The Best Muscle Relief Workout Program for Men

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What you need

• barbell
• dumbbells
• horizontal bar

Even the most powerful athletes without beautiful, pronounced muscle definition will not look fit and athletic. And if the percentage of fat in your body is approaching 20 (35-40 for women), then you urgently need cutting and an effective training program for relief. Of course, you will have to endure some hardships and restrictions, but the final result is worth it. You will look much more attractive in the eyes of the opposite sex and become an object of envy for those whose willpower is not so strong.

How to create a beautiful relief?

The period of gaining muscle mass is followed by careful work on the relief, with the goal of emphasizing the beautiful outlines of the muscles. At this time, a special program is carried out, combining it with drying - the process of burning subcutaneous fat while maintaining maximum muscle mass.

Professional bodybuilders dry most often twice a year: before the spring and autumn seasons. Accordingly, during the period of gaining muscle mass, you need to maintain a more or less dry shape - this way drying will proceed much easier. Two to three months is just enough to get in shape: reduce your waist size, improve muscle separation, make your stomach more prominent. The priority task during the drying period is to get rid of the subcutaneous fat layer to the maximum, while maintaining muscle volume and strength indicators.

This is achieved by creating a calorie deficit - we begin to spend more energy than we receive. This consists of the following components:

• switching to a low-carb diet;
• increasing training intensity;
• adding cardio exercise.

Naturally, these are only the general and most common components of drying. All athletes are individual, some manage to do without cardio, while others dry out on the same amount of carbohydrates that others gain. But the general trend is exactly this - cutting back on the amount of carbohydrates (and there is often a period right before a competition when their amount can reach zero), small changes in the training program and adding aerobic training.

There will certainly be small losses in muscle mass, but with proper nutrition with plenty of protein, they can be minimized. Pros use anabolic steroids for the same purpose. For amateurs, of course, it is better to do without them, although the loss in muscles will most likely be greater.

As for daily caloric intake, you need a deficit of 10-20% of the daily value. If you cut back even more, the body will try to get rid of the muscle first. The main thing is to accurately measure the number of calories, and not do it “by eye”. Kitchen scales and online food diaries will be of great help in such a situation. In nutrition, the main emphasis should be on proteins - 2-3 grams per kg of weight. It is advisable that all carbohydrates be complex. At the initial stage of drying, there should be at least 1.5 g per kg of weight.

Next, we will tell you what a relief training program should be like in the gym, how to correctly create it, and how to work on muscle definition at home.

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Exercises for relief of individual parts of the body

So far we have only talked about muscle mass. But volume (and much more) is given to the body by fat, which lies above the muscles. So a more realistic way to reduce the volume of a specific body part and define the muscle is to remove the fat that hides the muscle, which is probably already thin and prominent, but hidden.

But fat is not removed from specific areas by exercise. You can read more about this here. A working muscle does not use the fat that is directly above it. It may seem that it is much easier for her to use the fat that is nearby, but fat burning works on a completely different principle.

Hormones remove fat from cells into the bloodstream. The central nervous system (brain) gives a signal to hormones if it sees that the body does not have enough energy to work. Hormones spread throughout the body and remove fat throughout the body.

Muscles have their own fat reserves, these are called intramuscular triglycerides. And muscles can use this fat for fuel, but these reserves are insignificant compared to subcutaneous fat and do not affect the figure in any way.

Features of terrain training

If you want to highlight muscle definition, the most important thing is to get rid of excess subcutaneous fat. And for this you need intense training and increased metabolic stress levels.

Ways to intensify your training

There are many options for intensifying the training process, for example:

• Reducing rest time between sets.
• Slow execution of the negative part of the amplitude.
• Performing forced reps with the help of a partner.
• Pause at the point of peak muscle contraction.
• Performing drop sets and supersets.
• Combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise in one workout.
• The static-dynamic nature of performing strength exercises and much more.

All this applies when working on terrain. These techniques make the muscles denser and stiffer, each muscle bundle is visually more prominent, and due to the intensive supply of blood to the working muscles, the veins become more visible. However, performing most of these techniques is not recommended for beginners.

Of course, the benefits for the body will only come with careful recovery. Give your muscles a rest, get enough sleep, and provide them with enough protein and complex carbohydrates. Consume sports nutrition, and then progress in burning fat will be more noticeable every week.

