My first cut...a little worried...

[Beavereater]

I've read the articles and been through some threads, I just wanna make sure I understand some stuff.

I've been pretty much trying to pack on muscle and strength. I've done that (But still want more). But I still have all this fat that I need to get rid of so it's time to do some serious cardio (Which I never did...cause I was an idiot) and adjust my diet.

My 1st question is, now I'm on a 2500 cal diet, so do I bring it down by 300 or 500 cals?

2nd question...I plan on doing cardio in the morning, and going to the gym in the evening (Mon-Fri). Should I expect not to be able to lift as much and lose strength, meaning I should decrease my weight as I go on if I can't complete the sets/reps?


3rd (And prolly asked a million times) How long should I keep the diet down, and should I bring the diet back up over a few days. By this I mean, when I wanna stop the diet and bring it back to 2500, should I take a few days to bring it up like over a 3 or 4 day period?

Hope this hasn't wasted anyones time...thanks for the info

[AdmiralDan]

1) if 2500 was bulking, i would take it down to 2000, but 2500 does seem rather low for bulking.

2) you will lose some strength on a cut. the slower you cut the more muscle you should keep.

3)cut until you are satisfied with your results, then bulk again

[Beavereater]

I wasn't really bulking...I was just getting starting out. I Started weight training last August, and have been going steady for the last 6 months trying to figure things out. I've gained muscle and strength and lost bf, but I'm still a fat b***tard...so I'm gonna work on lowering my fat more. Before dieting and exercising I was taking in about 4000 cals, I dropped that to 3000, and then 2500 over 2 months, and trained. I might have dropped the cals a bit quick...

[AdmiralDan]

then i would stick with 2500 and solidify a diet and routine. make sure to have some cardio as well, probably 4-5 days a week. see how things go and adjust as necessary