh-Hill,

It was no problem writing up that program for you and I hope you enjoy it! As for the "optimum" split of macros, it depends on the person. For example, I have had some clients, involved in either MMA or Boxing, who can maintain their weight at 250g protein 500g carbs 120g fat a day, while my other clients, also in MMA or Boxing, who have responded better to the "keto" type diet with high fat. In my personal opinion, you need to experiment with your body and see how it responds. Some can handle/process carbs better than others...same with fat. I would reccomend you try a diet with high carbs, moderate protein, moderate fat, and see how your body reacts...usually 9 in every 10 people respond best to this, while the other 1 responding better to "keto" type diets.

If you need anymore help feel free to ask!

__________________________________________________ _______________

Keto

"What exactly is Ketosis? The metabolic state of ketosis simply means that the quantity of ketone bodies in the blood have reached higher than normal levels. When the body is in a ketogenic state this means that lipid energy metabolism is intact. This means that the body will start breaking down your own body fat to fuel the body's normal, every day functions.

What's So Great About Being In Ketosis?

Establishing this metabolic state of ketosis even for a short period of time has many outstanding benefits.

The main benefit being that it increases the body's ability to utilize fats for fuel, which gets very lazy on a high carbohydrate diet. When on high carbohydrate diets the body can usually expect an energy source to keep entering the body. But in the state of ketosis the body has to become efficient at mobilizing fats as energy.
Another nifty thing about being in a state of ketosis is that if the body has no further use for ketones they can simply be excreted through urine as a waste product. This means that at times your body will be peeing out body fat! This is a novel theme because you body is very efficient at storing energy substrates for later use.
Ketosis has a protein sparing effect, assuming that you are consuming adequate quan****** of protein and calories in the first place. Once in ketosis the body actually prefers ketones to glucose. Since the body has copious quanities of fat this means that there is no need to oxidize protein to generate glucose through gluconeogenesis.
Another benefit has to do with the low levels of insulin in the body, which causes greater lipolysis and free glycerol release compared to a normal diet when insulin is around 80-120. Insulin has a lipolysis blocking effect, which can inhibit the use of fatty acids as energy. Also when insulin is brought to low levels many beneficial hormones are released in the body such as growth hormone and other powerful growth factors.
Another small but very important benefit about the ketogenic diet is that when in the state of ketosis, ketones seem to blunt hunger in many people. I mean honestly, what is not better than being on a low calorie diet and not being hungry all the time like you usually are such as on a high carbohydrate diet. Since on the ketogenic diet you have to consume a lot of fat, which hold 9 calories, you are not getting much food volume. This makes not being hungry a very good thing when on the diet. When you add such thermogenics like the ECA stack and prescription appetite suppressants you won't even think about your next meal. It's kind of funny that when the Atkins' diet first came out one of the early criticisms was that the diet blunted hunger too much! What, is it mandatory to be hungry on a reduced calorie diet?
The last benefit has to do with the fact that a ketone body is an inefficient fuel source due to the fact that when the fatty acid is converted to a KB it contains 7 calories. This means that the normal pound of fat has less than 3500 calories."

taken from and credit given to bodybuilding.com/fun/keto.htm

[NaturalPursuit]

#11 - Cutting With a High Protein Diet

"If you're busy planning our your cutting phase, a study published in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care points out some very attractive advantages to going with a protein-enriched diet. First, a high protein meal reduces calorie consumption at the next meal more effectively than carbs or fat. So you have satiety working for you. Researchers theorized that proteins increase the release of hormones related to appetite. Some also believe that higher circulating levels of the branched chain amino acid Leucine favorably impacts food intake. Whatever the mechanism, protein seems to help with muscle building and fat loss."

taken from and credit given to abbperformance.com/news/cutting-with-a-highprotein-diet-n1497/

[NaturalPursuit]

# 11 - Whey Vs Soy

"Whey Vs. Soy

An interesting study... Milk Protein Vs. Soy Protein.


Not surprising in the fact that it found that milk proteins are more effective for muscle building but surprising in the reported differences.


Twice as effective? Wow.


Some vegetarian enthusiasts will often say that such a diet doesn't put you at a disadvantage when looking to build muscle. This study would not support that view.


Note that the study had participants taking in their protein directly after workouts. While it wasn't the study's purpose, it is further evidence that what you put into your body directly after a workout can make a dramatic difference.


