# Recommended rest days while cutting?



## Ripebear (May 2, 2012)

OK I am cutting right now around 3.5 weeks in and it's going well. I'm eating relatively clean and a good amount of calories for my weight loss.

My question is, like bulking do I NEED some full rest days? Like zero cardio/zero lifting, full day of rest?

I plan to do a 5 day split - Monday to Friday, but possibly also incorporate 40 minutes cardio and some ab work or maybe deadlifts on Saturday/Sunday.

Thoughts?

Stats:

23 Years old

180LB

Around 14% bodyfat

Lifting approx 18 months

Always done around a 5 day split, each body part once a week, keeping it same for cut.


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## Andy 67 (May 2, 2012)

Play it by how you feel mate.

I always find thay my recovery goes when I'm on a cut - but then I'm twice your age.

I can train 5-6 days a week easy when I'm bulking, but I definitely need 1-2 extra rest days a week when I go into deficit.


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## Ripebear (May 2, 2012)

Andy 67 said:


> Play it by how you feel mate.
> 
> I always find thay my recovery goes when I'm on a cut - but then I'm twice your age.
> 
> I can train 5-6 days a week easy when I'm bulking, but I definitely need 1-2 extra rest days a week when I go into deficit.




This is where my problem lies. I'm already eating at a huge deficit and seem to be stalling with losing weight.. I am cutting down to:

1 Weetabix + Protein shake in morning

1 Tub Cottage Cheese + Protein Shake post or just pre-workout

1 Meat (Pork chops, chicken, fish) + veg (usually peas, carrots, sweetcorn, brocolli, colliflower etc)

1 Shake at night

This puts me at around 1600-1700 give or take a day, I'm doing weights 6 days a week and cardio on almost every weight day, plus cardio on Sunday.

Which means on Weight + cardio days I'm burning 700+ calories, putting me at 900-1000... on Cardio only days still at 1200-1300. **** is confusing me..

No idea how I'm stalling I'm not miniscule at 180LB lol

Is it possible I'm eating too little? I thought I would just shed muscle at least if I wasn't eating enough but I've been at same weight for about a week now

I'm on Anavar at 100mg/day for 8 weeks, hoping this keeps my appetite suppressed
​


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## KRSOne (Jul 31, 2011)

Ripebear said:


> This is where my problem lies. I'm already eating at a huge deficit and seem to be stalling with losing weight.. I am cutting down to:
> 
> 1 Weetabix + Protein shake in morning
> 
> ...


you could be recomping a bit, adding a bit of muscle and losing fat keeping your weight stable, but in honest opinion i would eat more, and a bit cleaner as i cant imagine you will be getting enough cals/protein for that.

What is the carb content of the shakes/what brand/are you having them with milk? And is he weetabix with milk too?

also people greatly overestimate cals burned in the gym and cals burned during cardio so take that into consideration.

why dont you try carb cycling or something. Its as simple as eating a few carbs workout days with little fat, and on rest days from weights (not from cardio) have no direct sources of carbs and supplement it with more fat.

hope some of this helps


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## ooomoo (Jan 29, 2008)

+1 for carb cycling lol 2 days no carbs, 1 day 250g good carb refeed day, when bodyfat lowers to say 10%, do 3 days no carbs 1 day refeed.

Also drop the milk and use water with a isolate whey which has almost no carbs in and change all your veg to green veg like broccoli, sponge ect


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