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Welcome to The BarBend Newsletter! Here’s what’s going on in today’s edition:

• How to use mini-cuts to lose fat fast

• A guide to the reverse pyramid training style

• Learn about all kinds of front squats

Diet

Death by a Thousand Cuts

In the journey toward more muscle, sometimes you need to take a side quest into the forbidden land of cutting. Even if you don’t want to lose weight for anything in particular, this kind of detour can be essential to help reset your body and allow it to get on with the primary mission of getting as huge as possible.

Trying out a mini cut — a short-term diet lasting just two to six weeks — can help you do this without losing all of that muscle and strength you’ve worked so hard to gain. 

The most important thing to remember is that mini-cuts need to be aggressive but sensible. You’re not trying to shed massive amounts of weight in a short time, and you can’t let your calorie deficit turn into a nutrient deficit. If you do want to shed some weight for a wedding, beach trip, or special mirror photo session, this short-term diet plan can help you out in a pinch. 

Learn how mini-cuts can fit into your macro bulk cycle to help you stay hard, lean, and big.

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Training

Lifting in Reverse

Reverse pyramid training protocols are neither a nod to an all-seeing good-ol’-boy oligarchy nor a Ponzi scheme designed to give more money to the Mary Kay lady down the street.

In fact, the reverse pyramid may be one of the most practical, useful, and logical systems to follow when you decide to give this weird thing called “programming” a try.

Instead of working “up” in weight, you’ll be working “down” in weight (thus the reversal of the traditional strength pyramid). This may seem odd at first, but it allows your body to execute its heaviest set in a more ready state, while also building in fatigue to give the lighter sets more oomph.

Better for big lifts like squats or leg presses than hamstring curls or calf raises, this system can be perfect for really getting the most out of your first lift of the day. See how flipping a triangle on its head might be the best thing you can do with your gym time.

Exercises

Front Squat Variations

You might need to turn the lights out in your house and read this in your quietest head voice to make sure nobody hears you: Front squats might be better than back squats. Even if that’s not completely true, front squats offer significant advantages no other lift can replicate, despite the lower weight you’ll likely need to use when performing them.

That said, there are some variations of the front squat that might be more effective (or just more comfortable) based on your body type and preferences. We’ve collected our favorites below, all of which promise to work your legs and core no matter what level you are at.

You can start with simpler lifts, like dumbbell or resistance band front squats, to get a feel for the move and prime your core for what’s to come. From there, you can work up through intermediate exercises like landmine and barbell box front squats before putting your body to the test with brutal variations like double-pause front squats. 

Check out the ways putting weight out in front of you can challenge your mind and body to greater heights.

Poll

Quick Hits

🐐 Sign Up Here: Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr — the consensus CrossFit G.O.A.T. — broke her silence recently and let the world know she will be competing in the 2025 CrossFit Games. Only 35 days remain until the contest kicks off, so she will, admittedly, have some work ahead of her.

🍗 Go Ahead and Disagree With This: The Associated Press (known for its cumulative knowledge vis-a-vis muscle and fitness) released a story letting all you meatheads know there is no scientific backing to eating “extra” protein. Extra, extra, read all about it, etc. etc. etc., and be sure to tune in for the continued, and bizarre, villainization of both meat and saturated fat.

💪 Drag This: Preferred by several top lifters, the drag curl uses the ultra-on-trend concept of fully lengthened muscle contractions to blast your arms into the night sky. Here’s how to do it the right way.

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