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 By: James Cipriani
I get a lot of questions about how to incorporate the training and eating styles that I recommend into a maximum fat loss cycle. When your goal is fat loss more so than muscle gain, some variables change (though not many). So, since I am two months out from my next contest, I figured what better way to show you than to give you an inside look at my pre-contest strategies. For the next 8 weeks, I will take you through everything I do - - from weight lifting, to cardio, to nutrition, to supplementation, to posing, to tanning, to... well, whatever else I can think of or seems relevant. Each week I will take you through any changes I make as well as pictures of my progress. Now, with no further ado, let's get ripped! Training
Monday - Back, Traps & Abs Abs
Incline Reverse Crunches - 2 sets, maximum reps Back
 * Rack Pulls (Done Every-Other-Week) - 2 sets, 4-6 reps (3-4 warm-ups)Weighted Pull-ups - 2 sets, 4-6 reps (After warm-up) V-Bar Pull-downs - 2 sets, 4-6 reps One Arm Dumbbell Rows or T-Bar Rows - 2 sets 4-6 reps
Tuesday - Chest Chest
Flat Barbell Bench Press - 2 sets 4-6 reps Weighted Dips or Flat Dumbbell Press - 2 sets 4-6 reps  Click here for a printable log of Tuesday!
Wednesday - Calves & Legs Calves
Seated Calf Raises - 2 sets 6-8 reps Legs
Hack Squats - 2 sets, 4-6 reps Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 2 sets 4-6 reps
Thursday - Biceps, Triceps & Forearms Biceps/Triceps
Lying Tricep Extensions - 2 sets 4-6 reps (After 3 warm-ups)* *All arm exercises are alternated. I take a normal rest period of 2 minutes between sets. This is NOT a superset. Incline Dumbbell Curls - 2 sets 4-6 reps Overhead Extensions (Dumbbell) - 2 sets 4-6 reps* Preacher Curls - 1 set 4-6 reps Cable Pushdowns - 1 set 6-8 reps Forearms
Hammer Curls - 2 sets 6-8 reps
Friday - Abs & Shoulders Abs
Hanging Leg Raises - 2 sets 8-12 reps Shoulders
Dumbbell Upright Rows - 2 sets 4-6 reps Side Lateral Raises - 2 sets 6-8 reps Bent Lateral Raises - 1 set 6-8 reps Click here for a printable log of Friday!
Saturday & Sunday - Off
Nutrition & Supplementation: What I am giving you is my diet this week and this week only. I started my pre-contest diet 8 weeks ago and have been gradually shaving down the calories by about 100-200 a week. I will keep doing this each week according to how my body responds. Supplementation has stayed the same and will probably stay the same throughout.
Supplementation Plan:
The only thing I have to add is that I do not eat my pre and post workout meals on weekends. I eat my normal 6 meals about 2-3 hours apart from each other. I do, however, have a normal post-cardio shake after my Saturday AM cardio session and then I have a normal post-workout shake after my Saturday PM session. Cardio At present, I am doing 6 cardio sessions a week. I do one per day on Tuesday through Friday and then I do two on Saturday, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon. I alternate styles of cardio in that I do 20 minutes of moderate intensity cardio on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning. I subsequently do 16 minutes of high-intensity Max-OT cardio on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday afternoon. I have to admit that my Thursday cardio session is very moderate because my legs are a little spent from my workout the day before. My exercise of choice for my first five sessions of the week is the recumbent bike. I then like to get outside for my last weekly cardio session where I go to a local high school and do hill sprints. The hill itself is set at about an 80 degree angle and is about 75 yards long. It really kicks my butt, especially on the more humid days. I try to get around 8-10 sprints in that 16 minutes. I will amp up the amount of cardio that I am doing as the show get closer. Miscellaneous: That should about cover it. The only thing I can add is that I am starting to put some emphasis on my color in that I try to hit the tanning booth 3 times a week and then some sunshine on weekends (although we have been plagued with rainy skies lately). One other thing I should say is that throughout my days, I stay pretty active. Too many individuals spend too much time lounging around when they are in the last stages of pre-contest training. I empathize with that since I have been there. It is hard to do much when you start restricting your calories and amping up you activity level. Most individuals will want to save what little energy they have for their workouts. I find it much more mentally satisfying and productive to keep busy and keep moving. All little things add up in the end, and if I can burn more calories in my day then I am going to do so. Starting Pics:
Note: This is week one, click here for week two! That's it for now... Until next week, Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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