I’ve never really done a cut before, so I’m not sure what rep range I should use to preserve strength? Does anything really change? I’m thinking 3-5 reps on everything. I’m on a heavy/light upper/lower split right now. I’m thinking that should become a heavy/heavier upper/lower split for the duration of the cut. Any thoughts?
I think 5 reps or whatever program you normally do is fine. I believe this is what Thibs reccomended in a previous article. He said to lift heavy and just let the dieting do the cutting for you.
I’m in a similar situation. I do reps of 5 for all the major lifts (bench, squat, deadlift, barbell rows, milt press), but I’ll go 8-10 for the smaller muscles (bis, tris, dumbbell exercises).
I’m also doing a split. I get that full body burns more fat, but I’d rather just do a split routine and mix in some HIIT and steady-state cardio. My body just responds more to a split as far as strength and mass goes.
I realize this is the opposite of the Waterbury-Sugart method. I had great results on the V-Diet, but I lost a lot of strength, which I got back very quickly after the diet was over by switching back to a split routine.
The V-Diet is awesome, and I have continued to lose body fat and weight gradually after being off the V-Diet for 6-7 weeks thanks to the craving changes. But my strength and mass has gone up too. I believe this is because I lost strength and mass on the V-Diet workout.
Not dissing the workout, just wouldn’t do it again for me. Obviously there’s tons of data to support this workout. I think different people with different body types and genetic makeups respond differently to different workouts.
I’m more in line with the Thibs school of thought.
Also, I realize this site plugs enough of their own stuff, and it’s annoying when posters who have no finanical interest plug the site’s product, but I gotta say that if there’s one thing I learned from the V-Diet, it’s that Cassein Protein is great when cutting.
This is because it digests really slowly and thus suppresses appetite, so I’d stock up on some Metabolic Drive while cutting, although you’ll still want a fast releasing protein for post workout.
But just remember you want calorie deficit. The two most potent appetite suppressors, IMO, are micellular cassein (what’s in Metabolic Drive), and FAT.
A good meal replacement is 2 scoops of Metabolic Drive and 2 scoops of natural peanut butter (or any combination of Metabolic Drive, and a fat, such as olive oil). These are filling.
cool thanks!
High intensity, lower volume has worked for me in the past. If you give your body a reason to prioritize holding muscle while in a deficit of calories, it will do just that permitting your diet and training are within reason. Also, making sure your paraworkout nutrition is on point will also help spare your muscle and keep your sessions productive and intense.