Staying the same weight

[barbell_strong]

Hi Robert. A little background on me. I am 5’10” 230 pounds and have been lifting for 2+ years. My body fat is approximately 16-20%. My lifts are 500 DL, 435 SQ, 315 B, 210 OP. I would like to get stronger, but I really don’t want to get much heavier. I also don’t count calories or macros.

So my question is, if my goal is to stay relatively close to 230, is it better to stay at 230 and continue training for strength or take 4-6 weeks to reduce my weight to 220ish while maintaining as much strength as possible. Then train and add bodyweight until I get back to 230 (maybe another 6 weeks to add 10 pounds)? Do you think that the reduce bodyweight just to gain back bodyweight idea is going to be any more productive then just maintaining bodyweight and training?

Thanks for taking my question.

[Robert Santana]

Thanks for posting. Some pretty good numbers there. Where are you at in your training cycle right now? Describe your programming, upcoming meets, etc.

[barbell_strong]

Thank you. I started an HLM program about 8 weeks ago. Last week heavy days were SQ 385/5/3, B 280/5/3, DL 450/3/2. Will add 5lbs to lower body lifts and 2.5 to upper body lifts this week. I have never competed, but maybe sometime in the future.

[Robert Santana]

Finish out the training cycle, then when you ramp the volume back up, start pulling calories. in general, it's best to pull calories when work is high and we aren't worried about PRs.

[barbell_strong]

I really appreciate your input. Maybe I was a bit unclear when I first wrote the question. I realize that trying to loose 10 pounds will almost certainly halt any progress on my lifts. So for right now it’s onward and upwards. I’m trying to determine what the best move will be when I inevitably get stuck. At that point, if my goal is to stay around 230 and be as strong as possible, should I take 4 weeks (or so) and loose 10 pounds while still lifting heavy and maintaining as much strength as possible? Then take another 4-6 weeks and attempt to increase my lifts while adding the 10 pounds back? From a strength perspective is this even a good idea, or is it just a bad excuse for yo-yo dieting that after 2-3 months will most likely end this process with me at the same numbers I started at?

[Robert Santana]

Same answer buddy. Losing is not a problem especially when it's only 10 lb. Losing when you are training at high intensities and peaking for a 1RM is a very bad idea. So your approach is entirely fine. Cut back for a month, scale up for a month. Just make sure that you are 100% compliant when you cut back because a month isn't a whole lot of time to be yo-yoing with low calories during the week and making up the calories with meals and drinks out over the weekend.

[eppyg]

Can I jump in to ask why? More specifically, if I understood you correctly, limiting calories is doable during a higher volume phase of a training program but not during a higher intensity phase. Why, if volume is a big driver of strength acquisition, is limiting calories doable? Thanks in advance.

[Robert Santana]

Because the weight is lighter.