I bulked up, so now how do I lean out?

ouandi

I'm pretty sure I've bulked up as much as I want to be (lifting heavy 3x week). Now how do I lean out without losing all this muscle? Do I cut back on the weights or just add in more cardio? Before or after the weights? What about calories? This week I started to not eat back my exercise calories but I guess I need to stay above my resting metabolic rate of 1478?

Thanks!

5'5"
32 yrs old
160lbs
30% BF
size 8

lgtahoe

bump

dusty8907

10-15% under ur tdee on non workout days, and eat at tdee on workout days to get your defecit.

liftingheavy

Great question, looking forward to responses. I have been lifting heavy too and have not bulked up, which I had been concerned about. My trainer said it was genetics, that large legs, chest, shoulders in women were pre-disposed, not the result of workouts, but I would love to hear from trainers or folks who are more well versed in this.

lakersfan4life

i've just starting my cutting phase. never done it before. I'm guessing my tdee is around 2800. So gonna go with 2600 calories a day. Going to continue the weight training, add lots of cardio, and really start paying attention to macros.

We'll see how it goes.......


6 ft
32 yrs old
179 lbs.
Have no idea what my bf% is.

ouandi

TDEE? So if my resting metobolic rate is 1478 and my lifestyle (very light) activity is 443 then eat 10-15% less than 1921 calories and then eat 1921 calories on my workout days?

lizard053

You need to keep doing the workouts to maintain the muscles. And calories as dusty said.

ouandi

Great question, looking forward to responses. I have been lifting heavy too and have not bulked up, which I had been concerned about. My trainer said it was genetics, that large legs, chest, shoulders in women were pre-disposed, not the result of workouts, but I would love to hear from trainers or folks who are more well versed in this.

I lift to failure on all my muscles, anywhere between 12-20 reps and do 2 sets so I'm definately bulking up. I have muscles I didn't even know existed! Now I gotta get this body fat off of them so you can see the definition.

lakersfan4life

10-15% under ur tdee on non workout days, and eat at tdee on workout days to get your defecit.

what if i workout five days a week, whether its weight training or cardio. 2 days at a slight defecit is going to be enough?

antoniosmooth

Nutrition is key to lean defined muscles as well as adding a good amount of cardio into your workouts. Decrease your fat intake although don't decrease it past normal healthy levels, try sticking to a high protein low fat diet during your lean out phase.

Additionally I assume during your bulking phase you were resting in between sets which is something you should always do. Now that your goal is to define don't rest between sets, only rest between exercises. For example if you are Deadlifting and Squating complete 3-4 sets of deadlift without rest other than adjusting weight amount, now rest 2 minutes before going to squat. Be aware the weight you normally lifted with each set during your bulking phase will likely now decrease without resting between sets.

Lastly get in some cardio, If you LOATHE cardio as I do, learn to do intervals...

amysj303

I want to bulk up, may need to know more about cutting later.
I liked this site for TDEE calculations:
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

liftingheavy

Gonna reply to the right post above

rmhand

bodybuilding.com has helped me understand the differences with lifting to build muscles versus lifting to lean out. Has a lot to do with food.

liftingheavy

Great question, looking forward to responses. I have been lifting heavy too and have not bulked up, which I had been concerned about. My trainer said it was genetics, that large legs, chest, shoulders in women were pre-disposed, not the result of workouts, but I would love to hear from trainers or folks who are more well versed in this.

I lift to failure on all my muscles, anywhere between 12-20 reps and do 2 sets so I'm definately bulking up. I have muscles I didn't even know existed! Now I gotta get this body fat off of them so you can see the definition.

I do too. Brutal! But feels so good afterwards. I really had to focus on body fat too, but lifting seemed to burn it a lot faster for me than cardio even. I hated the jiggle.

jacksonpt

The difference between bulking and cutting has little to do with the exercise and everything to do with the food. Keep lifting heavy, but cut back cals. Reduce fats and carbs, and keep your protein high... shoot for ~10% than TDEE total.

neanderthin

Just keep lifting and eat at a slight deficit.......complicated, no.

jacksonpt

Great question, looking forward to responses. I have been lifting heavy too and have not bulked up, which I had been concerned about. My trainer said it was genetics, that large legs, chest, shoulders in women were pre-disposed, not the result of workouts, but I would love to hear from trainers or folks who are more well versed in this.

I lift to failure on all my muscles, anywhere between 12-20 reps and do 2 sets so I'm definately bulking up. I have muscles I didn't even know existed! Now I gotta get this body fat off of them so you can see the definition.

Lower the volume and increase the weight. 3-5 sets, 5-8 reps.

ouandi

Great question, looking forward to responses. I have been lifting heavy too and have not bulked up, which I had been concerned about. My trainer said it was genetics, that large legs, chest, shoulders in women were pre-disposed, not the result of workouts, but I would love to hear from trainers or folks who are more well versed in this.

I lift to failure on all my muscles, anywhere between 12-20 reps and do 2 sets so I'm definately bulking up. I have muscles I didn't even know existed! Now I gotta get this body fat off of them so you can see the definition.

I do too. Brutal! But feels so good afterwards. I really had to focus on body fat too, but lifting seemed to burn it a lot faster for me than cardio even. I hated the jiggle.

I definately don't giggle anymore and my butt looks great! LOL! I just feel like I look "full" and a little soft around the edges! Ha!

ironanimal

10-15% under ur tdee on non workout days, and eat at tdee on workout days to get your defecit.

what if i workout five days a week, whether its weight training or cardio. 2 days at a slight defecit is going to be enough?

You'll still cut, but it will take longer. Are you strength training 5 days a week? If so, there's no real need and you should compress it down to 3 days if you can.

jenluvsushi

I would also suggest googling figure competitor lean out/cutting diets...they have whole web sites dedicated to just this subject. I couldn't believe that these girls are willing to share their diet plans when I read them. Most of them cut down to eating only two servings of complex carbs in the first one or two meals a day and they seem to cut back on fruit. Some cut back or eliminate dairy as welll....lots of green fiberous veggies and lean meat/protein seems to be key. My aunt is a pro figure competitor and she hates to lean out before shows.....she ends up doing two a day cardio sessions (30 minutes each-one am/one pm) and she continues to lift heavy. The goal is to maintain as much muscle as possible while cuting fat. Amanda Latona has a great cuting diet that I've seen when I googled her.

liftingheavy

That is fantabulous!!! I became obsessed with giggle and the weights seemed to burn it overnight, but it took months actually.

You will be fine - seems like you have this thing under control.

I LOVE this site. Good luck to you!!!!