staz: I've heard that training without breaks between sets and doing more reps with less weights is an efficient routine for cutting as well, do you have any opinions on that?
You would actually be moving toward aerobic work by doing more reps with less weight. The general principle here: when doing aerobic work, you should focus on aerobic work; when doing anaerobic work, you should focus on anaerobic work. I think most men respond best by keeping their reps between 6 and 12—depending on exercise, muscle group, mood, etc.
One of the best methods for being efficient when weight training is to superset with two different muscle groups. Ideally each of the two muscle groups shouldn’t be part of the compound movement of the other muscle group; and, also, they should not be so far apart that blood is being pulled too far from a "pumped" muscle group. Here are some of the better example pairs: gluteus and calves, thighs and abs, hips and hams, chest and bis, lats and tris, anterior/middle delts and upper trapezius, posterior delts and lower trapezius.
staz: If a supplement like twinlabs ripped fuel, (caffeine , ephedrine etc) is to be added to such a routine, when should it be added in that case? from the start or later on (if needed)?
It should be taken about 45 minutes before training unless it says otherwise. Keep in mind that your heart may pump a little faster without necessarily doing as much work. Therefore, take it for the purpose of feeling more alert and energetic as an excuse to perform better, not do less. Get your blood pressure examined regularly to make sure that you stay normal, because if you are not normal this kind of supplement can be dangerous.
staz: Also the 20/40/40 I thought was for healthy diet in general, or perhaps muscle gain.. I'm under the impression that carbos and fat should be reduced when cutting? or should they perhaps just be exchanged for protein?
This ratio is actually a bias toward what I’m assuming are your goals. My full-fledged bias would have had you taking in a little more fat and carbs, and a little less protein. You will likely over-train if you take in any less carbohydrate. If your body composition is not doing what you want it to do, eat less keeping these ratios and either raise aerobic intensity level, increase the daily duration of aerobic activity, or increase aerobic frequency.
staz: I've also heard that doing some aerobic training before eating when waking up is alot more effective than doing it after having eaten, as the body will burn more fat having no nutrition to get energy from.
It has a marginal effect. I would recommend this only if you (a) plan on
only doing aerobic work in the morning or (b) if you don’t have enough time to fit in a meal an hour before morning training. If you must break either of these rules, doing your entire training session mid-morning or later on in the day is likely better unless you are the type who feels energized after an early-morning session. People respond differently; just note what’s usually best.
staz: Also, after aerobic training I get extremely hungry, if I have a big meal after then that pretty much removes the point of the training in general, should eating be avoided then? I guess ephedrines effect of suppressing appetite could come in quite handy in that case.
No, eating should not be avoided. If you are incorporating supplemental techniques such as glutamine/creatine/protein, drink your shake about 15 minutes after training—not any sooner. Sip the drink such that it takes you about 15 minutes to consume it all. Eat 15 minutes after you finish the drink (45 minutes after training). This balances the facts that (a) you shouldn’t consume anything immediately after training because it draws blood into the mid-section whereas blood should still be allowed to satiate the trained areas for the time being and that (b) you shouldn’t wait too long because of the generally undesirable “negative nitrogen balance.”
To make sure that you are not eating too much, each meal should be about even in quantity except for the after-training meal which should be slightly more. You should also be eating smaller, five to eight total meals a day.
In regards to trying to suppress appetite, think about it this way. There are probably some aspects of training where you may need assistance with supplements since will power alone may not be sufficient. There are other aspects where all you need is will power. Try to determine where will power should hypothetically work and where it won’t. Where it should work, don’t take supplements.
