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Thread: Looking for advice on programming during a cut

  1. #1
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    Default Looking for advice on programming during a cut

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    Hello everyone,

    Sorry for the long post in advance. I guess this is a way for me to vent right now. For the purposes of this post the A in A/B indicates the weight in kilograms and the B in pounds.
    I'm 24 years old, 171cm /5'7" tall. Living in Turkey. Used to be a swimmer and then did track and field for around 10 years as a kid until I started college. Never held a barbell in any way in my life until this year.

    When I started the program this January I weighed around 85/187, but a lot of it was fat. I'd been around 70/157-160 my entire life until I started eating badly and not doing any physical activity to gain that extra weight.

    I've been doing the program and eating anything between 4000 to 5500 kcal for 5 months now and I gained another 15/33 in the process. Now I weigh around a good 100/220, and although I haven't lost the belly at all I do feel better than how I did before. I rarely ate junk food, 90% of the things I ate during this process was stuff I cooked myself. Ate around 240-250 grams of protein, made sure 170-180 of it came from dairy, poultry, red meat and eggs. No I did not do GOMAD.

    My stats have progressed as stated below:
    •Squat: 60/132x5x3 to 130/287x5x3, I did 132.5/292x5 too but failed the other two sets in my last workout.
    •Press: 30/66x5x3 to 57.5/127x5x3
    •Deadlift: 85/187x5 to 330x5
    •Bench Press: 45/100x5x3 to 87.5/193x5x3. Did 4 reps with 90/200 but failed the fifth on my first set on my last workout.
    •Power Clean: 35/77x3x5 to 72.5/160x2x4.

    There's been a couple things that caused me to lose some time. By the end of January it was discovered that I had an inguinal hernia on the left side. Doctor said it's at its beginning phase and wouldn't cause any problems for me for a couple years until I'd need it surgically repaired. That along with the problems I was having with the squats because of some mistakes I made earlier caused me to stop squatting in February. Then I decided to stop being stupid and resumed squatting. No problems since then.
    And I injured my elbow during April and it caused me to be unable to bench press for a couple weeks. Strangely did not affect my overhead press though. It healed and I had no problems since then.

    Now here's the problem I'm having. Since I already started with a lot of fat, being 100/220 is really starting to have an effect in my daily life. Along with this I'm also worried about my hernia, I'd hope surgery wouldn't be needed anytime soon, but if not, I don't want to be stuck at this weight without being able to work out for a while. And the worse of all is.... Money. I'm not talking about the usual "eating meat daily is so expensive uhh" cliché here. I really can't afford feeding my body at this weight for long sadly. Turkey is seeing inflation numbers close to 200% and the economy is getting worse by the day. I'm aware that it's the stupidest thing in the world but it's a fact I have to face. Getting 250 grams of protein daily is not something I'm gonna be able to keep up with at this point in my life. And honestly this comprises 80% of the reason I'm going to do a cut. Sure my stomach is tired and everything else I wrote, but if it weren't for the money I could gain another 10/22 if needed.

    I don't feel like my LP is over. Only tweaks I've done to the program so far is putting a light day only for the squat on Wednesdays and dropping the power clean volume from 5x3 to 4x2. Everything else is 3x5 and increase the weight after every succesful workout except 1x5 for the deadlift. So I feel I have at least another month or two in me for the NLP but sadly I have to start cutting until I get back to around 85-90/187-200. I have no idea what kind of different programming if any would be necessary for a cut where I have around a 500 kcal deficit daily. Hence why I'm asking for your advice.

  2. #2
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    What is your question?

  3. #3
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    My questions are, what would the best approach be to a weight cut for me? Would a 500 kcal deficit be sufficent to lose weight and try to maintain my current strength? What differences should I make in my programming during this, can I get away with not lowering volume and intensity without increasing the weights or would it be too much to ask for?

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by balikati View Post
    Hello everyone,

    Sorry for the long post in advance. I guess this is a way for me to vent right now. For the purposes of this post the A in A/B indicates the weight in kilograms and the B in pounds.
    I'm 24 years old, 171cm /5'7" tall. Living in Turkey. Used to be a swimmer and then did track and field for around 10 years as a kid until I started college. Never held a barbell in any way in my life until this year.

