April 01, 2011

Leon's Awesome Cutting and Maintenance Program

Because every program needs a name.

So here's the plan, heavily based on the PPNP:

Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Squat
SquatSquat
Bench Press/Overhead Press (Alternating)Bench Press/Overhead Press (Alternating)Bench Press/Overhead Press (Alternating)
Chin-ups
Deadlift
Pull-ups

With abdominal work 1-2 times per week, time permitting.

But Leon, this is exactly like PPNP.  What's different?
The set and rep scheme.  The first occurrence of a higher weight is met with 5 sets of 3 reps, the second occurrence with 4 sets of 4 reps, and the third occurrence with 3 sets of 5 reps.  Target weight only goes up if the current weight has been successfully lifted at least 3 times, once with each scheme.  Failure to hit a set/rep target is met with up to 2 retries, after which the reset is to the last successful scheme with the last successful weight.  The exceptions to this overall scheme will be deadlifts and chin-ups/pull-ups. Deadlifts will increase after successful lifts with 2 sets of 3 reps, and 1 set of 5 reps.  Chin-ups/pull-ups are always 3 sets to failure, with weight added if failure occurs after 15+ reps.

If all targets are consistently met, this means squat and deadlift targets will increase by 5 lb per week, and press and bench press targets will increase by 5 lb every two weeks.

My starting lift values for the program are as follows:
Squat
Deadlift
Bench Press
Press
245 lb
295 lb
200 lb
115 lb

Goals
First, lose no strength, that means no backsliding from the starting weights.  As of right now, I weigh in at 191 lb, and have a waist measurement of 37".  My body fat percentage is somewhere between 20 and 25%, meaning a body weight of 175 lb (assuming no loss of lean mass), will put my body fat at in the 13-18% range, so that weight will be one of two possible goals.  As a caveat, there is always the chance that I'll somehow manage to grow muscle in the midst of the food deficit I'm intending to accompany this program.  It's unlikely, but possible, so my other possible goal will be a waist measurement of 33".  So: a waist measuring 33", or a body weight of 175, while meeting -- minimally -- the initial weight targets on each exercise.  Those are my win conditions.

Diet
Low carb paleo.  Strict.  Far stricter than I have been.  Milk and cheese are off the menu, and absolutely no breaded food or sugary sauces.  Intermittent fasting as circumstances permit, with a 16-hour daily fast to begin immediately following tonight's dinner.  Meat and colorful vegetables will constitute the bulk of the diet, with small amounts of fruits and nuts.  If you subscribe to the "calories in/calories out" accounting for weight loss (I don't, but it's not awful for rough estimates), I should only need a deficit of about 10000 kcal/week.  That oughtta be easy, considering I'd estimate my recent intake at somewhere north of 5000 kcal/day.  All I should have to do is "starve" on 3500 kcal/day, on average.

Duration
I've always said "I can do anything for 6 weeks", so there we go.  Losing 16 lb in six weeks seems pretty reasonable, as it's slightly less than 3 lb a week, and at least some of what I'm currently carrying is almost certainly inflammation from dairy and small amounts of wheat.  That sort of weight falls off very rapidly when the offending compounds are no longer present.

Posted by: leoncaruthers at 04:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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