How do you avoid muscle fatigue while on a cutting routine/calorie deficit?

[josef1kr]

I have been on a cutting routine for the past two months and have been consistently eating about 500 calories below my maintenance level. So far I have been consistently losing about a pound a week, give or take, but over the past couple weeks I have been feeling extremely fatigued especially in my legs. This doesn???t ever seem to affect my workouts, because once I get moving and the blood pumping I seem to have plenty of energy to power through my workouts (workouts consist of five min warm up on elliptical, five day split weight lifting, finish up with 20-30 min elliptical). I know that because I???m eating at a calorie deficit my body isn???t getting all the energy it would like, but it is necessary in order to lose some body fat. For the record, my diet is pretty balanced with an adequate source of complex carbs, protein and some healthy fats. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to avoid this terrible fatigue feeling and get some of my energy back, without adding additional calories to my diet? I would like to continue to cut fat at the consistent pace that I???ve been going, but this weak tired feeling in my legs everyday is killing me.

Height: 6 foot 1 inch
Weight: 165 pounds
Age: 22
Estimated Calorie Maintenance: 2975
Total Calories Eaten Daily: 2500

 

[PushAndPull]

At 6'1" 165lbs what's your bf? I know this is not what you what to hear but after 2 months i'm thinking you should take a break and go on maintenance for a week. Also, as your bf gets lower and lower it's going to get harder and harder and taking short breaks can help get you through it.

 

[SuperLift]

Agree with above, but to answer your question.. Try placing carbs soon before you workout. Also load up with some caffiene. That should help give you some energy. Don't go in there thinking that you can workout like you do when your bulking because you can't. Make your workouts a little quicker and lighter weights. Depending on how serious of a cut you are on. Eat plenty of protein and healthy fats.

 

[Built]

Agree with above, but to answer your question.. Try placing carbs soon before you workout. Also load up with some caffiene. That should help give you some energy. Don't go in there thinking that you can workout like you do when your bulking because you can't. Make your workouts a little quicker and lighter weights. Depending on how serious of a cut you are on. Eat plenty of protein and healthy fats.

Agree with everything except the lighter weights. Try to keep them heavy, but reduce your reps and sets so as to keep as much of your usual training weight on the bar as possible, without hurting yourself of course.

I addressed this in the duplicate post you made in the diet subforum.

 

[VolcomX311]

Beta Alanine can buffer some of that muscle fatigue.

 

[x~factor]

At 6'1" 165lbs what's your bf? I know this is not what you what to hear but after 2 months i'm thinking you should take a break and go on maintenance for a week. Also, as your bf gets lower and lower it's going to get harder and harder and taking short breaks can help get you through it.

Agreed. I'm in the same boat as the OP. I'm 6'0", currently at 171 lbs. My goal is to cut to 165 lbs which is where you are now. To me that is borderline skinny. Get your BF% check or post a picture. It may be a good time to go on maintainance or even start bulking.

 

[ThicknCurvy]

You didn't indicate if muscle fatigue was every day or just post workout DOMS. Three thoughts...

1. Glutamine before & after workout... (5-15 grams/day)
2. Bromelain to help with inflammation & DOMS. (2000-10,000 MCU/day)
3. Casein protein before going to bed.

Glutamine will accelerate muscle glycogen resynthesis to increase muscle mass & will increase nitrogen retention. It will also decrease muscle breakdown & recovery time. Most on this thread know the benefit of glutamine.

As for Bromelain, it's been a lifesaver for me. Bromelain is a protease enzyme derived from pineapple. Besides bromelain, Protease enzymes include trypsin, chymotrypsin & papain. They help cleanse your blood of excess proteins & they inhibit the inflammatory response that leads to DOMS.

Take Casein protein before bed. Casein protein is a slow-digesting protein, which results in a steady release of amino acids into the blood stream for up to 7 hours. Casein protein is a muscle-sparing protein. Most muscle repair occurs during sleep & you can't afford to “starve” your body of protein and amino acids during that time or your hard-earned muscle will be broken down in your sleep.

Try all three of these & see if they help your muscle fatigue. I take them regardless if I'm on reduced caloric intake.

 

[Built]

You didn't indicate if muscle fatigue was every day or just post workout DOMS. Three thoughts...

1. Glutamine before & after workout... (5-15 grams/day)
2. Bromelain to help with inflammation & DOMS. (2000-10,000 MCU/day)
3. Casein protein before going to bed.

Glutamine will accelerate muscle glycogen resynthesis to increase muscle mass & will increase nitrogen retention. It will also decrease muscle breakdown & recovery time. Most on this thread know the benefit of glutamine.

Really? It was my understanding that when consuming supplemental glutamine, most is taken up by the gut unless it's administered via IV drip.

I can't even begin to see how it will increase muscle mass while running a deficit.

Got anything recent on this?

As for Bromelain, it's been a lifesaver for me. Bromelain is a protease enzyme derived from pineapple. Besides bromelain, Protease enzymes include trypsin, chymotrypsin & papain. They help cleanse your blood of excess proteins & they inhibit the inflammatory response that leads to DOMS.

They cleanse the blood? Isn't that what your kidneys are for?

Take Casein protein before bed. Casein protein is a slow-digesting protein, which results in a steady release of amino acids into the blood stream for up to 7 hours.

Meat will do this too, won't it?

Casein protein is a muscle-sparing protein.

How is this different from other proteins?

Most muscle repair occurs during sleep & you can't afford to ???starve??? your body of protein and amino acids during that time or your hard-earned muscle will be broken down in your sleep.

I have read nothing that would support your assertion. In fact, I've read the opposite - that protein synthesis is maximized by pulsing protein consumption, rather than trickling it in.

Try all three of these & see if they help your muscle fatigue. I take them regardless if I'm on reduced caloric intake.

I look forward to reading up on these ideas as you post up supporting material.

 

[Chubby]

Maybe it is because you are working out five days a week plus 20 minutes cardio after workout on calorie deficit diet. Why not try short and intense compounds every other days for three days a week. And do your cardio on rest days. This might be easier than working out five days a week, no?

 

[theyard13]

In order to lose a lb of body fat there needs to be a deficit of 3500 calories between the amount needed to maintain body weight and the amount consumed. Since you are 500 below maintenance per day, you are on pace for a lb a week, which is very reasonable. The reason you are feeling fatigued is because your body is not using your ATP system as efficiently as possible, and instead is searching for other energy sources than glucose. My suggestion to increase energy is to add a diet caffeine source such as green tea. Caffeine give you energy, as well as, burn extra calories.