    When I started the program this January I weighed around 85/187, but a lot of it was fat. I'd been around 70/157-160 my entire life until I started eating badly and not doing any physical activity to gain that extra weight.

    I've been doing the program and eating anything between 4000 to 5500 kcal for 5 months now and I gained another 15/33 in the process. Now I weigh around a good 100/220, and although I haven't lost the belly at all I do feel better than how I did before. I rarely ate junk food, 90% of the things I ate during this process was stuff I cooked myself. Ate around 240-250 grams of protein, made sure 170-180 of it came from dairy, poultry, red meat and eggs. No I did not do GOMAD.

    My stats have progressed as stated below:
    •Squat: 60/132x5x3 to 130/287x5x3, I did 132.5/292x5 too but failed the other two sets in my last workout.
    •Press: 30/66x5x3 to 57.5/127x5x3
    •Deadlift: 85/187x5 to 330x5
    •Bench Press: 45/100x5x3 to 87.5/193x5x3. Did 4 reps with 90/200 but failed the fifth on my first set on my last workout.
    •Power Clean: 35/77x3x5 to 72.5/160x2x4.

    There's been a couple things that caused me to lose some time. By the end of January it was discovered that I had an inguinal hernia on the left side. Doctor said it's at its beginning phase and wouldn't cause any problems for me for a couple years until I'd need it surgically repaired. That along with the problems I was having with the squats because of some mistakes I made earlier caused me to stop squatting in February. Then I decided to stop being stupid and resumed squatting. No problems since then.
    And I injured my elbow during April and it caused me to be unable to bench press for a couple weeks. Strangely did not affect my overhead press though. It healed and I had no problems since then.

    Now here's the problem I'm having. Since I already started with a lot of fat, being 100/220 is really starting to have an effect in my daily life. Along with this I'm also worried about my hernia, I'd hope surgery wouldn't be needed anytime soon, but if not, I don't want to be stuck at this weight without being able to work out for a while. And the worse of all is.... Money. I'm not talking about the usual "eating meat daily is so expensive uhh" cliché here. I really can't afford feeding my body at this weight for long sadly. Turkey is seeing inflation numbers close to 200% and the economy is getting worse by the day. I'm aware that it's the stupidest thing in the world but it's a fact I have to face. Getting 250 grams of protein daily is not something I'm gonna be able to keep up with at this point in my life. And honestly this comprises 80% of the reason I'm going to do a cut. Sure my stomach is tired and everything else I wrote, but if it weren't for the money I could gain another 10/22 if needed.

    I don't feel like my LP is over. Only tweaks I've done to the program so far is putting a light day only for the squat on Wednesdays and dropping the power clean volume from 5x3 to 4x2. Everything else is 3x5 and increase the weight after every succesful workout except 1x5 for the deadlift. So I feel I have at least another month or two in me for the NLP but sadly I have to start cutting until I get back to around 85-90/187-200. I have no idea what kind of different programming if any would be necessary for a cut where I have around a 500 kcal deficit daily. Hence why I'm asking for your advice.
    You are 5"7', 220lbs, 24 years old, and you have a 287lbs squat and a 330lbs deadlift, after 5 months of training and 5000kcal a day, you are far from finishing your LP.
    Focus on your strength training only if that's your goal, get some form checks to improve technique and add 5lbs to the bar. You'll be fine for a while, even if you cut your calories

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by francesco.decaro View Post
    You are 5"7', 220lbs, 24 years old, and you have a 287lbs squat and a 330lbs deadlift, after 5 months of training and 5000kcal a day, you are far from finishing your LP.
    Focus on your strength training only if that's your goal, get some form checks to improve technique and add 5lbs to the bar. You'll be fine for a while, even if you cut your calories
    Thanks for your input. I was a bit stressed because cutting calories was going to be something new for me but all seemed fine this past week. Increased the weight on everything except bp without any problems. Hopefully it goes on like that for a while.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by balikati View Post
    Thanks for your input. I was a bit stressed because cutting calories was going to be something new for me but all seemed fine this past week. Increased the weight on everything except bp without any problems. Hopefully it goes on like that for a while.
    Remember to read the grey book so you know what to do when you start failing reps, plus the article "The First Three Questions"

