Cutting Workouts

For those in the bodybuilding game, cutting is part and parcel of the process of crafting your ultimate physique. Cutting involves losing body fat while maintaining your muscle mass. Even if you're not looking to step on a bodybuilding stage though, you can follow a cutting plan when getting lean for a holiday or event. When switching from a muscle-building to a cutting phase, certain factors of your workouts need addressing.

  1. Weight Exercise Selection

    • Weight training is the foundation of your cutting program. Lifting weights helps maintain muscle mass, which in turn boosts your metabolic rate and speeds up the cutting process. To make your workouts as effective as possible, train your whole body in each session and train three times per week, or work your lower body twice and upper body twice. Make multi-joint compound lifts the basis of your program. These work lots of different muscle groups, which increases your calorie expenditure and accelerates fat loss, according to strength coach Zach Even-Esh. Examples include any type of squat or deadlift, bench presses and overhead presses, chin-ups, pull-downs, pushups and rows.

    Weight and Reps

    • Keep lifting heavy. Training hard with heavy weights is the best way to build muscle and strength, but it's also an effective way to preserve it and boost fat loss, according to Kevin Carr of Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning in Boston. Pick four to five exercises for each workout and perform each for three to five sets of six to 10 repetitions.

    Conditioning

    • Conditioning and cardio workouts help burn extra calories so you get leaner quicker. Personal trainer Marc Perry of Built Lean recommends adding metabolic circuits to your workouts. These involve body-weight moves such as pushups, squats and lunges, as well as cardio drills such as sprints, jumping rope and burpees. Construct a circuit consisting of three to four exercises, each performed for 30 to 60 seconds with no rest in between. Rest for one to two minutes after the last exercise and complete three total rounds. As you get fitter add an extra round. You can either do these straight after your lifting sessions or on days in between.

    Considerations

    • Diet is just as important as training, if not more so. You can't cut and burn fat unless you're burning more calories than you consume, so you'll also need to reduce your calorie intake. Aim for a loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week -- any higher than this means you may be losing muscle mass as well as burning fat. If progress stalls, add in two to three 20- to 30-minute steady-state cardio sessions such as swimming or jogging, or lower your calorie intake a little. Check with your doctor before beginning a new routine and have an induction with a gym trainer to check your form. Start each session with five minutes of cardio and two to three light warm-up sets for each exercise, and finish with more light cardio and stretching.