Training on a cut - stay heavy or go higher rep?

[FLbodybuilder]

starting a cut next week, going from about 3500 calories down to 2800. running test and mast. my question is training style during a cut - do you keep the weights heavy to preserve muscle or switch to higher rep lighter weight to burn more calories? i know the science says keep it heavy but every time i cut my strength drops anyway and i feel like going lighter is less demoralizing. what does everyone actually do in practice

[NYCgains]

Stay heavy. Higher rep lighter weight does not burn meaningfully more calories than lifting heavy, the difference is minimal in the context of your overall deficit. What it does do is send a signal to your body that heavy weights are no longer necessary to maintain, and muscle follows. Keep the heavy compound work, reduce volume slightly if you are fatigued, and accept that strength numbers will dip a few percent. That is normal and comes back fast when you reverse diet.

[Beantown Rick]

Heavy compounds, reduce volume not intensity. Cut 2-3 sets per session but keep the working sets heavy. On test and mast you have good muscle preservation built in already. The strength drop is mostly glycogen and water, not actual strength. When you refeed or come out of the cut it comes back within a week or two. Going to high rep light weight is just harder on your joints for minimal extra benefit.

[Davo]

Heavy. Every time. The calorie difference between sets of 5 and sets of 15 is negligible. Muscle retention signal is not negligible. On mast your strength should hold up better than a natural cut anyway. Drop total volume by about 20 percent, keep intensity, and do your cardio separately if you want extra burn.

[Jock]

Same as everyone else said. Heavy is the only signal that tells your body to keep the muscle. The demoralising strength drop on a cut is real but it is almost entirely water and glycogen, not contractile tissue. I find it helps to track body weight and lifts separately and remind yourself the scale drop is the goal, nae the weight on the bar. Comes back fast when you eat up again.

[MunichMarc]

I trained with lower weights during my cycle because I was scared of injury on first cycle. Reading this I think I was too conservative. For second cycle I will keep the weights heavier. One question - if you reduce volume on a cut by 20 percent, do you reduce it evenly across all muscle groups or focus the cuts on the smaller accessory work?