Advice. Getting strong, cut, but not bulky

[acdcrox617]

I need lifting advice. Here's my workouts. Monday Wednesday and Friday, I do 3 miles on the treadmill, 3X20 on bench, 3x20 on squat, 3x60 calfs, 2x20 quad extensions, 3x20 hamstring curls, 3x25 bicep curls, 3x20 triceps extensions, 3x20 on military press, a crap load of ab work, than usually I'll do some 40 yard sprints. Tuesday, Thursday, and Sat, I just do 3 miles and sprints cuz your not supposed to do the same lift 2 days in a row. Now Idk if I'm working out right or not. I'm pretty cut and lean. Wut I wanna do is be strong and be cut at the same time. I don't wanna bulk up or anything, cuz I like being cut better. But I still wanna get stronger. Do I need to do heavy weights too or what? Like wut I was thinkin was maybe do heavy weights few reps one workout, than light weight higher faster reps the next workout. Or doing like 1x20, 2x6, 1x4, and finish up with 1x20 for every workout. Idk. wuts everyones input? Remember. I want strength but to be cut and to be able to run hella fast at the same time.

Also, I'm 8% BF, 5'11", 167
I'm also doing a test suspension and winny cycle
Only 75 mg of each EOD, than I'm gonna finish with Winny solo at 100mg ED
Than a few months down the line I'm gonna do an EQ + Winny at 600mg eq EW and 100 mg WIN EOD for the second half of that cycle

 

[richardbraden]

What is 3X20 mean on bench?

 

[RADAR]

I think he means 3 sets and 20 reps. Thats no way to train.


I could offer more info if i knew his age and what the diet looks like.

RADAR

 

[forcd]

bro drop your reps... i prefer 8-12 but its goal depending and remember everyone is different like a mate of mine swears by 4-6 reps 5 sets and it works for him, does absolutly nothing for me. but my opinion is your rep range is way to high. and its not really a case of use heavier weights as i cant train heavy so i just have to superset everything leaving only 30-45 seconds between sets now people around here may babble on about you cant gain training like that but hey it works for me.

 

[RADAR]

bro drop your reps... i prefer 8-12 but its goal depending and remember everyone is different like a mate of mine swears by 4-6 reps 5 sets and it works for him, does absolutly nothing for me. but my opinion is your rep range is way to high. and its not really a case of use heavier weights as i cant train heavy so i just have to superset everything leaving only 30-45 seconds between sets now people around here may babble on about you cant gain training like that but hey it works for me.

Actually that does work, but like me I like to completely change routines after 4-5 months to keep the body guessing,If I'm not sore then i consider the workout wasted.



RADAR

 

[richardbraden]

weight must be low if your doing 20 reps at a time ..

 

[acdcrox617]

My age is 21 for the dude who asked. And yeah I was only using about 55% of my one rep max for my sets of 20. So will upping the weight but doing like 3 sets of somewhere between 8 and 12 still get me stronger while staying cut? I do NOT want to bulk up. I just like staying cut, because that's my personal preference. Remember I run 3 miles a day and do sprints every other day as well. And my diet is clean. I eat my fruits, vegetables, fibers, protein. All that good stuff. I really eat junk food.

 

[slimjim1985]

Once a month I will throw in high volume and speed exercises for each muscle group. The other 3 weeks, I do my normal training of heavy lifting. I'm obviously trying to bulk, but if you want to stay "cut" and strong, do the opposite. As radar says, keep ur body guessing. But you got to figure out what works for you.

 

[daveyboy2345]

drop the rep ranges to 6-15 for awhile and see how everything goes. Kepp protein high and carbs and fat moderate and you'll gain plenty of strength.

 

[acdcrox617]

Alrighty I'll give that a try. Since I also do 3 miles a day and since I also do some 40s after workouts, I probably should not have to even worry about bulking up.
''

 

[RADAR]

Even if you train heavy and do 6-7 sets and build some muscle you will still be cut with all that other volume training that you do.

RADAR

 

[acdcrox617]

Wut do you mean by "volume training?"

 

[RADAR]

Alrighty I'll give that a try. Since I also do 3 miles a day and since I also do some 40s after workouts, I probably should not have to even worry about bulking up.
''

That! and the amount of reps.


RADAR

 

[acdcrox617]

Ah. Okay. So wut I'm thinking that will get me stronger without bulking up is to do like heavier weights with lower reps on bench press and squat, and keep doing high reps low weight on auxiliary lifts such as bicep curls, calfs, triceps, military press, hamstrings, leg extensions ect. That in addition to running 3 miles a day and doing 40s I should stay cut and keep getting stronger and not bulking up. And gotta eat healthy of course.

 

[Big_BK]

Looking cut is all about diet IMO. Eat clean and lift low reps if you want to get strong.

 

[thebigoz]

Looking cut is all about diet IMO. Eat clean and lift low reps if you want to get strong.

Agreed.

If you maintain a clean diet, but put on more lean muscle then you will still look cut. If not even MORE cut.

As long as you aren't increasing your BF %, then you don't need to worry.


If you are putting on lean muscle mass and not fat, then your BF % will continue to drop...

 

[trauck1506]

1. I would lower the reps from 6 to 12 since this is usually the best range for hypertrophy. 2. Intake some form of protein directly after workout and whey or some other type of fast absorbing protein would be best. 3. To gain size add around 500+ calories and mostly protein to your usual diet and completely change if it sucks. Also, remember that muscle increases your metabolism which means you will always have to adjust. I have different views about doing cardio and weight training back to back because the strongest I have ever been pound for pound is when I would run 3 miles to the gym and then back 5 times a week. However, most people will advise not to do it. 4. Stick with mostly compound movements! Nothing is more annoying than the people who do biceps for 1 hour + in front of the mirror and have 13" arms.

 

[JDid23]

yeah man it has already been said but can't be stressed enough.. your diet will determine how cut you looked. You said you love junk food, which isn't bad to cheat with during a bulk, but during a cut you don't want to eat too much junk food.

EDIT: what you were saying about high reps is a common myth. As i said, diet determins how cut you are, and lifting heavier helps you build more muscle than lifting for more reps. Therefore, you will have bigger muscles that are more cut by lifting heavy and having less BF%

 

[acdcrox617]

Okay cool. Oh and I have a correction to make. When I said I eat junk food, I meant to say I don't eat junk food. I just forgot to put the don't. So ya my diet is pretty clean.

 

[b fold the truth]

I do NOT want to bulk up.

I just like staying cut,

Remember I run 3 miles a day and do sprints every other day as well.

And my diet is clean.

I eat my fruits, vegetables, fibers, protein. All that good stuff.

This really tells us nothing.

If I ran 3 miles a day, did sprints every other day, and ate clean...I would never get strong or "cut". I'd wither away to nothing.

If you want to get strong then you have to DEFINE STRONG!

Strength depends SO much on knowing HOW to recruit fibers. Intelligence, not rep ranges and exercise choices.

If you want to get cut, you have to eat clean. Do the cardio for fun if you want, but not to get lean, especially if you are under 170lbs and using AAS too. Man, that hurts the wires in my head to even think about.

Still, no indication on what you eat. I could eat 5,000 calories a day and still lose weight, lots of weight, if I did that much cardio.

 

[chucktown04]

I think a 8-14 rep range will do well for what you want but 20 reps is way to many to gain strength on. Like has been stated above your diet will determine if you get bulky or not. This has worked for me personally I'm your same height and about the same age and I don't go for that bulky look either.