End of 5th cycle

C

colby2152

New Member
I am at the end of my 5th cycle (cutting) this week, working up my 5RM every day. I am going on vacation from August 19th-26th. I have a few ideas of what to do with the five weeks, but I want to here your opinions as of what is best.

a) Continue 5RM for 3 more weeks, and then do a psuedo-912 "cycle" August 5th-9th / 14th-18th on a 1,000 calorie deficit.
b) Instead of SDing, deload to 20 reps next week, and then do 1 week of 15's, 1 week of 10's, and 2 weeks of 5's.
c) Continue 5RM for 5 weeks, possibly doing 5 x 5 - however, I am sure strength training + cutting don't go well together
d) Stick to just doing barbell curls, incline DB curls, skullcrushers, and tricep extensions so I can huge arms!!! LOL
e) one of your ideas!

I don't think an SD is worthwhile because I am cutting, and it's a month of time till I HAVE to SD for vacation.

I will still be cutting after vacation since my goal is to get below 10% bodyfat, and then slowbulk from there. Regarding option C, is it plausible to do Strength Training while cutting?
 
e) I would do your 5RM along with some dropsets. I found it burns calories nicely. Just be careful you don't hurt a joint.
 
I would take a little mini SD, eat at maintenance during that time. Then do 2 weeks of 10s and 2 weeks of 5s.

Keystone
 
Colby

I agree with Lcars, take b) then "hit the road jack"...but do come back some more
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How much do you have to cut still? If you are doing alright, I'd consider increasing the volume and bumping calories up to maintenance for a bit to get your metabolism back up to speed. Maybe go a little above maintenance and try to build some strength you SD.
 
I like the idea of 5X5. It's good for cutting and gaining strength, although not necessarily at the same time. B is not a bad choice either considering what you want to accomplish and your time frame.
 
I still have 5-10 lbs of fat to lose to get in the range I want to be in (8-10%). If I am good with my diet, and I am hardly good with it when cutting, then I can do it in 5-10 weeks. Otherwise, it may take twice as long.
 
Well... if you are going to continue cutting calories, I wouldn't go back to a week of 15s. You could do 15s a couple days a week or something, but you want to have something in the 5 rep range at least once a week in my opinion, to reduce loss of lean mass. I guess one week of 15s wouldn't kill you, but I wouldn't do it.

C would work, but you will want to be careful not to push yourself too hard.
 
Colby, my situation is similar. I am in the post-5's now and I have roughly a month before SDing (vacation). I have decided to continue what I 'm already doing until that time, i.e. go on with my 5RM for a while and increase if I 'm able to, use my 3RM with clustering , negatives where I can etc. In other words, I try to maintain "some" progression where I can, either by increasing the load or the volume. Keep in mind that in order to do this, I have reduced my routine down to a core of basic compounds (plus a few isolations here and there basically for metabolic work).

Since you are cutting, you want basically to maintain strength. SDing or deloading does not seem a very good idea at the moment because you need a heavy enough weight (probably in the vicinity of your 5 RM) in order to minimize muscle loss. So, I suggest that you go on with what you 're doing and try to increase the load where applicable (negatives, 3RM with clustering etc.). No need to go overboard with the volume or the load, though, since your main goal is to maintain muscle mass. A heavy enough weight like those you are already using will get the job done. Just watch your volume to make sure that you can keep up with this.

Good luck,
Dimitris
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I will go with option C, and look into 5 x 5 next week. I've been cutting, but my strength has gone up slightly with increases across the board yesterday. Part of this may be due to the fact that I haven't been on a vicious cut. It's been a slow cut for a while, 100-300 calories under, and all signs are pointing that this week may be no different. I may be able to pull off a full cut if I go running everyday this weekend though.
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