Cutting Weight for a Body Builder

For a bodybuilder, cutting weight for a contest is complex task that takes years to perfect, with much trial and error. Below, body builder Jim Davis discusses his experience of cutting weight for competition and how the Kutting Weight product helps him to prepare.

In reference to his weight loss methods pre-competition, Jim states “there is a careful balance what has to occur to keep from losing the hard-won muscle you’ve been building for months with heavyweight workouts and focused eating. That’s what’s needed to win a bodybuilding contest”. Finding that perfect balance between building muscle, burning fat, weight and cardio workouts and a very clean diet is a huge challenge, but well worth the end result!

“In February of 2010, I stood at a hefty 254 pounds, and 19% body fat. Not bad by normal standards, but way too fat to step on a bodybuilding stage. I had to start dropping weight. I had 24 weeks”, Jim recalls of a previous body building competition. Firstly, we asked Jim to discuss how his diet changes in the lead up to a competitive body building contest such as this one. Even with the strictest work out regime, a poor diet can really sabotage your results and so it is extremely important to focus and get it right.

“Initially, there’s a big change in diet. Carbohydrate consumption drops, protein either stays the same initially, or may go up. Fat drops. Vegetables go up”. Basically, for this type of intense weight cut your diet needs to be very low in Carbohydrate, which will cause your body to switch to his second preference, Fat metabolism, for energy. It is important to ensure your body remains this way, burning fat, and does not begin to metabolize protein for energy – most importantly for a body builder who’s primary goal is muscle definition. In order to  prevent any muscle protein being broken down for energy, protein consumption should increase during this weight cutting stage. When increasing protein, the most important aspect is to ensure all protein sources are lean and contain very little fat i.e. turkey, skinless chicken, lean beef with fat trimmed, tofu, eggs etc. This will ensure any fat   burnt for energy is body fat and not fat coming from a protein source being consumed. In the long term, this type of diet is difficult to maintain as low carbohydrate consumption can result in low energy and hunger, however for competitive purposes it is effective in the short term.

In reference to his exercise and work out regime leading up to competition, Jim told us “Workout styles change, too. From repetition ranges designed to add muscle mass, you move to working more volume and more reps, to burn body fat and burn calories, but keep the muscle working hard, so as not to lose that precious muscle mass”. “From repetition ranges of 6-10, you move to 12-15 reps per set, and maybe add a set or two at lower weights, without pausing”. “Dropsets,” as they are called, help to move blood into the muscle, and increase the intensity of your session.

While building muscle, a body builder's workout regime needs to also focus heavily on burning body fat for enhanced muscle definition. This requires high intensity cardio workouts more so than weight lifting, designed to get your heart rate up and sweat pouring. “Early in the first weeks of the “cut”, I start to add in cardiovascular exercise. This might be anything from running, to using a treadmill, to Stair Masters, to Elliptical or cross-trainers, to bicycles”. If cardio is something you struggle with, you’re not alone, but Jim has a great tip for pushing through that intense cardio phase, “I have a long-standing love/hate relationship with the Stair Master, because it’s the most intense cardio I’ve found, and easily gets my heart rate into the fat-burning zone. I also can’t last very long on it. I almost enjoy long hours on the treadmill, because I don’t have to pay attention, can slip on my iPod’s™ headphones, and just . . . go”.

Jim began using the Kutting Weight products leading up to this competition back in 2010, to add that extra intensity to his weight cutting training “The use of sweat suits or a sauna suit to increase the stress on the body is one technique of increasing the fat-burning metabolism”.

Jim was wrestler throughout high school and recalls using plastic sauna suits in the past to make weight, before he came across Kutting Weight neoprene suits. In reference to the cheaper plastic suits, “The problem is” he states “with most sauna suits, they’re bulky, baggy, clumsy to wear, and uncomfortable. Not just for the fact that they make you sweat – you expect and are even pursuing that! No. It’s their construction and fit that are the problem. They bag and wrinkle, and tear way too easily to be useful for any kind of active fitness program”

“I wore them all through high school, in making weight for wrestling. I’d go through two or three a season, and was the despair of my coach – I’d catch them on corners while running bleachers; I’d tear them on equipment in the weight room. I’d tear them while doing calisthenics on the mat, because they weren’t designed to stretch “that” way. I wound up wearing two – one raggedy old one underneath a newer one, just to try and preserve ONE of them”.

Jim’s past experience with wrestling is very similar to that of Dustin Zahursky, Kutting Weight owner who was a National Champion wrestler in college. He too experienced all too often how short lived the plastic suits are and as a result it lead him to designing the Kutting Weight neoprene suit, a solution to all of these problems! For this reason, Jim tells us “I wish back then, and even for my earlier contest preparation, that I’d had then what I’ve now discovered - The Kutting Weight suit, a new type of sauna suit designed and constructed to move WITH the athlete. Made of nylon-lined neoprene, it’s designed to move with the body, hold in the body’s heat, promote profuse sweating, and increase your metabolism”. Jim has hit the nail on the head, the suits are designed to do just    that, as well as being much more stylish and comfortable!

To prove his point, Jim conducted his own experiment with Kutting Weight and ended up with some exciting and positive results. Raising your body’s core temperature 1 degree Fahrenheit provides almost a 5 percent increase in your metabolic rate. “A recent test showed that an hour of steady-state cardiovascular work wearing the Kutting Weight suit provided almost a 25 percent increase in my metabolism, and that the increased rate continued for at least two hours after            I took off the suit. This represents a major improvement in fat-burning – as much      as half a pound’s worth of extra calories burned in just an hour.” This effect can      be experienced by anyone wearing the Kutting Weight suits, not just body     builders! The suits will help individuals to increase workout intensity, burn more calories and increase metabolism - no matter what size or shape!

Proper and safe use of the suits is of course very important. “As with any such suit, you run the risk of dehydration”, Jim states “In fact, initially, you’ll see a lot of water loss from sweating. Make no mistake, you sweat a lot! While wearing the suit for one of my training days, I was actually leaving puddles of sweat in the power rack where I was doing rowing with a barbell. This is great for quick water loss, but the bodybuilder will quickly replace that with fluid, if he or she is smart. Where the real effect manifests is in repeated use of the suit to increase the metabolism.” This repeated use of the suit is key and will result in that longer term metabolic increase and fat loss. Staying hydrated during use of the suit is very important and as Jim points out and will help replenish fluids and prevent dehydration.

Kutting Weight is a versatile product and can assist any individual, regardless of whether their weight loss purposes are competitive, professional or for personal or health reasons. Jim finishes by telling us “Because it’s more comfortable to wear, and made to move with the body, the Kutting Weight suit is more likely to be of regular use to the athlete looking to “make weight” for a competition” (i.e. wrestlers, boxers, body builders, gymnasts etc). “I wish I’d had one getting ready for my previous shows – Be sure I'll be using the Kutting Weight suit for the next one!”