Need cutting advice from seasoned gurus

[Superior Zer0]

Hello everyone, I'm looking to start getting ready for summer as i have a holiday at the end of July and want to my best to get shredded without losing alot of muscle.

Current stats:
5'8
168 lbs
15-17% bf

Workout 4 times per week with 1-2 Cardio sessions and a Crossfit class.

Workouts are Push/Pull days 3x12 on all exercises but will be switching to strength the further I get into my cut. I aim to start at 2100 calories with 200g Carbs, 175g Protein & 60g Fats to try to maintain, I was hoping to start the first week in May but my recomp because a bulk and my body fat got out of hand so I may need to start sooner.

My question is, which stack is the best for aiding my goals?

I have heard about and looked at the following:

Lipomorph
Erase Pro +
Alphamax Xt
Reduce Xt
Oxymax Xt
Norcodrene
Eviscerate
Brite
BAIBA
Slinmax
Invictus
Shift
DCP
ECA

I am a new user to these types of products having only tried EP+, ABE & New Alphamine so I am unsure of what stack would be the best to purchase and run. My goals are to reduce body fat while trying to maintain as much muscle as possible and then refill said muscles so that I don't look completely scrawny when I'm on holiday.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Current pic for reference.

 

[AntM1564]

Before talking supplements, why not try to recomp some more or even go on a lean bulk. I think if you try to cut, you will have a skinny look versus lean. I personally think you should put on more muscle before cutting.

 

[Superior Zer0]

Before talking supplements, why not try to recomp some more or even go on a lean bulk. I think if you try to cut, you will have a skinny look versus lean. I personally think you should put on more muscle before cutting.

I was thinking of recomping for a while longer as I was liking the effects of ABE & EP+, is there any supplements you would recommend that would aid me better than those?

I'll be focusing on the diet side more and making sure my off days stay off days, as I was being a bit lenient on the Cals and iifym diet plan.

 

[john.patterson]

How long have you been training for? I would agree with AntM1564, if you start a cut at your current state you'll most likely end up frustrated with your size.

I would focus on sticking to your macros and train hard. If you're new to training you should be able to successfully recomp a bit and improve your physique. From the list above my top two recommendations/suggestions would be Alphamax XT or Shift. Alphamax XT would definitely support a recomping goal and help increase strength/size as well as improve recovery. Shift would also be a good choice - both products include forskolin, which is a great ingredient for recomping.

Also, what is your age?

 

[Superior Zer0]

How long have you been training for? I would agree with AntM1564, if you start a cut at your current state you'll most likely end up frustrated with your size.

I would focus on sticking to your macros and train hard. If you're new to training you should be able to successfully recomp a bit and improve your physique. From the list above my top two recommendations/suggestions would be Alphamax XT or Shift. Alphamax XT would definitely support a recomping goal and help increase strength/size as well as improve recovery. Shift would also be a good choice - both products include forskolin, which is a great ingredient for recomping.

Also, what is your age?

Hi John, I'm turning 27 at the end of the month and have been training on and off for about 2 and a half years. I was in really good shape 2 summers ago and was hoping to recomp back into said shape.

Summer 2015 pics:

I was thinking of using both products alongside EP+ as I really enjoyed the product unless Alphamax or Shift do the same job or better?

Or a stack of X-Gels/Follidrone 2 with Assassinate, Shift and EP+ but i have a feeling that it might be a bit of overkill with all those products.

 

[Distilled Water]

I'd say recomp. You don't have much lean mass so it wouldn't be terribly difficult. Focus on carb timing and more cardio, fasted preferably, and heavy training. As far as supplements....
Reduce XT and a good GDA should suffice. Perhaps a caffeine/yohimbe hcl stack in the morning before fasted cardio.

Kick cardio up to 7 days per week and you can back off if need be, but I doubt you'll have to. Focus on carbs peri workout and maybe refeeds after 4 weeks or so or hard dieting. Bump protein to 2gr per lb of body weight

 

[john.patterson]

If you enjoyed the stack you previously used, then it couldn't hurt to run it again. If you're never used Alphamax XT or Shift however, it might be a good time to experiment with a new product or stack.

I think you're in a great position to recomp. I would second the advice above regarding carb timing and nutrition. A GDA product would also be beneficial, but not completely necessary. I would read up on Alphamax XT and compare it to the other products you've taken. It's a very comprehensive product that includes scientifically studied ingredients from high quality sources. Alphamax XT and X-Gels is also a very popular stack - I've used this stack several times while lean bulking/recomping with great success.

Diet will be the biggest factor in your progress, but adding in a complete natural product like Alphamax XT along with a GDA would definitely help to bring you closer to your goals.

 

[Superior Zer0]

Thank you guys for the advice, with a GDA I'll be more confident in eating carbs again as I've cut out pasta, rice and potatoes thus far but I'm thinking of adding them back in. I'll run a +15%/-15% calorie recomp and stick hard to the diet, would it make sense to run a recomp all the way until my holiday (15 weeks) or would it be possible to do a mini cut the last 3 weeks before her off?

The products I'm thinking of running now are:

Slinmax + Alphmax XT + Follidrone 2.0 (seeing slot of great reviews on FD2)

 

[john.patterson]

Thank you guys for the advice, with a GDA I'll be more confident in eating carbs again as I've cut out pasta, rice and potatoes thus far but I'm thinking of adding them back in. I'll run a +15%/-15% calorie recomp and stick hard to the diet, would it make sense to run a recomp all the way until my holiday (15 weeks) or would it be possible to do a mini cut the last 3 weeks before her off?

The products I'm thinking of running now are:

Slinmax + Alphmax XT + Follidrone 2.0 (seeing slot of great reviews on FD2)

Sounds like a solid strategy to me. That stack should treat you well too. Using a GDA always helps me feel better about eating high carb meals, as stupid as it sounds. I would see how you look and feel after 8 or so weeks, and adjust if necessary. If you have 15 weeks, it might make sense to do a 12 week recomp and diet down for the last 3. It all depends on your progress and how you look/feel, so it's hard to say as of now. Check in and keep us updated on your recomp progress, and let us know if you have any questions

 

[Superior Zer0]

Sounds like a solid strategy to me. That stack should treat you well too. Using a GDA always helps me feel better about eating high carb meals, as stupid as it sounds. I would see how you look and feel after 8 or so weeks, and adjust if necessary. If you have 15 weeks, it might make sense to do a 12 week recomp and diet down for the last 3. It all depends on your progress and how you look/feel, so it's hard to say as of now. Check in and keep us updated on your recomp progress, and let us know if you have any questions

I was going to add in assass1nate but I read up and it's a GDA too so I'm thinking it may be overkill so I'll run slinmax for 8 weeks and Assass1nate the last 7. Thank you so much for the advice John and I may turn this post into a weekly log for my recomp progress once the products arrive.

 

[john.patterson]

I was going to add in assass1nate but I read up and it's a GDA too so I'm thinking it may be overkill so I'll run slinmax for 8 weeks and Assass1nate the last 7. Thank you so much for the advice John and I may turn this post into a weekly log for my recomp progress once the products arrive.

You're welcome man, we're here to help. Assass1nate is also a great product. It contains more thermogenic and appetite suppression ingredients than Slinmax, so it would make the most sense to add it in toward the end of your recomp/cut. Slinmax is purely a GDA product where Assass1nate is designed to be more of a fat burner. Your setup sounds solid to me man - looking forward to see how your progress comes along over the next 3 months