How to properly dry muscles? Recommendations from Dmitry Yashankin - winner of the Arnold Classic 2012 in the classic bodybuilding category.
In the gym and beyond, drying the body is probably one of the most popular topics among athletes, and both boys and girls talk with equal fervor about how to properly dry muscles and how difficult it is. However, it is better to turn to competing bodybuilders for experience in this matter; their results are obvious and most pronounced.
Our expert Dmitry Yashankin talks about how to dry properly.
Where does body drying begin?
Let's be honest with each other. There is no need to indulge yourself with illusions: the average person is unlikely to be able to look like the sculpted and muscular guys on the covers of magazines. They are either young fashion models who have never had problems with dryness, or bodybuilders in competitive shape who use pharmacological special agents, without which it is impossible to achieve muscle stiffness and vascularity.
We are interested in getting rid of fat “naturally,” which means initially expect that the result will be, but not like the performing bodybuilders on the podium. For example, let's look at an example of a fat-burning workout.
Preparation for competitions, which is popularly called drying the body, can be divided into two successive stages: fat burning and “eyeliner”. “Eyeliner” is the final stage, during which the athlete begins to manipulate the water balance in the body, achieving a minimum amount of fluid under the skin.
However, “eyeliner” brings only a short-term effect, but we will borrow the experience of fat burning.
What can a 30-year-old man, prone to obesity and regularly training with iron, borrow from the arsenal of athletes? Unfortunately, nothing new. Everything has been known for a long time and works great.
But if everything is so simple, why are there so many overweight people? Firstly, because it is difficult. Not difficult, but difficult.
Gaining mass, working on the relief, drying the body - this is a lot of work and, frankly, not particularly creative or interesting.
How to exercise while drying your body
Many visitors to fitness clubs and “atmospheric” gyms in the basement do things that make no sense. A typical picture: an overweight individual, hungry for relief, with a feverish gleam in his eyes, wraps himself in some kind of miracle belt and goes to the cardio zone.
He returns after 20-30 minutes, lathered, out of breath, and rushes to work out his abdominal muscles, and then, for example, his biceps. What is the logic in this?
First, remember: miraculous belts and shorts for ladies will not bring any practical benefit. And there is also no effect from a local increase in the temperature of problem areas of the abdominal area of the press. On the contrary, you risk overloading your heart, overheating the internal organs located in the abdominal cavity and simply getting a rash.
And the inspiring streams of sweat that are caused by these insulation have nothing to do with fat burning and how to dry properly - especially not.
Secondly, running for people over 30 years old and weighing more than 100 kg is generally not recommended for reasons of the safety of the knee joints and spine.
However, we must remember that during the period of fat burning and drying the body, it is necessary to perform aerobic work and cardio exercises. This is exactly the level of load that allows us to remain in the zone of sufficient oxygen consumption. It is believed that the target heart rate (heart rate) for fat burning is 60-70% of max heart rate.
You can calculate max heart rate using the formula: 220 - age (for men) = max heart rate
For example, if you are 30 years old, then: 220 - 30 = 190. Your heart rate should be: 60% -70% of 190, that is, 114-133 heart rate.
If you are suffocating, it means that oxygen starvation occurs and the oxidation process is inhibited. Burning in the muscles means that the load is too great and the energy supply comes from anaerogic glycolysis of glucose and fat is again not oxidized.
Men's body drying
Drying the body involves special nutrition and a set of exercises that develop muscle relief. These exercises include various presses, weighted squats, reverse crunches, deadlifts, etc.
As for nutrition, the main rule here is to reduce, but in no case eliminate, the consumption of carbohydrates. Reduce the volume of your usual portions, maintaining the habit of eating 4-6 times a day. If you feel that you don’t have enough energy for a productive workout, break your daily diet into 7-8 doses - it will be easier for the body to bear the load.
Reduce carbohydrates gradually, while maintaining protein levels at the proper level. During cutting, protein is especially important. Take it as a rule: 60–70% of protein should come from low-fat foods, the remaining 30–40% from sports nutrition.
Abs workout
During the period of fat burning while drying the body, this is an almost useless exercise, since local lipolysis does not exist (unlike local lipogenesis).
But if the reason is not only subcutaneous fat, but also “sagging” abdominal skin, and you want a toned stomach, know: the transverse abdominal muscle is responsible for this - the deepest of the abdominal muscles and not involved in anatomical movements. You can pump it up using the so-called vacuum (drawing in the abdomen while exhaling).
