You have surely already heard of the muscle dry, it is a practice well known to fans of bodybuilding. In fact, a dry run is a kind of diet or a program that allows you to lose fat mass, generally accompanied by a loss of weight, while keeping the maximum of the muscle mass. How does a diet work? What diet to follow to ensure the effectiveness of a diet ? How to lose weight without losing muscle? What about training during a diet ? How do you know if your diet program is working? We will give you all the essential information you need to know about this increasingly common practice.
Operating principle of a dryer
It happens to an athlete or a practitioner of bodybuilding to want to practice a dry after a weight gain or the end of a muscle gain. Indeed, the goal of this practice is to sculpt the silhouette, by burning the fat mass to make the muscle mass more visible and thus lose fat.
The success of a good dryness goes through the plate and an adapted training. The diet must be hypocaloric. It is therefore necessary to eliminate bad fats from one's diet, optimize protein intake in order to preserve muscle mass, and gradually reduce carbohydrate intake. It is also recommended to reduce the amount of hyper-processed foods and to avoid the consumption of any industrial food product. No results will be visible unless the diet is accompanied by bodybuilding exercises with a good program that will ensure the proper maintenance of the muscles.
An athlete performs an average dry run once or twice a year. A bodybuilder will only do one lean. The ideal duration of a good lean is three months, but this depends on the individual and their initial % of fat mass. So, when should you start to lose weight?
The right time to start a dry run is when you notice that your muscles start to disappear under your fat mass. The calculation of your body fat percentage can help you determine the ideal time to start a dry run. If the result shows you a level above 15%, it's time to think about a dry run.
If you don't know which program to start with, the quiz is a solution to guide you.
Feeding during a dry run: how it works
Knowing how to compose your diet plays an important role in the success of a muscle lean. This part explains how to eat well to preserve muscle mass and lose as much fat as possible.
It is essential to know how to evaluate your needs in order to dry off efficiently. Thus, you should know that caloric needs vary from one individual to another. They depend on your level of sport, your basic morphology, your metabolism, your height, your weight, your age and of course your sex. To maintain your current weight, your diet must meet your daily calorie needs. This implies that to lose weight, you must slightly reduce your calorie intake. In the context of muscle leaning, you will therefore have to reduce your calorie intake by about 15%. This change should not have any impact on your muscle weight, but it should influence your fat mass.
Afterwards, you must assess the macronutrients of your diet. In order to achieve a good lean, it is very important to respect a good balance between the consumption of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Protein
Firstly, with regard to the proteinsIn order to maintain your muscle mass and physical performance, you will need an intake of approximately 1.5 to 2.5 grams per kg of your body weight.
For example, for a 70 kg individual, the daily protein intake from the diet should be between 105 and 175 g during a weight loss diet. That said, a high protein diet will help you reach your weight loss goal more easily and effectively. It is important to remember that muscles are made up largely of protein. In order to maintain muscle mass during a diet, you must not neglect them.
Lipids
Now for the fatsHowever, it is important to note that only essential fats should be retained in the diet. However, it should be noted that only essential fats should be retained.
You should therefore be satisfied with eating good fats, i.e. omega-3Fatty fish, lipids from organic animals, vegetable oils. The recommended intake during the dry period is 0.5 to 1 gr per kilo of body weight or 25 to 30 % of your total caloric intake. Lipids participate in the proper functioning of the hormonal system.
A good intake of good fats will help you reach your weight loss goal. It is therefore a big mistake to think that fats should be eliminated from your diet during a weight loss program. To lose fat effectively, our body needs fat.
Carbohydrates
Does the dryer allow the consumption of carbohydrates ? Indeed, these nutrients play the role of adjustment variable during your diet. You can therefore use them to supplement your daily caloric intake.
However, it is important to choose carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, since they do not raise your insulin level. However, you should know that the index of a food is not taken into account alone. Indeed, it can be lowered if it is mixed with other foods. On the other hand, you should ban sweets, fried fats, sweets... and eat instead whole grains, sweet potatoes or steamed vegetables, etc.
A little tip: think of spices to spice up your dishes.
2 examples of dryland menus
Here are some examples of a 1500 calorie a day menu during the initial phase of the lean program.
Dry menu - Example 1
Breakfast: 20 grams of skyr or cottage cheese at 0%, 40 grams of wholemeal bread, an apple and an egg. Tip: cut your apple into pieces, mix with your skyr and cinnamon and if necessary add stevia.
Morning snack: 5 grams of dried apricots, 45 grams of tuna, 5 grams of almonds.
Lunch: 200 grams of green vegetables cooked with a small amount of olive oil (1 teaspoon), 100 grams of turkey breast, 1 yoghurt at 0%. Tip: Add some herbs de Provence to add flavour.
Afternoon snack: 5 grams of Brazil nuts, 1 banana. You can also opt for a bowl cake if you wish.
Dinner: 200 grams of vegetables cooked in a small amount of rapeseed oil, 60 grams of brown or basmati rice, 50 grams of red meat.
Dry Meal - Example 2
Breakfast: 50 grams of oatmeal, 200 grams of cottage cheese with 0%, 10 ml of fish oil (omega 3), 25 grams of casein
Morning snack: 20 grams of protein powder
Lunch: raw vegetables with olive, walnut or rapeseed oil, 125 grams of lean meat, a plate of vegetables, 50 grams of pasta or basmati rice, a fruit of your choice
Dinner: tomatoes, 3 whole eggs, vegetables, a piece of fruit, 150 grams of cottage cheese
Doing a dry run with or without food supplements?
Many products specially formulated for dryness are available on the market. Many people wonder if these products (food supplements) really help in fat loss.
