What is Cutting? Menu and effective ways to gain muscle and lose fat

Cutting is a familiar concept to many gym-goers. This is a diet that is applied to reduce fat but still maintain muscle mass. Most fitness enthusiasts and professional bodybuilders apply the cutting method to get a slim, toned body. More specifically, what is cutting? This article from California Fitness helps you understand the cutting method in detail.

What is Cutting?

Implementing this regimen means that you will reduce the amount of calories you take in to reduce fat while still maintaining muscle mass, helping the muscle grooves become clearer. In addition, the cutting diet is also known as the small-cut diet to help reduce body fat and maintain muscle.

When to do cutting

After knowing what cutting is, many people still wonder when is the right time to do cutting. In fact, cutting can be done at any time you want to slim down before gaining a large amount of muscle mass. Especially for those who are overweight or obese, cutting is a reasonable choice, which should be done immediately to improve your figure and enhance your health. Even if you have a normal figure but want to have sharp muscles, you can still do cutting.

In addition, when to cut also depends on Body fat, that is, the amount of fat in the body. Specifically, you need to cut when the body fat ratio is greater than 15% for men and the body fat ratio is greater than 25% for women.

Benefits of cutting

What are the benefits you get when cutting? If cutting is done correctly, this method brings you many benefits, including mental, physical, and health.

Cutting helps improve mood

Being overweight is something that no one wants. At this time, cutting will help reduce excess fat, lose weight, improve body shape, and firm muscle bundles. When you achieve the desired cutting results, your body shape becomes balanced, and you feel more satisfied, happy, and joyful.

An effective method to increase muscle and reduce fat

The principle when implementing the cutting method is to reduce the amount of calories in the diet and maintain the necessary amount of protein combined with scientific exercise. When the amount of calories consumed is greater than the amount of calories taken in, the amount of excess fat in the body will tend to decrease. Meanwhile, the amount of protein added will help increase muscle and maintain muscle better.

Some notes when performing cutting

Cut down on sugar

One of the effective ways to cut is to choose foods with a low GI index, this index is related to the amount of sugar in food. If you exercise little and eat foods with a high GI index, they will be stored in the body as excess fat. Therefore, once you know what a cutting diet is, you need to eliminate sugary foods such as white rice, pasta, and white bread from your diet. Instead, you should eat foods with low GI such as brown rice, whole grains, berries, apples, etc.

Limit fat

Although fat is also needed in a cutting diet, you should also limit it, especially bad fats. Compared to energy from carbs, energy from fat is less effective and this is also the cause of fat formation in the body.

Make sure to supplement enough protein

According to ISSN (International Society of Sports Nutrition), a person should consume protein evenly about 3-4 hours a day and within 2 hours after exercise. Providing adequate and proper protein will help burn fat effectively while helping to maintain muscle.

Cardio exercise

A low-calorie diet will help reduce fat effectively. In addition, you should combine cardio exercises such as jogging and cycling on the treadmill, HIIT exercises, etc. to speed up the rate of burning calories. If you maintain a cutting diet and exercise regularly, you will lose fat quickly. Moreover, when you add high-intensity cardio exercises, you can also enjoy more carb-rich meals.

Only drink water, coffee, or green tea

When following a cutting regimen, the right drinks for you are filtered water, green tea, or black coffee. These are drinks that do not contain calories, especially filtered water will provide the body with the necessary amount of water. Other drinks that contain gas or sugar will reduce the effectiveness of fat loss as well as maintain muscle.

Squat exercises to develop muscles most effectively

The squat is one of the simple and popular exercises that almost all gymgoers know and master. Not requiring many complicated techniques or supporting tools, squatting still brings good results in helping to firm the thighs, and buttocks and "get rid of" excess fat for both men and women. Through today's article, We will introduce you to male squat exercises to help develop muscles effectively. Let's explore now.

Benefits of squat exercises for men

What are the effects of male squats? This is a common question for many people. In fact, squat exercises mainly affect areas such as the glutes and thighs, firming and improving the size of the buttocks. In addition, during the practice of this movement, the muscles in the shoulders, back, abdomen, and quadriceps are also effectively trained. Therefore, it can be said that male squat exercises not only help strengthen and consolidate muscles but also support the overall development of the core muscles of almost the entire body, effectively improving the figure.

Squat strengthens the muscles in the back, core, and legs. These are all muscles that play an important role in the body's movement and balance structure, so it can be said that persistently practicing squats will help improve the ability to maintain balance and movement for both the present and the future.

