The basics of muscle definition or cutting in Natural Body Building

Bodybuilding or Body Building (from the English: physical culture) is a "motor activity that exploits:

• l "training with overloads (traditionally free body exercises and / or exercises with dumbbells, barbells and isokinetic machines)
• and a "particular diet (not always in line with the requirements for a correct and healthy diet)

in order to achieve an "ideal" (subjective) aesthetic result, on average characterized by:

• low percentage of fat mass (Low% Body Fat Mass)
• high percentage of lean mass (High% Body Fat Free Mass).

Although Body Building is often confused with other disciplines that exploit training in the gym, the objectives that characterize the various activities are anything but similar; bodybuilding seeks exclusively aesthetic improvement, while Weight Lifting / Weightlifting (an activity that includes two specialties: Tear and Swing) and Power Lifting (a discipline that focuses on maximum lifting in three exercises: Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift ) aim at achieving maximum athletic performance.

• The increase in muscle mass and definition o cutting (from the English: cut, finish, flesh out) are the two main phases of bodybuilding.

While the "increase in mass, as you can guess from the term itself, is aimed at" increasing muscle size [especially as a result of chronic hypertrophy and "pump" (transient spraying)], the definition of muscle or cutting is aimed at " to minimize the thickness of the adipose panniculus (measurable by measuring the percentage of Fat Mass or% Body Fat) and of the aqueous interstitial "film" present between the dermis (deep layer of the skin) and epimysium (membrane that surrounds the muscle).
Obviously, the difficulty in achieving maximum muscle definition depends equally on:

1. Starting body composition quality
2. Individual preparation
3. Diet

Regarding the quality of the starting body composition there is very little to say; cutting (although in this case it would be better to define it as slimming) is in absolute terms (kg lost) much simpler, faster and more effective in overweight conditions or obesity (Body Mass Index [BMI]> 24.9) compared to a normal weight organism that must reduce the Body Fat% (% BF) below the physiological limit or individual "set-point" (balance point of body mass ) This means that in general weight loss and muscle definition (keeping the diet and physical activity constant) never follow a linear trend; indeed, quite the opposite. The decrease in fat mass tends to slow down drastically as it falls below 15% in men and 24% in women. This metabolic reaction generally occurs for two reasons:

1. The body interprets the decrease in fat mass as a critical situation and reacts accordingly by lowering the basal metabolism
2. The body interprets the caloric reduction as a critical situation and reacts accordingly by lowering the basal metabolism

At the same time, there is an individual pre-disposition that determines the aesthetic orientation and body composition; this parameter is commonly defined somatotype (Sheldon 1940) * and depends on the anthropometric characteristics of the subject (skeleton and ratio of lean mass / fat mass). The somatotype differs In the following way:

• Endomorphic: Narrow shoulders and wide hips, soft body, high viscerotonic body fat
• Mesomorphic: muscular, mature appearance, thick skin, correct and somato-tonic posture
• Ectomorphic: youthful appearance, tall, not very muscular, intelligent and cerebrotonic
  

* https: //www.my-personaltrainer.it/somatotipo.htm

However, it is mandatory to remember that simple individual predisposition can interfere in muscle definition to achieve excellent aesthetic results, but does not significantly affect the maintenance of a normal body mass, where normal (normal weight) means:

• Males: BMI 18.5-24.9 with approximately 15% body fat percentage
• Fertile females: BMI 18.5-24.9 with approximately 24% body fat percentage

Aware of the fact that reducing the BF% beyond the lower limit of normal weight does NOT constitute an improvement in the state of health, but on the contrary, it can represent a negative stress for the body (in relation to the individual set-point), it is advisable to deal with cutting in the least critical way possible. To do this, it is essential to manage in an optimal way the feeding and the time necessary to reach the desired level of definition.

