If you are doing a split be it 5-day or Upper/Lower, etc…
do you change it when you go from bulking to cutting?
For me:
Bluking = Heavy weights for low reps, with long ( 2 min ) rests in between sets
Cutting = Heavy weights for low reps, with short (<1 min ) rests in between sets ( with cardio)
On a 5 day split: Compounds lift first, then some isolation with each.
Upper/Lower: Major compounds first, deadlift, squat, bench, overhead press…then any isolation work if time allowed.
I’ve reduced my rest time, but am still essentially doing a basic 5 day hypertrophy rotation, with heavy weights. I will, however,at 4 weeks out, switch to a 3 day, antagonistic superset split.
S
decrease my rest time… usually I miss a few reps on the last really heavy sets from not recovering before the next set enough so I usually just add in an extra set to pick up the reps I missed.
x100 for decreased rest time.
I only reduce rest time for my lifts after my major lift (bench, squat or dead).
Agreed on both points: shorter rest time and keep the weights up.
In terms of overall philosophy, unless you are Kevin Levrone you cannot expect to gain muscle mass at this time, nor likely strength. The jobs are to stimulate maintenance of strength and size and to work at a fast enough pace to aid in the fat loss.
That said, if talking about cutting down to bb’ing competition levels there’s a good argument for changing this strategy, in terms of weight, when bodyfat levels get really seriously low. Injury seems to happen a lot more frequently then, so there’s something to be said for lighter weights and higher reps at that point for the very last bit of the cutting.