Study:http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/04/11/23404.aspx"

taken from and credit given to bodybuildingphilheath.blogspot.com/2011/12/whey-vs-soy.html

[NaturalPursuit]

#12 - Training Strategy of Evander Holyfield

"Training Strategy for Evander Holyfield

The time-honoured -- but unfortunately ill-conceived -- practice of long, slow distance work as a conditioning regimen for boxers is what Evander learned from the training dinosaurs of his youth, and had continued with for years. When I was brought aboard his team, prior to his fight against Buster Douglas in 1990, Evander was in sad physical condition considering the specific demands of his sport. I immediately tested Evander's responses to three minutes of boxing specific total body work (see the 3-minute drill description below), which brought his heart rate above 180 bpm. He needed a full 7 or 8 minutes to recover back to 120 bpm after this single bout, analogous to one hard boxing round. What was worse, after doing five of the 3-minute drills with a one minute rest between, his heart rate remained above 150 between bouts. In short, he did not have the capacity to sustain a high performance level for even half of the duration of a professional fight.

My responsibilities were limited to the physical conditioning component of Evander's training, which had to be integrated into his skills and sparring training. Boxers require not only agility, speed and strength in short, explosive bursts, but also a high level of anaerobic strength endurance in order to perform these bursts over and over for ten rounds or more. I designed Evander's training regimen and nutritional protocol to reflect these all-important elements. The road work ended promptly and completely.

After the 12 week cycle described below, Evander recovered quickly from intense activity, even after a series of ten, 3-minute drills. His agility and limit strength levels increased, and his lean Baudot increased from 208 to 218.

The conditioning program described below was the program I personally supervised Evander through prior to the Buster Douglas fight. He also used the same training cycle in preparation for his most recent fights against Mike Tyson, but I was not there personally to oversee his training. This preparation was supervised by a friend of mine in the strength coaching profession who assures me the Evander followed the prescribed program precisely.

General Points of Conditioning for Boxers

There are several general concepts which helped to shape the specific program that I designed for Evander. First, the work profile of boxing is repeated 3-minute rounds of activity, often with very high intensity bursts within a round. The rounds are separated by one minute rest intervals. Thus, the relative contribution of anaerobic energy release pathways is considered extremely important, with aerobic capacity playing an important role in terms of facilitating rapid recovery. Extreme conditioning is required to fight effectively for ten intense, 3-minute rounds and anaerobic endurance is a key aspect that cannot be overlooked. Short of an early round knockout, boxers cannot afford to win only the early rounds of a fight. They must maintain an intense, but measured pace throughout a long and competitive bout. So conditioning counts almost as much as skill for boxing success. Optimal physical conditioning provides the platform from which the skills can be used. The best way to simulate the demands of boxing is to use conditioning methods which mimic the work/rest ratio and integrated bursts of power that typify boxing.

Boxing is a highly individual sport. Fighters possess unique styles that create specific physical demands. Some rely on explosive strength ("power"), for others it's starting strength ("speed"), and for most a combination of the two ("speed-strength"). True champions alter their style in a way that will make them more able to attack the weaknesses of any given opponent. Improvements in specific capacities can be made, but they are only helpful if integrated into the fighter's style. For example, extensive footwork exercises may not benefit the power puncher who fights stationary and looks to deliver a blow that starts with the legs and drives right through the opponent (and wins that way). Similarly, a fighter who relies on punching speed and fast footwork should not put all his training hours into heavy bag work and muscle mass development. So, the program designed must not only be specific to boxing, but also specific to the boxer.

Ideally, the boxing punch consists of a synchronization between arm, leg, and trunk actions. The punching movement of a boxer consists of leg extension, trunk rotation, and arm extension, in succession. The more effective the coordination between arm, leg and trunk movements, the greater the impact force of a punch. The leg muscles play a vital role in the power developed in this sequence. Increasing leg force development and coordinating it with trunk and arm action is probably the most effective way to increase punching power.

Because boxing is an explosive sport, ballistic training methods are especially effective during weight training for boxing. This kind of training method requires the athlete to perform each repetition explosively, with maximal intended velocity. Finally, in my view, the best way to weight train for competitive boxing is via a cycled training schedule. This type of training schedule integrates workouts and exercises that will meet all the basic performance demands of boxing, strength, power, speed, agility, and strength endurance.

