Chris Shugart, Creative Director, T Nation
- End each workout with a 10-minute “breath” (scientifically speaking, “oxygen debt buildup”)—any exercise that leaves you panting in a sea of sweat. Try anything: max distance on the treadmill or intervals on the stair machine, kettlebell swings or sprints on the stationary bike. But if after 10 minutes you can stand on your feet, then you haven’t done enough work.
- Reduce carbohydrates to 100 grams per day. Consume most of them before and after (and during) your workout. The rest of the time, fuel up on protein and fats.
- If your nutrition was already under control, now you just need a small deficit of a couple of hundred calories, don't go crazy. Give up cookies for a while before going to bed and generally give part of your dinner to the enemy.
Bonuses:
- Whiten your teeth. This will contribute to improving your appearance.
- Get a little tan.
- For men, forget about the razor for 5-6 days. A scientific study in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology surveyed more than 8,500 women, and most of them found this kind of stubble more attractive than smooth faces or scraggly beards.
Well, let's start with the fact that the very idea of sharply reducing your fat percentage in just 3 weeks is not very healthy. Especially when you “die” at the end of a workout, and even if it’s low-carbohydrate. This method is suitable only for extremely experienced and trained people, without health problems and under the supervision of a trainer. Just like that, you won’t be able to swing a weight and organize imaginary races on an exercise bike. And the importance of oxygen debt is overestimated.
Our take : Add low-intensity but long-lasting cardio (60 minutes or more) if you want to increase your calorie burn. In this case, the main thing for you is to burn calories, and whether you do it quickly or slowly is of secondary importance. More about cardio: “Cardio: when and why?”
Don't overdo your cardio workouts
Have you decided to add more running or cycling to your training plan? An increased emphasis on cardio can trigger a sequence of reactions that affect the maintenance of muscle mass . More cardio means less time to regenerate , and therefore it can very easily happen that the body does not have enough time to recover at all. As a result, strength and performance will not increase , which is due to the ability to build and maintain muscle mass while reducing fat percentage. Too much cardio also leads to overtraining, injury, fatigue and mood swings. Running is a suitable exercise in a reasonable amount, but too much increase in cortisol levels negatively affects the immune system . Frequent increases in cortisol levels also affect fat burning and muscle loss . [4] [7] [8] Do you think overtraining is a myth and want to know more? Read our article – Overtraining – Fact or Myth?
It's difficult to determine how much cardio is too much because it depends on several factors, such as frequency, intensity, or duration . Walking can be a suitable activity for burning fat and maintaining muscle mass. A 30-90 minute walk will help you burn fat without significantly affecting your body's regeneration. [4]
Christian Thibadeau, strength and conditioning coach
Workout:
When I need to get in shape quickly, I do 2 workouts a day: in the morning - strength training for the whole body, in the evening - bodybuilding. In the morning I do multi-joint exercises in a small range of repetitions (about 6 per set), in the evening I do more isolation movements, presses or pulls on machines and blocks, pumping (multiple repetition sets) with short rest intervals. Yes, the volume is too large. Yes, the muscles are worked too often. But nothing bad will happen in 3 weeks, you will only retain more muscle mass. In the long term, of course, you can’t plow like that; high cortisol levels will cause a lot of problems.
Nutrition:
Here, too, you will have to work harder, for example, Paul Carter cut his calories to 1800, and Arnold did all his pre-competition preparation at 1500! Do you need to eat 2500, given the urgency? Don’t even start talking about “metabolic damage” , it’s only 3 weeks! Use the good old recipe from the 60-70s: only white fish, broccoli, lettuce, celery and cucumbers 4-5 times a day. Of course, there will not be very much energy, but you will get the best result for such a period.
Again, low carb, even no carb. Do you know why it is recommended as the best way to lose excess weight and gain attractive definition? Because low-carb foods deplete glycogen , one molecule of which holds 3 molecules of water. Accordingly, when glycogen is depleted, you remove water, so that you visually deflate. Weight loss goes well and quickly within 1-2 weeks. This is usually interpreted as fat loss, when in fact it is mostly dehydration.
By the way, this is one of the reasons that low-carb diets are so popular at the moment - there is a quick initial but deceptive weight loss. But in principle, we achieve the goal: we become more prominent, but at what cost... Read the article “If you want to lose weight, don’t eat carbohydrates .
As for training, we think it’s clear: firstly, where can we get such a ton of time for all these trainings, and secondly, where can we get strength if we are diligently depleting glycogen? Again, if you are a beginner or just doing it for yourself, ignore such advice.
Remember to get enough protein
When reducing body fat while maintaining muscle tissue, it is important to ensure adequate protein intake. Protein is one of the most important nutrients and is important in burning fat for several reasons [15]:
- They change hormone levels - proteins increase levels of "satiety" hormones such as GLP-1, YY-peptide and cholestokinin , while reducing levels of ghrelin , which is a hunger hormone .
- have a stronger thermogenic effect - after eating, some of the calories are used to digest food, this process is known as the thermogenic effect. Proteins have a stronger thermogenic effect than fats or carbohydrates. Approximately 20-30% of calories from protein are burned during digestion and protein metabolism.
- you burn more calories - a stronger thermogenic effect and other facts are the reason why higher protein intake speeds up your metabolism during the day and even sleep. Several studies have shown that higher protein intake causes us to burn 80-100 more calories per day.
