Cutting.. when to use shakes, and which workout to continue with?

[jordan427]

Hi all,

I'm just about to start cutting and of course wanting to keep the muscle that I've gained over the last 6 months. My goal is to drop around 5% bf over the next 6-8 weeks.

Now, I'm currently taking myprotein Hurricane XS an hour before workout but have read that you need a good supply of protein for your body to take in after a cadio/weight session to stop it from taking it from muscle. As the hurriance XS is for strength/mass as it contains creatine which is why you take it pre-workout, would I need to take this straight after workout or is it OK to keep taking before?

And now onto the weights part..

I've been doing SL 5x5 which has pretty much finished its course, should I continue to lift heavy for the duration of cutting or switch to HST?

Thank you v much!

[dalboy]

In what way has SL 5x5 finished its course?

Not sure about the hurricane shake but keep lifting heavy, keep protein high and be in a calorie deficit and you will lose the weight. If your not, reduce calories further.

I am pretty much in the same boat and I am still doing SL 5x5 on a cut. My lifts arent going up but they are not going down either.

[James]

Hurricane is OK to take still, you want to keep protein nice and high throughout dieting, try and keep your big starchy carb intakes (potato, rice, grains, flours, fruit, pasta etc) to just training days and ideally just around workouts (have LOTS post workout); total calories can also be nice and high on training days (a good figure to aim for is bodyweight times 14 as total daily calories). Fat should ideally be low, so protein sources ideal are lean beef, ham, chicken, turkey, salmon, tuna, whey/hurricane shake.

Rest days, try to keep carbs low - since you are going to be low in activity, from sources such as berries (a lot lower than fruit in sugar), lots of veg and any tag-a-long carbs found in your protein foods. Fat is less of an issue, aside from the higher calorie total it includes, so fattier meats are fairer game - eggs, mince, cheese, full fat milk etc. Calories wise, as long as you are hitting 1.2 grams of protein per pound of your total bodyweight, keep them as low as possible - a good figure to initially aim for is 10 times your bodyweight in pounds as total calories for the day.

Training should be BRIEF and HEAVY - thus will prompt the body to retain, or even build strength and lean mass. Use the same SL 5x5 template but reduce compound lifts to 3 sets of 4-6 reps and isolation exercises to 2 sets of 8-10 reps. If you feel inclined to include cardio, remember that diet is there for reducing calories, cardio should be used just for fitness and getting blood flowing around the body NOT for reducing calories from diet. The best approach, which I use to great effect, is a 30-60 minute brisk walk, ideally on a totally empty stomach before the first meal of the day. However, another good time if you can't fit in the walk earlier in the day, is straight after a workout.

Hope the above helps and best of luck, let us know how you get on!

[jordan427]

Cheers for the replies!

With regards to 5x5 "finishing its course" I mean I'm at a level where most of my lifts have plateaued. I will stick to doing heavy 5x5 but will lower the amount of sets I do, mainly due to time constraints - cardio will hopefully consist of 20-30mins of brisk incline treadmill walking and 20-30mins of HIIT (tabata) on the bike, hopefully 2-3 times per week, do you think that is adequate?

Thanks again for the informative replies, appreciate it!

[James]

Quote

do you think that is adequate?

See my above post

[MrLong]

When im dropping below 5% I follow a simple 3 days low/1 day high carb rotation diet and works everytime. Message me if you want more info.

[ATZ]

Dropping below 5%? Are you dead?

[MissVanda]

I think he means he wants to drop another 5% off his current BF? Not drop it to below 5% cos he will die!!!

[jordan427]

Yes I want to lose 5% bf, not drop below 5% bf, as yes I would be a walking skeleton.

Question: Have shake before workout to get benefit of creatine, or post workout for the immediate protein? My workouts are always early morning.

Cheers!

[James]

As long as you hit your protein intake for the day it won't matter when you have the shake/food, I would, however, get as much of your daily carb intake as possible post workout. Since you are training before eating first thing in the morning 20g whey could be a good idea to take prior to promote an optimal training environment, creatine can be taken whenever during the day.