Evander's Conditioning Plan

The twelve week macro cycle was broken down into four mesocycles of three weeks duration. Each 3-week period had specific goals, and each subsequent 3-week period built upon what was established in the preceding periods. The conditioning goals for each mesocycle were as follows:

Weeks One, Two and Three
1. Maximize muscle mass -- Evander needed to increase his body mass from under 210 to 220 pounds.
2. Minimize fat accumulation during hypertrophy phase (dietary strategies including "zig-zag" diet were employed).
3. Improve general strength and fitness foundation, including moderate aerobic threshold intensity training.
4. Begin training to increase anaerobic threshold.
5. Introduce light plyometrics.

Weeks Four, Five and Six
1. Maximize limit strength of muscles/movement used in boxing (emphasis on legs).
2. Increase anaerobic strength endurance (maximum force output time after time).
3. Begin training specific skills (weaknesses) in earnest.
4. Concentrate on between-workout recovery.
5. Introduce explosive strength and starting strength with moderate plyometrics.

Weeks Seven, Eight and Nine
1. Maximize explosive strength.
2. Specific event skills must predominate all skills training sessions.
3. Continue anaerobic threshold training.
4. Maximize between-workout recovery.
5. Incorporate weighted plyometrics and hill/stairs running.

Weeks Ten, Eleven and Twelve
1. Maximize ballistic strength (starting strength) using "shock" plyometrics (built on a 9-week base of plyometrics progression).
2. Heavy emphasis on anaerobic threshold.
3. Maximize between-workout recovery ability.
4. Heavy emphasis on skills.
5. Emphasize speed, agility, ballistic movements.
6. "Overspend" drills in final preparatory period.
7. Begin "complex training" (description below) as a replacement for normal weight training.

Evander's Training Techniques and Sequences
(abbreviated terms are described after the table)
Mesocycle One

Session

Training Mode

Frequency

Morning workouts

Boxing Skills

Daily

LBE

Mon, Wed, Fri

UBE

Tues, Thurs, Sat

Versaball

Mon, Wed, Fri

Noon workouts

3 Minute Drill (4-6 sets)

Mon, Wed, Fri

Plyometrics

Tues, Thurs, Sat

Evening workouts

Weight Training

Mon-Fri

Mesocycle Two

Session

Training Mode

Frequency

Morning workouts

Sparring/IE

Daily/twice weekly

LBE

Mon, Wed, Fri

UBE

Tues, Thurs, Sat

Versaball

Mon, Wed, Fri

Noon workouts

3 Minute Drill (7-9 sets)

Mon, Wed, Fri

Weighted plyometrics

Tues, Thurs, Sat

Evening workouts

Explosive weight training

Mon-Fri

Mesocycle Three

Session

Training Mode

Frequency

Morning workouts

Sparring

Daily

LBE

Mon, Wed, Fri

UBE

Tues, Thurs, Sat

Versaball

Mon, Wed, Fri

Noon workouts

3 Minute Drill (10-12 sets)

Mon, Wed, Fri

Shock plyometrics

Tues, Thurs

Evening workouts

complex training

Mon-Fri


Explanation of Training Terms and Details

Boxing Skills & Sparring Evander's personal boxing skills regimen is up to him and his coach. However, Evander's coach and I communicated to establish precisely what physical and mental capabilities this form of periodized conditioning would provide Evander. In this way, Evander's boxing skills were in perfect sync with his fight strategy and his conditioning efforts right up to the fight. Use of the heavy bag early in the 12 week macro cycle was carefully monitored due to the severe ballistic nature of this training medium......

[NaturalPursuit]

#12 - Training Strategy of Evander Holyfield Continued

IE Impulse/Inertial Machine. This machine is used to develop starting strength in jabs, uppercuts, hooks. It is tough and requires total body coordination. Evander's problem was that he did not use good total body coordinations in his punches. He tended to be an "arm-puncher." This training apparatus was employed to help Evander develop this motor sequence and use his legs more when punching.

