Reply With QuoteWouldn't your diet be a more important factor in this?
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Fat Loss Routine Critique
Hey fellas, I'm think I might take a few months and try and get rid of some of the fat I have acquired in my quest for unlimited strength. I did a few searches but couldn't find any specific routines to use on a calorie restricted diet. I'm 5'10 somewhere in the 230s and would like to get back to around the 200 range. I have been doing a Bill Starr like routine for a while now and have tried to adapt that to my goal (fat loss while preserving strength). The consensus I seem to be getting from this board is to lower volume while maintaining intensity.
The only set using maximal weight will be the last one and the other sets will pyramid to that.
Monday
Squats 5x5
Bench 5x5
Row 5x5
Wednesday
Deadlift 4x5
Press 4x5
Light Squats 4x5
Friday
Squats 5x5
Bench 5x5
Row 5x5
This is basically what I am doing now except Friday and Monday are the same instead of going for 3 rep maxes on Friday. I realize I haven't really lowered volume but there is only 1 work set to begin with as the first four sets are basically warm up sets. Any tweaks or input is appreciated. I also plan on doing an hour of light cardio on Tues and Thurs so I can get myself back into cardiovascular shape for kayaking this summer.
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Wouldn't your diet be a more important factor in this?
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Why not just do something less time-intensive like RFL, lose the weight fast and then get back on the wagon faster? You'd have to switch to a lower-volume plan for maintenance purposes, but I don't see the problem with that.
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Yeah, I'm gonna make another vote for the lower-volume plan. If you've already started on your quest for strength, you probably won't make a whole lot of progress one way or another, so just cut back.
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Yes it would be, and I have lost weight before successfully and know how to eat to lose weight. I am simply trying to pick a routine that will help me preserve the most strength.Originally Posted by strengthstarter
I do not feel comfortable going on RFL without reading the book and I do not have the free time to read the book right now and with all the reading I do for class I do not feel like devoting my free time to more of it. Also I am not interested on going on a diet that would have me eating around 800 cal/day. Not saying that there is anything wrong with it, I just am in no hurry and don't believe a crash diet is right for me.
I'm a little unsure what you are getting at here. My plan is not to make progress but to maintain while on a calorie deficit. Any suggestions to modify my proposed routine are appreciated.
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If you're eating at a caloric deficit you will probably end up having to cut down some on total volume. Of course it all depends on how much of a deficit you're creating and your individual recovery ability. Keep the weight on the bar heavy and drop the amount of sets if needed.
Lyle has an article describing how it is easier to maintain previously built muscle, with far less work, than it took to put it on in the first place. I'm pretty sure it will answer all your questions.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/tra...ss-part-1.html
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Thanks that article is very helpful. What if to cut volume I completely drop my Friday workout which is just a repeat of Mondays work out. It would look something like this.
Monday
Squats 5x5
Bench 5x5
Row 5x5
Friday
Deadlift 4x5
Press 4x5
Light Squats 4x5
Do you guys think this will be too little volume to maintain? Been lifting three days a week for so long it would be a huge change to switch it up to something like this.
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A lot of people have kicked around the idea of modifying SS to 2/3rds volume, so either:
SS at your last successful 5 RM on M/F only.
SS with those same weights for only 2 worksets, MWF.
I'm planning to try the former when I start cutting in a few weeks.
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An interesting idea. I haven't been on SS for a while, I assume it would still work for maintenance though.
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Sure it would. Anything sensible will. It's going to depend on your caloric deficit and you recovery. Keep your protein high while creating a deficit and program however you see fit. If the volume is too much for you, you'll know soon enough.
You may be able to keep the volume close to the same if eating close to maintenance. If you're caloric deficit is larger keeping the volume high will most likely burn you out and it's unnecessary.
It's an extreme example, but on RFL Lyle has guys eating under 1000 calories and reducing volume to 2 lifting workouts and no cardio. They seem to maintain strength as long as they follow his recommendations.
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