Clutch Cut Day 1
Hey guys!! So I started Ashley Conrad’s 21 day Clutch Cut program from Bodybuilding.com today!!! So excited about this program. Ashley trains a lot of celebrities such as Bradley Cooper, Kate Hudson and P. Diddy! How cool!!!
Here’s a picture of my new trainer, Ashley Conrad 🙂 What a bad-ass!
A little about the program, according to bodybuilding.com:
“Clutch Cut demands nothing less than your best. Every day is difficult. Every workout is more challenging than the one before. The cardio is as brutal as it is effective; the lifting is as grueling as it is transformative. But, after three weeks with me, you’ll change the way you think about your body. You’ll be reminded that anything is possible, and you’ll transform your physique.
Clutch Cut only lasts 21 days because that’s about how long I usually have to get a celebrity ripped for a movie. It’s a tried-and-true program that I go to every time I need to produce freaky-fast fat loss. I designed Clutch Cut to burn fat, drop water, remove waste, optimize digestion, and help clients get screen-ready shredded. It works. I know it does. It’ll work for you, too.”
Clutch Cut Training Split
The training split looks like this (modified to start on a Friday):
Friday: Lift
Saturday: Cardio
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Lift
Tuesday: Cardio
Wednesday: Lift
Thursday: Rest
This is a very different split than I’m used to. It uses full body lifting days and days of only cardio. I never do ONLY cardio days, but this IS a cutting program, so I guess it makes sense.
I’m doing this program now because I went on vacation and pretty much ate whatever I wanted and had a few too many cocktails. I also got sick for about a week after so I wasn’t able to workout then either. Soooo…this is to get my ass back on track!
So today was Day 1 for me which was a lift day.
I started with 10 circuits of sprints on the treadmill.
You do 30 seconds at a walking speed, 30 seconds at a jogging speed and then 30 seconds at a sprint. That’s one circuit.
I did the speeds of 3mph(walk), 6mph (jog) and 8mph(sprint). I burned about 200 calories in just the HIIT session before lifting 🙂
Here’s a look at the lifting portion I actually did today for Day 1…I did modify a few things
STRENGTH CIRCUIT: I did 3 sets of each exercise
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Barbell Shoulder Press 12-15 reps (30lbs), 30 seconds rest
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Overhead Medicine Ball Throws (18lb Medicine Ball) 12-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
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Walking Lunges with Medicine Ball twist (18lb Medicine Ball) 12-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
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Pushups 12-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
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Dips on Assisted machine 12-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
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Body weight Squat 15 reps, 30 seconds rest
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Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown 12-15 reps (70lbs – I think that’s what I was at!!), 30 seconds rest
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Incline Push-Up 12-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
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Barbell Bicep Curls (30lb barbell) 12-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
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Side Lateral Raise (10lb dumbbells) 12-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
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Close grip low cable Row (60-70lbs) 12-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
After my lift, I did a little bit of the abs that Ashley recommends as optional. I did two-three sets of the ab exercises below.
- Jack knife sit ups – to failure – These are my least favorite ab exercise of ALLLLL time I think. I HATE THEM!
- Crunches – to failure
- Bicycle crunches with medicine ball – to failure
- Crunches with medicine ball overhead (my own addition) – to failure
Clutch Cut Day 1 Results
Overall workout time: 1:16
Calories Burned: 711
Average Heart Rate: 152
Maximum Heart Rate: 177
I really concentrated on only resting for 30 seconds between sets, so my heart rate was super high the whole time. I also got a LOT done in an hour and 16 minutes!! I’m still getting over my sickness too so this was a tough workout!
I know I’m going to be sore as hell tomorrow and the next day but it’s so nice that I don’t have to hit the weights again until Monday according to her plan. Next workout tomorrow is just sprints…which I may try to do outside and really sweat it out!!
Nutrition
As for my nutrition…I decided late last night that I was going to start this program so I didn’t have time to prep her menu. I just tried to eat clean today. I haven’t decided if I’m going to stay strict with her nutrition plan or not. Her nutrition plan does intrigue me though…it has a LOT more fat than I’m used to….yum!!! When I have peanut butter, I’m a happy girl!!!
Have you started the Clutch Cut 21 day program? If so, leave a comment below and let me know what you think!!!
Hey Erin,
I stumbled upon your website while researching AC’s Clutch Cut program. I found it on bodybuilding.com and was instantly hooked. Just bought the Cheater Baking Mix and look forward to starting this hopefully next week. I’ll definitely be back on livelifeactive.com since you are doing a day by day breakdown of how the program is, and I know it will help me stay motivated and strong as it is a KILLER workout routine! Keep up the good work and congrats on being featured in bodybuilding.com transformation of the week.
Thank you! Check out the forum…that’s where most of the AC Clutch Cut program info is. Here’s the link: http://www.livelifeactive.com/forum/forum/ashley-conrad-s-21-day-clutch-cut
I have done some of these workouts before and I was wondering how you calculated the calories burned?
I use my polar heart rate monitor.