A few SD questions...

L

Louno

New Member
Im going to SD in 1 week,
what can i do to prevent some muscle loss ?

As soon as i enter my SD, i was planning on reducing my meals a little to reduce calories to just a little above maintenance, should i remove the protein shakes too ? or keep them, is getting 1gram of protein per lbs still very important during sd ?

Also, could i start loading creatine while in sd ? is this a good ideal ? or should i wait until im in my next hst cycle to load ?

Im afraid of gaining fat, but i know i have to eat to keep the muscle i gained, if i do some light cardio ( 15-20 min ) 2-3 time per week is this going to help ?

What are you guys doing during sd to keep ure muscles without fat, what works best ?
 
I'm on my 6th cycle (big break between #5 and #6, unfortunately), so I've learned what works for me and what doesn't. You need to learn what is best for you.

I recommend getting .8g protein per lb of body weight still while SD. I need it, it helps the losses stay away. Maintenance sounds good too.

But I also still do cardio (swimming) during SD. It's amazing how terrible i look and feel after 11 days of flat-out SD, and I hate it. So I cheat, but I've found it works best for me. I do reduce the swimming a little bit to get a nice mental break though.

All in all, find what works best for you. If you start feeling and looking like crap as I do, change something up. A complete week off with maintenance and .8g protein/lb sounds good for starters.
 
When I SD, I don't do ANYthing. :D

You won't look the same while you sd -- your muscles won't appear as pumped or full, but this doesn't mean that you are losing muscle. Don't worry.

Its highly unlikely that you will lose any muscle unless you are going below maintenance calories and losing weight. Two weeks just really isn't enough time to lose much muscle (due to atrophy). I just came off a 16 day SD, didn't lose an ounce, and was sore after my first workout (with the lightest weights) in the 15s. Don't be afraid of SD -- it works, and I promise you a week is not enough.

As for the creatine -- I would wait until you are training to start it. Creatine uptake is much better when taken before exercise.

Lastly, I usually keep my protein intake about the same, at least for the first several days of SD. After that I let it fall a bit, but remain vigilant about calorie counting. In my opinion, this is the key.
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You shouldn`t fret so much about muscle loss during SD. Muscle memory is a beautiful thing and never fails. Everything lost will be back within the first few weeks.

I`m not reccomending you do this but I cut my carb intake way down during my SD. I shed quite a bit of water weight but doing this for a couple weeks but I also manage to drop several pounds of fat very easily. If you get freaked out by the low-carb thing, stick with low GI carb sources. Instead of bread and/or rice, go for the veggies(and I`m not talking about salad). That`s where the quality carbs are, not to mention all the other valuble nutrients.
 
During SD , i don't take in fast proteins because remember, it is SD , no work-outs! i just take in slow protein as a substitute. I save the whey protein for work-out days! :D

I eat at maintenance during SD.. and everything went fine.
same amount of protein i take in when bulking.. i just reduce on the carbs and fat.

i just don't know if cardio during SD is okay... i would like to try cutting down fat using HIIT (30sec run/30 sec sprint) once a week.
 
if i could lose fat while SDing and not lose muscle that would be perfect...
I know what you mean, if i dont go to the gym 2-3 days in a row i already feel awful, its weird that having to do nothing is so hard :)

how much time does it take muscles to atrophy ?
can i eat a little under maintenance to lose a little fat ? or will i lose muscles ?

this is my second cycle , the first one i had to go in sd during the second week of 5s because i was hurt and had to stop working out until i was healed(3 weeks), and i lost almost all my gains and strenght... this cycle i gained alot more because i knew how to do hst more efficiently and i also did negative ( last time i didnt do them )
 
If you are dieting while not training you WILL lose muscle. How much is a different question, related to how fat you are (which influences nutrient partitioning and stuff), your natural tendency to gain weight (do you add weight easily? have trouble getting lean?) etc. If you tend to "hang on to" extra weight, then you might not lose as much muscle as I would. In the past I have accidentally lost weight during SD and I can guarantee you, it wasn't all fat.

If you want to lose fat, I highly recommend waiting until you are training again. Why take the risk of losing what you've worked so hard for? I've been using HST for close to 3 years now, and the first few cycles I gained (While bulking) and then lost (while cutting) the same 5 pounds over and over again. It was extremely frustrating. Certainly, everyone's body will respond a little differently, but everyone's body will lose some muscle if it is operating under calorie restriction while experiencing no hypertrophic stimulation.
 
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