Lifting program for cutting?

[gymtime]

I don't believe that there is a whole lot of muscle. I have a big frame to start with (6'4" 38" waist), size 15 foot, broad shoulders ;p I carry the weight well, or so I've been told. I'm not real soft and flabby, just big all over But, for my size...I think I am very weak, maybe my muscles just haven't been trained properly yet What would be the losing it quick alternative, very low calories and lots of cardio? Maybe a very low carb diet (Atkins)? Would losing it fast leave me with lots of extra skin hanging around?

BTW, congrats on your progress so far...Looks like you've got your body figured out!

There is no quick alternative to diet and excercise. This is going to take some time for you. You have a lot of work to do. Don't worry about how fast it will come off or extra skin right now. Focus on what you need to do to get started. Worry about that stuff when the time comes.

I would not suggest and adkins diet for you. You need carbs for all the work you'll be doing. You just need to learn the good from the bad.

 

[Protobuilder]

Losing 11% in 6 months is decent? Dude that's more than respectable. Great work.

Thanks. Nice to hear someone say it. I don't know what's good and whether I should've done better. I'm not done yet, but taking a 6 week break.

soze78 -- I had the impression that you were a big powerlifter type but if you're relatively new to lifting period, then some of this may be a lot to take in all at once. You can't just tell someone who's never really been in shape to just start doing heavy squats. I don't want to give you bad advice. There may be other reasons that you aren't at the stage where you can just jump into heavy, compound lifting. That complicates the plan I discussed earlier. LoL

I don't think you need Atkins or anything of that sort. Like gymtime said, it will take some time and it will be a lifestyle change really, if you're serious. You gotta' learn to choose healthier foods, eat less, get moving more, etc. The good news is, you're one big dude! If you really are only 27% BF and weigh 200, that's a lot of lean mass underneath still. So if you get down to a decent BF%, you'll have an awesome frame to work from! And you are weak right now but don't sweat it -- you're untrained. If you get into this stuff, you will find that you'll probably turn out to be quite strong. But it will take time. There are no viable shortcuts.

 

[soze78]

Well, I've had it checked by 2 different people recently because the first one was from the PT I mentioned earlier and I really didn't know if I could trust it. Both tests were the skin fold test (I believe it's called) they pinched 3 or 4 different spots on my body with calipers to figure it out. I guess he was good for something! So the 3 x 8 routine in post#6 and 2-3 off day cardio sessions seem like a decent place to start?

Both of you guys have been a HUGE help, thanks a lot for your patience!

 

[gymtime]

Thanks. Nice to hear someone say it. I don't know what's good and whether I should've done better. I'm not done yet, but taking a 6 week break.

Been there myself, so I know what's involved in that kind of loss. Most guys can't pull it off.

So I gotta ask, why the long break?

 

[gymtime]

Well, I've had it checked by 2 different people recently because the first one was from the PT I mentioned earlier and I really didn't know if I could trust it. Both tests were the skin fold test (I believe it's called) they pinched 3 or 4 different spots on my body with calipers to figure it out. I guess he was good for something! So the 3 x 8 routine in post#6 and 2-3 off day cardio sessions seem like a decent place to start?

Both of you guys have been a HUGE help, thanks a lot for your patience!

Yeah that will work for now. And don't worry about your exact bf%. It's too high, that's all you need to know right now. Remember: diet diet diet.

 

[silver_shadow]

Well, I've had it checked by 2 different people recently because the first one was from the PT I mentioned earlier and I really didn't know if I could trust it. Both tests were the skin fold test (I believe it's called) they pinched 3 or 4 different spots on my body with calipers to figure it out. I guess he was good for something! So the 3 x 8 routine in post#6 and 2-3 off day cardio sessions seem like a decent place to start?

Both of you guys have been a HUGE help, thanks a lot for your patience!

i'd say make that 4x8. as for the cardio... here's how i suggest u do it. don't do one (or 2-3) long slow cardio sessions. get on the bike (or treadmill or whatever u use) and after an initial slow session where u get nice and warmed up, up the pace... to around 70% effort... hold it till u get winded and a little more time. now u REALLY have to stop because ur heart and lungs are saying enough. stop, rest enough so that u get ur breath back and get back to 70% and repeat as many times as it will take u to finish 30 mins from start to finish. trust me, a few weeks of this and u should see some awesome results. keep us posted on how it's going.

 

[Protobuilder]

I gotta ask, why the long break?

I was down to 2100 cals/day and going into the Christmas season, going out of town, etc., and figured I'd help my metabolism out by taking a break and that it'd be nice to not try and diet strict over Christmas/New Years. Also, I'm down to 170 and don't like the idea of being any skinnier, LoL, so wanted to see if I couldn't gain a pound or two of LBM during this 4-6 week mini-bulk phase. I've got a few weeks to go and then it's back to cutting.

 

[coolcolj]

there are a few around, but these are the latest and greatest

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=643C682B400DBBAC4B41EAAFBF1BB420.hydra?id=877549

http://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/22