  7. #7
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    When (or if, considering that you are needlessly shifting priorities) you get your press to 80 kg, you will understand that too much fat was never your problem - not enough muscle was.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jovan Dragisic View Post
    When (or if, considering that you are needlessly shifting priorities) you get your press to 80 kg, you will understand that too much fat was never your problem - not enough muscle was.
    By this Jovan means you can start your cut after you finish the NLP. The coaches on this forum are strength coaches and will almost never reccomend a man to go on a cut when below 30% body fat prior to competing the LP. That is unless he started out as a morbidly fat guy. Expect your press and bench in particular to take a shit even if you cut mostly all fat and maintain all your muscle, as well.

    When it is time to go on a cut, you would try to maintain all your lifts at your current numbers while dropping bodyweight. You'd keep your programming pretty much the same and only reduce your volume a bit if you're too beat up. Keep the intensity high. And don't reduce weight for more than a month or so.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by francesco.decaro View Post
    Remember to read the grey book so you know what to do when you start failing reps, plus the article "The First Three Questions"
    I switched from 3x5 to a top set of five and two back off sets with 90% for the squat. Also I used to alternate between two deadlift days and a single pc day and vice versa every week, but now I changed it to once a week for both. Haven't made any changes for ohp and bp, but they do feel more difficult since I started the cut.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jovan Dragisic View Post
    When (or if, considering that you are needlessly shifting priorities) you get your press to 80 kg, you will understand that too much fat was never your problem - not enough muscle was.
    Well, it took me 5 months from scratch to be able to press 60kg for a set of five and considering I have a lifetime ahead of me, I should hope I'll get it to 80kg at one point. This is currently a minor setback for me and I'm in no way content with it, cutting calories really sucks, and I intend to get my life together and pick up where I left off as soon as I can.

    Quote Originally Posted by GioFerrante View Post
    By this Jovan means you can start your cut after you finish the NLP. The coaches on this forum are strength coaches and will almost never reccomend a man to go on a cut when below 30% body fat prior to competing the LP. That is unless he started out as a morbidly fat guy. Expect your press and bench in particular to take a shit even if you cut mostly all fat and maintain all your muscle, as well.

    When it is time to go on a cut, you would try to maintain all your lifts at your current numbers while dropping bodyweight. You'd keep your programming pretty much the same and only reduce your volume a bit if you're too beat up. Keep the intensity high. And don't reduce weight for more than a month or so.
    I never had it checked but it ought to have been around 25% when I started and I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same now. I ate clean but I also ate a lot. I did get considerably bigger, and my belly followed suit. I remember when I first started I didn't need to shove my knees out as much as I do now during deadlifts, but now I can't set my back without doing so because it's gotten so much bigger. Still though, the reason I'm doing a cut is definitely more about financial reasons than anything else. Otherwise I wouldn't have minded gaining more weight and I won't mind in the future either.

    It's been 3 weeks since I started my cut. Failed to complete a 3x5 with 90kg and 87.5kg on the bench press so I dropped the weight to 82.5 and started increasing back up. Did 85, I'm going to try 87.5 again this monday.
    For the ohp it was similar, dropped from 60 to 57.5.
    In the meantime I increased my squats to 137.5x5 and going to do 140x5 this monday. Increased deadlifts to 152.5. 155 next wednesday. I'll see how it goes.
    Biggest problem I had was with the power cleans. When I did them on Monday last week I didn't have any issues with 72.5kgx2x4 but when they're on any other day of the week recovery becomes a big problem and I can't even complete the warmups. I'm not really sure what to do, maybe I will alternate them with deadlifts on a weekly basis.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Tell us again why you're not doing the program.

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