If you have gaps in at least one of these aspects, then such heavy and intense training will lead to overtraining and loss of muscle mass during the diet. It is not biologically beneficial for the body to retain excessive muscle volume when it is under constant stress. It will begin to “suck” amino acids from the muscles in order to somehow recover after such an intense load. As a result, muscle volume will inevitably decrease and strength indicators will decrease.

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Rep range

Contrary to popular belief, a cutting training regimen does not involve only pumping for 15-25 repetitions. This approach will also be detrimental to your muscles. To maintain them to the maximum, you need to try to maintain your strength indicators. If you give the body a signal that you are reducing the working weights and switching to light training, it will immediately happily get rid of excess muscle mass, which is not needed for such training.

That is why it is necessary to leave all basic exercises in the same number of repetitions – 8-12. A smaller amount is also not necessary at this stage - this can lead to injury, since the joints are not in the best condition during drying.

The rest time between approaches when working on relief is the same as when working on weight. We try to rest for about a minute or two, during which time you will have time to catch your breath and bring your heart rate back to normal. For heavy sets of basic exercises (such as squats or deadlifts), you can increase the rest to three minutes - you are unlikely to have time to recover in a minute. In isolation, on the contrary, you can reduce the break time to 30-40 seconds.

To quickly replenish lost energy, it is recommended to drink 8-10 grams of BCAAs before, during and after strength training. If you are at the very beginning of cutting and have the opportunity to add fast carbohydrates to your diet, adding amylopectin to your training cocktail would be an excellent option. This will extinguish catabolic processes and give strength. If you only consume complex carbohydrates, then take them 1.5-2 hours before training.

Selection of exercises

The choice of exercises differs when working on relief, strength or mass. Often during drying, an athlete builds an interesting training scheme for himself, combining elements from different strength sports, crossfit, martial arts and fitness. To say it doesn't work would be a lie. This approach really increases the pace of training, significantly increasing calorie consumption.

In general, it is best to do something like this: about 70% are basic multi-joint exercises, the remaining 30% is isolated work. The base is done at the beginning of the workout with heavy working weights for 8-12 repetitions, and we “finish off” the target muscle groups with isolation, performing exercises in the range of 12-15 repetitions and using the training intensification techniques described above. Also try to “squeeze” the working muscle groups as much as possible in each repetition at peak contraction.

How to quickly get ripped muscles

For best results, you should lift every other day, then leave 24 hours of rest between workouts to give your muscles a chance to recover. Plus, add high-intensity interval training (if you feel energized) to maximize your body's fat-burning potential.

How many repetitions should I do for relief?

To achieve the fat-burning effect of exercise, it is recommended to do 12 to 20 repetitions in one approach. But in this complex the range is indicated from 8 to 12 with a rest break of up to 1 minute. This was done specifically to preserve and even increase muscle mass as much as possible.

Workout 1: Chest

All three training complexes consist of six exercises, divided into three supersets. Do all repetitions of exercise 1A, then rest for 30 seconds, and complete all repetitions of exercise 1B, and rest for 60 seconds. Do the indicated number of approaches. Continue in the same spirit. As the workout progresses, the number of sets in the superset will decrease and the number of repetitions will increase to further stress the muscles.

Workout 2: Back and Shoulders

After a chest superset, exercise routine #2 will work your back and shoulders to build volume in your upper body and wings of your back. This workout will make your upper body wider, creating the appearance of a more athletic figure, and your waist will appear even narrower.

Workout 3: Arms

This routine will bulk up your arms by working your biceps and triceps with antagonistic supersets (in which two exercises alternate between targeting opposing muscle groups). This has a lot of benefits, including faster recovery of non-working muscles (so you can perform the next set more intensely) and increased pumping.

Program in the hall for men for 4 days

The gym gives us every opportunity to train with maximum efficiency and comfort while burning fat. We have all the necessary equipment at hand. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, just do basic, isolated and, if necessary, cardio exercise. For the soul, you can add something more functional. It is advisable to train with an experienced partner who will help complicate the training by helping with forced repetitions or providing insurance when working with heavy weights. The productivity of the training will only increase from this.

