Summertime Shred

[monkeybrain]

Its getting close to that time of year again. Personally I like to cut down on bodyfat during April and May and then work to maintain a lower bf % during the summer. Here's my approach, let me know what you think.


In the gym
weeks 1-3 Set new 6RM strength goals for Bench press, Deadlift and Chin
weeks 4-6 Hypertrophy is the main goal, will incorporate density protocols for upper body and lower body
weeks 7-8 GH circuits 2-3x/ week

Beginning week 1 I will incorporate 40 second sled pushes X 6-8 rounds with 5 min rest, one time/ week. Progressively lowering rest interval by 30 seconds each week.



At the table:
No alcohol beginning week 1
No processed sugar beginning week 1 (I will eat fruit)
weeks 1-2 eating normally i.e shooting for my daily protein goal and following hunger. shooting for 16:8 fast protocol at least 2 days / week.
weeks 3-5 begin a 3-4 day on 1 day off carb cycle.
weeks 6-8 Carb cycling, 200 calorie deficit/ day, shoot for 16:8 every day


Additional tools:
Carnitine tartrate post workout
Green tea/caffeine within 45 min pre workout
increase omega 3's
I will also shoot for at least one longer fast period on non training days 24-36 hours.
potentially incorporate an adaptogen too.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Weeks 1-3 trying to hit strength goals while shredding is… counterproductive. They are competing objectives

 

[monkeybrain]

interesting I'm thinking its achievable with the corresponding nutrition at that time. Plus it will set up the hypertrophy phase nicely.

 

[Chuck Taylor]

chicken, sweet potatoes, broccoli, steak, brown rice, carrots, cauliflower, red cabbage

Also, drink nothing but water. Always. No juice, no soda, no energy drinks, no tea, no milk. Just water.

 

[nicksaiz65]

I like how you’re cutting out alcohol. That alcohol can absolutely ruin everything when it comes to your physique goals.

Also, fasting is godly. Ever try longer fasts? Like say 20:4, or OMAD?

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

shooting for 16:8 fast protocol at least 2 days / week.

16:8 is super ez man...everyone should be doing that every day already. I'd try to do a 24 hour fast 1-2x a week at first and see if you can handle that every day. I was able to do that for a couple months straight and followed it up with a 5 day long fast, and I lost 25 lbs of subcutaneous fat in my chest and abs. Good thing about fasting is you don't have to worry about what you eat as much either (as long as you still avoid processed junk, sugar, and alcohol).

 

[behimo]

why bother with fruit? fiber? fructose from fruits needs to be converted in your liver as fat before your body actually uses it.

 

[typical]

why bother with fruit? fiber? fructose from fruits needs to be converted in your liver as fat before your body actually uses it.

Adequate fruit provides a decent dose of vitamins instead of just popping a pill. We've become far too accustomed to popping a pill to supplement weak diets. Also having your organs actually do their functions is actually a good thing

I'm also not a fan of the whole "bulking/cutting" cycle crap, puts far too much stress on your system and ruins your athletic performance by very large margins. The best gains/changes in physique come from increasing your calorie intake and expenditure to above normal levels (higher than 3500 cals per day) and then all you have to do is maintain it at 80% effort at least 5 days a week with a relatively clean diet (you can have a cheat meal/day) and you can have the washboard 8 pack with decent muscle mass all year round at about 10-12% bf.

If you aren't playing top level sports going sub 10% isn't really worth it.

 

[nicksaiz65]

16:8 is super ez man...everyone should be doing that every day already. I'd try to do a 24 hour fast 1-2x a week at first and see if you can handle that every day. I was able to do that for a couple months straight and followed it up with a 5 day long fast, and I lost 25 lbs of subcutaneous fat in my chest and abs. Good thing about fasting is you don't have to worry about what you eat as much either (as long as you still avoid processed junk, sugar, and alcohol).

You are speaking the truth. I love to hear it.

CICO + Intermittent Fasting + Extended Fasting = The physique you want, no matter what.

Once I started really leaning into IF as well as throwing some extended fasts in there, the weight just started melting off. And what’s more, corporate lunches, random social events, and even vacations couldn’t stop me from losing weight. I would just fast after/around those meals, and I continued to lose.