Abdominal vacuum
In addition, the abdominal muscles are a very small muscle mass and often even a 30-40 minute abdominal workout does not cause significant energy consumption, and in a trained person it does not even bring the heart rate closer to the fat burning zone. The same applies to training the biceps and other relatively small muscle groups.
Therefore, listen to the recommendations of professional bodybuilders and adhere to the following rules if you want to properly dry your muscles:
- First of all, strength training for 40–60 minutes.
- Give preference to larger muscle groups, shortening the rest between sets (no more than 1 minute) and arranging auxiliary exercises in three-, giant-, or even circuit sets. It turns out to be a kind of interval aerobics.
- For best results, you can try special sports supplements.
- To develop strength, use methods of kettlebell lifting, weightlifting and wrestling.
Example of word training.
Strength training for cutting
Superset
Standing Barbell Press
- 3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Body part: Shoulders Equipment: Barbell
Snatch and push of a kettlebell with one hand
- 3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Body part: Shoulders Equipment: Kettlebells
Single leg Smith machine squats
- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Body part: Quadriceps Equipment: Exercise
Smith Machine Bent Over Row
- 3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Body part: Middle back Equipment: Exercise
Push-ups (with wide or narrow arms)
- 3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Body part: Chest Equipment: Body weight
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Next, perform cardio or aerobics in your target heart rate range for 30 to 60 minutes.
This can be any physical activity, from banal walking on a treadmill with a maximum incline to working on a bag or group strength training with pretty ladies.
If you want to make the fat burning process more intense and the result of body drying more obvious, you can add aerobics in the morning before breakfast.
Nutrition for drying the body
If, having lived to 30 years old, you have never had the opportunity to count the cubes on your stomach, then you will have to count calories.
Common recommendations like “Eat less!” they won't help you. Advice not to eat after 6 pm, not to eat after training, or even worse - to starve, is applicable for girls who want to wear fashionable new clothes for the holiday, but not for serious adult men.
Our task during drying the body is to destroy fat as much as possible with minimal loss of muscle tissue. And since we do not use special means from the arsenal of hormones that help preserve muscles, we must be extremely precise and careful.
Your body cutting is worthless if, as a result of losing 20 kg, you do not change your body composition - muscle / fat ratio. Moreover, you will look even worse than before the execution began: before you were big and fat, but now you are small and fat.
To avoid this, gradually reduce your daily diet every week by no more than 500 kcal (or better by 200-300) until we reach 2000 kcal.
Body drying nutrition
Nutrition plays a key role in creating a sculpted figure; it is the body’s main fuel, on which the final result directly depends. To do this, you need to follow some rules:
1.FREQUENT MEALS
Provides meals 6-7 times during the day, forget about the standard 3 meals a day regimen of breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is good for ordinary people, but not for those who improve their body. Eating small meals frequently helps speed up your metabolism, the speed of which determines how quickly fat will be burned. In addition, eating small portions does not stretch the stomach and ensures a constant, uninterrupted supply of all necessary nutrients.
2. CALORIE CONSUMPTION IS MORE THAN CONSUMPTION
During the period of drying the body, the main task is not to gain muscle mass, but to reduce the amount of fat deposits with minimal muscle loss. Throughout the day, calorie consumption should be higher than consumed; this is a fundamental rule without which you can forget about muscle definition.
To do this, the number of calories eaten should be 15% less than those taken, for example, during the day you consumed 4000 Kcal, which means your consumption should be at a level of 4600 Kcal. If you can’t burn that much, then cut back on the amount of food you take.
The mirror will be your main assistant, if you see that within 1-2 weeks the size of fat deposits decreases and centimeters melt, then you are on the right track, if everything remains unchanged, then cut another 200-300 calories and so on until you will see the result. Each body is a unique system for which you need to find your own approach.
3.CHOOSING QUALITY FATS
You only need to avoid animal fats (butter, sausages, fatty dairy products, pork, lamb) and include vegetable fats (salmon, tuna, olive and flaxseed oil) in your diet. It is necessary to consume these healthy fats from the formula 0.5 g. x 1kg. weight, that is, for a person weighing 90 kg. you need 45 grams per day. fat and nothing more.
4. NO CARBS BEFORE BED
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body, without which the body cannot withstand heavy physical activity, but they must be taken wisely. Their main share should fall in the first half of the day, and the last dose should be at 6 pm. Otherwise, if you take them before bed, the fat burning process will decrease down to 0 result.
