Training While Cutting

Hi Modok,

First thanks for all the great information you provide here. I am looking to lean out to very low bodyfat over the next couple of months to put myself at a good starting point to bulk up this summer. In your view, what is a better way to train while cutting – DC 2-way split or consolidating the supergrowth phase of BBB Level One into workouts a week? I’ll be running the AD, as I’ve had great success with that and Shelby Starnes’ low carb diet in the past. Currently 185 at 5’7" and want to get down to 165 or so.

Thanks!

I know you asked MODOK, but cutting on BBB is not a good idea.

Think about the logic of what you’re saying. The supergrowth phase is specifically designed for a supercompensatory effect where calories are kept high, and you’re going to use it to cut calories lower. I assume your thinking is that the SG phases place less of a strain on the body than the Ramps, which is true but not in the way that it needs to be true (explained in next paragraph).

I don’t think there’s anything wrong necessarily with using BBB’s 2 way split while cutting. But just know that the program is not designed for cutting. If you’re cutting, training to near failure that often is just going to be a recipe for injury if you’re not very careful about exercise selection. When going near failure that much in a day for high repetition sets, you need calories to support that sort of training. The high frequency is another complicating issue.

If you’re going to go forward with cutting on BBB, think more about cutting the volume than about the rest times, imo. For example, taking Ramp1 and SG1 and subtracting either one or two sets from each body part, maybe replacing that with a lower intensity set of the same rep range. And you’d probably do well to go with the 4x split over the 6x. Or maybe just cycle your calories and macros.

Whatever you do, cut back on weights a bit when they get heavy. Focus on performance of quality reps and if they slow, go down in weight and perhaps a little in volume. When you start eating more, the weights you can lift will come back faster than you think - though you may be able to work back up if you cut back early enough. If you don’t you are inviting burnout and that will stall fat loss and performance even more. Listen to your body, it will let you know.

I’m not an expert. I’ve done two cuts in my life, and neither were to bodybuilder leanness levels. However, the first time I did very high volume. I basically just kept up my same routine but started cutting. That didn’t work out so well because I simply couldn’t recover properly on the calorie deficit. Lost some strength and more than likely some muscle as well.

The second time I cut was at the end of last year, and I did very low volume heavy weight training. Kept all my strength, maybe even added a tiny bit of muscle, and got pretty lean. I’d say reducing the volume and keeping the weight heavy is something you may want to think about depending on the type of deficit you’ll be running.