Newbie here, cut or bulk?

[axelism]

5 ft 9 1/2
bf% 18
34 inch waist
168 pounds


I really would like to lose 2 more inches in the waist, I'm at a 34 inch waist now but I don't want to lose any muscle. As of now I've had a high protein diet, low carb and low fat. I know this needs to change, my question is should I be cutting or bulking at this point? Is 18% an indication that I need to continue to cut? Thanks for your help.

[Nick666]

You should cut until 12% BF IMO. You will have to loose that fat sooner or later anyways, so why not now, since it is easier to keep your muscle mass.

[ludachris]

cut

[axelism]

Originally posted by Nick666
You should cut until 12% BF IMO. You will have to loose that fat sooner or later anyways, so why not now, since it is easier to keep your muscle mass.

Thank you Nick, I'm thinking about going to a 4 day split. Do you
think I should do cardio 2 days out of the 3 that I'm off? Have a good one!

[TheSupaKorean]

Originally posted by axelism
Thank you Nick, I'm thinking about going to a 4 day split. Do you
think I should do cardio 2 days out of the 3 that I'm off? Have a good one!

I agree that you should cut, and 2 days of cardio a week should be ok if your diet is sound. It is a bit light for cardio but you should respond well to this especially since your new.

[axelism]

Originally posted by TheSupaKorean
I agree that you should cut, and 2 days of cardio a week should be ok if your diet is sound. It is a bit light for cardio but you should respond well to this especially since your new.

I guess I'm just so worried about losing muscle, however since I just started lifting I can't lose all that much if I'm doing a lot of cario right?

[Throwback]

There are MANY articles regarding cutting w/out losing muscle, I would recommend reading the STICKY on losing fat

You CAN cut bodyfat w/out losing muscle. You do not need to cut calories to 1000 a day to cut fat quick. Use these basic principles

3 or 4 day split w/weights

2 days of cardio ( I highly recommend HIIT)

consume 400 - 500 calories below maintenence (or just go about 10Xbodyweight for total calories)

Suppliment WHEY protein before and after all workouts (including cardio workouts) ... I would also recommend Creatine, BCAA, Glutamine, Vitamin C

Other than post workout, keep meals low GI throughout the day.


Do your research .... all the information you need is contained w/in the forums here. Read all the articles and posts you can get your hands on.

Good luck!

[Nick666]

axelism,

I just tried my first session of HIIT. I liked it. It's not boring like normal cardio.

Check that out:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...0&pagenumber=1


It sounds really good. If you want to give it a try, on the thread they say it is better to take a day completly off training per week for recovery.

Maybe you should ask the guys on that forum for how much you can do. Maybe you can do it 2 days of the 3 you don't train + 1 day after when you lift.

If you don't do HIIT, you can do 4*30min sessions per week early in the morning or after your workout.

Yes I would still take one day off to let the body rest.

And concerning your lifting program, don't do too much because you eat less, so your recovery abilities will not be as high. If you overtrain, you may not be able to avoid catabolism.