Research shows that protein should make up 30% of your daily caloric intake . This fact is confirmed by the results of a study involving overweight men. When protein made up 25% of their daily caloric intake , thoughts about food decreased by 60% , and the desire to eat something harmful in the evening decreased by 50% . Participants in another study consumed 30% protein as a proportion of their daily calorie intake. According to the results, they consumed 441 calories per day and lost 5 kg in 12 weeks. Are you interested in the research results and want to better understand protein gram ratios ? If you take in 2,000 calories a day, 30% of that is about 150 grams of protein. You can easily calculate the appropriate protein content by multiplying your daily calorie intake by 0.075. [3]
Eating protein is not only important during the day, our digestive system also works at night , and in order to maintain muscle mass, we need to prevent hunger and cramps . You can help keep your hunger at bay at night by taking a slow-digesting protein like casein, for example. It is characterized by low carbohydrate content, high protein content, as well as calcium , which is necessary for the production of melatonin, which promotes sleep. The body uses it as energy , so you don't have to worry about it being stored in the body as fat. [2] Want to learn more about a lesser-known source of protein? Read our article – Casein, casein proteins and everything you need to know about them.
Paul Carter, bodybuilding specialist
In 3 weeks you can see a noticeable transformation - if you are prepared for pain and suffering! Here's how I would proceed:
- Cardio – 2 times a day, 30 minutes in the morning and evening.
- Iron – 7 days a week.
- No cheat meals or refeeds.
- The diet is low fat and low carbohydrate. All carbohydrates only after training, the rest of the meals from lean protein and vegetables.
- And I would only eat asparagus as a vegetable - a natural diuretic.
About pain and suffering, that's for sure. This program is the surest way to overtrain! And in general, eat asparagus for 21 days... What’s wrong with cucumbers, tomatoes and, for example, onions? In short, after such a diet you will overeat on day 22, excuse me, like mumps and all the water and glycogen will come back to you. As a result: my nerves were torn, my willpower was raped, my psychological and physical condition only got worse.
Mark Dugdale, IFBB professional bodybuilder
I’m not a fan of such rapid drying, as it causes long-term setbacks. However, I can tell you what I would do:
Week 1 and 2
Increase both training frequency and volume. Work out with iron in the evenings, and in the mornings every day, either 10-15 minutes of HIIT, or 60 minutes of hot yoga. Eliminate dairy, wheat, sugar and any processed carbohydrates. Eat mostly high-fiber vegetables and chicken breast or white fish. Aim for at least 1.25 grams of protein per pound of body weight (~2.8 g per kg) and no more than 0.3 grams of fat per pound of body weight (~0.7 g per kg). I would recommend getting fats only from medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, olive oil and almonds (and no other nuts).
Week 3
In all training approaches, increase the number of repetitions to 15-25; slow down the eccentric phase (lowering). Give up HIIT completely, stick to hot yoga only. In terms of nutrition, everything is the same, just lower the proportion of fat to 0.5 grams per 1 kg of weight. And during the entire preparation time, limit your salt intake, it is better to switch to sea salt.
In general, this is clearly advice for bodybuilders and preparing for stage performances. In terms of nutrition, everything is clear: it’s as if the posts from the public are 40 kg, but what can you do, every detail is important before the stage, so in this case it can be justified.
You begin to be afraid of gluten ( Gluten: friend or foe? ), and cottage cheese ( Cottage cheese: benefits, composition, calorie content. How to check cottage cheese for naturalness? ), and sugar ( Dopamine addiction: how to relieve cravings for sweets. Compulsive overeating ).
Hot yoga is a set of specific asanas that are performed in a heated, warm room. The initial hot yoga class includes: 2 breathing exercises, 26 consecutive hatha yoga exercises. They are performed indoors at a temperature of 38-40 C and a humidity of 40-50%, Yandex told us. The duration of the lesson is 1.5 hours.
We don’t know how you can do this at home, just lock yourself in the bathtub at five in the morning and let the water boil on. So we see the picture, you are tied in a sea knot near the toilet, and your husband is banging on your door shouting “let me in, I want to go to the toilet.”
We want to remind you that sweating does not mean losing weight, and that fat does not come out with sweat . So we don’t know what benefits this yoga provides other than cardiovascular stress. If you are aware, write in the comments. If you believe in toxins and impurities, then do not write. Better yet, read the article “Cleansing the body: detox deception of the 21st century .
Dani Shugart, T-Nation Editor
Our Favorite
When I try to go cold turkey, it usually results in fluid retention, insomnia, constipation and lack of libido. And this doesn’t suit me, even if it’s only 3 weeks. Therefore, I try to stay in shape all year round, and if necessary I will add the following techniques:
- Eliminate alcohol - it makes you overeat or eat unhealthy foods. Or you overeat unhealthy foods.
- Restore healthy digestion - your waist size greatly depends on it (Bone Wide - Vacuum for the abdomen: why this exercise is useless and harmful )
- Spend more time with your spouse - intimacy both relieves stress and gives you motivation for training and diet.
- Don't snack after dinner - you don't need fuel to sleep. But in the morning you may notice that your abs are more prominent.
- Consume carbohydrates mainly from potatoes, squash and oatmeal. The more voluminous, the more saturated.
- Try easy carb cycling—cut by eye instead of reaching for a calculator.
- More physical activity outside the gym.
- Do some spring cleaning – clutter adds stress and makes you overeat. Cleaning is also a beneficial physical activity.
- Always keep protein on hand - if you get hungry between meals, then snack on it.
- Don’t keep any junk food at home - the less you see, the less you want.
There are no questions or complaints, the advice is good, especially about cleaning and sex
