diet & training during cruising

[Skip]

hey bros,
i know it has been asked before and i apologize if it's a repeated inquiry but i want to get more opinions.
i just finished a 12 weeks of test cyp 800 mg/week, diet was above maintenance calories.

was wondering should i lower calories to maintenance during the cruise or lower it even more to trim some fat or keep it high to prevent muscle loss ?
same thing with workouts intensity, should i lower it ? as the recovery won't be the same while off the blast.

thanks in advance

I haven't read all of the responses, but BIO tagged me asking my opinion.

Understand that this is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth (to you).

I don't like to cut calories in a cruise phase for gear or during a cruise week for training, either. Hell, the first 4-6 weeks of a cruise should not yield much in the way of a significant reduction in recovery, anyway. For that time period, I rarely adjust my own training or a client's training.

After that initial 4-6 week phase (some will go even longer), the lack of gear likely will start to impact your recovery. Weights will feel heavier, contractions won't be as strong, and pumps likely won't be either. You'll likely notice soreness lingering longer and just not feeling as explosive while you train. When you get to this point, it's wise to take a closer look at the 3 main components of your training that can be dialed or adjusted:

intensity
volume
frequency

Personally, I don't like to adjust intensity unless you were doing crazy shit pretty frequently like drop sets, rest/pause, etc. If you were, going to straight sets would be a better idea. Other than that, I leave intensity alone.

Training frequency can be higher while on cycle because recovery is usually maximized, so adjusting frequency is not a bad idea as you start to get deeper into the cruise phase.

My go-to option is volume, though, because as much as I don't like to change intensity, I don't like to change my training schedule unless it's absolutely necessary. I have found it much easier to adjust volume based on the 3 variables I mentioned above. It's pretty black and white; you just start cutting back on the total amount of work sets you are doing for each muscle group.

Going back to cutting calories, I'm not a fan of doing that until or if there is some noticeable body fat accumulation. When going from being on cycle to cruising, you are already going to experience a decreased recovery ability. Dropping calories is likely to add to that. Plus, I'm more of a REactive guy than a proactive guy in situations like these. I would rather read a response and then adjust than guess what the response is going to be and try to get ahead of it.

It all comes down to reading the feedback your body is giving you. I'm all about the hammer-till-you-drop mentality, but I'd rather cut back and continue to progress than to beat the shit out of myself with twice the work and spin my wheels.

That's just my take.

Skip

 

[shaker89]

I haven't read all of the responses, but BIO tagged me asking my opinion.

Understand that this is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth (to you).

I don't like to cut calories in a cruise phase for gear or during a cruise week for training, either. Hell, the first 4-6 weeks of a cruise should not yield much in the way of a significant reduction in recovery, anyway. For that time period, I rarely adjust my own training or a client's training.

After that initial 4-6 week phase (some will go even longer), the lack of gear likely will start to impact your recovery. Weights will feel heavier, contractions won't be as strong, and pumps likely won't be either. You'll likely notice soreness lingering longer and just not feeling as explosive while you train. When you get to this point, it's wise to take a closer look at the 3 main components of your training that can be dialed or adjusted:

intensity
volume
frequency

Personally, I don't like to adjust intensity unless you were doing crazy shit pretty frequently like drop sets, rest/pause, etc. If you were, going to straight sets would be a better idea. Other than that, I leave intensity alone.

Training frequency can be higher while on cycle because recovery is usually maximized, so adjusting frequency is not a bad idea as you start to get deeper into the cruise phase.

My go-to option is volume, though, because as much as I don't like to change intensity, I don't like to change my training schedule unless it's absolutely necessary. I have found it much easier to adjust volume based on the 3 variables I mentioned above. It's pretty black and white; you just start cutting back on the total amount of work sets you are doing for each muscle group.

Going back to cutting calories, I'm not a fan of doing that until or if there is some noticeable body fat accumulation. When going from being on cycle to cruising, you are already going to experience a decreased recovery ability. Dropping calories is likely to add to that. Plus, I'm more of a REactive guy than a proactive guy in situations like these. I would rather read a response and then adjust than guess what the response is going to be and try to get ahead of it.

It all comes down to reading the feedback your body is giving you. I'm all about the hammer-till-you-drop mentality, but I'd rather cut back and continue to progress than to beat the shit out of myself with twice the work and spin my wheels.

That's just my take.

Skip

thank you for taking the time to elaborate
it's is more than enough
duly noted.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

I think this is also heavily dependent on what phase you are coming out of.
If you just used this blast to grow...and have new tissue....you are dropping down dosage to a cruise, you are going to need to keep training intensity up and calories somewhat around where you were. Like luki had said, maybe a slight drop, but not too much. No matter what you will soften up but the key is to hold onto the new tissue through food since gear is lower. Suppose you blasted to diet down, i wouldnt even cruise, i would rebound the hell out of that.

I also would never, never decide to diet during a cruise. Just makes no sense whatsoever. See far too many guys discussing that as an option. You wanna diet? Lower food? Then what the hell is holding onto the tissue, you need your training tight and gear. We're all playing with 3 levers — gear, food and training — and fucking around and pulling them to find the best way to look good year round.

 

[aHarness]

I also would never, never decide to diet during a cruise. Just makes no sense whatsoever. See far too many guys discussing that as an option

Agreed. It’s wild to me how many schools of thought still view a cruise as “diet time”

But then again I’m still confused as to why people who are actually bodybuilding need so many “cruise”/trt phases in general