Basic dietary rules of cutting

1. Muscle definition provides for the energy combustion of stored fats, therefore it is essential to favor a slightly negative energy balance (energy balance = food energy introduced - metabolic energy consumed). Despite all the "novelties" that have emerged in the field of physiology, endocrinology, chronobiology, etc., the concept remains the same: fat is reduced if cellular combustion exceeds the energy introduced. mind is that the balance must NEVER be too negative, for two reasons: 1) to avoid the lowering of the metabolism 2) to maintain a certain applicability of the diet avoiding the early abandonment of the subject. A good compromise could be the dietary intake of 10% less calories essential for maintaining a normal weight. This can be achieved both by limiting certain foods (thus reducing the calories introduced) and by increasing energy expenditure (for example, by including a mild daily aerobic activity such as walking uphill).

2. Once certain levels of BF% have been reached, the simple slightly low-calorie diet is no longer sufficient; at this point the Natural Body Builder must intervene on the details. The first trick is undoubtedly to divide the meals as much as possible. Starting from a minimum of 5 to 7 meals a day, the bodybuilder must make the most of the energy expenditure induced by digestion. In this way, in addition to favoring the "activation and maintenance of body metabolism, insulin peaks are minimized (mainly induced by large meals and excessive portions of refined carbohydrates with a high glycemic index) responsible for adipose storage and post-prandial lipolytic block.

3. No less important, food choices; obviously, in this phase of the definition, junk foods and baked desserts have long since disappeared! In cutting it is above all essential to preserve the muscle mass achieved during the "training year, therefore, the protein fraction that fluctuates from 1.2 to 1.5g / kg of desirable or real weight (depending on the body composition of the subject) must" be divided into all meals of the day; assuming 100 or 120g of protein per day, it would be advisable for at least 15-20g to be present in each meal of the diet. Let me be clear, this does not mean that increasing the aforementioned increases the muscle mass nor that in this way the lean mass is TOTALLY preserved from catabolism during cutting; however, the right protein intake can limit the damage caused by the muscle definition phase in the best possible way. At the same time, it is not possible to reduce too much carbohydrates as their protracted deficit negatively affects promoting the neoglucogenesis deriving from the amino acids of muscle proteins; however, it is possible to concentrate them in the most propitious moments for their metabolism, that is: in the morning, before training and (absolutely within the first hour and even better if in the first 15 minutes). NB. The greater the volume of aerobic activity introduced in the table of training, the greater the intake of carbohydrates in the diet. Regarding fats, better if kept between 25 and 30% of the total calories but of good quality; it is advisable to prefer unsaturated and in particular polyunsaturated lipids, perhaps with a ratio between essential omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids of 1: 4 or better 1: 3. Vitamins and salts must necessarily reach the levels of daily requirement and, for this purpose, it is advisable to evaluate their integration through a nutritional interview with a professional in the sector (sports dietician, sports dietician, sports nutritionist or sports doctor). In all this, the intake of water and dietary fiber must not be neglected; the fiber (in quantities of about 30g per day) favors the modulation of the dietary glycemic index and promotes the cleansing of the intestine from fecal waste, while the " water is essential both to guarantee the development of maximum performance in training and to guarantee the recovery potential and maintenance of renal function.

At the moment, there are no known training strategies with overloads that facilitate muscle definition more than others, although empirical practice suggests how insisting on training in a certain sector during cutting (eg abdominal area) can help. the much discussed slimming localized in that area. Therefore, in the cutting phase it is simply advisable to follow training tables characterized by a low number of repetitions (max eight) with a high recovery between sets (up to 3 "), in order to make the most of the anaerobic alactic metabolism ( energetic substrate creatin phosphate - CP) and depleting muscle glycogen reserves to a minimum; the rest-pause (relaxation break between repetitions) could represent a particularly suitable technique.
In conclusion, by reporting these strategies, one does not presume to summarize in a few lines over 40 years of experience in cutting Natural Body Building, however, they can constitute an "important starting point that will undoubtedly find further corrections through the" increase. personal experience and training seniority.

For further information: Muscle Definition and Veins in Evidence How to Make Them Stand Out