@wwazza - I searched high and low for the article and came up empty. Maybe it was all just a figment of my imagination
I know there was a rationilization behind the method, but for the life of me I can't remember it.
@Tontenanz- AHHHH this makes sense. Skipping the 15's is about conserving and hopefully building new muscle during the cut right? I can handle cardio 2 x/wk, Previously I used to do it the old school way cardio 4 to 5 x/wk before first meal. My kcals would be 2300-2700 a day with 300 g of protein. Do you have a preferred ratio on carbs & fat? Workouts no muss no fuss just compounds.
@ wobbles- yeah the more I thought about it over this weekend and put the weights down for each workout it seemed like one long rollercoaster ride. Doesn't seem practical. Probably gonna file that one into the bad idea column. Go with what works right
Basically, the 15s are not heavy enough to spare lean mass while on a cut. Obviously during a cut it is highly unlikely you will build muscle but the goal is to keep protein synthesis as high as possible to make up for the increase in protein breakdown that comes when you cut back calories. In order to keep protein synthesis higher, you must use heavier loads. I typically don't even do 10s, and just repeat the 5s over and over. Keep in mind that higher volume on a cut does not necessarily mean better retention of lean mass. Sometimes it is best to stick to 2 sets of 5 reps each three times a week to avoid burning out. Since you aren't going to be building muscle anyway, you don't need tons of volume and you don't need to be pushing for new maxes, the goal should be to maintain your strength in all lifts. If you maintain your strength during a cut, you are in good shape.
Keep in mind that your muscles might temporarily shrink... this is why you want to use strength as your guide stick for how well you are maintaining lean mass. Strength is a function of neural coordination and cross sectional area of your muscle fibers. If you maintain your strength, that means that you most likely maintained most of your muscle mass. Typically once you go back up to maintenance calories, your muscles will "reinflate" themselves and not look as flat as they can sometimes look during a cut.
Carbs/Fats - I prefer personally to keep carbs lower but it really just depends on how you react to carbs. Myself, if I keep carbs higher during a cut then my blood sugar gets all crazy and I have to eat more frequently. If I keep carbs under 75 grams or so (ideally 50 grams or less) then I can go long periods without eating and not suffer any consequences. So in your case, what I would suggest is:
300 grams of protein = 1200 calories
100 grams of carbs = 400 calories
which leaves you appx 120 grams of fats remaining, which I would try to get primarily from tag along fats with your proteins, and then some good fats like olive oils, etc. 120 grams of fats might seem like a lot, but once you fill in the foods, it shouldn't be too hard. Keep in mind that including dairy - as long as you can tolerate dairy - will aid in a cut. Calcium is a pretty important micronutrient that is often overlooked. It aids in fat loss and is important in the process of building muscle, so it' s a good addition to a diet. Cottage cheese is a great diet food.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you keep protein right up around 300 grams, you could probably keep the calories at the lower end of the range, meaning 2300, which would result in only needing around 75 grams of fat per day, which might be easier for you when figuring out your diet.
Cardio... yes, first thing in the morning prior to eating is slightly more ideal than doing it other times of the day. But realistically what is important is that you can actually do it, so just fit it into your schedule where you can. However, once you get leaner (under 10%) then it might be a good idea to switch over to Lyle's Stubborn Fat Protocol which would indeed require you to do it first thing in the morning.