The terrain training program for men below includes 4 workouts per week. Each session lasts approximately 1-2 hours. This complex is suitable for athletes who already have extensive training experience. The program for beginners will be presented below.

You also need to add cardio training. Their quantity depends on the stage of drying and the amount of excess fat. You can start with three workouts a week, doing cardio in the morning or after strength training for 30-40 minutes. Closer to competitions, athletes can perform daily aerobic exercise for an hour or more. Choose the duration and quantity of these workouts individually based on your fitness and form.

As for the type of cardio, most perform low-intensity monotonous work with a heart rate of 60-70% of the maximum. Another good option is shorter interval training, which alternates periods of high intensity with a heart rate of 80-95% of maximum and periods of low intensity or rest with a heart rate of 40-60%. Many studies show interval training to be more effective.

How many repetitions and approaches should I do?

Both beginners and experienced athletes are interested in the question of how long the terrain training should be. Programs usually do not answer this question, but this is an important point. Prolonged physical activity always contributes to the release of cortisol, the stress hormone, into the blood. This leads to catabolism, that is, the process of destruction of muscle tissue. For each person, based on his individual characteristics, the duration of training should be different.

1. For a beginner, the optimal practice time is from half an hour to fifty minutes. You can start even with twenty minutes if a person has health problems or has very little stamina.
2. For an average athlete who has experience working with the base, the duration of one workout should be about an hour.
3. Experienced bodybuilders who take special pharmacological drugs or are preparing for competitions can train in any style for one and a half or two hours.

Three-day terrain training for men

Three workouts per week according to the split scheme will be quite enough for full-fledged fat burning for athletes with average training experience. Still, four or more workouts per week are more suitable for experienced athletes, who often dry out with “support” that allows them to recover quickly.

And add the required amount of cardio loads.

Nutrition during training

The main rule during drying is a lot of proteins, few carbohydrates, no salt and pepper, split meals in small portions 6 times a day, clean water .

It is impossible to completely exclude carbohydrates from the diet, but it is necessary to completely abandon fast carbohydrates in favor of slow ones.

Slow carbohydrates should be consumed in small quantities, only in the first half of the day.

On average, the daily intake during drying looks like this:

• 60% - proteins (of which 40% are proteins, the remaining 60% are pure protein),
• 10% - fat,
• 40% - complex carbohydrates.
• 3 liters of clean water (coffee, tea, juices and any other liquid do not count).

Vitamins and microelements in the diet should be in excess, so you need to drink multivitamin complexes or use them together with sports nutritional supplements.

Below are some products recommended for consumption during drying. From them you can prepare dishes for six meals, and all this will make up a daily diet.

Proteins:

• eggs (whites or no more than 2 yolks per day);
• seafood;
• chicken breasts or lean low-calorie beef;
• legumes (beans, soybeans, beans);
• low-fat dairy products with high protein content, without palm oil.

Complex carbohydrates:

• brown and black rice,
• porridge (oatmeal, 4 types of cereals),
• buckwheat.

Total daily caloric intake should be reduced by 10 to 30%, depending on the rate needed. If there is no rush, dry slowly and systematically. If you have limited time, reduce your calorie intake by 30%, but no more, otherwise during training you will experience a loss of strength, and you will not work out the full program of 1000 calories or more, and you will not start lipolysis.

Relief program for girls

Trying to get rid of extra pounds, girls often structure the fat burning process completely incorrectly. The main mistakes: total starvation, many hours of super-intensive cardio training and group programs. Although this approach is absolutely wrong, it is widespread almost without exception. The reason for this is the yellow press and dubious articles by incompetent authors on the Internet.

The process of getting rid of excess fat should be smooth and systematic: a balanced diet with the right amount of macronutrients, a special relief training program for girls in the gym, dosed cardio and functional exercise, proper recovery and sleep. Only then will you achieve a strong, beautiful, sculpted and most importantly healthy body.

The program also includes four workouts in the gym for girls:

Connecting cardio loads is completely similar to men.

What is muscle relief?

On the covers of magazines and in advertisements for sports nutrition, we see men and women with six-pack abs, pronounced deltoid muscles, and rounded buttocks. And so, in the hope of achieving the same body, tens of thousands of people purchase gym memberships and take the first step into the world of “iron sports.” After a year of regular training, only the most persistent remain. Muscle mass has been gained - the weight of a beginner in the gym usually increases by five to ten kilograms over a year of regular exercise.