UBE Cybex Upper Body Exerciser (upper body exercycle)

UBE load setting/intensity

Work Duration

Rest Duration

Repetitions

Mesocycle One

max

1 minute

1 minute

5

Mesocycle Two

max

90 seconds

1 minute

8

Mesocycle Three

max

2 minutes

1 minute

12


LBE Lower Body Exerciser (exercycle)

UBE load setting/intensity

Work Duration

Rest Duration

Repetitions

Mesocycle One

max

1 minute

1 minute

5

Mesocycle Two

max

90 seconds

1 minute

8

Mesocycle Three

max

2 minutes

1 minute

12


VersaBall This is a more comfortable variation of the old medicine ball. Upper body plyometrics teaches explosive and starting strength in all punches and requires total body coordination. VersaBall throws were made from the following positions.

right and left jab positions (single arm)
between legs (double arm, for back)
overhead (double arm, for midsection)
chest pass (double arm)
Weight Training Initially (during mesocycle one), Evander followed a modified bodybuilding and basic strengthening program using a "variable split" format. A, B and C specify whether the workout is to be a very easy one (A), a moderately difficult one (B), or a high intensity one (C). This part of Evander's program was monitored by Lee Haney, multiple "Mr. Olympia" bodybuilding champion, and a former student of mine.

Evander's Variable Split Exercise Listing

The precise schedule of when to do an A, B or C workout was matched to Evander's recuperative abilities.
Chest

A workout

bench press

B workout

add dumbbell bench press

C workout

add incline dumbbell bench press

Shoulders

A workout

seated dumbbell presses

B workout

add frontal dumbbell raises

C workout

add lateral raises

Back

A workout

bent rows, back extensions

B workout

add modified pull-ups

C workout

add pull-downs

Arms

A workout

EZ curls, pushdowns

B workout

add hi, moderate and low rep system

C workout

add dumbbell curls, dips

Legs

A workout

safety squats, keystone deadlifts

B workout

add lunge walking, glute-ham raises

C workout

add twisting squats, leg curls

Midsection

A workout

Russian twists

B workout

add pre-stretched crunches

C workout

add sidebends


In mesocycle two, Evander switched to a sports-specific weight training program.

In mesocycle three Evander switched to "complex training." This form of training targets limit strength, explosive strength and starting strength/amortization in one "set" of exercises. The exercises are performed back to back and include jumps, bar exercises, and depth jumps--in that order. The function of the complex method is to peak the athlete. My experience has been that it is a better peaking program than simple bar exercises or plyometric exercises alone.

3-Minute Drill: 3-minutes of combinations of forward and backward sprints, skipping, hopping, jumping and "carioca" (football) drills for both upper and lower body.

Start out with only three, 3-minute drills with one minute rest between each gradually (over the first mesocycle) work up to six 3-minute drills with one minute rest between Take pulse after each drill (target: 180 bpm), and again after one minute rest (target: 110 bpm). Below are the instructions given to the trainer responsible for monitoring Evander's 3-minute drill training and plyometrics sequences.

Bear in mind that this drill is NONSTOP -- pushing him to the absolute limits of his anaerobic tolerance. Keep pounding it into him "CHECKMARK! CHECKMARK!" on all of his movements, including every step he takes, every jump, hop, skip and start/stop. "Checkmark" is a phrase known to all of the athletes I work with. It reminds them to keep the amortization phase (transition from down to up or backward to forward) of each movement pinpoint sharp, the way a "checkmark" looks.

The 3-Minute Drill Sequence:
Jog or step-ups to warm up, then

sprint 40 yards
stop and sprint backwards
stop and sprint backwards
jump in place high ten times
get in a pushup position and give me your legs
run forward on your hands
run backward on your hands
run left
run right
jump up and down on your hands 10 times
stop... get up... carioca left 40 yards
carioca right back to me
skip 40 yards
skip backwards back to me
Each 3-minute drill is performed on verbal commands from the trainer. Evander must go for a solid 3 minutes at a heart rate of 180 beats per minute (minimum). After a one minute rest (getting his heart rate back to 110-120) repeat, rest, and repeat again.

Notice that jumps, hops and skips should be performed with "checkmark" intensity, as should every single move Evander makes -- POUND that thought into his head every minute of these drills. Always tape Evander's wrists and wear gloves (protection from debris and potholes)!

Plyometrics This is a way of improving starting strength, explosive strength and amortization (the "checkmark") through total concentrated force output in every move Evander makes. On days where the midday workout is limited to plyometrics, they should be relaxed, with much rest between bouts, with each bout only lasting 10-20 seconds.