Fasting really is the best way to get your physique imo

 

[HaleyBaron]

Adequate fruit provides a decent dose of vitamins instead of just popping a pill. We've become far too accustomed to popping a pill to supplement weak diets. Also having your organs actually do their functions is actually a good thing

I'm also not a fan of the whole "bulking/cutting" cycle crap, puts far too much stress on your system and ruins your athletic performance by very large margins. The best gains/changes in physique come from increasing your calorie intake and expenditure to above normal levels (higher than 3500 cals per day) and then all you have to do is maintain it at 80% effort at least 5 days a week with a relatively clean diet (you can have a cheat meal/day) and you can have the washboard 8 pack with decent muscle mass all year round at about 10-12% bf.

If you aren't playing top level sports going sub 10% isn't really worth it.

I hate eating. Prepping meals and cooking takes up so much time I can be using on personal projects. It doesn't help that I have a full time job, too. Nor do I want to spend the money on chefs to make meals for me cause it gets expensive real fast. But I agree that you need to eat to get big.

 

[nicksaiz65]

I hate eating. Prepping meals and cooking takes up so much time I can be using on personal projects. It doesn't help that I have a full time job, too. Nor do I want to spend the money on chefs to make meals for me cause it gets expensive real fast. But I agree that you need to eat to get big.

Imo, it’s best to batch cook your prepped meals on a Sunday. Then, freeze them.

Yeah, I agree. The best way to cut costs if bulking imo, is to:
1.) Not go crazy on protein because it’s the most expensive macronutrient
2.) Eat a lot of super cheap carbs to get your calories. Stuff like pasta and rice. And buy a rice cooker so your rice comes out perfectly every time.

 

[typical]

I hate eating. Prepping meals and cooking takes up so much time I can be using on personal projects. It doesn't help that I have a full time job, too. Nor do I want to spend the money on chefs to make meals for me cause it gets expensive real fast. But I agree that you need to eat to get big.

I had to learn how to meal prep at a very early age (14 or so). It was a side affect of wanting to play top level sports which required a solid build which could only come from eating like a hippo.

You can turn 500grams of prime minced beef into 7 servings of spagbol that has about 70grams of mince per serve which is about 17-18 grams of protein and 14-15 grams of fat (roughly if my maths is correct and I remember my macros). Also 500grams of prime mince you can pick up for like $10 NZD at your local butcher here. Just throw in some steamed veges and rice/pasta and boom thats 1 out of your 6 meals for the day done.

I also have a recipe for a very heavy power shake that I still use

8 tablespoons rolled oats (300 cals)
4 tablespoons yoghurt (40 cals)
4 tablespoons honey (260 cals)
4 scoops of isolate whey (lactose intolerant) (460 cals)
2 banana's (200-250 cals)
200-400mls of water or lactose free low fat milk (80-160 cals)
Thats 1300- 1400 cals in one shake.

Blitz it up slam it down 15-30 mins before a workout and watch yourself power through everything. I used to take this before and after every training session.

Edit: Yes I understand that modern science says you can only utilise 30 grams of protein at any one meal BUT we aren't using this to rebuild anything its basic fuel to be burned while training and actually having an excess supply of macro and micro nutrients in the system during the entire workout while still having semi digested micro and macros in the gut mean you can keep performing for 2-3 hours of racing at a time, and there is plenty of fuel to keep the body pushing at above 90% effort while having adequate nutrients to repair damaged muscle on the fly. Just because you're exercising doesn't mean that the body won't try to repair damaged muscles while they are still being used......... the biochemistry DOES NOT STOP.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

^Why use protein for fuel and why would you consume that much BEFORE a workout? Seems like that would feel like a brick in your stomach. To each his own I guess. I opt to have couple oranges and a banana.

 

[typical]

^Why use protein for fuel and why would you consume that much BEFORE a workout? Seems like that would feel like a brick in your stomach. To each his own I guess. I opt to have couple oranges and a banana.

This was when I was sailing, rowing and training for between 4-6 hours daily and eating like 8000+ cals a day. By no means do I recommend you to use that recipe without halving the ingredient list first. Even at half serving it still packs a punch, I never felt heavy or had digestive problems with this ....... but then again I started with 1/4 then 1/2 then the full stack over a period of months.

The cost of 8k+ cals a day with whole foods and supplements is VERY high and only need be done if you're going to compete (the diet will have to be changed to your sports requirements).

You can achieve the "Aesthetic" washboard abs fitness physique by just upping your cals by 500 on what you're eating now (clean it up a bit and take out the junk and add more whole foods). Only do the extreme sub 10% bf (unless you have "Arnold" genes) if you're competing otherwise the return on the investment for being healthy is very very miniscule. I would compare it to having a track ready racing car as your daily driver, yea it looks cool but the cost of maintaining and running far outweighs any perceived benefit.

 

[nicksaiz65]

This was when I was sailing, rowing and training for between 4-6 hours daily and eating like 8000+ cals a day. By no means do I recommend you to use that recipe without halving the ingredient list first. Even at half serving it still packs a punch, I never felt heavy or had digestive problems with this ....... but then again I started with 1/4 then 1/2 then the full stack over a period of months.

The cost of 8k+ cals a day with whole foods and supplements is VERY high and only need be done if you're going to compete (the diet will have to be changed to your sports requirements).

You can achieve the "Aesthetic" washboard abs fitness physique by just upping your cals by 500 on what you're eating now (clean it up a bit and take out the junk and add more whole foods). Only do the extreme sub 10% bf (unless you have "Arnold" genes) if you're competing otherwise the return on the investment for being healthy is very very miniscule. I would compare it to having a track ready racing car as your daily driver, yea it looks cool but the cost of maintaining and running far outweighs any perceived benefit.

What would you say the best Bodyfat is to stay aesthetic year round yet still be able to put on muscle while natural?

It seems that 10-12% is a good range. I’ve heard of people having issues when they start dropping below 10%. But mannn, it looks so aesthetic. Just look at Athlean-X or Kinobody.

 

[typical]

What would you say the best Bodyfat is to stay aesthetic year round yet still be able to put on muscle while natural?

It seems that 10-12% is a good range. I’ve heard of people having issues when they start dropping below 10%. But mannn, it looks so aesthetic. Just look at Athlean-X or Kinobody.

Get to the 10-12% range first and try and maintain that for a year. It will come down to making the dietary changes a permanent habit. Once there then you can experiment by either dropping cals (100-250 lower than your maintenance) OR increasing your cardio ever so slightly (like a light jog/run for 30 mins to burn some extra cals). Lower your fluid intake to exactly 2 litres and no more and slowly over the next few months you'll drop down to around 6-8%.

A lot of people mistake how much work it requires to sit at a decent athletic physique and maintain the low single digit bf%. It can be done without stressing your body too much BUT it takes time and your food bill will become expensive. Having said that if you clean your diet up and stick to it for like 4-5 years your body will naturally want to get rid of all excess fat as it will then become used to using everything for fuel or repairs and having excess fat isn't beneficial to the body.

You can do the hardcore eating and training diets and drop the fat really really quickly but your body will not have adjusted to the drastic changes and you will suffer from cravings or you might crash the body and need time to recover. Everything the fitness "Guru's" say and sell is pure BULL****, its made to give you a quick result but hook you for life "yo-yoing" away and throwing your money at trainers and supplements.

You can also go down the Hypertrophy (Arnold) route OR the Athletic (Asafa Powell) route. One way makes you big and sexy but you will lack the athletic performance and endurance but it's relatively easier to accomplish the other route will give you explosive strength speed stamina and aesthetic looks without looking too bulky. Both are long term prospects and require a change of lifestyle and it's your choice which way to go (you can even bounce between the two "styles"). But my humble opinion is VERY BIASED and I always promote the athletic way as the benefits are numerous and its based upon strength, conditioning, performance and endurance.
I'm all about strength and performance the endurance and size are side affects (to a certain degree).

All of this is just my 2 cents you can take from it what will help you and discard the rest.

EDIT: I also DO NOT agree with statements like

"I want to lose 10-20 kgs" or "I want washboard abs for Summer". The goals should be "I want to build a healthy lifestyle and be able to perform like an athlete for the rest of my days". If you set a small goal you will relapse into your lazy self after you get there in 6-12 months. Make the goal stupid HUGE and then break it down into smaller 3-6 monthly small goals.

I started as a scrawny 12 year old kid and for some strange reason I saw the 1996 Olympics and I just wanted to get there. Mind you I haven't been fit enough to make it there (injuries and life crap got in the way) BUT as they say for every "Mike Tyson Champion there are hundreds of thousands of kids that never make it due to injury".