In order for you to get the best results with this program, be consistent and always strive for progression.
Goal Of This Workout
The goal for this workout is to cut excess body fat and maintain as much muscle mass as possible.
Diet and Nutrition Tips
Going to the gym and getting active is only one part of the puzzle.
I’ve found that most people like to eat multiple times a day when they are cutting.
Be sure to have an eating schedule that works with your life schedule; no use in trying to get in trouble at work because you eat 3 meals while at work.
What I want you to do is switch out 90% of your soda and sugary drinks for water or BCAAs and save that last 10% to have at your leisure.
If you eat out a lot, this is going to have to change; prepare your meals in advance and you won’t have issues with having to eat on the run.
Eat Fewer Calories
While you work on cutting out your sodas and sugary drinks, I want you to make a food log of everything you eat.
Use My Fitness Pal to accurately record your calorie intake.
Whatever your daily average is for the week I want you to cut out just 300 calories not including the sodas you’ve stopped drinking.
This is going to be a small enough calorie deficit that will give you results without draining too much energy and creating so much of a change.
Check out these articles below to make healthier food choices.
Supplemental Articles
Here are some articles I’ve written you should read to help you make better food choices and reach your goals.
- Top 10 Healthy Plant Foods
- Cutty’s Pocketbook Guide to Intermittent Fasting
- Top 15 Muscle Building Foods
- How to Eat Healthy While Eating Out
- Keep Weight Loss Simple
- 11 Cheapest Good Protein Sources
Recommended Supplements
Without a good diet, supplementation is mostly a waste of money. I will be the first to tell you to spend money on some good meats than a jug of protein.
For those who have their diets in check, here are the supplements I would use with this routine.
Pre-Workout
I personally like apple mango, but all flavors are good.
This is a great blend without too many stimulants.
Protein
MTS Machine Whey Protein: 5lbs
This is in my opinion the best tasting protein on the market. Period.
Great blend with no secrets, no amino spiking, and it is some of the best in the industry.
So far I’ve had Red Velvet, Cookies and Cream, and Key Lime. All are A+.
BCAA
Marc Lobliner has his sweetening on point with these supplements.
I’ve used mixed berry and grape and I love them both.
Creatine
Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine
I have a review of Optimum Nutrition’s Creatine and it’s a tried and true supplement. It will help with performance and recovery. I highly recommend this.
Cardio and Conditioning Schedule
Cardio is great for optimum muscle growth and recovery and also is a great way to burn off some excess calories.
The cardio routine is simple; pick 2 exercises from this list and complete 15 minutes of each post-workout.
There are a lot of choices that you can do in the gym our out of the gym, so choose activities that you enjoy and will benefit most from.
- Sprints
- Suicide Sprints
- Treadmill Low Intensity
- Treadmill High Intensity Interval Training
- Elliptical Low Intensity
- Elliptical High Intensity Interval Training
- Stationary Bike Low Intensity
- Stationary Bike High Intensity Interval Training
- Stepmill
- Stairmaster
- Jumping Jacks
- Jump Rope
- Basketball
- Hiking
- Walking Outside
- Riding a Bicycle Outside
- Shadow Boxing
- Heavy Bag Training
- Sparring
I can go on with the list, but I think you get the point. Get off of your ass and move.
Workout Schedule
- Day 1 – Upper Back & Lats
- Day 2 – Shoulders & Chest
- Day 3 – Quads, Hamstrings & Calves
- Day 4 – Chest & Arms
- Day 5 – Upper Back & Abs
- Day 6 – Off
- Day 7 – Off
The benefit to starting on a Monday is while everyone is benching and hogging the dumbbells, you are deadlifting and on the other side of the gym.
Cutty’s 5 Day Cutting Routine
| Upper Back & Lats | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Rep Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Face Pulls | 4 | 60 |
| Bent Over Barbell Rows | 5 | 48 |
| 1 Arm Dumbbell Rows | 5 | 48 |
| Shrugs | 5 | 60 |
| Lat Pull Overs | 4 | 48 |
| Shoulders & Chest | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Rep Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Military Press | 3 | 45 |
| Arnold Press | 4 | 48 |
| Side Lateral Raises | 4 | 48 |
| Incline Dumbbell Flys | 4 | 60 |
| 1 Arm Incline Dumbbell Bench | 4 | 48 |
| Quads, Hamstrings & Calves | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Rep Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Goblet Squats | 5 | 25 |
| Hack Squat Machine | 3 | 24 |
| Leg Press | 3 | 36 |
| Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift | 3 | 36 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3 | 45 |
| Seated 1 Leg Calf Raise | 3 | 45 |
| Chest & Arms | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Rep Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Flat Bench Press | 5 | 25 |
| Dumbbell Incline Bench | 3 | 24 |
| Close Grip Bench Press | 3 | 36 |
| Tricep Extensions | 3 | 36 |
| Back & Abs | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Rep Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Squats | 3 | 36 |
| Deadlifts | 3 | 36 |
| Reverse Hyper Extensions | 4 | 48 |
| Rope Crunches | 3 | 60 |
| Planks* | 4 | – |
* – Planks aren’t the same rep goal scheme as other lifts. When you are supposed to do planks, do 3 sets of 1 rep and record your results for each set. The goal to beat for next time is to beat the combined time of those 3 planks. Keep the rest short; 60 seconds and really squeeze the abs and back and keep that core tight.
Deloads – I would only deload if you start to hit a multiple week plateau, start getting sick, or feeling achy non stop.
Sharing is caring, and as always leave any comments or questions below!
Really looking forward to starting this program cutty, its different from the one muscle group per workout. Thanks.
Anthony,
Let me know how you like it. Keep me updated.
The reps are to be divided by the number of sets, correct?
Basically. So you have four sets to achieve 60 reps. You could look at it as 15 rep sets, but if you have another couple of reps in the tank, keep going. It’s a way to increase intensity while still having adequate volume and an easy way to see if you are progressing.
How much is the rest time
Keep the rest time between 30 to 60 seconds for accessory work and 1 to 3 minutes for your big compound lifts. Push yourself to keep the rest times short.
Does the cardio need to he immediately after the workout? I like to lift in the AM and then i prefer to spin in the evening. But don’t want to waste efficiency of there’s a specific benefit to cardio right after lifting.
If you have time, get in a 5 minute session. It’ll help pump some more oxygenated blood and nutrients get into your muscles. It’s definitely not a make or break.
If you prefer to spin in the evening, I’d rather see you do that then slog through cardio you hate right after you lift.