Cutting with AAS

[cole617]

Cutting with AAS
There are two ways to cut with the help of AAS: 1) is to just run a clean "bulk" where you gain muscle Much slower, eat super-clean & do your cardio & take special care to plan out your macro nutrient intake(s). Alot of bros will swear that a clean bulk is just that & that NO fat loss can be accomplished. I argue that for an athlete that doesn't stay on HRT & comes off regularly, the shock of AAS on the body makes it possible for muscle gain & fatloss to happen at the same times. For the athlete that chooses to stay on & "cruise", retaining cycle gains is MUCH easier, but their systems also get very used to AAS & makes it a bit harder for them to gain muscle & lose fat at the same time. Back int he day when we didn't know much about sports nutrition, we thought diet & cutiing and bulking was a simple equation of calories in vs calories out; We know now that that is an archaic way of thinking & much more goes into it than that. It all depends on each persons responses to carbs -both complex & sugars- & fats & their respective metabolisms & really boils down to trial & error. If most athletes dieted the way Jay Cutler did -with the amount of carbs he did- they would be very fat & be retaining much water.


The second way (& my favorite) to cut with AAS, is to do an all out bulk for the 1st half of your cycle & cut for the 2nd half. I find that this is the most effective protocol for those like myself who like to cycle above the 12 week mark. As we all know around the 12 week mark we usually hit a plateau; even if we bump up the mgs & eat like horses & train like Ronnie our growth slows to a crawl. Its usually at this time that the catabolic hormones are competing for the anabolic ones in the bloodstream & we have 50-50 shot of either getting in. It is at this point, that I like to switch to a "cut " cycle. Not only will the change in compounds used help to jump start the gains (This isn't absolutely necessary ; you can use the same drugs you have been using, but I like to switch around at least SOME.)
But since your gains are slowing , instead of getting frustrated & increasing your doses & gettting more sides, this is the perfect time to switch goals & refine that mass you just added. By NO means do I want you to switch to an "all-out cut" immediately. I want you to do it in stages. I feel this helps your mind -and body- adjust to the change in diet & training (another subject for another day is why & how to change your training techniques to better suit fat-burning & cutting).


1) Drop all simple carbs with the exeption of -no more than- 50-75g (BW depending) of dextrose or WMS PWO. This is the only time when you can really benefit from that insulin surge & bear no risk of storing the carbs as adipose tissue(s) Some people will argue first thing in the am too, but I opt to not do that.

2) Stop eating fats & carbs at the same meals- making it that much harder for either of them to be stored as adipose tissue. Eat the coplex carb meals in the early part of the day & save the fats for your dinner & beyond.

3) Keep your shakes to -no more than- 2 per day. 1 PWO & one upon waking about 2 hrs before your whole breakfast (or in the middle of the night around 2-6 am depending on the time you get up). Eating whole foods will keep you satiated longer & will keep you more aware of what you are actually putting into your body. I know when I am bulking or just maintaining, I tend to drink ALOT of shakes, sometimes 4 a day; I am so busy with clients, that all the eating is just impossible. Now, If you have no other choice drinking a shake to hold you over is better thab going too long w/o eating. If you have to have an "emergency" shake -like this- opt for low-carb WHEY Isolate; It is fast-burning & low in cals & carbs, so won't throw you off track.

4) Cut your carbs out AT DINNER & BEYOND. This is an important one for me & really works wonders. The way to do it & stay sane, is to replace your carbs with fibrous veggies like broccoli. For example, If you are used to eating chicken & ziti with olive oil for dinner, instead eat A MOUND of broccoli with some low-fat cheese sauce (there is someout ther with only 1g of fat per serving...) or plain- which is better. The firous veggies will not only help the protein breakdown be slowed, but it helps to have something to eat where the pasta was, its a great mental help.

5) Add your fat burning, meatbolism boosting compounds (like clen or T4/3,etc...)
I like to get all my diet in check before starting these compounds, that way we can minimize the amount of time we stay on them.

