Restarting strength training after stopping for a while with increased bodyweight

[kanton1234]

I am a 180cm (5'11'') 28-year-old male with BW 94 kg (207 lb). I have been (not so consistently) doing strength training for three years and stopped for multiple times for a few months, and during the period as I stopped, my body weight increased by more than 10 kg (22 lb) without noticeable increase in strength. I have restarted my training for a month and this is my current stats:

Squat 1RM: 170 kg / 374 lb

Bench 1RM: 115 kg / 253 lb

Deadlift: Never checked 1 RM and haven't done it since restarting training, but my previous stat was 180 kg for 5 RM.

This should also be approximately my PRs (but I achieved similar PRs as I had lower BW around 82 kg). Since my relative strength has decreased, I want to check whether now I am actually in a beginner phase or intermediate phase, what should be the appropriate strategy? Should I restart with a 5x5 beginner program to check whether I can still achieve linear progression, or should I directly start with intermediate programs like Madcow/Texas so I don't need to waste time? Because according to sites like strengthlevel.com, my stats actually correspond to intermediate level for my BW.

And another probably irrelevant question: If I want to lose some weight (back to about 80kg/176 lb) and I don't want to lose my current strength, what should be the best approach? Because most stength programs that I found online encourages calorie surplus. Thanks.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Should I restart with a 5x5 beginner program to check whether I can still achieve linear progression,

The novice program is not 5x5.

or should I directly start with intermediate programs like Madcow/Texas so I don't need to waste time? Because according to sites like strengthlevel.com, my stats actually correspond to intermediate level for my BW.

And another probably irrelevant question: If I want to lose some weight (back to about 80kg/176 lb) and I don't want to lose my current strength, what should be the best approach? Because most stength programs that I found online encourages calorie surplus. Thanks.

You really need to read the book: Practical Programming for Strength Training, 3rd edition – The Aasgaard Company

[SouthernLifter]

You need to do a workout using 3x5 for all the movements except the deadlift (for this one, use 1x5) and the next workout session try to add a little more of weight for 3x5. When you can no longer do this (that is; add weight every workout for 3x5) you will need to switch to a semanal kind of programming. It´s simple, and it works.

[Justin Smale]

Has there honestly ever been an answer to the “should do a novice LP after the layoff” question that wasn’t “yes, do the NLP”?

[Roy Thomas]

It´s simple, and it works.

AMEN