5. TAKE SLOW CARBOHYDRATES
Slow carbohydrates - have a low level of glycemic index, which gradually release energy to the body, uninterruptedly supplying it with energy, which, unlike fast carbohydrates, quickly release energy and, in the absence of the necessary physical activity in the next 1-2 hours, begin to be stored in subcutaneous fat.
Therefore, include grain porridge, brown rice, pasta, wholemeal bread, legumes, grapefruit, avacado, tomatoes, greens, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts in your diet.
6.HIGH PROTEIN INTAKE
If during the period of weight gain the required proportion of nutrition is 60% carbohydrates, 30% protein, 10% fat, then in the process of drying the body, protein and carbohydrates change places - 60% protein, 30% carbohydrates, 10% fats. Only in this way will fat be burned as much as possible, and the loss of muscle mass will be insignificant, carefully monitor that by 1 kg. weight was at least 2 grams. protein, that is, with a weight of 90 kg. you need to eat 180g. squirrel every day.
7. LESS FAST FOOD, PASTRY AND SNACKS
These food products are replete with fast carbohydrates and saturated fats, these include chips, mayonnaise, confectionery, sweet carbonated drinks and so on, they are tasty and pleasant to eat, but excess calories will worsen the shape of the figure and will not dry out the body enough.
8.KEEP ALCOHOL TO A MINIMUM
Alcohol is extra calories, which are of no use during the drying process, whereby the body, instead of burning calories, directs energy to remove alcohol poison.
9.INTENSE TRAINING
In this case, the training should not be strength training, but on the contrary, it is necessary to train using a special circular method, the rest between exercises is no more than 60 seconds, the weight should be used lightly, and the number of repetitions should be 15-20. In a word, after training, water should just flow out of you.
How and what to eat while drying
To calculate the required amount of nutrients in the daily diet during the period of drying the body, we take the ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates (BJU) for a low-carbohydrate diet as a percentage of calorie content.
Remember: you should never feel hungry. Meals should be fractional, eat a small portion every two hours.
For example, you started drying your muscles and planned to switch to 2500 kcal/day:
- B - 50% = 1250 kcal. 1250/4 = 312.5 grams
- F - 20% = 500 kcal. 500/9 = 55.5 grams
- U - 30% = 750 kcal. 750/4 = 187.5 grams.
It is clear that all these tenths of grams are very arbitrary. To be honest, personally, so many carbohydrates are too much for me. So, if your metabolism is similar to mine - clearly slow, then gradually reduce the amount of carbohydrates and add protein by the same amount.
There is also the option of a carbohydrate-free diet, but I do not recommend it for those who do not take hormonal medications, otherwise the catabolism of muscle tissue will be enormous.
Consume carbohydrates in the first half of the day, make sure they are slow or complex - with a low glycemic index. Proper sources of carbohydrates:
- oatmeal,
- buckwheat,
- Brown rice,
- pearl barley porridge.
It’s not without reason that they say about weak people: “I ate little porridge!”
As for fruits, you can eat green apples (or better yet, half an apple) and grapefruits. Green vegetables rich in fiber can be consumed without restrictions: greens, different types of cabbage, cucumbers, salad.
Try not to mix carbohydrates with fats, but limiting your fat intake as much as possible is a big mistake. Just divide them into “good” and “bad” for simplicity.
“Good” are fats of vegetable origin (except palm oil) and fish oil, that is, all those that are liquid at room temperature.
In a healthy diet, and even more so when cutting muscles, they should be up to 70% of the total fat, so you may have to additionally introduce them into the diet. For example, in the form of a couple of tablespoons of linseed oil.
We often get “bad” fats in excess during the day, so choose low-fat cottage cheese and chicken (or turkey) breasts. Without skin, of course.
Consume proteins mainly in the afternoon. Sources of protein during the period of drying the body will be: chicken breasts, low-fat sea fish, low-fat cottage cheese and egg whites.
We do not count protein obtained from plant foods. Taking into account that “protein” products contain about 20% protein, we calculate: 1.5 kg of products to obtain only the treasured 300 grams of protein.
So an athlete definitely won’t have to starve while cutting, and if you add the carbohydrates included in the diet, you may even have a problem with consuming such an amount of food. This is where sports nutrition comes to the aid of those who want to dry out their muscles.
How to get in and out of drying
The main component of drying is a change in diet, which involves a smooth entry and exit. You can’t start drying suddenly. The body must be gradually prepared for extreme stress.
