Probably not, unless you have trouble completing or recovering from your workouts. That said, the answer really depends on how long you've been lifting weights, what your current training program looks like, and how fast you're trying to lose weight.
So, should you strength train while cutting? Yes, strength training during a cutting phase is critical to maintaining as much lean muscle mass as you can during this lower-calorie phase. The more muscle mass you can maintain, the lower your body fat gets as you drop weight.
A cutting diet lasts 2–4 months, depending on how lean you are before dieting, and is normally timed around bodybuilding competitions, athletic events, or occasions like holidays ( 4 ).
The bottom line is that you don't need to drastically change your training program when you start cutting. Instead, keep following the same strength training program during your cut that you'd follow when eating more calories.
So, what are the best rep ranges for cutting? The best rep range for cutting is one that allows you to sometimes train with heavier loads to preserve basic strength (5-10 reps) and more moderate to light loads to allow you to retain as much muscle while training in higher volumes (10-20 reps).
That sluggish feeling is totally normal—expected, even. Loads of guys struggle with low energy levels when they make the switch from bulking to cutting.
Losing muscle strength while on a cutting diet is common, but it is not unavoidable. Because weight loss inevitably involves the loss of both fat and muscle, you cannot expect to make any gains during your cutting phase, and you can expect your lean mass to decrease slightly as well.
You'll probably lose 15% of your mass if you do an aggressive cut more if you do it for a longer window. The idea is to grow more muscle than you need in hypertrophy and strength training so you have some to spare.
You still lift heavy, and you still use sufficient volume. When cutting it's important to note that you are in a catabolic state so your body is already in the mood to ditch muscle. So because of this the window for volume and intensity is smaller in both directions.
You sure can. Working on your muscular endurance and maintaining a calorie deficit at the same time are going to double your efforts towards achieving a leaner and more toned appearance. You'll be improving the condition of your muscles and reducing the amount of fat that surrounds them.
It is possible to gain muscle and still cut body fat but completing the phases separately can improve your results.
Once you reach a body fat percent of 15% for men or 25% for women, that's when you'll want to start the cut. With a calorie deficit and ensuing weight loss, you'll start losing that fat gain you've put on over the winter months.
It's pretty simple. If you're lean enough to bulk (10-15% body fat or less for a man, or 18-23% or less for a woman), you should probably bulk first. If you're above these ranges, you should cut first. And if you're a beginner who's somewhere in the middle, you should recomp.
Adding cardio into a cutting phase is not necessary, however, it can help in that it burns additional calories. In some instances, burning 200 calories more a day may be easier than eating 200 calories less per day. That is ultimately up to the individual.
However, most people who start dieting by cutting out a certain amount of calories each day will see results within one to two weeks, even if it's just one pound lost.
Generally speaking, you want to train both low and high reps to get ripped. Not just high reps. Training with low to moderate rep ranges can help you get ripped as low rep training at hard intensities will help you maintain strength to ensure you are able to do more work with lighter weights.
You Don't Have Enough Training Volume
The more volume in your training (more sets and reps) the greater the hypertrophy response you will get (up to a point of course). If you like to stick to powerlifting specific programming this may very well be the reason you aren't seeing much progress in terms of muscle growth.
You're Not Eating Well Enough
Make sure that your diet is free of excessive sugar, empty calories, and mounds of carbs. Instead, you should be eating plenty of protein and vegetables. If your diet isn't up to snuff, you'll keep a layer of fat over the muscles that prevents that ripped appearance.
Furthermore, the longer the cut, the more muscle mass is lost overall since it is impossible to avoid muscle loss, so keep this in mind. Most bodybuilders do not exceed cuts of 4 months but usually do at least 2 months.
How Long Should You Mini-Cut? As a rule of thumb, it will need at least 2 weeks to lose enough fat to be worthwhile. At the other end of the spectrum, dieting for more than 6 weeks will start to increase your risk of muscle loss. So, 2-6 weeks is the range for mini-cuts.