Cutting sucks

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liegelord

New Member
Sorry for the rant, but cutting sucks, I HATE it.
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Even though I've only lost 10 pounds over the past couple of months, it has really affected strength.

For those doing a bulk, listen to the advice given on the forum, count calories and do not gain more than 1 pound a week.

I guess the best you can do during a cut is to maintain strength.
 
Liege, maybe you are cutting calories too much? 10lbs in two months is over a pound a week. Have you thought about reducing calories less and perhaps doing a bit more cardio?.

If you are really down on strength doesn't that indicate you are losing too much lean body mass or is it just a symptom of reduced energy?

I am finding it hard to get enough clean calories to gain at the moment so a half a lb a week seems to be all I am able to add, if that.
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I hate cutting too. It feels like all your work during the cut is a waste, since you won't gain, just maintain. I find it hard, mentally, to not want to turn my cut into a bulk. Good thing that most of the muscle size you lose is sarcoplasmic and will come back almost immediately after you start eating decent amounts again (at least in my case...)


Lol, if you are having a hard time getting enough food, you may want to cut down. That's the main reason I'm cutting right now, so when I bulk up next time, I will have longer to go before my calorie needs become insane.
 
I hear ya man. I have been cutting for 1.5 cycles now losing about a pound a week. I've lost 20lbs so far although 5 of it in the beginning was probably water/glycogen/whatever and came off quick. My strength doesnt seem to be all that effected, but my capacity to use that strength has dropped dramatically. Squats were effected the most. The weight itself is not heavy but after about 5 reps (this is in the 10s and 15s) it feels like my energy level are gutted. I've been clustering them simply becuase it drains me so rapidly.

I yearn to bulk again! I gained 16lbs of LBM with rampant over eating. I gained about 31lbs total during that cycle. I have lost the fat I gained through the bulk and am now on my way to 10%BF. Next tiem I am gonna watch what I eat and aim for 1lb/wk. I have learned a lot about eating clean and calorie counting sincec I started cutting so I should be successful.

I've lost a bit of muscle size, but I look bigger than before becuase of the definition. I am currently at about 16%BF... I think. I can see the muscles in my ribs and the very upper part of my abs. I'd post a pic but I dont have a digicam.
 
since february i have been cutting. i went from 206lbs @ 15.5% to 191lbs @ 11%. the first 10 lbs sucked, as i lost weight and was not gaining strength, very discouraging. however, now that i am nearing 10% i have a 4 pack (close to 6, but not quite) and i have to say i am glad i did it. i could have continued to bulk, but then i would have never seen my gains except for knowing i am stronger bigger, and fatter.

my incline bench 5RM only went down 5lbs. i attribute this to high frequency training 4-5x/week AND i took my time from feb to now (4 months) to do it. granted i could have done it faster w/ the same results, but i had the occaisional bad weekend of drinking or eating improperly.


i hate cutting more than anyone, but you will be glad you did when you are cut up and ready to start your next bulk!
 
<div>
(NeeBone @ Jun. 29 2006,04:46)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I say we forget cutting altogether and just get huge  
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Yeah, let's all get fat!
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I've been trying to cut for the past 5 months, and I have gained weight and got leaner. I screwed up estimating how many calories I burned and it ended up being a slow bulk. Now, I am on the true cut, but I want to see 8% bodyfat tomorrow morning!!
 
I think I've done too much cardio: I stopped doing tabata because it killed my deadlifts. Now I only do about 10 minutes of HIIT after moderate olympic lifting.

What sucks is I pulled 455x11 back in May and now I am really struggling to finish 445x5 for 3 sets.

5-8 more pounds and I can start bulking again.
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Yeah, it's sad to see your maxes drop and your volume capacity diminishing, but hopefully the results will make it worthwhile. I'm on a cutting cycle myself, the symptoms are more or less the same, but at least I am (and feel) noticeably leaner. I hope it works out well for you.

Best of luck,
Dimitris
 
Hey, Ligelord, how about trying UD2.0 for your next cutting cycle?

I've just read the book.
It actually makes a lot of sense.
I'm going to try it very soon, starting next sunday!
 
I'll read about UD2.0 thanks.

LOL mentioned cutting calories too much. It may be, though the 10 pounds has been over 8-10 weeks.

I have upper abs again, so it is worth it, I just hate losing strength. Part of it is because a friend of mine who is 56 is benching what I squat. I know it shouldn't matter, but it made me feel like a girl.
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Quadancer - yeh, definitely going for the powerlifter look
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Saw the team Strong Man events on TV and I wanna be able to clean and press a ton aswell!
 
My old gym owner once told me &quot;It doesn't matter if you can lift up a dump truck or not. It matters if you LOOK like you can lift a dump truck!&quot;

I still wanna lift the truck.
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Yeh, you dont wanna look like you can left a truck and then get caught in the street when someone says &quot;Hey, you look like you can lift a truck. You see that truck over there? Lift it.&quot;.

I'd cry if that happened.

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