According to recent studies, practicing male squats also causes the body to increase the release of testosterone - a growth hormone that helps burn excess fat, improve strength, and build muscle for men.

The most basic and standard instructions for practicing male squats

Although practicing male squats does not require too many advanced training techniques, to promote the effectiveness of this exercise, you also need to pay attention to practicing the correct movements. Below are some instructions to help you practice the most basic and accurate male squats that you can refer to and apply.

Starting position

The starting position for male squats is very important because if not performed correctly, it can affect the following positions in the exercise, making the effectiveness of the entire exercise session not as expected. To perform the starting position, follow these steps:

• Step 1: Stand up straight, and slowly spread your legs as wide as your hips.

• Step 2: Place your feet forward to form a V shape.

• Step 3: Slowly stretch your arms straight forward in front of your chest or bend your elbows.

• Step 4: Lower your body down, at the same time, push your buttocks back.

• Step 5: Continue lowering your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then stop.

Lowering position

After successfully performing the starting position, continue to move to the lowering position in the following order:

• Step 1: Adjust your back, shoulders, and buttocks to lie in a straight line. Remember to always keep your back straight throughout the exercise to avoid affecting your spine.

• Step 2: Tighten your abdominal muscles, arch your chest, and straighten your shoulders. Do not hunch your shoulders.

• Step 3: Open your knees wide and outward, do not close your knees. Do not place your knees beyond your toes.

• Step 4: Tighten your glutes to use this muscle to lift your entire body in this position.

• Step 5: Put the weight of your entire body on your heels. Gently lift your heels off the ground so that your body's center of gravity does not fall forward.

• Step 6: Hold this position for 3 - 5 seconds.

Lifting position

The next step in the lowering position is to lift your body up. To perform this position, do the following:

• Step 1: Use the force in your glutes to slowly push your body back up to stand straight.

• Step 2: Exhale when standing up and inhale when sitting down.

Posture when preparing to stand up

The male squat exercise ends with the posture when preparing to stand up. In this final position, after using the force of the gluteal muscles to lift the entire body up, you slowly stand up straight, your legs spread as wide as your hips, and then take a deep breath. Continue to repeat the postures as at the beginning about 10 - 20 times to increase the effectiveness of the male squat exercise.

Time to do squats for men

The male squat exercise brings many benefits to the male body, especially helping to strengthen and consolidate muscle groups. This exercise also does not require the support of many tools, so you can set up the exercise right at home. To ensure the effectiveness achieved after each male squat exercise session is optimal, you should practice at least 3 sets, each set repeats the postures 15 - 20 times. You can rest for about 10 seconds between each set to avoid fatigue. In a week, you should spend about 2 sessions on this movement to accelerate the improvement of muscle groups, especially the glutes.

Simple exercises for strong and strong neck muscles

The neck muscles are a fairly important part that needs to be exercised regularly but are often overlooked and ignored by many gymgoers. In fact, the neck muscles help to protect against many injuries while also bringing symmetry to the body. Let's find out the top 5 simple exercises for strong and strong neck muscles for men through this article!

Neck exercises - lying on a chair with dumbbells

The exercise of lying on a chair with dumbbells includes quite simple and easy-to-do movements. With this exercise, you can completely do it yourself at home to improve the condition of a sore and tired neck and spine. If you don't have dumbbells at home, you can replace them with another object of equivalent weight. The steps to perform the exercise of lying on a chair with dumbbells include:

- Lie face down on a chair, shoulders beyond the reach of the chair. Note that the contact point with the top of the chair is the upper chest. Behind your head, you can place a dumbbell or other object of equivalent weight.

- Inhale and slowly lower your head.

- Exhale and gently lift your head back to the starting position.

- Repeat the exercise many times, about 3-5 sets per session. You can also practice with bare hands, bringing the same effect of increasing neck muscles.

Shoulder shrug exercise

If you want to develop strong neck muscles, you can refer to the shoulder shrug exercise with simple movements. For the shoulder shrug exercise, you need to prepare 2 dumbbells. This exercise will mainly affect the main muscle groups such as the shoulder bridge and trapezius muscles. The steps to perform the shoulder shrug exercise include:

- Consider choosing dumbbells with a weight suitable for your physical condition. Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, making sure the palms face the thighs.

- Inhale and lift the 2 dumbbells up until they touch your shoulders. Hold this highest position for 1 - 3 seconds.

- Exhale while slowly returning your arms to the starting position.

- Do this exercise 3 - 5 times per session.

