starting strength gym
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: Cutting on 4 day split

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Location
    Israel
    Posts
    182

    Default Cutting on 4 day split

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    How should I aproach to a acut while doing the 4 day split?
    Is it enough to do on heavy lower body day for Squat 1x5 and deadlift 1x5, and on the upper body day bench/press 1x5?
    On the "intensity" days I am going to do 3x5 instead 5x5. Is that a good plan while cutting or should I do something else?
    I am currently weighing 271(123kg), and developed a huge dad bod and I need to get rid of it now.
    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Indianapolis, IN
    Posts
    2,266

    Default

    Have you been on a four-day split?

    Please post your height and lifting numbers too.

    You may want to peruse this as well while waiting for a response.
    Starting Strength Indianapolis is up and running. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching session.
    I answer all my emails: ALewis@StartingStrengthGyms.com

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Posts
    2,631

    Default

    This is a subject I'm still very curious about. I've been trying to find the best way to train while cutting weight largely through experimentation. At the beginning of this year I did a very sparse 4 day split, a one lift per day setup built around a top set of 5. I retained a fair amount of strength, but it was still a notable setback from what I was doing at the end of last year. I'm probably gonna do another one in July, for 3 months again. This time I'm going to try another 4 day split, not sure how I'm gonna structure it. I've seen in a lot of places people talking about sets of 8 so they are easier to recover from when cutting. So I might try building it around that.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Indianapolis, IN
    Posts
    2,266

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by CommanderFun View Post
    I've seen in a lot of places people talking about sets of 8 so they are easier to recover from when cutting.
    Why would this be the case?
    Starting Strength Indianapolis is up and running. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching session.
    I answer all my emails: ALewis@StartingStrengthGyms.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Posts
    2,631

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AndrewLewis View Post
    Why would this be the case?
    Don't know, it's just what I've encountered a couple of times being said. I haven't really tried it. Granted sometimes I've seen it mentioned as part of a range (like 5-8). Just figured it'd be the next thing to experiment with, since there isn't really a good definitive guide to dealing with cut dieting in terms of your training.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Indianapolis, IN
    Posts
    2,266

    Default

    I would consider the mechanism and outcomes prior to just trying something out - what do you think happens to your strength if you're only exposed to the kinds of weights that can be done for sets of eight in a caloric deficit?

    There may not be a consolidated guide to cutting while training, but this topic has been covered pretty thoroughly on these forums over the years.
    Starting Strength Indianapolis is up and running. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching session.
    I answer all my emails: ALewis@StartingStrengthGyms.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Posts
    2,631

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AndrewLewis View Post
    I would consider the mechanism and outcomes prior to just trying something out - what do you think happens to your strength if you're only exposed to the kinds of weights that can be done for sets of eight in a caloric deficit?

    There may not be a consolidated guide to cutting while training, but this topic has been covered pretty thoroughly on these forums over the years.
    Sure, it's been talked about a lot, but if you look through those search results you don't really find anything that looks like a consensus on how best to train while cutting weight. Whenever I have a question, the first thing I do is typically type it into google preceded by "starting strength" to try and find past posts on here that might answer it. Since I see conflicting ideas, I figured the thing to do would be to see for myself what works best for me. Maybe it won't work as well to do things that way, but that is still useful data to have for the future.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Indianapolis, IN
    Posts
    2,266

    Default

    It's sort of like programming templates. There are ways to do it in a rigidly defined way, but if you understand the concepts and inputs, you can build it around pretty much anything.

    I made steady progress on a four-day split going from 230lb down to 215lb over 6 months. My lifts went up pretty steadily as well. I didn't make a lot of modifications to the programming. But I also ate a ton of protein and slept a lot.
    Starting Strength Indianapolis is up and running. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching session.
    I answer all my emails: ALewis@StartingStrengthGyms.com

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Posts
    2,631

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AndrewLewis View Post
    It's sort of like programming templates. There are ways to do it in a rigidly defined way, but if you understand the concepts and inputs, you can build it around pretty much anything.

    I made steady progress on a four-day split going from 230lb down to 215lb over 6 months. My lifts went up pretty steadily as well. I didn't make a lot of modifications to the programming. But I also ate a ton of protein and slept a lot.
    Is there a post on how you programmed it? I'd be curious to see. My cuts tend to be more aggressive, seeing as I am kind of a large person. I don't think I look it, but I am quite heavy. Today I weighed in at 288. At the end of the last bulk up I did I was actually 310. The last cut took me down about 40 pounds, though 10 or so of that is what I call "transitional". It disappears fast once I start to cut, and it comes back very fast once I stop. It's probably all that glycogen and water and such, likely not fat.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Indianapolis, IN
    Posts
    2,266

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    I did a typical four-day split where everyday has an intensity day and a volume day.
    Monday: Intensity Press + Volume Bench
    Tuesday: Intensity Pull + Volume Squat
    Friday: Intensity Bench + Volume Press
    Saturday: Intensity Squat + Volume Pull
    Like I said, I didn't change it much from when I was maintaining my weight. I mostly just changed the diet and sleep.

    I'm not going to post the specific program I did, because someone who wants to cut on a four-day split is going to read it and go "okay. I'll just copy this" and it will probably not work for them.
    Starting Strength Indianapolis is up and running. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching session.
    I answer all my emails: ALewis@StartingStrengthGyms.com

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •