workout help
 

I have spent the last 9-12 weeks "bulking up", well sort of.
I was working out on a 5 day split with Monday, Tuesday & Thursday, Friday being weights & Wednesday being cardio.

Now comes the time to "cut". Firstly I am watching what I eat and trying to cut out simple carbs, and trying to not eat complex carbs after lunchtime, (not doing very well with that part).

My question is when cutting I believe you still have to lift otherwise you will loose some muscle, so do you lift on the same days you do cardio or should I do say 2 days lifting a week and 3 days of cardio ?

When cutting, diet is far more important than your routine.

In a strict cutting diet the majority of your carbs should be consumed post workout, (only low GI carbs, oatmeal and brown rice, yams, etc) and the remainder during breakfast.

All high glycemic carbs outside of your post workout meal should be avoided.

Fats, believe it or not, you need good fats to lose fat. Essential Fatty Acids. Flax Oil, Nuts, Salmon, Olive Oil, etc.

Here is a quick PRIMER diet, I have no idea what your build or goals are, so you will need to tweak it.

Breakfast
One scoop 100% whey, eggs, 1/2 cup oatmeal

Meal 2:
Chicken breast with 2 tbsp flax.

Meal 3:
Veggies, 1 can white tuna.

Workout

Post workout
Protein shake.

Meal 5, (45 minutes after shake).
Veggies, lean meat, 1/2 cup rice or oatmeal.

Meal 6:
Shake with Flax and a little cottage cheese.

Remember, on a carb deficient diet you don't want to overdo your lifting sessions, you will easily deplete your glycogen levels which will lead to muscle wasting.

Good luck man! :thumbsup

Oh, and as for your routine.

While you will obviously lose strength during a cutting routine, you want to maintain as much as possible as not to negate the gains you made while bulking.

I would reduce the amount of time you spend in the gym, but stick with a 3 day split hitting each body part at least one day a week.

For example.

Day 1 Chest/back

Day 2 Cardio / no weight training

Day 3 Legs

Day 4 Rest

Day 5 Triceps / Biceps

Day 6 Cardio / abs

Day 7 Rest

Repeat. :)

Again, keep in mind this primer is dependent on your goals. For example, some people just want to be ultra lean, while others don't mind being at 10-11% with a lot more muscle mass.

The leaner you get, the more dedication it takes to maintain muscle mass. The amount of work you have to put it on also depends on your body type and genetics.

thanks for the guidelines.

10-11% BF would be just fine with me.
Unfortunately I am not dedicated enough to do a proper clean cut. I think going to hardcore and failing is worse than more moderate & obtainable approach.

Start your day off with Take Charge. My experience with it has been great.

In fact, I am going to prepare my morning dose right now. 1/4 cup Take Charge, 2 TBSP protein whey, mixed in some Greek yogurt.