6) If you were eating every 4 hrs during your bulk, drop it down to 3 or even 2 if possible. Spiltting up your cals is the best way to really keep that metabolism moving. This is a highly underrated practice.

7)SUPPLEMENTS: Besides the obvious there are certain supps that will help you achieve your goals: 1)A pre wout NO drink like Superpump is great to give you a boost if you are lagging in energy & are low in cals. I would skip this if you are running the ECA stack,though.2) EFAs; I take an omega 3,6,9 blend by labrada, but you may get enough 6 &9s through diet; If youdo, you may want to just supplement with a good amopunt of fish oil each day. They will help your body be more comfortable with mobilizing fats for fuel.3) Pottasium, is another underrated supp. It is great at shedding excess water at high doses. 4) Of COURSE THE ECA STACK- this speaks for itself.5)Aminos- Helklp provide extra calorie-free protein building blocks to be burned off -saving you hard earned muscle- or to be the base of some needed recovery .

8) The dredded CARDIO!!!!! There are two ways to effectively do cardio & spare as much muscle as possible. 1) is to do it first thing in the am with no cals before hand . Try washing down some aminos with a big cup of black coffee & then hitting the high intensity for just 3-4 minutes to initially get the gear rate up -no longer or you will waste muscle- then switch to a brisk walk using your arms. (the soccer mom power walk) This is low-intensity cardio & burns fat exclusively for fuel, but burns it at a slow pace. Try to do this 3-5x/ew depending on how your body composition changes & how fast. 2) If you cannot do it in the am, the other way -which is equally effective & even more so in alot of people is the HIIT (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)
You do this by starting off at a high intensity pace with a 30 sec sprint on the TM -which gives you a maximal GH response as well.) & then switching to medium intensity for 5 minutes, them low-intensity for 15 minutes & you repeat. There are much more complex explanations for this program, but I think they are rubbish. Its really not rocket science: YOU rotate between high, low & medium intensity cardio-so your body doesn't 1) take too long to break down fat for fuel 2) Feast on its hard-earned muscle instead of your blubber to fuel its wout.


9) While I am on a roll, I will touch on the training: I am a big believer that training doesn't really HAVE to be changed, but should for actual fat loss. Maximum inyensity should always be maintained- that is the single most important rule. Do not try to lift your previous BULK weights, its agood way to get injured. This is the reason doing high-reps when cuttting fell into favor: not only id it far safer, but time under tension is longer & that CAN lead to greater calorie burning. I am not going to get int o how many reos you should do , as that is a personal decision, but I will tell you what I do. I still keep the 1st compound exercise of each BP hard & heavy to try & stimulate those white-fast fibers as much as possible. After that I try not to go below 12 reps , but I go to absolute failure & beyond with advanced techniques like drop-sets & rest-pause. These really increase the intensity & increase time under tension & going beyond failure will help you to stimulate those white fibers w/o risking injury TOO much.

WHAT I WILL RECOMMEND IS THIS:
Try doing all superset wouts training two Bps /ed

IE:

Chest/back/abs day 1

legs shoulders day2

arms/abs day 3

day 4 off


Day 5 repeat

*********wouts should be done in circuit fashion with no rest at all. (1 set of chest, 1 set of back & 1 set of abs; One after another take a 30 second break after the 3 exercises are complete & repeat.


This is extremely hard & is actually a killer cardio wout as well; You may find this is all you need to do for cardio after a few weeks, It is all I EVER do for cardio. You could also experience giant sets, which are taking 3 or more exercises for 1 BP & do them back to back. This is great for when you are really lean & are looking to burn in some striations.


I hope this plan will help you on your way to getting the jacked & CUT body you wanted....If you have any questions your would like my help, my pm box is always open.

Thanks Fam~

cole617~

[Thunder]

Nice post. I agree on cutting carbs out around 5:00pm.