Help me get lean for summer!

[Arsh Dhange]

In 16 weeks I have a holiday planned for which I want to get to ~10-12% body fat with as much muscle as possible. I am currently ~17% body fat at 158 lbs 5ft 11’ so I estimate I need to get down to 148-150lbs to get to my desired level of leanness. I have been cutting down from 167lbs till date at a rate of ~1lb/week running Strength I. I have 4 weeks left of Strength I and then I plan on running Hypertrophy I. What would be the best way of getting to my goal in 16 weeks with as much lean muscle as possible in terms of cutting, maintenance and bulking? Should I run the last week of strength I at maintenance because they are low volume?

I am a little hesitant to run Hypertrophy I on a deficit because I am worried I will be doing a lot of extra volume and work for no muscle gain. Would it be better to leave Hypertrophy I for after my vacation when I can do a long lean bulk, and run PB I in the meantime instead?

What my current plan is: Today - 158lbs
cut for 3 more weeks (-1lb/week) - 155lbs
maintain for 1 week (last week of strength I) - 155 lbs
cut for 5 weeks during first block of Hypertrophy I - 150lbs
maintain for 1 week - 150lbs
lean bulk for 4 weeks to finish off hyper I - 152lb
Cut for 2 weeks repeating last week of hyper I twice - 150lbs


is this the best strategy or no? Any insight is greatly appreciated.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I would just move onto hypertrophy I after strength I is completed. I would not run a low volume program for a prolonged period of time and I don't know that I agree that you can't build muscle in a deficit.

So, my recommendation would be to just move to hyper I after you complete this current template and cut the diet off ~ 4 weeks prior to your trip so you can do a weight maintenance phase before the trip, as it is likely you'll have some days of surplus on the trip.

[Limie]

...cut the diet off ~ 4 weeks prior to your trip so you can do a weight maintenance phase before the trip, as it is likely you'll have some days of surplus on the trip.

Interesting. Why? To try to ramp BMR back up a bit to better deal with the expected vacation surplus?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Your BMR is unlikely to change when weight is maintained, as the main inputs of BMR are body size and body composition. That said, weight stabilization periods tend to benefit folks by reducing fat gain compared to those who do not.