I completed a test e 500 / wk bulking cycle, I am happy with my results however I know my sense of well being and performance would be better at a lower body fat, however I also know that it’s a bad idea to start cutting in the recovery phase after a cycle, so how soon should I start to cut? And while I’m in my PCT phase should I be on a bulk or maintaince calories? When it’s time to cut, should I cycle for my cut, or lean bulk after cutting naturally?
Stay around maintenance during pct and for the following few weeks or so. Let your body get used to that new set point and train naturally like that for some time.
Unless you’re planning an insane cut you probably don’t need anything, gear wise. You will hold on to muscle pretty well in a reasonable deficit over a short time frame. If you’re cutting hard for 12 weeks then yes, expect some noticeable muscle loss. But if it’s not show prep style cutting I don’t see a good reason for someone to need steroids. I (perhaps stubbornly) believe that gear should be used to increase strength or size. If someone who is not a competitor needs it to cut then there are other problems within their program somewhere. But I’m in the minority on that opinion, so take it at face value.
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I went on a kick about this a few weeks back. I dont believe in diets. The key to actual body composition change is lean muscle mass. Basically a pound of muscle burns a hell of a lot more calories than a pound of fat. Go look up how many calories I promise you that it will open your eyes more than me just telling you. If you want to loose fat and keep it off then build lean muscle and eat clean.
I personally wouldn’t do a hard cut right now if I were you. The tendons and connective tissue tends to develop slower than the muscle, I’d say it’s on average six months behind. You just built muscle and you body is adjusting to that change. Just eat clean and continue to weight train and exercise. In a couple of months when your body finally finds some equilibrium I bet you will have lost enough of the desired fat just from being active and eating clean that you don’t even feel the need to do anything drastic.
Just so I clearly make the point. If you eat clean and even if it’s a total of 3500 calories as long as you keep building lean mass little by little eventually you will get to a point where just going through your day burns more calories than the 3500 you eat, and that’s when the “permanent” body composition change happens. Just waking up and going through your day will burn more than the 3500 and since you will be nuerishing your lean muscle mass your body will have to get the extra calories from the fat.
Even with all the best compounds and drugs in the world diets or truly hard cuts are just not good for us. They have their place with people going on stage and with people who have health risks if they don’t drop the fat but for the rest of us ultimately it puts our long term health at risk for something we can accomplish in a healthier more permanent way. Why put your body through that possible damage for results that are temporary when you can get more permanent results just doing what you love (eating clean, lifting heavier and heavier weights, ect…). It might take a little longer doing this way but the change stays with you better than the diet results.
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Thanks for all the advice!