But disappointment sets in: there were still no abs, and the shoulders don’t look muscular. At first glance, it’s hard to tell whether he’s a sporty person or simply suffers from being overweight. This is where the relief program for men and women enters the “arena”.

Home workout program

It's okay if you don't have the opportunity to go to the gym regularly. A relief training program at home will help you get rid of excess subcutaneous fat without special exercise equipment. The main thing in this matter is personal motivation.

We bring to your attention a weight loss complex in which the athlete performs exercises with his own body weight. If you have any sports equipment at home (horizontal bar, parallel bars, wall bars, dumbbells, weights, abdominal roller), feel free to include exercises with them in this program - it’s much more effective.

There will be a total of 3 workouts per week, all of them short but intense, approximately 30-45 minutes. They are performed in a circuit training format - one set of each exercise is done in turn, after which the athlete rests for 1-3 minutes, and then repeats the sequence from the very beginning. Start with three circles, then gradually increase their number to 5-7.

If you wish, you can also add cardio according to a similar scheme - it can easily be done outside (running, cycling) or even at home, jumping rope.

Recipes for healthy eating

Classic potato salad

• 2.8 g Protein
• 6.2 g Fat
• 15.6 g Carbohydrates
• 135.5 kcal

35-45 min.

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Other recipes

What types of training exist in bodybuilding and powerlifting?

Any fitness program is based on a goal. The specifics of the training will depend on what the athlete wants to achieve.

1. Mass work is the name given in bodybuilding to a series of workouts, the goal of which is to achieve maximum muscle hypertrophy, i.e., their increase in volume. This is achieved through nutrition and special training. You should reduce the number of repetitions in each approach and use a weight equal to 80% of the maximum. It’s simply impossible to perform ten repetitions with such a weight, but five or six are just right. There is no point in increasing this amount; it is precisely this load that promotes hypertrophy of muscle tissue. In parallel with the training, you need high-quality nutrition: eat 2-3 g of protein, 4-5 g of carbohydrates and 2 g of polyunsaturated fats per kilogram of body weight daily.
2. Work on relief - maximum elimination of subcutaneous fat in order to expose the muscles. Regular weight loss does not involve preserving muscle tissue. When a sharp restriction in nutrition occurs, it does not matter which nutrients, the body “eats” and uses not only fat cells, but also muscles as fuel for energy. As a result, the person simply becomes skinny. A relief training program necessarily includes cardio. It is optimal to start every morning with a jog, and your heart rate should not be less than 110 beats per minute. The strength training regime should change: you can take weights 10% less than usual and perform exercises with high intensity. After a month of such training, a person with a healthy metabolism is guaranteed to lose about two to three kilograms of fat. The relief training program can only be used after several weight training courses have been completed - otherwise there will simply be nothing to “dry”.
3. The simplest option is training to maintain your current shape. That is, do not build muscle tissue and do not try to burn subcutaneous fat. This is the simplest option: choose the average intensity of the exercises. You should eat in moderation: avoid eating simple carbohydrates, fast food, and trans fats.

Brief comment[edit | edit code]

Author: Yuri Bombela I think it’s worth giving a few clarifications here. Firstly, no matter how strange it may seem, “pumping” relief training injures muscles more than strength training. And in conditions of limited resources for recovery, increased trauma to muscle fibers (and even at a time when training is carried out extremely often) can result in a catastrophic “collapse” of muscle mass. Secondly, “pumping” training for relief involves increased blood circulation. And under conditions of diet and sharply decreased levels of glycogen and - accordingly - water in the muscles (and in the body as a whole), it is unlikely that you will have enough blood volume to increase its microcirculation in the muscles. Simply put, “pumping” while dieting—despite the fact that this method does help burn fat—is not the best solution. But strength training may well be it.

After you have worked out 30 minutes in strength mode, you can do another - 20-30 minute - part of the workout, aimed at actually burning fat. This could be a "pump" workout with moderate weights if you want to work muscles, or a "cardio" workout if your goal is to burn more calories.

Source Iron World No. 4