Doesn't really matter. The only difference is if you rest for 2minutes in-between each set your work out takes longer. It doesn't have to one or the other. You could mix and match. I went heavy on the squats, olympic lifts, pulls and bench press. The bodybuilding stuff I'd went higher reps on. Job done.
DIET DIET DIET DIET DIET
Just stick to it for 12-16 weeks and it's over. Job done. I would highly suggest you log everything for a week so you KNOW what you are eating and know exactly what your weekly calorie intake is.
The only reason I suggested a bulk is to increase your strength, muscle and get your body use to using more calories. Then when you cut it'll be easier. When I meant bulk I didn't mean to go crazy and eat everything in sight. Just eat clean foods and go out once in a while. Nothing crazy. Do this for 12-16 weeks then start dieting after this. It should be easier to diet down when you can say lose 1lb a week whilst eating say 2200-2400 calories instead of say less than 2000.
Just some food for thought. Make dieting easier by *slowly bulking* for 12-16 weeks then cut. No point dieting if you can't stick to your diet. It maybe that for you, you have to eat such low calories it makes it much harder. I was struggling with avg about 2500-2700 calories per week. I can only imagine what the effort would be if I had to eat say 1800-2000calories to lose weight.
Koing
I personally am not in the 'forever bulking' phase. I will usually do a quick paced cut, understanding I am sacrificing my strength a bit and then go to maintenance.
I still slowly get stronger and keep a good BF level.
When I was younger, I'd cycle bulks and cuts, but try to stay in that 10%-12% range on BF.
I lost no strength during cutting and don't believe you necessarily have to in order to lose fat--even more so in you're case because you aren't super lean.
I'm a a very lean 145lbs, calories at the end of my cut were 2250 (training) and 1550-1600 (rest). Avg weekly deficit was around 0.4-0.6lbs. Strength was not increasing but it didn't go down. However, there was a clear point for me where further decreasing calories made me feel terrible.
RPT is uniquely suited to maintaining muscle during a cut and least it has been for myself and many others.
Not sure what my bf is here...skinfold calipers say 7%, I feel it is probably around 8%. Doesn't matter, point is I'm very lean and was able to maintain strength while cutting. Losing strength is not a forgone conclusion.
Two factors contribute to hypertrophy: sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, which focuses more on increased muscle glycogen storage; and myofibrillar hypertrophy, which focuses more on increased myofibril size...
...
..during sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, the volume of sarcoplasmic fluid in the muscle cell increases with no accompanying increase in muscular strength, whereas during myofibrillar hypertrophy, actin and myosin contractile proteins increase in number and add to muscular strength as well as a small increase in the size of the muscle. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is greater in the muscles of bodybuilders while myofibrillar hypertrophy is more dominant in Olympic weightlifters.[16] These two forms of adaptations rarely occur completely independently of one another; one can experience a large increase in fluid with a slight increase in proteins, a large increase in proteins with a small increase in fluid, or a relatively balanced combination of the two.
That's kind of my plan. Keeping dead lift, squats, bench and pull ups heavy, then other things I'd hit more volume. But I agree, I can fit more things in if I rest less, and up the intensity.
Currently, I am eating 2100cal a day and then refeeding on Thursdays, at 2800 cal. Yes, it's tough, but I'm also not as big as you, Zivic, etc. 2100 a day isn't terrible for me right now, because I fast. I'm mentally and physically used to not eating until about 12-12:30pm, which is nice because I get that full feeling for the rest of the day up until I go to bed. I'm not a big proponent of fasting one way or another, but I think during a cut phase, it helps purely because you can feel more full, on less calories.
I can't really afford to risk gaining any more body fat now, so I will engage in a cut for as long as I can maintain the diet. If indeed it proves to be too tough because of the situation you described, I can switch into a slow bulk. For now though... I'll be working on burnin' that fat.
Cool man. Your plan isn't what i recommend but that is totally fine, sometimes you gotta just try things out for yourself! If I had listened to everyone else and done things the normal 'traditional' way I'm convinced i wouldn't be where i am today both with my own physique nor with clients.
I think the amount of strength you maintain during a cut is influenced by a multitude of factors. I think the biggest thing is your training style. others being how experienced/seasoned you are, diet, genetics.I lost no strength during cutting and don't believe you necessarily have to in order to lose fat--even more so in you're case because you aren't super lean.
I'm a a very lean 145lbs, calories at the end of my cut were 2250 (training) and 1550-1600 (rest). Avg weekly deficit was around 0.4-0.6lbs. Strength was not increasing but it didn't go down. However, there was a clear point for me where further decreasing calories made me feel terrible.
