What to do after madcow 5x5? (12 weeks) cut?

[greenbox]

Was just wondering what routine I should do as I have finished roughly 12 weeks of the madcow 5x5 program. It was an excellent program and I feel like I gained quite a bit of strength and also some mass at the same time.
All my lifts have increased quite a bit to the point where it is stalling now.

squats 225 > 275
dealdlift 300 > 350
bench 155 > 185

i'm not too happy about my bench and military press numbers but the others are ok. My goal now is to lose the belly fat and get bigger muscles. What routine do u guys suggest? Idealy I want to remain lifting big on my compound lifts, but if i have to drop in weight in order to get more cut then thats fine.

[ThiZzNation925]

I have never seen someone with a neutral (gray) reputation. You sir are a winner

On topic though, I would base my training about either bulking, or cutting; not both at the same time. Bigger muscles come from of course, lifting weights and putting in the right amount of nutrients (calories). Losing weight (body fat) comes from a calorie deficit - so you can see doing both at the same time is a hard feat.

So if you wanna drop the body fat, eat less. If you wanna bulk some more, eat more. If you do decide to cut, keep the majority of your training based around the compounds and keep the weights heavy; under 8 reps. It's a personal preference of myself to lift heavy while cutting so I can maintain my strength. Now, that's just me, there are people who can cut yet still seem to make strength and size gains. But for the rest (majority) of us, it's better to keep it simple.

[Logtrog]

Bulk some more till you get the numbers you want without having too much BF, then cut.=]

[tehkev14]

you dont need to change your training to lose bodyfat...

change your nutrition

[Hut*Hut]

You can just run it again.

[brudman]

IMO there is a middle ground between bulk and cut. A lot of people think you must pick one or the other. I agree that it is more efficient toward bulking to eat and train toward bulking, and it is more efficient toward cutting to eat in train toward cutting. However, you can recomp by slowly bulking and slowly losing body fat. I did that while I was a beginner. I actually got the leanest I'd ever been. I was 8% bf. I ate about 2800 calories and manipulated carb intake to stay at roughly the same weight, but decrease bodyfat. I will say it is a slower process than one or the other.

[Northeasterner]

You can apply your new strength to good use in a traditional bodybuilding routine. It's what I'm about to do. I ran 5x5 for 10 weeks and gained some strength and mass.

My bench press is the area where I saw the most visible gains - ironic because my chest doesn't grow easily.

[eedre]

Was just wondering what routine I should do as I have finished roughly 12 weeks of the madcow 5x5 program. It was an excellent program and I feel like I gained quite a bit of strength and also some mass at the same time.
All my lifts have increased quite a bit to the point where it is stalling now.

squats 225 > 275
dealdlift 300 > 350
bench 155 > 185

i'm not too happy about my bench and military press numbers but the others are ok. My goal now is to lose the belly fat and get bigger muscles. What routine do u guys suggest? Idealy I want to remain lifting big on my compound lifts, but if i have to drop in weight in order to get more cut then thats fine.

Why did you decide to quit at 12 weeks?

To get maximum results from this program, you don't quit until you stall. That means taking multiple runs at your maxes even if you do stall for a few weeks.

I'm on madcow right now too and I agree with the military press. I feel like 1x per week is not enough. I may actually swap BB row and overhead press for a few weeks to get my shoulders in order.

[greenbox]

I have never seen someone with a neutral (gray) reputation. You sir are a winner

On topic though, I would base my training about either bulking, or cutting; not both at the same time. Bigger muscles come from of course, lifting weights and putting in the right amount of nutrients (calories). Losing weight (body fat) comes from a calorie deficit - so you can see doing both at the same time is a hard feat.

So if you wanna drop the body fat, eat less. If you wanna bulk some more, eat more. If you do decide to cut, keep the majority of your training based around the compounds and keep the weights heavy; under 8 reps. It's a personal preference of myself to lift heavy while cutting so I can maintain my strength. Now, that's just me, there are people who can cut yet still seem to make strength and size gains. But for the rest (majority) of us, it's better to keep it simple.

Yea, i dont really post, just a lurker most of the time lol.

Thanks for the advice. I want to know if maybe I should change my routine around a little bit now. Like I said, I've been running on madcow 5x5 for awhile now, and was thinking maybe i should switch it up a bit and add in some more accessory exercies. also dont really want to squat 3 days in a week, my ass has gotten huge because of this haha

btw, if i do decide to stay on madcow, what is the proper way to reset if im stalling?