So you have been working hard in the weight room and packed on a lot of muscle and hence gained a lot of strength, or are slightly overweight and want to cut down before you bulk up? Then it is time for you to enter a cutting routine. Cutting is the act of working to lose fat before you begin bulking again. In most cases you have put on a lot of muscle and want it to show through more now, as you have also probably put on some fat. By following this simple guide you will be well on your way to a great cutting routine.
The first and most obvious element of cutting is you need to have a caloric defecit in your diet. You cannot lose fat while eating more calories than your body needs. However, you DO NOT want to starve your body! You should shoot to aim around five hundred calories a day below your caloric needs during a cutting routine. Any more than that and you will put yourself at risk of losing your hard gained muscle.
Another imporant part of a good cutting routine is the use of cardio exercise to burn calories. This allows you to eat more while still keeping a caloric defecit. This is important because as we will talk about soon, you need to keep your protein intake up at high levels. We highly suggest running as the best cardiovascular exercise, but anything can work. Exercise is exercise, and no matter what you do you will be burning calories, which is the main goal.
During a cutting phase, you must try your best to keep your protein intake at high levels. You will still be lifting weights, and therefore you need protein to continue to repair your sore and hard worked muscles. Also having high levels of protein in your diet can help you to protect the muscle gains you have already made. Eating a caloric defecit in your diet puts you at risk to lose some of your gains, but high protein intake will help to offset this unwanted side effect of attempting to lose fat while keeping the highest level of muscle possible.
Cutting is fairly straight forward and easy to do if you are committed. Just remember to eat slightly less calories than your body needs, do cardiovascular exercise regularily throughout the week, and keep protein levels up. Follow these three simple rules and you will be set to have a successful cutting session.