Food supplements for dryness
It should be noted that the success of a dry run depends mainly on 3 parameters. Diet, training and sleep. The action of supplements is only very small. Indeed, it is a big mistake to think that food supplements can replace a good diet during a dry run.
It is inconceivable to imagine that if you stop training, you will be able to succeed in your weight loss program based solely on the consumption of food supplements. Moreover, they are not recommended if you are a beginner.
Fat burning products
It is true, however, that some fat burners can help you. Their mode of action is similar to a fat burning food. It stimulates the metabolism and promotes the caloric expenditure of the body. Their ingestion favors the evacuation of fat accumulated by our body.
However, you should not think that consuming a fat burning product will help you lose fat faster during a dry period. Their effectiveness depends on many other elements, including the level of sports activity and the quality of your diet. Their role is especially to reduce the impact of the low-calorie diet on your health and thus avoid the feelings of fatigue that usually accompany slimming diets. Finally, it is especially recommended at the end of the diet in the last few weeks.
Protein powder
As far as protein powders are concerned, they have been created in such a way as to allow you to cover your daily protein needs without providing you with extra fat or carbohydrates. Nevertheless, they are more recommended during mass gain than during a dry period.
The advantage of this form of protein is that it is more economical and convenient than animal protein sources. However, these proteins can never replace regular meals. Consuming it once a day as a snack is more than enough. When you're on a diet, look for whole foods.
Your diet will be more effective and your health will be preserved at the same time. If needed, here are the proteins I recommend: WHEY NATIVE.
So, is it better to do a natural dry or to use supplements for the dry?
The final decision is yours. You are now aware that supplements can only help you a little. This means that you can have a good workout without having to invest in such products. You can guarantee your fat loss success without any supplements or fat burning products sold in the market. To lose fat, you are not obliged to buy this, however, you will need to take some vitamins and minerals.
Can fat burning foods help in a dry period?
Fat burning foods are not mandatory during the dry phase. However, adding foods with fat burning effects to your daily meals can be of great help during this period.
Fat burning foods are foods that are very low in calories. These foods are not likely to increase your body fat. Some of the best known fat burning foods are: artichoke, lemon, grapefruit, celery, parsley, papaya.
Other foods have stimulating virtues, which is essential to promote the caloric expenditure of the body. Among the most popular are guarana, coffee, tea and all products with a high caffeine content
Dryland Training Program
You may be tempted to change your training program during a dry run. You will need an adapted weight training program. This is obvious, since during this period, you need to reduce your calorie intake.
In any case, in order to succeed in your weight loss program, you must keep a suitable training rhythm. For example, the last few weeks of your workout will be more challenging than the first few.
How to train during the dry season?
To do a good dry run, schedule at least three workouts per week, 5 workouts would be ideal if you are an experienced weight trainer. Dryland training is not fundamentally different from weight gain training.
Contrary to popular belief, we don't need to do super long and fast sets to dry out. On the contrary, we must continue to work hard to maintain our strength and muscle mass. For more efficiency, it is advisable to integrate intensification techniques such as supersets, bisets, trisets, dropsets... We can also slightly reduce the recovery time between sets. Please note that the level of training varies from one person to another depending on their morphology and experience. ....
Program with HIT or without HIIT
The training program during a dry run can also include HIIT (High interval intensity training). These are high-intensity cardio workouts that alternate phases of maximum speed sprints with phases of recovery or moderate speed. A HIIT workout lasts an average of 15 to 20 minutes. They are generally reserved for experienced athletes and are totally contraindicated for overweight or obese people. These forms of training have the ability to help you lose body fat.
You burn more fat in less time because you continue to burn calories for hours after your HIIT workout by increasing your basal metabolic rate. This type of HIIT cardio session is very intense and is not for everyone. It can be a source of muscular or tendon injuries if they are poorly executed or too often. We will limit to 2 or 3 HIIT sessions per week. It can also make you lose muscle.
Light cardio during a muscle dryout
The exercises of cardio Light or low intensity training can also be integrated into a weight loss program. However, it should be noted that there are some rules to follow in order to limit muscle loss. For example, it is advisable not to exceed a pace of 60 to 70% of your maximum heart rate (MHR), which is the best frequency for losing body fat, and cardio training should be limited to 30 to 45 minutes per session in order to limit muscle loss by increasing cortisol, the hormone responsible for stress.
Depending on your diet program, you can do your cardio sessions two to four times a week either directly after your weight training session or in a separate session and why not on an empty stomach if you can stand it.
How do you know if your dryer is effective?
To know if your weight loss program is effective, you just need to monitor your waistline, it is an indicator of a good weight loss. You should therefore observe the ratio between the waistline and the weight lost. Indeed, when you lose 300 grams of your weight, the ideal is that you also lose a centimeter of waist. If you lose a lot of weight, but at the same time you see a slight decrease in your waistline, this means that you are losing muscle mass, but not enough fat mass.
The mirror is also a good way to see your evolution. That's why it's important to take pictures before and after your blowout.
In fact, the best indicator of a good diet is always the measurement of your body fat percentage. For this, you can use the impedance scale but especially thanks to the skinfold clamp.
Conclusion
At the end of your 3 months of lean, you will look more muscular and voluminous. Your muscle definition will be much better. However, in reality you will have lost weight and kept your muscle mass. A weight loss diet is not synonymous with eating less or losing weight quickly, but rather eating better and losing fat intelligently. You should lose about 2 kg per month unless you are very overweight.
Now if you are ready to seriously start a self-sufficient weight loss program, lose weight quickly and get a flat stomach then you can attack the following weight training program:
Important note: If you have followed a lean program and you want to start again on a muscle mass gain, it is strongly recommended to go through a maintenance diet of one month before attacking a muscle gain.
If you prefer to be followed by a coach with a thorough and tailor-made program:
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