Has anyone tried Jim Stoppani's 6 week shortcut to shred?

[Leigh29]

I'm looking at this program and looking for feedback from anyone. It seems geared to men....but that doesn't really deter me...

[SMB2003]

I think it just came out April 5.... I was looking at it too, but I don't think it will work at my gym with having to do cardio in between all the sets. I'm interested to see the responses. I actually did his Shortcut to Size and while it got a little boring by week 8, I definitely gained strength. I think he knows what he's doing!

[DivaJana]

There are no shortcuts to shred; unless you are willing to look like a skeleton by the end of your cut. You need to cut slowly to keep muscle loss to minimum.

There are no such things as cutting programs or bulking programs; Best program on which to cut and maintain your muscle mass is the very same program you used to build this muscle mass in the first place.

[LHarwood]

There are no shortcuts to shred; unless you are willing to look like a skeleton by the end of your cut. You need to cut slowly to keep muscle loss to minimum.

There are no such things as cutting programs or bulking programs; Best program on which to cut and maintain your muscle mass is the very same program you used to build this muscle mass in the first place.

Im not disagreeing with this as im not experienced enough but wouldn't it be too much to do a programme like PHAT on a cut?

[Simpy]

There are no shortcuts to shred; unless you are willing to look like a skeleton by the end of your cut. You need to cut slowly to keep muscle loss to minimum.

There are no such things as cutting programs or bulking programs; Best program on which to cut and maintain your muscle mass is the very same program you used to build this muscle mass in the first place.

No one's going to look like a skeleton in 6 weeks, first and foremost. You shouldn't lose muscle if you have enough fat to lose. People preach about losing muscle like it's some easy thing to do. We don't just wake up after a few days of intense, low calorie dieting with all our muscle gone. Also, I always change the way I work out when I cut. I opt for burning more calories while working out to increase my fat loss, as I'd rather do that than cut my calories crazy low. So yeah, there may just be bulking and cutting programs.

[DivaJana]

Im not disagreeing with this as im not experienced enough but wouldn't it be too much to do a programme like PHAT on a cut?

If you ran it for a long time with success and your body adapted to it then you started cutting, no it won't be too much.

No one's going to look like a skeleton in 6 weeks, first and foremost. You shouldn't lose muscle if you have enough fat to lose. People preach about losing muscle like it's some easy thing to do. We don't just wake up after a few days of intense, low calorie dieting with all our muscle gone.

I never mentioned anything about 6 weeks or few days . 6 weeks are too little for anything to happen anyway. You can't get shredded in 6 weeks unless you were already lean. However I was talking about rushing cuts -in general- Crazy deficits will make anyone lose a lot of his muscle mass and strength throughout the cut, this is well known and proven.

Also, I always change the way I work out when I cut. I opt for burning more calories while working out to increase my fat loss, as I'd rather do that than cut my calories crazy low. So yeah, there may just be bulking and cutting programs.

If you added volume, decreased your rest times or used anyway to burn extra cals and had successful cut(ended up with minimal muscle loss) This only means you did smart changes. Cutting after all is about caloric deficit, building muscles and preserving them are two processes done the same way. If X program worked great for you during a bulk it will also work great for you during a cut. Which brings us back to "No such thing as cutting and bulking program" statement.

To start lifting "light weigh for high reps" to burn more calories will signal your body to burn unneeded muscle tissue, and this is especially true when on a calorie deficit.

[Simpy]

If you ran it for a long time with success and your body adapted to it then you started cutting, no it won't be too much.


I never mentioned anything about 6 weeks or few days . 6 weeks are too little for anything to happen anyway. You can't get shredded in 6 weeks unless you were already lean. However I was talking about rushing cuts -in general- Crazy deficits will make anyone lose a lot of his muscle mass and strength throughout the cut, this is well known and proven.