Barbell shrug exercise

Barbell shrug is similar to the above exercise but will increase the difficulty level. To develop strong neck muscles, you need to pay attention to performing the exercise technique correctly. Steps to perform barbell shrug exercise include the following steps:

- Stand up straight, legs shoulder-width apart. Place a barbell in front of your feet.

- Bend down and lift the weight. Note that when lifting the weight, your arms must still be straight and your shoulders shrug. When performing this movement, you need to inhale.

- Exhale while lowering the weight and shrug your shoulders.

- Do this exercise 3 - 5 times per session to effectively develop strong neck muscles.

Neck muscle exercises - hand on the side of the head

The hand on the side of the head exercise is simple to perform, does not require other supporting tools but still ensures effectiveness for the neck muscles. The steps to perform the hand on the side of the head exercise with the correct technique include:

- Prepare to stand up straight, place the right hand on the right side of the head.

- Use the force from the neck muscles to tilt the head to the right. Start at a slow speed and then gradually increase the speed. Remember to breathe gently and do it for at least 30 seconds.

- Switch to the left side and repeat the same movement.

Neck Stretch Exercise

Neck Stretch is one of the simple but highly effective exercises for strong neck muscles. You just need to perform the Neck Stretch exercise with the following standard technical steps:

- Prepare to sit with your back straight, and legs straight, in the most comfortable state possible.

- Cross your hands and place them behind your head.

- Slowly pull your head down towards your chest and hold the position for at least 30 seconds.

- Repeat the movement several times.

How to gain muscle quickly and effectively?

In general, for many people, especially those who are new to the gym, gaining muscle is quite difficult. The reason is because there is no complete article to help you follow. We ourselves have encountered this and that is the reason for this article. In general, the story still comes back to eating more and scientifically, exercising properly. 

How to gain muscle quickly and effectively?

Before going into the detailed introduction of each part, you need to understand one thing: everything needs a plan and time. In addition, to ensure a high success rate, you need to follow the instructions below.

1. Start with basic strength exercises

Most exercises for the major and minor muscle groups on your body should start with basic exercises. Compound exercises will help you lift heavier weights and impact the muscles better. This ensures that the muscles are stimulated to the maximum. No need to go online to search for complicated methods or techniques, just focus on the normal things.

2. Train hard

High-intensity weight training is the best way to increase muscle size. Light exercises, even for a long time, are not strong enough to stimulate damaged muscle cells. From there, how can you build muscle? The principle of muscle growth is that you apply enough force and continuously stimulate the muscle cells to break down, then you take in protein. Thanks to that, it will develop.

Make a plan for yourself to practice at least 60 minutes/session, and at least 4-6 sessions/week. It sounds quite simple, but you need to remember that you are in an important stage and need to practice at high intensity. Therefore, at first, you will feel unfamiliar and sore.

For those who are new to the gym, before thinking about gaining muscle or anything, think about getting used to the weights first. Then, when you are used to it, there is nothing to stop you from reading this article.

In each session, the principle is to try to lift the heaviest weight and practice with the right technique. You can test your limits by trying to lift many different weights. As long as you can choose a weight that can be lifted for 3-4 sets, with 8-12 reps. In addition, instead of pushing fast, focus on pushing slowly so that the muscle bundles are stimulated to the maximum.

3. Lifting explosively

This means that when pushing the weight up, push it quickly, strongly, and decisively, and when lowering the weight, focus on lowering it very slowly so that the muscle bundles are stimulated.

4. Practice the right technique

To stimulate muscle size, in addition to practicing lifting weights with heavy weights, you need to make sure you practice the right technique. If you are a newbie and do not have much experience, choose a weight that is suitable for you to practice the right technique. Practicing the wrong technique is the shortest way for you to end up in the hospital.

5. Make a training plan

This is also understandable because if you do not have a plan, everything will easily fail. That is the reason why you need to read the weight training schedule. The reason is that if you want to train scientifically and effectively, the first principle is to divide the training schedule. A systematic training program will help you understand where you need to train and where you have not achieved results. In addition, you will divide the time appropriately.

6. Avoid constant repetition

If you keep practicing the same weight level for a certain exercise, you will never progress. Instead, you can try increasing the weight level. In addition, you can change to a new exercise. Sometimes you will see why you have tried your best but still cannot develop muscles, that is when you need to find a way to stimulate the muscles by reducing the number of sets and increasing the number of reps...

7. Rest between workouts

For weightlifters, rest plays a very important role. Your body needs time to recover and develop muscles without having to burn a lot of precious energy to perform other movements. Running or cardio exercises will be your enemy.