BUT SERIOUSLY...

Welcome to the Serious Cutting Class. In this practical you’re going to apply the theory of body recomposition: losing fat and maintaining, or even gaining, muscle mass. Each training starts with 4 strength exercises and ends with a fat-burning circuit. This way you'll do some cutting while boosting your overall fitness. We are serious!

Workout plan highlights

Many think or believe that you can lose fat mass and build muscle mass at the same time. Unfortunately, you need a negative energy balance for one and a positive one for the other. There is only one group exempted, those are people with significant overweight who have never done fitness. Do not despair, the goal of body recomp is still to transform your body!

You will try to lose as much fat mass as possible and maintain muscle mass. You do this with a schedule that emphasizes muscle building (the stimulus lets your muscles know that you 'appreciate them'), combined with a slight negative energy balance. The slower you lose weight, the more muscle mass you retain. Take your time, even if you are impatient. You will get by far the best results.

Featured exercises

With body recomp workout plans, serious muscle mass exercises are of course essential. We only select the smartest exercises for this goal. A serious mix of big and well-known exercises, supplemented with isolation exercises. Only in this way can you efficiently stimulate all your muscle fibers. Below you will find 2 exercises that you will encounter in this schedule. The rest is ready for you in the app, as well as highly energy-burning circuits/challenges. Good luck!

High bar squat

Een van de beste oefeningen voor je lichaam en zeker voor je benen. De high bar squat hoort eigenlijk in ieder serieus schema thuis.

1Place the barbell on your trapezius.
2Keep your back straight throughout the exercise and squat as deep as you can.
3Stand approximately with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing slightly outward. If you don't like this, you can experiment with a wider or narrower foot position.
4Your feet are always completely on the floor (from heel to toe).

Abdominal pullover

De abdominal pullover is een van mijn (Sander Kers) favoriete core oefeningen. Je kunt hem bovendien eenvoudig verzwaren door je voeten dichter naar de grond te brengen. De enige voorwaarde is dat je onderrug te allen tijde strak tegen de vloer gedrukt blijft. Dat maakt deze oefening zo goed, je hebt direct feedback of je hiertoe instaat bent.

1Push your lower back firmly against the floor.
2Lower your legs to the lowest position in which your lower back still has contact with the floor.
3Lower the weight behind your head and hold that position for 3 seconds each repetition.

Basic principles of your workout plan: get lean

Your body won't change until you seriously challenge it. This workout schedule certainly does that, but only if you commit to it. All you need to do is commit to the following two things:

When doing the exercises that require you to choose a weight, make sure you have about 1-2 reps left in the tank, unless something else is indicated. This is a leading principle. If it says 10 reps, it means that you can physically do 11-12, but still stop at 10. However – are you at rep 10 and could do exactly 4 more reps if your life were at stake? Then do 12-13 reps that set. For the next set, adjust the weight. This way, each set remains effective.
When you are losing weight, it will be difficult to add more weight to the bar. In that case, set a goal to lift at least the same weight as the previous work out every week. That way, you are sure to maintain as much muscle mass as possible. If, at the end of your workout plan, you can lift just a few kilos less, you've still done a great job! Stay realistic and seriously keep your eyes on the prize.

Just to eliminate any doubt; when doing exercises with your own body weight, just do the number of reps indicated. Do you see 'max reps'? Then that literally means as many reps as you can do.

How serious are you really?

Let’s be serious. No one loses fat and maintains muscle mass without a strong nutrition plan. If you want to get more toned, you will have to eat a little less than your body requires. Although there is no best ‘diet’ for everyone, the basics are usually the same:

Create a small calorie deficit (250-500 kcal less than maintenance per day).
Try to consume about 1.2-1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. This will make you feel satiated and will make your muscles happy.
Focus on natural nutrients rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre.
We know this is a toughie but, avoid high-calorie, ultra-processed foods whenever you can. These include candy, cookies, savoury snacks, chips, pizza, chocolate, pastries, sweet dairy drinks, sodas, and sweet breakfast cereals.
Drink plenty of water, black and green tea and reduce your coffee intake.
Make sure that you are able to stick to your diet!

For specific questions, or to create a personal nutrition plan, we always recommend that you contact a qualified (sports) dietitian. Never change your entire nutrition plan by yourself. Seriously.

START TRAINING SERIOUSLY

Discover new training methods based on scientific knowledge, improve your form and technique and seriously track your fitness goals.