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Thread: The Umpteenth Post-LP Weight Loss Thread

  1. #1
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    Default The Umpteenth Post-LP Weight Loss Thread

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    I am getting to the point in LP where I am missing reps on every lift except squat, and those are grinders with 8-10 minutes rest between sets. I would like to shift my focus to losing body fat. I'm suffering from paralysis by analysis on how to attack it.

    Stats: 34, 5'10", ~220-225 lbs (started @ 195), est. 26% BF (Navy method), 39" waist at navel

    Progress on lifts:

    Squat: 105 -> 345 x5x3
    DL: 165 -> 365 x5
    Bench: 95 -> 192.5 x5x3
    Press: 65 -> 127.5 x5x3
    PC: 95 -> 150 x3x5 (having technique problems)

    Goals are to get down to 15% body fat at a rate of around 1.5-2 lbs a week, maintain strength as best as possible, and reduce time in the gym/rest between sets. (I'm not opposed to a 4-day split.)


    Thoughts on these programming ideas for squats?

    1. HLM with 5x1 + 5x2 backoffs on heavy day

    2. HLM/TM hybrid with "heavy day" as 5x3 volume day and "medium day" with heavy doubles or triples

    3. Similar to #2 but with ramping sets of 5 up to a new PR on Friday instead of heavy doubles/triples


    How necessary is the light day? I've seen threads where Jordan suggests dropping the light day to someone on a cut.


    Also would appreciate any other suggestions.

  2. #2
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    26% seems awful high for your height and weight. I don't know what the Navy method is but are you sure it's somewhat accurate?

    Not criticising, just wondering.

  3. #3
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    No, I'm not sure. Navy method is a formula based on waist and neck circumferences and height.

    At the very least, I'm 20%. That's obvious looking in the mirror.

  4. #4
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    Are you happy with your lifts? Jordan recommends to hold off weight loss until the easy intermediate gains (steady weekly progress) taper off. That's what I did and I'm pretty happy about it. (Specifically, I ran out TM until I reached singles on the squat and started to cut when I deloaded.)

    Also if you're a late novice you're probably pretty ran down physically so cutting food now could be difficult to handle.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by cph View Post
    Squat: 105 -> 345 x5x3
    DL: 165 -> 365 x5
    Bench: 95 -> 192.5 x5x3
    Press: 65 -> 127.5 x5x3
    PC: 95 -> 150 x3x5 (having technique problems)
    Out of interest how long has it taken to get those numbers?

  6. #6
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    I ran the HLM program from PPST3 page 163 without modification after my last LP. I went from 225 to 205 in three months while making some nice PRs. I had to abort the program at that point due to needing knee surgery for an old injury. I thought the programming was perfect for a cut. I needed lots of caffeine on heavy day to counteract the low-energy from the low-calories though. If you want to some info on how I setup my macros, lemme know, I think that's just as important as the programming.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Praetorian View Post
    If you want to some info on how I setup my macros, lemme know, I think that's just as important as the programming.
    Post it here man, I'd love to review just for education's sake. If you could include your age and height, that'd be appreciated.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by kanahan View Post
    Are you happy with your lifts? Jordan recommends to hold off weight loss until the easy intermediate gains (steady weekly progress) taper off. That's what I did and I'm pretty happy about it. (Specifically, I ran out TM until I reached singles on the squat and started to cut when I deloaded.)

    Also if you're a late novice you're probably pretty ran down physically so cutting food now could be difficult to handle.
    I'm okay with squats and deadlifts, not as happy with presses. (That could be anthropomorphy, though. I have dainty wrists and long arms. I've also had some problems with elbow tendinitis and had to ditch bench workouts 2-3 times.)

    I'm definitely getting run down physically. I've missed a few workouts the past month, and I wonder if that's inadvertently helped prolong LP due to the extra recovery time.

    Quote Originally Posted by CovBloke View Post
    Out of interest how long has it taken to get those numbers?
    I started the last week of October. There are quite a few missed workouts in there, sadly. It's been about 50 training sessions.

    Quote Originally Posted by Praetorian View Post
    I ran the HLM program from PPST3 page 163 without modification after my last LP. I went from 225 to 205 in three months while making some nice PRs. I had to abort the program at that point due to needing knee surgery for an old injury. I thought the programming was perfect for a cut. I needed lots of caffeine on heavy day to counteract the low-energy from the low-calories though. If you want to some info on how I setup my macros, lemme know, I think that's just as important as the programming.
    Sure, would love more info.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by crookedfinger View Post
    Post it here man, I'd love to review just for education's sake. If you could include your age and height, that'd be appreciated.
    Cool. This is what I did, and it worked well for me (dropped three holes on the weight belt and got stronger at the same time):

    First determine your maintenance calories. I think this has to be done experimentally so that you have a baseline to adjust from (otherwise you're just guessing). I used My Fitness Pal (MFP) for Android to log meals and daily weigh-ins for two weeks. I maintained weight over this period, so I knew that I was eating at around maintenance (for me this was 2500 calories - but I was logging about 200-300 calories of exercise daily in MFP, so my actual caloric intake was slightly higher).

    Next, determine your target caloric deficit. I chose a 20% deficit because studies show superior body composition effects (fat loss and lean mass gains) to a 30% deficit (REF 1), so at this point I subtracted 500 calories from maintenance levels and arrived at a 2000 calorie a day target. Optimal re-composition effects seem to happen between 1.6 to 2.4g of protein per kg of bodyweight (REF 2). I split the difference and chose to use 2g/kg, yielding around 200g. Apply a minimum of 50g fat (REF 1), then subtract calories from protein (4*200) and fat (50*9) from your overall calorie target, and you're left with 750 calories, or around 190g of carbs per day.

    Now implement the above macros, monitor, and adjust. MFP doesn't allow you to set daily macro goals unless you pay for the premium version. However, you can set your calorie goal, then adjust the percentage of your calories that you want to go toward specific macros, within 5% bands. It's easy to get this close enough to work. The nutrition menu in the diary section then displays your macro percentage goals and your current macros for the day. I adjusted my eating habits and tracked for another two weeks. At this point I was losing less then a pound a week, so I took out another 250 calories of carbs. Weight loss sped up, but I could feel a big difference in energy level and hunger at 1750 cals a day. I decided to try tweaking my fat/carb ratio, so I dropped 40g of carbs and added 20g of fat. This did the trick and I dropped three pounds in one week. So at this point I started adding 100 cals a week of carbs back until I got back to 2000 calories total. I then settled at 200g protein, 70g fat, and 140g of carbs. I kept these macros for the rest of the cut and maintained a pace of around 1.5 pounds lost per week. If I had this part to do over again I would have tweaked the fat/carb ratio before dropping the additional 250 calories.

    Finally, add calories back in until you hit your new maintenance level. I can't remember where I read this method (I think from one of Layne Norton's videos on reverse dieting), but I began adding back in 100 calories of carbs per week and continued tracking. I got back up to 2200 calories per day, while still dropping about a pound a week, but unfortunately I had my knee surgery at this point and dropped to almost no physical activity for a month. The weight loss stopped and 2200 became my new maintenance level. I've been maintaining for about four months now, but still recomping a bit as I just went down another notch on my lifting belt and hitting PRs again.

    These two articles are an absolute goldmine of information:
    REF 1: Protein Requirements of Dieting Strength Athletes
    REF 2: Evidence From the Metabolic Ward

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Good stuff, Praetorian!

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