HST+Dieting: do they mix?

[LittleBigHorn]

I noticed during my last SD+15s that my bodyfat shot up from 12% to 15% for some unexplainable reason. I'm thinking of cutting back down to 11-12%, but it seems that there will be several issues to tackle when combining HST with dieting. First off, your metabolism is going to inevitably slow down at least a little bit if you're cutting up. Sure, you can minimize this by having 'shock days' once a week to kick it back up into high gear, but some degree of metabolic deceleration will happen. Now, once you get to your SD, you are supposed to elevate your calorie intake to your upkeep levels, but if you have been dieting for a while and your metabolism has slowed down, then doesn't this set the scenario for explosive fat gains? Then again, if you stay low-cal during SD, you are going to lose massive amounts of muscle. So, would it be wise to just do shorter SD's when dieting?

I'm also tempted to do only a few 15's workouts and then proceed to the 10s and 5s (or 6s in my case), since it would seem more logical for muscle preservation when trying to cut up. Besides, I've always felt like I'm totally wasting my time in the 15s even though my lactic acid tolerance is pretty high(which enables me to lift rather heavy loads for high reps).

So, would it be wise to do a shorter SD with upkeep calories, and then do a few pump workouts for the lactic acid flush, finally proceeding to the actual muscle preserving 10s and 6s?

 

[VIPER]

I'm deconditioning right now actually and I don't keep calories unually high. What do you mean by calorie upkeep levels? If you mean enough to maintain your weight during the break then that's the idea. I actually lower my maintenance calories during SD because I'm not getting as much physical activity, and during my breaks I don't loose any noticeable mass whatsover. If you are worried about eccesive fat gain when SD ends then increase calories at a little slower rate. I'm also assuming you do between 9-14 days for SD.

When trying loose bodyfat, calories are important. If I cut calories too much I loose a good amount LBM, but reduce calories to a smaller amount and I loose less muscle. It's kind of like a balancing act for me. I just play around a little with my maintenance calories and how to manipulate it and go from there.

I think the 15's are also good for burning calorie's besides the fact that they help with the lactic acid. If you gained some fat during the 15's then your calories may be a little too high or your diet during SD may have been also.If you want to skip the 15's that may be okay (I normally do atleast a week) but I think this is more calorie related than anything else.

 

[LittleBigHorn]

Yeah, I meant the amount of calories you need to maintain your current LBM (my SD usually lasts 12 days). I have been very careful when adjusting my calories either way: I don't just rush from a 2300 calorie diet straight back up to 3000 when beginning a bulking cycle- I do it over time. I guess your suggestion of lowering your calories a bit below your ''active'' upkeep range when doing an SD would be wise. That might have been the culprit, now that I think about it. If you're not lifting then I guess you could get away with something like 2600 without losing mass.

I'm still going to try a shorter 15 block in my next cycle, though. Actually doing a few 15s with low weights and high volume would probably be a very good idea- sort of an extension to the SD, with the added lactic acid healing. I've been using rather heavy weights in my previous 15s with good success (in that the weights have been packing on progressively), but come to think of it, the whole point of the block isn't to grow. I suppose it would be a good idea to just focus on getting that acid flush and then proceed to the actual ''growing'' in the later blocks.