If you added volume, decreased your rest times or used anyway to burn extra cals and had successful cut(ended up with minimal muscle loss) This only means you did smart changes. Cutting after all is about caloric deficit, building muscles and preserving them are two processes done the same way. If X program worked great for you during a bulk it will also work great for you during a cut. Which brings us back to "No such thing as cutting and bulking program" statement.

To start lifting "light weigh for high reps" to burn more calories will signal your body to burn unneeded muscle tissue, and this is especially true when on a calorie deficit.

The title is "6 weeks." And as far as I'm concerned, changing your rest time changes the program. Sometimes drastically. This program would be fine for a bulk, but the fast pace of it would not allow for proper CNS recovery which would hinder your ability to get stronger, thus lift more weight, thus put on muscle. Also, you'd be burning a lot more calories, which would also be counter-productive in a bulk. So though the exercises are the same, I'd say the rest periods will likely change unless you want the diet to solely be responsible for the cut. And I don't ever want diet to be all of it. It's just to easy to move faster and eat a little more.

[sy2502]

I think it just came out April 5.... I was looking at it too, but I don't think it will work at my gym with having to do cardio in between all the sets. I'm interested to see the responses. I actually did his Shortcut to Size and while it got a little boring by week 8, I definitely gained strength. I think he knows what he's doing!

The thing of doing cardio between sets didn't appeal to me a whole lot. I put everything I have got in my sets, I take most of them to failure, and I am completely pooped in between sets and trying hard not to puke, so no I am not going to do jumping jacks in between simply because I physically can't. But I am sure others will find the program useful.

[DivaJana]

The title is "6 weeks." And as far as I'm concerned, changing your rest time changes the program. Sometimes drastically. This program would be fine for a bulk, but the fast pace of it would not allow for proper CNS recovery which would hinder your ability to get stronger, thus lift more weight, thus put on muscle. Also, you'd be burning a lot more calories, which would also be counter-productive in a bulk. So though the exercises are the same, I'd say the rest periods will likely change unless you want the diet to solely be responsible for the cut. And I don't ever want diet to be all of it. It's just to easy to move faster and eat a little more.

If you already been doing a program for quiet a while and your body acquired adaption to it, it won't really be too much for cutting. You don't gain size or progress as fast while cutting, this automatically makes any program much less taxing. Changing the rest time is a personal preference. You can choose to do it on a cut to burn more calories or not, keep in mind lowering the rest periods will allow less weights to be lifted so it's all about priorities. You can also do that on a bulk, not necessary to burn more calories -which you can replace them- but also if you are willing to increase your muscular endurance. All that is optional and shows that programs doesn't really belong to cut or bulk.

If you wanna call slightly shortening your rest periods changing the program that's fine by me. Personally, by changing the program I was referring to the old myth of lower reps & heavier weights for bulking and very high reps and light weights for cutting.

[shesites]

I started it and am on week 2. I've pretty much lost the weight I want and am focusing on toning and turning it to muscle. So far in week one I dropped 1.5% body fat doing exercises and paying attention to his diet tips!

[wakechica]

Cardio in between sets?! Wut? In wouldn't be squatting anywhere near as much. #pointless

[ShamWOW4u]

I'm looking at this program and looking for feedback from anyone. It seems geared to men....but that doesn't really deter me...

Program works amazing. I'm on week 4. Down 7% body fat (from 16%-9%), down only 7 pounds (meaning the muscle is growing too). I'm a male so obviously I can't comment on what numbers you can expect, but the program doesn't seem geared towards men exclusively like Jim's Shortcut to Size. Don't listen to anyone on here that says 6 weeks is too short of a time period, that's nonsense. STRICT adherence to a program as intense as this and a stringent nutrition plan (Jim's doesn't go far enough in my opinion, I would go more Keto than Paleo) can accomplish incredible things.

[LondonGirlie74]

Me and my partner tried this not so long ago but could only do it for 2 weeks, it was really good, as we did see a difference in those two weeks, but it was totally knackering, and affected our working lives becuase of lack of food and lack of energy! Dont get me wrong, it was great, but couldnt keep at it for too long. We are now doing shortcut to size, but have to take it slow for the first week as we have lost all our strength from the shred one!