I think the amount of strength you maintain during a cut is influenced by a multitude of factors. I think the biggest thing is your training style. others being how experienced/seasoned you are, diet, genetics.
everyone is different, but I think it is fair to say, generally speaking, it isn't the norm to maintain strength during a cut.
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K so I'm almost done with my 2nd week of getting back on track here. Weighed in at 186.0 today, down from 191. Body fat is ~16.5% down from 18% when I was at the 191lb mark.
Strength is mixed. I am much more sensitive to my eating habits now than before. Generally, I am stronger on Thursday and Friday, than I am on Monday and Tuesday, because my reefed day is Tuesday. My squat feels a bit weak right now, but everything else is okay. I can't keep adding weight on every week, but that's to be expected. I am okay with this, as I have lost about 4-5lb in the 2 weeks I've been dieting.
Plan remains the same, I may need to cut calories in a few weeks if weight loss slows, which I actually kind of hope it does. I don't want to lose more than .75-1lb per week so I retain as much muscle as I can. I actually had an extra 800 calories yesterday for a 2nd reefed in the week because I felt so weak.
Cut days
Cals: ~2100
Protein: ~220g
Carb: ~150-175g
Refeed days
Cals: ~2800
Protein ~200-220
Carbs: ~325-350
Fat: ~60
Fat: ~60g
Okay, another week in the books. It's the beginning of week 4, and I am a solid 186 pounds now. Started about 190, but I suspect I mainly have shed water weight thus far. Weight loss is definitely slower now, but I see more definition in my arms and chest mostly.
I may post a pic I took a while back, and a pic I'll take today or tomorrow, for a comparison. So far, I haven't lost any strength, in fact I've gained a touch, except on squat.
My 7 day average of the day I posted was 186.4... close enough
Yeah and I tried taking some pics last night but the lighting in my room is horrible and it's tough to get good pics in as selfies. I'll have to have my g/f take pics this weekend. I can maybe post one selfie pic of chest/ab definition now for a comparison...might be cool to see my progress.
I agree with koing, unless the person has alot of weight to lose (and thus should easily go down every week) or they have "issues" of getting fixated on scale weight, taking a 7 day avg is the best bet. I started doing this myself over the past several weeks.Keep on the grind.
***I always advise people to weigh themselves every day and work out a 7 day average***
This is MUCH more indicative of actual weightless than a one off weigh in on a particular day.
Your 7 day average MUST start to trend down after 2-3 weeks. If it doesn't you are not dieting properly.
It's good you are seeing more definition in your arms and chest. Good work so keep it up.
Koing
I agree with the whole average thing. I've had a bunch of days where I weighed more than the previous day or two.
Week 1 average: 188.7
Week 2 : 187.7
Week 3 : 186.4
It was cool to see my pics from last night compared to about a year ago. I def feel and look more muscular and less fat. I was unable to get any good leg poses but I'm guessing it's the same.
Ending week 7, weight is about the same, although I haven't weighed in today, I suspect it won't be any different than last week.
Cutting cals a bit, might take a bit from my protein and a bit from my carbs. Fats are already about as low as they can go, and I don't want to dip under 125 on carbs or else I know I will get very weak.
Strength is okay, I'm back to 225 on my sumo dead lift and my bench is at 185 (doing RPT here)
According to the crappy body fat measuring machine, I was 16% fat on Tuesday, which actually puts me at 1lb muscle gained since my weight hasn't gone done much in the past 3 weeks. Don't think that's possible as I am about -3000-35000 cals still every week.
I use the BF thing as a general indicator, but I know my water retention, etc etc affects it.Forget the body fat measuring machine. It's pretty much near useless due to how inaccurate it is.
Week 1 average: 188.7
Week 2 : 187.7
Week 3 : 186.4
Week 6 : 185.9, low of 185.2 on Friday
You dropped 0.5lbs from Week 3 to Week 6. It's ideal but it's going down.
Do you record what you eat daily or mot? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this. It's a bit of a chore but it's 100% the only way you know where you are getting extra calories from. Granted if you don't add the food in to the app/ diary then it's no good as well.
Keep going and you should be able to drop at least 0.5lb a week.
Koing
I use the BF thing as a general indicator, but I know my water retention, etc etc affects it.
Today I weighed 185.8, with 15.8% body fat.
I have not been logging every SINGLE day, but rather other when I eat different than my set meal plan, which, is generally only on the weekend if I am spending time with my g/f. Mon-fri is the same (boring, repetititive) meals so any weight loss slowing is due to anything I do on Sat & Sun. Still not doing cardio, but I am playing ice hockey 2-3 times a week.