Thread: What should be done different for cutting?

you routine should stay the same for the most part.

lifting heavy is important for mainting muscle mass when you diet.

nothing should be changed in your lifting routine while cutting. keep lifting heavy to hang on your hard-earned muscle. use dietary changes to cut.

as for cardio - my opinion is to do as little as possible to get results.
this will vary by person but i'd suggest starting moderately and increasing if/when your fat loss progress slows.

I agree with P......

Pretty much keep it the same. By the same token, you should be watchful of overtraining symptoms. Your ability to recover from training is diminished when in a negative energy balance.

I agree that your routine should stay the same............IF your routine is a well thought out one.

Train heavy for the rep range you are using.............more reps will help...........6-12 is good........generally,but we all respond differently.

Anything lower is power work ,and while losing bodyfat/weight,low reps could be injurious.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

Your ability to recover from training is diminished when in a negative energy balance.

this is actually the reason my training would change slightly. at some point throughout your cutting stage you're going to plateau simply because your eating below maintenance or partially below maintenance if you're carb cycling. i'm not saying switch gears to high rep but altering your training from super low volume to say reps of 8-10/12 may be beneficial regarding recovery time and progress.

Keep your training the same as P and others have mentioned. Initially I would just alter cal intake. When you hit your first plateau add a bit of cardio. When you hit your next one, you may need time off, you may just need to reduce cals again. Cycle like this.

Originally Posted by The13ig13adWolf

this is actually the reason my training would change slightly. at some point throughout your cutting stage you're going to plateau simply because your eating below maintenance or partially below maintenance if you're carb cycling. i'm not saying switch gears to high rep but altering your training from super low volume to say reps of 8-10/12 may be beneficial regarding recovery time and progress.

You probably should limit the higher intensity stuff just a little bit, but I think it can still be implemented. I probably wouldn't try to cut on Westside, or might end up implementing additional unload phases into my training. It is extremely demanding of the CNS.

What do you guys think about this schedule?

Monday:
10 min high intensity running
10 mins at some form of elliptical

before breakfast to get my metabolism up.

Chest and Tri

Tuesday:
Bicep and Back

Wednesday:
Same cardio routine as Monday

Legs

Thursday:
Chest and Tri

Friday:
Cardio Workout

and then Bicep and Back.

Saturday : off

Sunday:

Back, Bicep, and Legs

As for my reps and set I will do the following.

1st set - 12 reps
2nd set - 8 reps
3rd set - 6 reps
4th set - 8 reps.

Is that too much cardio? Also is it possible to actually increase strength during cutting if you are lifting as heavy as before?

Originally Posted by CowPimp

You probably should limit the higher intensity stuff just a little bit, but I think it can still be implemented. I probably wouldn't try to cut on Westside, or might end up implementing additional unload phases into my training. It is extremely demanding of the CNS.

eh, you could do it. the only problem is that the volume on westside BB is insane so you would want to lower that a bit.

I dieted down to the 77kg class for olympic lifting and stayed there for about 6 months (by dieting) and still training with a good amount of volume and intensity on my lifts. I kept increasing strength too.

just watch the volume.

Where are yours days off from lifting?

Don't do high intensity fasted cardio; if you do fasted cardio, then keep your heart rate below 65% or so.