Good advice so far. Here’s some more ideas for you that have worked for me in the past when I want to cut up….
If your primary goal is to loose fat, your workouts will be slightly different than maintenance or muscle mass increase workouts (you need to keep intensity up and do higher reps, more sets with lighter weight). If you can, I’d split your workouts to where you do cardio first thing in the morning before you eat or drink anything and do your weight training in the evenings. Shorter times in the gym are better for me as I can’t concentrate on my work outs if I’m thinking about all the other stuff I need to accomplish that day. Also, cardio or weight training in the AM after fasting will almost double the amount of fat burning than if you were to do it later in the day. I would continue in this manor for as long as it takes to get your body fat where you want it so that you have a base line. After you reach that goal, re-structure your workouts to build muscle mass. At this point, you will want to do less cardio and lift with heavier weight. If you do too much cardio, you will not be able to pack on the muscle because you will be burning too many protein calories for fuel. But for now, you need to dump fat and build muscle mass later.
Some rules of thumb for burning fat are: cardio for at least 30 minutes without pause (preferably running), four times a week and increase intensity each work out to maintain a heart rate between 140 – 160 (for your age). As you get more wind you will have to increase intensity to keep your heart rate up. Because you will be working out fairly intensely, do cardio every other day to give your legs a day to recover. I have found that for weight training, a schedule where I lift Monday and Tuesday, off Wed, and work out again on Thursday and Friday, with the weekend off works best for me. I work each body part once per week when just maintaining or putting on mass, and I keep a log when I am trying to gain mass. If I don’t keep a log, I have no goals to shoot for, so I tend to get lazy. The log keeps me motivated. I’d suggest you do the same.
When cutting up (with the goal to loose fat), it’s best to stick with basic, whole body exercises because you will burn more calories doing so. Squats and dead lifts are excellent for this. Stay away from isolation exercises like flys or dumbbell curls. Straight barbell curls, flat bench press, V-grip or barbell bent over rows, standing military press are all good exercises. I’d recommend that you do upper body on Monday and again on Thursday and lower body on Tuesday and Friday. Again, stick to the big exercises. Keep the reps between 12 and 15 and do a combination of sets to where you are doing about 20 sets per work out. Do a push / pull superset work out with little rest between sets to keep your heart rate up. You should be able to do your work outs in less than 45 minutes. Vary the exercises to keep things interesting. An example work out would be:
Monday-
AM – Jog
PM - weights
Flat Bench / V-grip pull superset – five sets of 12-15 reps.
Bar bell curl / tri push down superset – five sets of 12 -15 reps.
Tuesday-
AM - weights
Squats – five sets / 12 – 15 reps
Straight leg dead lift – five sets / 12 – 15 reps
Seated calf raises / crunches supersets – five sets 20 reps each. (calf and abs require higher reps)
Wednesday-
AM - Jog
No lifting
Thursday –
AM - weights
Incline press / Bent over rows superset - four sets of 12-15 reps.
Military press / dumbbell shrugs superset - four sets of 12-15 reps.
Easy bar curls / close grip bench press superset - four sets of 12-15 reps.
Friday-
AM – Jog
PM - Weights
Leg Press / hamstring curls superset – six sets of 15 reps.
Calf extensions (on the press) / abdominal leg raise supersets – six sets 20 reps.
Saturday
OFF
Sunday
AM – Jog
No lifting
The following week, change things a bit. Make sure to take plenty of Creatine and if your legs hurt too much to run after leg days, ride a bike or hop on the elliptical.
And always remember that the last rep you do for every set, should be at 100% maximum effort. Add / subtract weight as needed to reach the target rep.
Record your weight and measurements to track results. Avoid idle overeating when sitting in front of the boob tube……. TV is the #1 reason for obesity. Slam a non-fat protein shake (mixed with water) before you go to bed.
