When cutting you need to focus on heavy weights to ensure you retain muscle. Also low reps will not burn as many calories. Plus if you focus on strength you may see more size gains during a cut since you will be gaining strength.
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).
High reps vs Low reps for Cutting
If you are trying to maintain or get lean, you'll want to reduce the weight but go with higher reps. This will ensure that you maintain the muscle you have but not increase your muscle size. You'll also want to consider reducing the amount of time you spend on strength training.
Fact: Light weights with high reps alone don't tone muscle or burn fat. People often use light weights and high reps exclusively when aiming to lose fat, but this is a huge mistake — especially if you want to have toned muscles, because lifting weights doesn't stimulate muscles enough for fat loss.
Lifting weights requires more supervision and instruction for maximum benefit and avoidance of injuries than cardio exercise. Using weights alone without cardio, you will most likely develop bulk instead of a toned and streamlined body.
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 ).
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.
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. You will be able to support your fat loss and muscle-building goals.
During a bodybuilding cut, your diet centers around eating fewer calories, lowering your fat intake, and cutting down on carbs. The exception to eating less is your protein intake. During energy restriction, like when you're cutting, a high-protein diet becomes increasingly important to prevent muscle loss.
The best types of cardio to aid in weight loss are either low-impact, low intensity cardio like rowing, incline walking, and biking, or HIIT workouts implemented in small doses such as kickboxing, interval training, and weight training.
Research has shown that weight training can be just as effective as aerobic training (aka cardio) in fat loss, with the added benefit of increasing lean muscle building and retention rates (not losing muscle) more than cardio (2). This is a significant finding for anyone who is looking to get as ripped as possible.
Strength training can be an effective way to lose weight, new research suggests. Resistance exercise like lifting weights, in combination with a calorie deficit, helps burn fat and reduce body fat percentage, according to a study published April 11 in Obesity Reviews.
If you're looking to build muscle quickly, whether you've been training for years or are just starting out, then doing slower reps is the way to go. Workouts with slower reps cause your muscles to experience more time under tension, much more than with faster reps.
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.
Generally, exercises with higher reps are used to improve muscular endurance, while higher weights with fewer reps are used to increase muscle size and strength.
Thus, as long as your body has sufficient stimulus to build muscle mass, which it has if your training program is optimized, it has both the means and the will to build muscle mass while simultaneously losing fat. There you go, muscle growth during a cut.
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.