When to Start Cutting - Contest Prep

by Kris Pitcher

You know that advertisement about unused vacation days? Where the kids are saying, "They're PAID vacation days!?" And, "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard?"

That's kind of how I feel about people talking about the exact point during their contest prep when they begin the "cutting" process. By definition, when you begin a caloric deficit...you ARE cutting. It's the stupidest thing I ever heard.

And then I take a deep breath and remind myself, a lot of coaches, gurus, and self-describe first time competitor-know-it-alls turned contest prep experts...have just enough information to be dangerous.

Aren't you glad I started writing again?

Here's the thing. We feel the need to define every single phase of this process. Week 1: X, Y, and then Z will happen. Week 2: etc. Week 7: Begin CUTTING phase. It's not important.

"Cutting" means you are trying to lose fat. Aren't you trying to do that from the very start of your prep? I sure am. Heck. I'm trying to do that off season. You begin trying to lose fat, AKA - cutting, at the beginning. Sometimes you start before the start. A jump start.

But the need to deconstruct something very simple overrides common sense. Either that, or it's just not that common. My point is, don't over complicate something which is actually very simple. We have named every phase of this, and I'm just not convinced that's necessary.

People get all caught up on if you started cutting at 5 weeks, or 4 or 7. And why that's different from what they are doing, and are they doing it right, or wrong? Should they fire their coach? Hire another one? Or just get their guidance form thousands of random people?

Silly. Just do your prep. We're all cutting. We all started cutting at the beginning. Cut it out.