That said, I suggest starting your cut phase 8-12 weeks out from an event/season/date you are looking to feel your best. For example, if you want to look great for summer, be sure to give yourself March, April, and May to cut weight slowly so you can preserve as much muscle mass as possible.
For a slower cut, an decrease of 10-15% calories is advisable. I often advise starting with a decrease of 10% for a few weeks, take measurements (weight and photos) and see how things go. If fat is being lost, stay with the 10% deficit until things stall and then lower to 15%.
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 ). A cutting diet aims to get you as lean as possible while maintaining muscle mass.
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.
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).
Conclusion. Yes, you can gain muscle while cutting. However, it may be more complicated than if you were maintaining your weight, trying to lose fat, or trying to gain muscle individually. Regardless, focus on eating a healthy diet and getting enough protein.
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.
Ideal Safe Zone of Weight Cutting
When you're cutting weight, the ideal number to shoot for is approximately 5% to 10% of your bodyweight. For example: You weigh 200 pounds. You want to lose between 5% and 10% of that total weight number.
As long as you're using an appropriate volume and intensity in your workouts and maintaining a moderate calorie deficit, you probably won't have any trouble recovering from your workouts, and thus don't need to change anything while cutting. In fact, you may even be able to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.
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.
And even if your muscle can take it, your joint or tendon might not. So during the cutting period, you may want to take this opportunity to allow your tendons to recover and get stronger (for the next phase of building when you go all out again). But you should not lower those weights too much. Albert Marrero, Jr.
Don't train heavy two days in a row
Some people are able to training heavy two days in a row without losing performance but from my experience the most consistent progress comes with an every other day lifting set up. Training every other day allows for much better neural recovery.
Changing the Diet
If you have been consistently increasing in body weight, I would start with a 10% reduction in total calories. This might still leave you in a slight calorie surplus, but for the first two weeks into the transition phase this is fine as growth can still occur.
Use HIIT rather than steady state cardio
If you're trying to burn through body fat in a cutting program, you'll generally have 4-8 weeks to get rid of as much fat as possible. A HIIT program in your week of lifting can really help cut down fat in as fast a time as possible.
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.
'The cut phase is a period of time when the main goals are losing body fat, reducing body weight, getting leaner and preserving the muscle mass gained during the bulk period. Calorie intake is reduced and energy expenditure may be increased via cardio in order to create an energy deficit.
In general, if you cut about 500 calories a day from your usual diet, you may lose about ½ to 1 pound a week. But this can vary depending on your body, how much weight you want to lose, your gender and activity level. It sounds simple.