cutting for a competition

[wfcody25]

alright so im competing in a competition in mid july and need to cut down to 198 i weigh 212 right now but have been bulking and havent started cardio. is it possible to get down to 198 and how should i go about getting to tht weight

 

[Tnoel]

Mid july doesn't leave you a lot of time. It's possible, but your going to sacrafice a lot of muscle dieting down that quickly. Plus, I don't think you will get nearly as lean as you would have had you given yourself plenty of time.

 

[aceroni]

When cutting for a competition, you should NEVER shoot for a weight. That is very close minded. Shoot for CONDITIONING..
Start by adding in 20minutes of slow and steady cardio after your weight training sessions 3x a week, then bump it up to 7x

 

[ZiR RED]

When cutting for a competition, you should NEVER shoot for a weight. That is very close minded. Shoot for CONDITIONING..
Start by adding in 20minutes of slow and steady cardio after your weight training sessions 3x a week, then bump it up to 7x

I agree with the top part.

I think you'll see better results doing HIIT cardio for 30 min 3x a week until you get quite lean. Then you can switch over to LISS cardio to reduce the last of the BF while maintaining muscle.

I also think you need to chose a competition that's further out...unless you are already quite lean.

Br

 

[aceroni]

ehhh unless your calories are super high or your super fat idk about the whole HIIT.. I guess everybody is different, but last time i did a contest the only cardio i did was liss 20 min post workout on the stairs and 40 mins AM cardio slow n steady walking.. went from 185-155 in 12 weeks estimated 3-4%

 

[ZiR RED]

The literature shows that HIIT is more efficient at burning fat and retaining muscle...at least, in a certain bf range.

We can also look at the popularity and success of LISS at getting people super ripped for competition.

Given the caloric needs and hormonal response to HIIT, I feel its best suited for the first 6-8 weeks of pre-contest, or at least to drop someone down to the 4-7% range. Beyond that range, you might expect a great loss in muscle with the demands of HIIT combined with a decreasing caloric intake needed to get into contest shape...which is why I suggested LISS for the final weeks, or to drop from <7 to 3-4%

Br

 

[aceroni]

Fair enough..
My trainer insisted that i'd lose too much muscle doing HIIT (I am a hard ecto-> lifted myself into ecto-meso), and i lose weight / muscle at the drop of a hat... I probably started somewhere around 10-12%,
I was just sharing my own personal experience, not arguing / trying to say you were wrong..