Losing 1% BW per Week a Good Idea Under 15%BF?

Diet and Nutrition
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Im tired of cutting and im looking to expedite the process of losing fat while keeping as much muscle as possible. I planned on losing 1.5lbs per week at get down to 185-190lbs 10% bf depending if i like the way i look.

I want to be done with my cut by the end of February and im currently sitting at 193lbs.
If i keep my strength and intensity up these next several weeks, i should be able to keep most of my muscle, right?

Im currently carb cycling and my nutrition seems on point. Instead of adding cardio, i had to decrease cals by 300 per day since i suffered a calf strain.

I believe increasing cardio is better than decreasing cals since im already in a deficit and need all the nutrients i can get. What do you guys think? Is this feasible to do under 15% bf without sacrificing muscle mass? The goal is 10% bf.

2

Yes. Most, if not all.

Absolutely. Sub-10% is a bit different if not enhanced, but you’re not likely to get too lean by accident, you know?

You can decrease calories or add cardio, or both. A deficit is a deficit, so long as it is maintainable.

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Agree with @Andrewgen_Receptors. 15% you will keep most of your muscle but certainly not all. Cutting into low teens or single digits would definitely results on some muscle loss but the muscles you have pop more so it’s a trade off.

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Sounds good. Ill probably do either 10 or 30min of cardio post workout 5 days a week and then on rest days do 30min fasted. I might do 10min at first after workouts so i can increase cardio slowly instead of going too hard and then my body adapts.

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With that much cardio post workout, you are asking to lose more muscle than is necessary.

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I meant to ask - do you recommend cardio before or after training? Or perhaps separate it altogether?

I think I’ve heard a few recommendations from other trainers to do cardio afterwards.

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7

Cardio? Whats that? LOL. Seriously, I NEVER do any cardio. Prob why I never get below ~15% myself.

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Though I knew a few who did their cardio after weight training, I never did that. I always did cardio separate from weight training. I felt that I needed to feed my muscles after weight training as the priority. My initial cardio was done upon waking for from 30 to 45 minutes. If I needed more I did 30 to 45 minutes about a couple hours before sleep. (I always lifted weights between 4:30 and 6:00pm)

Also my first cardio was on off days from weight training. I only added cardio to weight training days for contests.

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When I was seriously cutting a few years ago, I always did my cardio post-workout. For example, in the beginning, 3x/week incline treadmill 20 minutes. Reassess in two weeks and then up the sessions per week or time. Towards the end of my cut, I was doing 45 minutes on the stairmaster 5x/week and that was no fun.

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Just my two cents. I do it before. I don’t think it’s optimal, but I’ll actually do it. If I wait until the end, I’ll do arms instead haha. I just incline walk mostly. It doesn’t wear me out too much if I don’t go crazy.

I do think probability of adherence should be considered for a lot of people (myself included) when it comes to exercise decisions.

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How should i go about it then? I originally wanted to do 10min post workout since glycogen is low. Then do more on weekends because those are my rest days. Im not sure. I considered doing more cardio and increasing calories to get more nutrients. I recently dropped 300 cals per day and im starving. This hasnt happened on my cut until now.

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If i do it before, its going to hinder my lifts unless its a short warmup walk.

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So i guess starting slow is the name of the game. Im aiming to be done with my cut by the end of february meaning i need to lose around 1.5lbs per week.

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So are heavy cardio days on rest days the best? I considered doing 30-45min fasted cardio on rest days. LISS obviously.

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IMO, most definitely. I never fasted. One day a week I would eat one heavy calorie meal to keep my metabolism amped.

Upon waking is one of times your muscle have the lowest glycogen. I did cardio then before eating. The thought was that I could burn more fat for fuel, considering the lower muscle glycogen stores. This is heightened more when I add cardio after my last meal, as I will have even lower glycogen stores for the morning cardio.

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If you did cardio before eating, that is fasted.

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Kindred spirits! I’ve also done pretty well splitting it in two, so I do 10-15 minutes before and after I lift. I end up actually doing it, my heart rate stays a little higher the whole session, and it’s never a lot at a time. For context, I’ve never been trying to get show ready, so I haven’t had to be perfect.

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19

Yes, correct. Remember: if you start throwing everything except the kitchen sink at an attempt lose fat, you’ll play all your cards at once and come to a grinding halt after about a month. My best advice is to start cardio, LISS, 20-30 minutes, 3x/week. Reassess in two weeks. Also consider slowly removing carbs from the diet. Not too fast though - maybe 1/2 cup of rice at a time for example. Reassess again. Perhaps up the cardio for 5-10 minutes. Slowly removing carbs may eliminate the need for cardio, but it’s all based upon the individual and goals. In the end, it’s basically trial and error to see how your body responds.

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Sorry. “Fasting” has a Biblical meaning for me, and not so much a scientific meaning. If I don’t miss any meal times, I don’t consider that fasting.

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I think ill start the cardio then. Should i throw it on my rest days before i add sessions post workout? I have a feeling adding them on rest days benefit metabolism better than post workout because my body thinks its active daily. The drawback is that im not burning direct fat since my glycogen stores arent lower.