IronMan - Cutting Time

[IronMan360]

Hey guys its time for me to start my cutting phase. I have set a 16 week deadline which I am gonna try to stick to. Here is my carb cycling diet that I will be following along with my workout.
My stats are: 5' 7" , 165lbs

High Carb Day:
6:00am - 32g protien shake (with fat-free milk)
8:00am - 32g protien shake (with fat-free milk)
10:00am - 1 large chicken breast
Large salad, No dressing
12:00pm - (Pre-workout) Peanut butter sandwich
2:00pm - (Post-workout) 32g protien shake (with fat-free milk)
-1 banana
4:00pm - Whatever family is eating for dinner
Total Carbs - 160g carbs
Total Protien - 170g protien
Total calories - 1500 calories

Low Carb Day:
6:00am - 32g protien shake (with fat-free milk)
8:00am - 32g protien shake (with fat-free milk)
10:00am - 1 large chicken breast
Large salad, No dressing
12:00pm - (Pre-workout) 1 can of Tuna
2:00pm - (Post-workout) 32g protien shake (with fat-free milk)
4:00pm - 1 Large chicken breast
- Steamed Vegetables
Total Carbs - 51g carbs
Total Protien - 231g protien
Total calories - 1200 calories

Mid Carb Day:
6:00am - 32g protien shake (with fat-free milk)
8:00am - 32g protien shake (with fat-free milk)
10:00am - 1 large chicken breast
Large salad, No dressing
12:00pm - (Pre-workout) 1 can of Tuna
- 2 slices of whole wheat bread
2:00pm - (Post-workout) 32g protien shake (with fat-free milk)
- 1 banana
4:00pm - 1 Large chicken breast
- Steamed Vegetables
Total Carbs - 107g carbs
Total Protien - 231g protien
Total calories - 1400 calories

Current Cycle:
Mon – Low
Tues - Mid
Wed -High
Thurs -Mid
Fri - Low
Sat - Low
Sun - Mid

[IronMan360]

Mon
Chest:
Bench press - 5 sets, 5 reps
Flat bench flies - 5 sets, 10-15 reps
Incline bench press - 5 sets, 10-12 reps
Incline bench flies – 4 sets, 10-15 reps
Calves:
Standing calf raises -4 sets, 10 reps
Seated calf raises - 4 sets, 15 reps
30 Mins Cardio AM and 30 Mins PM
ABS

Tues
Back:
Reverse Rows - 4 sets, 10 reps
Seated pulley rows - 6 sets, 10-15 reps(super setted with)
Pulldowns - 6 sets, 10-15 reps
One-arm dumbbell rows - 5 sets, 10-15 reps
Deadlifts - 6 sets( Ascending weight ), 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
30 Mins Cardio AM and 30 Mins PM
ABS

Weds
Shoulders:
Seated barbell presses - 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Lateral raises (standing) - 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Rear-delt lateral raises - 5 sets, 10-12 reps
Barbell Shrugs - 4 sets, 10 reps
Dumbell Shrugs - 4 sets, 10 reps
30 Mins Cardio AM and 30 Mins PM
ABS

Thurs
Bis and Tris:
Barbell curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated dumbbell curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Dumbbell concentration curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Skull Crushers - 4 sets 10 reps (Hypersetted with
Close grip Bench Press - 4 sets 10 reps
Dips - 4 sets 10 reps)
Pushdowns - 4 sets 12 reps
30 Mins Cardio AM and 30 Mins PM
ABS

Fri
Legs:
Squats - 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg presses - 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg extensions - 6 sets, 12-15 reps
Leg curls - 6 sets, 10-12 reps
30 Mins Cardio AM and 30 Mins PM
ABS

[IronMan360]

Just got back from my second workout, I did 30 of minutes of cardio for my first workout at 5am and did 30 min cardio and shoulders at 12pm. If you have any suggestions on my diet or workout please let me know. Feeling good for my first day of dieting, have been following it strict and have also already downed 1 gallon of water and am still thirsty.

[IronMan360]

Just Finished a tuff week of dieting and have dropped to 163!! Its awsome off to drink another shake

[Built]

Why so much volume on a cut?

[Simps]

Hey Bro.

Are you taking Animal Cuts? Any other supps?

[IronMan360]

What do you mean by volume? Volume of what?


-Also I am not taking any other supplements besides the Whey Protien, a Multi-vitamin, and Fish Oils.

[IronMan360]

I just finished my morning cardio and have already eatin 2 meals.... I will let ya know how my next session goes, I was feelin awake today.

[IronMan360]

My Pm workout was hard today. I felt a pretty good pump in my bis so i felt good about my progress. Gotta stay strong tho

[Built]

Just looks like a lot of sets and a lot of reps.

Not sure how lean you are yet - I tend to reduce training volume as the cut progresses.

[IronMan360]

Currently I am at about 16% body fat.

[Built]

Ah. You'll be fine.

Just make sure you keep low-rep stuff for the heavy compounds going all the way through.

But I'm sure you know that.

[IronMan360]

I decided to take today off and focus on my diet more, because i had a cheat day yesterday and was really tired this morning. It will be good to give my muscles a chance to rest but i will hit it twice as hard tomorow.

[doomsdaylover]

I'm cutting too and I'm in week 4 going on week 5. Should I really start to lower my overall fat consumption? I mean, I'm keeping the carbs cycled, but what about the fat? especially fats from eggs and red meats? Should I really start to trim it from my diet?

[IronMan360]

It really depends on how you are looking in the mirror. If you are confident and feeling that you are cutting enough weight, then keep things the way they are. What does your diet look like now and what are your stats? If you want to, just play around with the fat intake, it couldn't hurt.

