How to Cut: Fitness Tips From the Pros at Sweat440

Are you thinking of trying a cutting diet or cutting workout? Tip #1: don’t go it alone. If you use the wrong guide, you could end up doing more harm than good. The right formula is required to ensure you cut fat, not muscle. And adequate nutrition is required to prevent you from slowing your metabolism or crashing during your workouts. The pros at Sweat440 have compiled a few tips to cut successfully.

Tip #1: Join the Right Gym

Step number one, whether you’re trying a cutting diet or a cutting workout routine, is to partner with a qualified gym. Sweat440’s gyms are all fueled by high intensity interval training (HIIT) classes, and each class is led by a certified instructor. So, when you train at Sweat440, you’re guaranteed individual assistance with your cutting regimen, at no additional cost. Our classes fuse cardio with resistance, so you lose weight without losing muscle.

Since each exercise in our various stations combines resistance with intensity, you target your VO2 max, which enables you to burn calories long after the workout is done. But since we incorporate weight training and resistance into each set, you don’t have to fear muscle loss. If you’re looking to bulk up your muscles, we’ll amp up your resistance through heavier dumbbells, kettlebells, sleds, and TRX bands, and if you want leaner muscles, we’ll reduce the weight and increase your pace through specific intervals of intensity.

It’s not enough to just “go harder” on cardio at the gym when you’re trying to cut. The wrong proportions of intensity might generate weight loss, but also lead to muscle wasting. In addition, simply upping your resistance or poundage as you lift won’t burn enough calories per day to get you ripped. It’s all about burning the right kinds of calories in the right intervals to establish the perfect ratio. You could lose one pound per week, or 5 pounds per week, but if you’re losing muscle instead of fat, you’re setting yourself up to fail. You need sufficient muscle mass to fuel your metabolism and burn fat while at rest. So, partner with the pros to make sure you’re using the proper formula.

Tip #2: Use the Right Diet for You

You probably know to increase protein intake and cut out those empty carbs. But beyond that, your diet should be designed around your specific needs and goals. If you’re used to consuming 20 grams of protein per day, and you suddenly increase it to 200 grams, you’ll disrupt your digestion, which in turn leads to bloating and sluggishness in the gym. A good range is 0.7-0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So, a 130-pound female should aim for around 95 grams of protein, whereas a 225-pound male might need 180 grams of protein to prevent muscle loss. Here’s how to bulk and shred successfully.

• Bulking: In the bulking phase, you’ll essentially increase caloric consumption to build muscle mass. This is why it’s important to increase protein intake, so your muscles have fuel to build from. However, during this phase, you’ll likely increase fat intake too, and gain weight that you then need to shed. Even though you’re trying to gain weight, it helps to gain with cleaner foods that are less likely to pack on unnecessary fat. Cook your own meals so you know where the weight gain is coming from.

• Cutting: The cutting phase follows the bulking phase, with the goal of shedding excess fat and calories accumulated, without losing muscle. The goal is to operate at a caloric deficit (or burn more calories than you consume). Again, this is why a customized plan is essential, rather than just following a calorie deficit plan online.  Some people will need to cut 100 calories per day, while others need to cut 500. Talk to your trainer at Sweat440 to determine how many calories you’re burning in each workout and at rest, as well as your individual calorie recommendation.

While you want to shed fat, you don’t want to eliminate it completely from your diet. Doing so will lower your testosterone levels, which you want to maintain to preserve muscle mass. Roughly 15-30% of your calories should come from fat, depending on your exercise levels. Since one gram of fat is 9 calories, that means someone on a 2,000-calorie diet should eat 33-67 grams of fat per day to cut without muscle loss.

Reduce sugar and unnecessary fat, like greasing your pan with vegetable oil, which depletes testosterone, before cooking your protein. Amp up your fiber intake to make sure you’re not holding onto excess water weight, and to keep you fuller while you cut calories. The extra water during this phase will add temporary water weight, but it helps digest the extra protein and fiber and keep you full to prevent “cheating.”

Tip # 3: Timing is Everything

Before you start a cutting regimen, assess your current fitness level, goals, and resources. First, do you have a gym with trainers to educate you on how to do cut fitness correctly? If not, check out Sweat440, where beginners get free classes, and where every HIIT class includes free individualized instruction. Don’t start a cut routine until you have a gym lined up.

Second, determine your body fat percentage, current weight, and timeline you hope to complete your cut. If you haven’t established a good muscle base, it might be best to work on defining those muscles, so they pop after your cut. If you cut prior to sculpting those abs, glutes, and pecs, you might be disappointed in the results. If you lose too much weight too soon, your body will start pulling from your muscles for energy. So, determine the right deficit to lose weight without muscle loss before cutting calories.

Third, do you have the proper resources to facilitate your cutting phase? Have you determined your proper calorie intake to bulk up and your proper calorie deficit to cut? Do you have access to educated trainers who can prevent muscle loss when you reduce your calories per day? Contact the renowned trainers at Sweat440 to determine the right cutting plan for your unique needs, before you jump in. We’ll make sure you lose weight by blasting fat, rather than losing muscle. Sweat440 has everything you need to achieve your cutting goals. Try a free HIIT training session today!

How to Do Cut Fitness Correctly