Help! Simple Cutting Question.

[cpwhite]

I am recently coming off of my 1st PH cycle (4 week, 4AD) and am in the 3/4 week of my "come down" creatine cycle. So far, since the beginning of my cycle I have gained about 17 lbs, I would estimate 9 lbs of that is muscle & 8 of that is fat. I wasn't eating very cleanly while on 4-AD, I did of course manage to get enough protein but my "bulking instinct" occasionally overan my good sense and late night snackage occured.

With this in mind, I would like to go on a 4 week cutting cycle to get rid of that 8 lbs (& more) whilst maintaining my 9 lbs of added muscle. I had planned on keeping my lifting routine the same (level weight lifted, no big gains planned) but this time around plan to incorporate cardio into my overall routine to the tune 5+ times/week. My diet would be ultra-clean, if not close to ketosis during this time period (i.e. 1-1.5g/lb of protein, very few carbs consumed & of course essential fats taken).

My question is, with this routine/diet would it be resaonable to assume that if I kept my ingested protein high (1-1.5g/lb) that I might be able to stave off any/all catabolic effects from the added cardio?

thanks,
CP

 

[LunaHotel]

If your protein intake is TOO HIGH compared to the other macronutrients, your metabolism will develop an adaptation to turning protein into glucose for energy purposes. This is among the most disastrous things that can happen to a bodybuilder.

The best thing to do for cutting, wether you do a ketogenic or not, is to dial a caloric deficit of 500 cals a day and eventually, you may tune that to 750 or even 1000 at the very end for NO MORE THAN A FEW DAYS. Any longer will just drain you. Keep the carbs and fat in balance to your protein.

 

[cpwhite]

Luna,

Thanks for the quick reply. I will adjust my diet to include carbs (albeit reduced levels from maintanace etc.).

My essential question remains unanswered unless I completely misread your response so I'll ask again:

1) If I am cutting on a calorie deficient diet with heavy cardio but my protein intake is still in the 1-1.5g/lb range will catabolism still occur?

CP

 

[LunaHotel]

Hm... You mean muscle-tissue breakdown, don't you? Yes. It is just about unavoidable. Go for 1.5g protein/lb.

I have not said you NEED carbs on your diet. You can go ketogenic, which is IMO the very BEST way to burn off bodyfat and keep the maximum of muscle. You can do a ketogenic with nearly zero carbs and 40% of your calories will come from Protein.

But in *MY* experience, a 4-week timeframe is too short to get the best out of a ketogenic diet. It would, of course, still be very OK for your fatloss.

Overall, you should consider tuning DOWN the amount of sets you do in your weights workout, since all you need is to maintain the strength. Any more than the minimum of liftiing will add to muscle-tissue breakdown. Remember that the cardio is also taxing your muscle repair.

What is HEAVY cardio? That sh*t don't burn off much more fat than muscle, IMO. You're better off at a slow swim or brisk walk than to take an "aerobics" class or somesuch. Go hiking in the mountains.