[springabout]

I'm on week two of the shred and love it! Its a challenge but have not found that the cardio affects my ability to lift heavy during my sets. Some weeks you will do up to 30 reps with a lighter weight other weeks as few as 4 reps for the same exercise - this is a real shift for me since I'm used to doing low reps and heavy weight. I feel energized and eager to get in the gym each day. I'm taking some of the vitamin supps and am following my own clean vegetarian diet. Workouts take me abt 1 hour 15 mins incl all cardio. Go for it!

[tabz316]

I just finished week 4 now and the results are amazing so far. I have lost 15lbs in a month and gained muscle and strength while doing out. Each workout is intense and pushes me to the max. I am following the exact workout, diet and supplements as suggested. Initially it took me 1hr 20mins to finish the workout.. Last few workouts tool only 50 mins and burned approx 1300 cals each .. heart rate (160-190)

[luvteju83]

have just completed week one of the shortcut to shred n well awesome as one may feel.......i feel sore too.....especially in the shoulder n d lats............dropped 2 kg in d first week(i have a lot of fat to lose so guess initially its gonna come off fast). I havnt been following d diet n supplements but jus cut down on my diet in d hope dat lesser calorie intake n greater calorie loss aka the program will lead to losing more fat.............hope i do well.......

[Chris4594]

I'm on week for of this program and so far I have lost 24 pounds. I don't account all of it to the workout alone. I completely changed my diet by Jim's guidelines and busted it in the gym even if I couldn't get all the reps I still did the cardio in between. I've gained strength and lost a lot I fat. It worked well for me, and should for anyone following the program if you stick to the guidelines provided.

[MissAggie]

I'm starting this program in less than a week, I'm just curious as to whether or not I need to trim down the recommended diet... I have issues eating 1500-1800 calories/day, let alone the 3000 that are recommended based on the ratios and my weight.

I'll start as recommended and tweak from there, I think. I'll bookmark this and post updates if I remember to check the forums.

[bulldogusmc0274]

I just completed week 2 and i am loving it. I have tried all types of programs throughout my life and so far this one is the best. I'm 35 years old, got out of the marines 12 years ago. I spent five of the twelve years getting fat. I have done alot of research on HIIT and have found that it is one of the best ways to add muscle as well as lose weight. Since I have started the program I have went up about 20% on the weights.

[dancergirl1969]

There are no shortcuts to shred; unless you are willing to look like a skeleton by the end of your cut. You need to cut slowly to keep muscle loss to minimum.

There are no such things as cutting programs or bulking programs; Best program on which to cut and maintain your muscle mass is the very same program you used to build this muscle mass in the first place.

No, there aren't any shortcuts, but I looked my best when I lost the weight with circuit training. The Shortcut to Shred is circuit training. I was a lot leaner and muscular. I don't think it is a shortcut, but it is a great way to supplement your workout. For me, the more cardio, the better. I have learned this over time.

[Ctb04]

As far as it being "geared toward men"...I think some of the exercise volume is more for men, particularly chest exercise suggestions. Overall, if you fuel your body well and take a few basic supplements you will likely be able to complete and recover from the workouts well. I hate (I mean HATE) extended gym cardio - even HIIT for 20 min. on the treadmill makes me want to snooze. I'm an outdoor cardio person all the way - which means I don't always get as much cardio as a gym bunny. I like the cardio mixed in because it gets it done and I believe I am recovering faster than I normally would from lifting workouts (especially legs). I started out with 30 second intervals and have worked my way up toward 60 seconds and even though I am breathing hard, when I focus on my lifting sets I am able to put up just as much as I did without cardio in between.

[egmcindoe]

I just started it a couple days ago, works fine with the cardio between because it's not cardio on a machine. It's step ups on the bench or kettlebell swings ect.

However I have to change the whole meal plan to plant based.