The Plyometrics Sequence

1. jog or do stepups to warm up
2. easy (not "all-out") jumps, hops, skips, and then
3. do 20 yards of skips
4. again
5. hops like a kangaroo
6. again
7. repeat 3, 4, 5, and 6 backwards
8. one-legged hops 30 yards (both feet)
9. hops on hands 10 yards
10. repeat 9 backwards
11. repeat 9 left and right

In second mesocycle, do all of the above with a weighted vest.

In third mesocycle, incorporate bench hops, 10 reps.

In third mesocycle, incorporate twisting skips 40 yards, and twisting the other way back 40 yards."

taken from sportsci.org/news/news9709/hatfield.html

[NaturalPursuit]

#13 - Shred the fat, Keep the Muscle

"Whether you are a competitive bodybuilder, want to look better at the beach, or just want to shed a few pounds before you continue your bulk, you will be forced to go on a cut at some point. Believe it or not, cutting is actually a pretty simple process. Despite the process not being too difficult, it is imperative to know how to properly cut to avoid disastrous results.

Rate of Weight Loss

Unlike bulking which is a very slow and tedious process, cutting is actually much quicker. Not too quick though. You should aim to lose between 1 and 2 pounds per week. Ideally, you should lose 1 pound per week. This will keep any potential muscle loss to a bare minimum. However, most people have a weight loss deadline to meet so the good news is that you can safely lose up to 2 pounds per week without worrying too much about muscle loss. Do not lose anymore than 2 pounds per week unless you are over 25% body fat and substantially over weight. The leaner you get, the closer to 1 pound per week you should lose. As you get leaner, the risk of muscle loss increases.

Cardio

Believe it or not, you do not need to do any cardio to lose weight. You can do it through diet alone but I would not recommend doing so. Cardio is simply a tool to burn calories. You should use it to help you reach your desired calorie deficit. If you choose not to do any cardio, then you will need to eat even less to hit your calorie deficit.

As a general rule, I would aim to hit 50% of your calorie deficit through diet and 50% through cardio. This means that if you are trying to lose 1 pound per week, you should burn roughly 250 calories per day through cardio and the other 250 should be from your diet. Although 500 is the average calorie deficit per day, the more important number to hit is your overall calorie deficit for the week which would be 3,500 if your goal is to lose 1 pound per week. This means your daily calorie deficits can vary as long as the weekly deficit is the same. (Throughout this article, I will talk in terms of calorie deficits per day just because I think it is easier to visualize it daily rather than weekly). Since your weekly calorie deficit is more important than your daily calorie deficit, you don't need to do cardio everyday. Instead, you can aim to burn twice the amount of calories per cardio session but do them every other day.

The type of cardio you do doesn't really matter because the goal is simply to burn calories. You can do HIIT, low intensity, moderate intensity, or a combination of both. Focus on burning a certain amount of calories and then stop. Fasted cardio is a bad idea though. You should always have a meal in you prior to cardio. Fasted cardio puts you at a greater risk of burning muscle and doesn't burn any extra fat. In fact, it may even burn less.

Macros

As I have stated in every article regarding diet so far, macros are the single most important factor in reaching your goals. Since you should be aiming to lose between 1 and 2 pounds per week, you need to create between a 500 and 1,000 calorie deficit per day. You can do this through diet alone or a combination of diet and cardio.

Before you can figure out how many calories to eat for a calorie deficit, you need to know what your maintenance calories are. If you don't already have a general idea, here is a calculator to get you started. You can never trust an online calculator so you should just use it as an estimate. Using this number, subtract your desired calories to reach your deficit. For example, if your goal is to lose 1 pound per week and you are burning 250 calories from cardio per day, then your deficit should be your maintenance minus 250. Meanwhile, you should weigh yourself without clothes on in the morning once a week to see what your weight is doing. If you didn't lose any weight, then your initial maintenance estimate was probably off and you need to create a larger deficit by either subtracting more calories, doing more cardio, or both. If you lost more than your desired amount, it is probably best to keep everything the same for an additional week or two since your body usually drops a few extra pounds the first couple of weeks while transitioning into a cut. This has a lot to do with losing water due to eating less carbohydrates and less sodium. If after two weeks you are still losing more than you hoped, you can add some calories back in or do a little less cardio to slow down the weight loss. To do all of this this, it is extremely important to have a reliable scale. I recommend this one.I've gone through five scales over the last couple of years and this is the first one that gives me consistent readings. It's not expensive and pretty aesthetic looking too. You don't even need to tap it to turn it on.