[IronMan360]

Alright guys for the past few weeks i have been slackin but its time to put it into high gear. We are startin off strong, with carb cycling and legs tomrrow morning. Here is what the cycle will look like
Mon – Low
Tues - Low
Wed -High
Thurs -Low
Fri - Low
Sat - Low
Sun - High
I have set an imaginary day to be at my goal of 8% bf to be March 11... We will see how it goes but i will not break and will diet 100%!

[IronMan360]

I am giving up all Fast Food, Candy, and sodas. I will be following my diet as strict as possible. I woke up this morning weighing in at 161! wahooo... lol I lost 1lb in a week, I guess that is okay but i would like it to be more. The reason I didn't lose as much is I was slackin a bit. But no more.
Off to eat another meal I will keep ya posted, after my workout.

[IronMan360]

Just got done with my back workout and I felt a great pump throughout. I did 30 min of cardio total, 20 min on stair master( still feelin it lol), and 10 min on 15% incline on treadmill had a 4.0 pace. Felt good today. And I followed my diet but added 1 tablespoon of peanut butter to my post workout meal. So delicious. Well i will keep ya posted. And till tomorrow, good luck all you animals.

[IronMan360]

Alright I am seeing some progress. I weighed in this morning at 160lbs. Thats awesome. It brings my total weight loss over all to 54lbs!! I am taking today off b/c I do a 5day split. I will do a low carb day today. I will keep ya posted.

[IronMan360]

Yeah so today I could not stay away from the iron. Even though it is supposed to be my day off, I did 35min of cardio, abs, and forearms. Heh keep my metabolism going. I feel that during a cut it is all out or nothing!

[thecanuck]

hey ironman,
can u fill me in on the what you do for the 30 minutes abs?

[Skullcrusher]

Hi IronMan

Are you getting enough R&R with your workout?

[IronMan360]

Yeah i am getting enough R & R i take 2 days off a week. And as for abs go, it is not 30min of Abs, it was 35 min of Cardio, and Abs/Forearms... For abs I usually switch it up and every other day do either, crunches on the machine and then hanging leg raises, 4 sets of each, or situps and sides with a 45 lb weight.

[IronMan360]

Today was back day, it felt awesome. I forgot my belt so i had to do light deads, 4 sets and 10. Still got a pretty good pump tho. I also did 20 min on the stair master (The cardio that kills) this one type of cardio is my nemesis. It gets me the most tired out of anything, more than running, or walking on a steep incline. It felt great. Weigh in is soon. Would like to see some great results.

[IronMan360]

I entered the 8 week trans contest and I will win.... I will be posting my daily workout and diet to keep everyone informed . G/L to everyone competing.

[IronMan360]

So far I have eaten 2eggs, some bacon( I know its bad but some fat is good), a little bit O' Cheese.... bout to drink another protein shake go back to the gym for some more cardio...

[Toni69]

How is the carb cycling treating you? I am currently doing low, low, med, high..16 days now. I will do this for three weeks, evaluate my physique and go from there. I am about 7-8% bf..but I really dont care because for a show, judges dont care what bf you are..we all carry bf differently.

I am 114 today and my low days are 75g carbs, med is 100g and highs are 150g..my fats stay between 20-28g clean, per day. I will not go over 30g unless its my cheat meal day.

How is the training? Do you feel the diet is affecting your workouts yet?

[Toni69]

I'm cutting too and I'm in week 4 going on week 5. Should I really start to lower my overall fat consumption? I mean, I'm keeping the carbs cycled, but what about the fat? especially fats from eggs and red meats? Should I really start to trim it from my diet?

I would say your better off with more fats (clean fats) than the carbs..but this is what I find works for me. You have to try different things to see what your body will respond to. Keep in mind, the timing of your carbs is crucial..you need them post-workout and you should have them prior as well. If your bulking..well, thats a whole other story altogether.

[IronMan360]

I do not feel that the carb cycling is affecting my dieting that much... maybe a slight decrease in weights but i deal with it, part of dieting.... and as for it working i have only cut 3 pounds so far but have been following it fairly loose. Today was my last cheat day and since i entered that contest lol i better bust my butt ha ha. so no more cheats or sodas or anything. I will keep ya up to date tho.

[Gunshow]

Hey ironman,

For your cardio you seem like your going over the top a little bit with the intensity. The stairmaster is awesome, i used to do it all the time, but the problem with it is your heart rate gets way too high, your 18, so your target heart rate would be 65% of 220-18, which is 131 bpm. This will help you burn fat alot better than going really intense because you wont be doing anaerobic workouts so your lactic acid will not build up as much. you should try farmers walks. You hold light weights in your hands(5-10 lbs) and walk on a treadmill on an incline for like 15-20 minutes. It sounds like nothing but it is actually insane and you will burn fat like crazy.

Good Luck,
Gunshow.

[Toni69]

Good point Gunshow!

[IronMan360]

Wow so it should be that low?? my heart rate hovers around 154 to 165 when running.... and upwards depending on intensity! lol plz help me out then... so far i have dropped 54 lbs so wat i am doin must work some lol?? or does heart rate matter that much when cutting fat? does it help to preserve muscle?

[Gunshow]

Theres nothing wrong with getting your heart rate up there, you will still burn calories and therefore lose fat, but you will also build lactic acid in your muscles which makes you sore, and that becomes anaerobic. It's more like your training your heart and lungs then losing fat. If your goal is to lose fat i'd keep your heart rate down around the 131 mark, just not below it. The fat will melt off your body.