Alternating Cardio and Strength Training

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  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    Not everyone wants muscles. It's cool.
  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
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    anthony150paolucci wrote: »
    tillerstouch wrote: »
    anthony150paolucci wrote: »
    tillerstouch wrote: »
    anthony150paolucci wrote: »
    Is a cut always used after a bulk? Because I have seen many times recommended on bodybuilding forums that people who are low on muscle with 15% body fat or higher and are new to lifting, they sometimes recommend you cut down to a lean level. When they say "cut" though, that means they are lifting while they are in a deficit right?

    It doesn't have to be used after a bulk you could start with a cut then bulk or cut then go to maintenance, but the term cut comes from a cut and bulk cycle.

    Yes during a cut you have a deficit and lift heavy but I would say what a cut means is "maintaining muscle while losing fat" (how you do that is heavy lifting on a SMALL deficit and it's a slow process). Also body building sites are great but take them with a grain of salt, there is also a lot of mis-information.

    I mean think about your end goal, lose fat gain muscle. A recomp does exactly that. Recomps are most effective on new lifters which you are. So why not take advantage? Find a structured premade lifting program that utilizes compound lifts, and eat 100-200 calories under maitainence.

    The reason why body builders do cut and bulk cycles instead of recomps is because their muscles have already been exposed to large amounts of lifting so a recomp isn't possible. So you can do cut and bulk instead of a recomp but you need to realize it is a slow process.

    Also you may have a little bit of fat but I think you're already pretty damn lean.... at 5'8" and only 154 pounds I can't imagine you have much fat.

    You know, I have been thinking about my goal and really I don't know even know if I want to build muscle right now. I just want to get rid of the excess fat I have now (even if it seems I don't have extra fat based on my stats). Your right, I don't have much fat left, but I really just want to get rid of it right now. So I want to put muscle building on a hold for now and focus on fat loss.

    So yeah, I want to simplify my goal now and focus on fat loss. Do you think cutting is the best method for me now?

    Okay that's good to establish because if you did want to build muscle you would do a recomp.

    Yes I thinking "cutting" would still serve you well. But keep in mind a cut is a slow process. At your weight I would only try to lose .5 pounds or at most 1 pound per week and still try to preserve muscle. That way you're not just skin and bones.

    Also, make sure you're maintaining a healthy weight, to me it seems like at such a low weight and wanting to lose more could be a red flag, but I don't know you, I'm just saying stay healthy.

    And I'm not sure what look your going for but looking toned also involves building up some muscle. If you don't maintain muscle you'll only look skinny and even if you maintain muscle you still might not look "toned".

    I'm glad I'm finally able to come to a conclusion as of what I really want. Maybe building muscle in the future sounds good, but you have to look at the present first and right now, right here, I want to lose fat. Which is what I plan to do.

    Yeah, don't worry. I won't get to the point where I am underweight. My body will let me know when I'm losing too much I'm sure.

    As far as the look I'm going for, I am still going to make sure I do strength training 3x a week and eat enough protein so I don't lose too much muscle. If I end up looking skinny then for sure I will look to get toned afterwards.

    Make sure you find a good program that works for you and don't neglect any muscle groups. Goodluck

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