Switching to cutting phase need help

[wombraider93]

I'm 3 weeks ill be heading to the beach and taking a week off and when I get back I'm planning on starting my cutting phase I was thinking 7 weeks. (Ill be finishing a 10 week bulking phase) what should I be looking to do I don't want to lose my strength but want to add a little tone. Any advice?

 

[RiseNShine]

Cut back on you carbs intake and overall calorie intake. During your bulk you were hopefully taking in a surplus of calories. Now you want to do the opposite by taking carbs away, keeping fat intake to a minimum and 1 gram of protein per every LB you weigh and go into a caloric deficit of up to 500 calories less then your recommended maintenance level. Keep lifting heavy so you don't lose your gains. And lastly add in High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

HIIT is awesome cardio that should be done up to 4 times a week and last up to 20-25 mins each. You want to do things like sprint 20 seconds rest 40-60 seconds. Or cardio circuits with minimal rest in between each set. This type of cardio takes less time then just running a couple miles and will burn a greater amount of fat while not taking away from your muscle gains. The key is to max out on every set then recover and do it again, keeping your heart rate up.

Overall: lower calorie (carbs) intake
Minimize fat intake
Keep lifting heavy
Do HIIT cardio
Rest

 

[wombraider93]

Could you give me am example lift? I have been doing 5x5 really heavy. Would I switch to like 3x10 heavy then from that a high intensity low weight workout on the same muscle group?

 

[OnionKnight]

Could you give me am example lift? I have been doing 5x5 really heavy. Would I switch to like 3x10 heavy then from that a high intensity low weight workout on the same muscle group?

no. if you wanna keep your strength, you need to lift heavy. it provides the proper stimulus to keep the strength. id recomend staying on 5x5 (because its an awsome routine) and add in cardio on a couple off days. not overkill on cardio either, maybe 2xweek and youre golden

the primary factor here is your diet. you can cut without any cardio at all if you know how to manipulate your diet

idk where you stand now, but if you can, then go for the hiit training. if not, light cardio is fine too. the goal is to create a deficit in calory expenditure. you can do that by 2 ways: exercise, or eating less calories

you can also go swimming. thats arguably the best form of cardio because it wont stress your body like running does. that means it wont cripple your squats on the 5x5 routine

 

[wombraider93]

Good deal thanks for the advice y'all!

 

[carpee]

I wouldn't drop carbs and fat right off the bat.

start with a modest caloric deficit (~250 kcal) and keep carbs as high as possible.
carbs are protein sparing, and keeping them up will give you another variable to change when things stall.

if you cut carbs off the bat, you won't be able to cut them later on.

you want to keep calories, and macros as high as possible while losing.

 

[wombraider93]

One of the major changes I plan to make is working out before I goto work. I have been liftin late at night due to my schedule but I hear you can burn more fat in the morning and ill be able to do that after my vacation. Ill also cut eating past 7:30