- First of all, gradually cut back on the amount of carbohydrates you consume. This should be done in advance, several weeks before drying. Remove sweets from your diet, then gradually reduce the amount of fruits, pasta, and cereals with a high glycemic index. Minimize your intake of fats and complex carbohydrates.
- During the drying process, try to eat small portions, but often. Preferably every 2-3 hours. Don't forget about enough liquid. This is approximately 2-2.5 liters per day.
- Skip the salt. But if you are not a professional athlete who is preparing for serious competitions, it is enough to add less of it to your dishes. Drying for athletes takes place under much more stringent conditions compared to those who simply want to lose weight.
- Be sure to eat after training so that your body can recover from intense exercise.
When your efforts have brought the long-awaited result, do not rush to immediately increase the caloric content of your diet. The exit from drying should be just as smooth. After all, while you are drying out, metabolic processes in the body slow down greatly. A rapid transition to a regular menu will inevitably lead to excess weight gain, and all efforts will be in vain.
To prevent this from happening, proceed very carefully. Gradually add foods to your diet and carefully monitor your body's response to changes. Keep in mind, consuming carbohydrates after cutting will cause puffiness. Enter them into the menu smoothly. Start with small amounts of fruit and dairy products, gradually returning to your normal diet.
Sports nutrition and body drying
You must understand that supplements are only a small help and it is unwise to base your entire fat loss strategy around them. On the other hand, drying the body is precisely the period when the consumption of supplements is most justified.
I tried both with and without additives. With additives it tastes better and is psychologically easier. I can recommend: vitamins, glutamine, fat burners, pre-workout supplements.
Vitamins
While drying, you can take sports or pharmacy vitamins, or do injections. In any case, remember that the dosage should be increased and adequate to the load.
Fat burners
It is difficult to evaluate how good a fat burner is, because the most effective fat burner does not work without the right diet, but a diet without “burners” can be effective.
You can try consuming fat burners - or fat burners, as professional athletes call them - there will be no harm from this, but it is possible that there will also be benefit. Typically, fat burners have a dual effect: they enhance lipolysis processes and stimulate the nervous system.
It is convenient to use fat burners precisely because of this “vigor” effect, since a low-carbohydrate diet while drying the body can cause a loss of strength, and sometimes it is difficult to motivate yourself to workout without an additional incentive. Pre-workout complexes are also used for the same purpose.
Be careful when combining fat burners and pre-workouts to avoid overdosing on the caffeine that both products may contain. Carefully study the composition or consult a specialist. If in the total basket of dietary supplements that you consume, the total amount of BCAAs, glutamine, arginine and other amino acid components is 5-10 grams more than planned - this is only beneficial when you are drying out your muscles. However, if you get an overdose of caffeine, guarana, green tea extract and other stimulants, this can have negative consequences for your body and, first of all, for your heart.
Protein is necessary if, due to circumstances, you sometimes have to skip meals, or because you can no longer look at boiled chicken breasts and low-fat cottage cheese. In this case, consume concentrate during the day, drink isolated hydrolyzate after training, and before bed - casein-based protein, multi-component or prolonged action.
Glutamine
I was always skeptical about it and took it on strong recommendation. And it just so happened, or is it really the merit of glutamine, but during the last two cuts I didn’t get sick, despite the flu epidemic and the fact that usually after 3-4 weeks of diets and aerobics I’m guaranteed to catch a cold. So try it. Effective dosage is 20 grams per day
Then all you have to do is monitor and adjust the process of drying the body according to objective and subjective criteria. Make it a rule to weigh yourself once a week at the same time and take anthropometric measurements.
The most objective criterion is the percentage of body fat through bioimpedance analysis, however, unfortunately, such an accurate measurement method is not available to all amateurs.
Capiperometry (pinch fat folds) and scales using BES, available at home, show very approximate results, and the calculation of this indicator using formulas generally has little relation to real figures.
Therefore, to track your dynamics, weigh yourself regularly and monitor changes in the girth of your chest, waist, pelvis, shoulder, thigh and lower leg.
What does drying the body mean?
This is one of the most effective ways to get rid of excess fat deposits in the body.
Drying is most useful for professional athletes, as it allows you to preserve all the muscles, guaranteed to be better than popular weight loss diets. That is, during drying, only fat mass is burned, not muscle mass. The essence of drying is to gradually reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the athlete’s diet. Step by step this number is reduced to zero. In addition, it is worth reducing to a minimum the amount of fat, as well as foods containing glucose. The basis of the diet is proteins, which help maintain muscle tone.