Once you have your target number of calories, you should figure out your macros very similarly to how you would if you were bulking. Your protein should be either the same or slightly higher and your carbohydrates and fat should be lower. Aim for 1.25 grams of protein per body weight and .4 grams of fat per pound body weight. The rest should be carbohydrates. Let's take a 180 pound male who's maintenance calories are 2,500 as an example. If he wants to lose 1 pound per week, he should burn 250 calories per day through cardio. That means there is a 250 calorie deficit through diet which puts him at 2,250 calories per day. He should eat 225 grams of protein and 72 grams of fat. That leaves 175 grams of carbohydrates. Keep in mind these numbers are very general. Some people do well on low fat and some do well on low carbohydrates. Feel free to adjust the numbers to see which you like more. As you get deeper into your cut, you should subtract calories from your carbohydrates and fats. I personally subtract fat first. Once I my fat reaches .3 grams per pound of body weight, I leave it the same and only subtract carbohydrates from that point forward.

Meal Frequency

You don't need to eat 6 small meals per day but you can if you would like. The frequency of your meals won't have any effect on your progress. When cutting, you are going to be hungry most of the day. For this reason, I rather eat fewer, larger, more satisfying meals than a bunch of smaller meals that leave me hungry. It's personal preference though.

Nutrient Timing

Just like meal frequency, nutrient timing will not have an effect on your progress. You can eat carbohydrates when you wake up or before you go to bed. Your progress will be the same. However, I do recommend eating a larger portion of your carbohydrates around your work outs. This will provide you with more energy so you get the most out of your work out. I'd recommend having approximately 30% of your carbohydrates before your work out and 30% after. The remaining 40% can be spread out however you would like. Although eating carbohydrates before bed won't hurt your progress, I would avoid eating them then simply because there is no reason to give your body fuel before you go to sleep. Save those precious carbohydrates for during the day when you need the energy.


Work Out Routine

During a cut is not the appropriate time to switch routines. Whatever routine you used to build your muscle is the routine you should use to keep your muscle. Commonly, people start doing higher reps and give up the heavy weights. This is the biggest mistake you can make. You need to continue lifting heavy if you want to keep your muscle. You are already eating in a calorie deficit. If you combine that with lifting light weights, you aren't giving your body any reason to keep your muscle. It is important to continue lifting as heavy as possible in order to give your body a reason to keep your hard earned muscle.

Supplements

Don't bother with fat burners. There aren't any over the counter fat burners that will give you any noticeable fat burning effects. The only additional supplements I would add on a cut are a pre work out supplement if you don't use one already and BCAAs. The pre work out supplement will give you an energy boost when your diet is failing to give you the energy you would like for an intense work out. A couple of pre work out supplements I recommend are Controlled Labs White Flood and Muscle Pharm Assault.

BCAAs can help to prevent muscle loss. You can drink them during your work out as well as before cardio. I would recommend either Scivation Xtendor AI Sports RecoverPro. One serving during your work out and another serving 5-10 minutes before cardio is enough.

Conclusion

To sum everything up, cutting really isn't too complicated. Cardio is very beneficial but not required and your macros should be similar to your bulking macros but with less carbohydrates and less fat. As you get deeper into your cut and your weight loss stalls, you should subtract calories from your fat and/or carbohydrates and increase your calories burned on cardio. Your weekly calorie deficit is the most important number to hit but it may be easier to break it down daily instead. Meal frequency and nutrient timing is irrelevant and entirely personal preference. You should not change your work out routine and continue lifting heavy to give your muscles a reason to stay put. Additionally, fat burners are unnecessary but pre work out supplements can be helpful to provide some extra energy and BCAAs can help in preventing muscle loss."

Credit given to and taken from pfaufitness.blogspot.com/2011/12/shed-fat-keep-muscle.html

[NaturalPursuit]

BoxingScene,

As I am busy with the New Year, I would like to begin covering topics that are "Specific." Are there any topics out there that people would like me to cover? If so, feel free to post them here and I will answer them

Happy New Year