Currently 5’ 11’’, 206 lbs, ~25% body fat. Just finished Super Squats, starting with 195x20 and ending with 265x20. Absolutely insane program. I’m trying to figure out whether I should cut or recomp now. I don’t care which one, I just want to do whatever will benefit my long term goal of becoming as strong and big as an NFL running back.
How are you planning to train post Super Squats? That’s going to determine your nutritional demand.
If you’re fat then cut. If your just a couple percent above where you would like to be then recomp.
At 25% bodyfat, and just coming off an intense program where you’re supposed to eat big, i think its time for a Cut.
If you followed the Super Squats recommended diet, you’ve been taking in a lot of calories. So if you drop 3-400 calories a day to Start fat loss you might not even feel it. And your progress in the gym shouldnt be affected.
And from there, you should still be able to drop calories further any time fat loss slows down, without any drop in performance.
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Was thinking of doing Tactical Barbell Grey Man. Love the simplicity and structure, and matches my ultimate goals.
As you read in the book: that program is for gaining. You’d neither cut nor recomp while running it: you’d gain. The author even provided you the nutrition protocol to follow there.
If you just wanted Tactical Barbell in general, Operator would be a closer fit for what to do while recomping or losing fat.
Okay, I’ll do a few months of Operator while eating at a slight deficit. I really really hate tracking calories though.
Just curious: Did you get fatter doing the “Super Squats” routine?
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I really really hate tracking calories though.
I’ve never done it before. It doesn’t have to be done. Peter Attia talks about how successful diets all employ some manner of restriction: either energy restriction (calories), nutrient restriction (eliminate carbs or fats, or even protein in some cases) and time restriction (fasting). Many combine all 3, but some need at least 1, and quite often, employing those latter two results in the first one occurring without the need to track/monitor.
But if you’re NOT the type of person that can get away with that, then you’ll probably need to track stuff.
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I could definitely do intermittent fasting as a restriction, and just eat two high protein meals with carbs at one of them.
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Nothing to add about your nutritional demand—everyone else has got you covered.
But…
Congrats on finishing Super Squats! That’s great stuff.
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I like 2 meals a day. I use it for losing AND for gaining, so it’s worth appreciating that, in and of itself, it may not be the only trick to use. As I’m even combining it with nutrient restriction, haha.
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Thank you! It was easily the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
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It’d definitely fit my schedule better too.
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I’ll probably recomp/cut for 12-16 weeks and then do a slow gaining phase with Grey Man.
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Does this include looking like an NFL running back? If so, you need your body fat closer to 15%.
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Long term, yes I’d like to be around the 15-17 region.
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What were you before Super Squats?
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22 probably.
First get back to 22% while still staying at 265lbs squat for 20 reps. I would do that strength test weekly.
You should be able to slowly drop to 15% and still stay the same strength. Most important diet component is to keep the protein high.
IMO, you never need to be over 15% body fat to add muscle.
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