I'm 6'1 180 pounds and about 15% BF. I'm coming off a bit of an unclean bulk and am a little disappointed in myself for letting it happen. I've put on just as much fat as muscle during that 4 months and am ready to get rid of the extra fat. I am doing Max-OT and here is my lifting schedule.

Mon-Back, traps, Biceps, Forearms
Tue-Chest & Abs.
Wed-Legs/Calves
Thur-Off
Fri-Shoulders & Triceps
Sat-Off
Sun-Off

I'm eating between 1800-2200 kcals a day over the course of 5 or 6 meals. I'm starting to take creatine again during the cut so that I don't lose strength.

What I'm really concerned about is avoiding losing muscle mass during this cut. I've been down around 167 lbs and lost a ton of muscle in doing so. I want to avoid that again and am trying to get my cardio in order. How many times a week can I do cardio and avoid the loss of muscle mass. I don't mind working out everyday of the week if need be. I play basketball on Wednesdays and Sundays but I don't know if I would count it as cardio because I play with a bunch of either bad players or older guys. I've done HIIT and longer cardio sessions in the past so it's hard to say which one of those may have caused a loss of muscle mass.

My main question is, would it be better to do cardio 3-4 times a week or 6-7 and still maintain the maximum amount of muscle because that is my number one concern. I'm not in a huge hurry to lose the fat as I only need to lose about 10 pounds.

I really appreciate all the help from these boards and look forward to reading any responses that you guys/girls have for me.

I would say 3-4 cardio sessions is enough. The main point here is to ensure you maintain the right intensity in your cardio to burn fat and not muscle. Typically 65% of your maximum HR is about there. Most people will tell you that cutting is mostly about diet, and I would have to agree coming off a cut recently myself. I personally found that carbs were my biggest enemy and really strongly affected how my cutting went. When I started to have my last carb meal of the day around lunch time, this made a BIG difference, but you'll just have to experiment. On top of a sound diet keep your protein high and your workouts as heavy as you can and you should lose minimal muscle.

I know what you mean about bulking....I have been doing it 2 months and don't even know if I've gained any muscle at all even though I have gained 14lbs!

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice Tempted.

YES! Diet IS the most important factor in cutting and losing adipose tissue and preserving your lean muscle mass.

I'd list your protocol here for days you train/days you do not train, as diet is most likely the reason you lost a lot of lean mass the first go around. If that can be avoided this time, all the better!

The old wives tale of cutting carbs off at noon isn't really sound. Reason being, if you weight train at 5 p.m., your first priority is to replinish muscle glycogen to begin the repair process which is IMPERATIVE in preserving lean muscle mass, and sending the message of anabolism (muscle building) to the muscles worked. Usually a liquid carb/pro offering immediately, then a solid carb/pro meal 1-2 hours after that fits the bill nicely. If these meals are in the correct amounts for your goals, you will store NONE of it as fat, beacuse you have performed activity that DEMANDS you consume this type of energy for repair purposes.

It's all about eating for your activity. ;)

~SC~