Programming for lean body mass maintenance during weight loss
Stats: 6'2" 25-year-old male, initially 405 lbs.
Training history: started messing around with some random 5x5 program on the
internet mid-September of 2021. Switched to SSNLP (estimated) around
mid-December of 2021. Trained with SSNLP (modified to substitute bent-over row
for power clean because it's what I was doing before and concerns about knees,
forearms, etc) until mid-September of 2022. Trained with Texas Method (again,
with rows substituted for cleans) from there to present (Nov 21, 2022).
Numbers:
Initial (had no clue what I was doing): deadlift 43x5x5, press 43x5x5, squat
0x5x5, bench 53x5x5.
Immediately after switching to NLP: deadlift 135x3x5 (I don't know where I read
3 sets for deadlift, probably misremembered it, but it got corrected soon
enough), press 75x3x5, squat 105x3x5, bench 90x3x5.
Immediately before switching to Texas Method: deadlift 290x1x5, press 97.5x3x5,
squat 242.5x3x5, bench 135x3x5.
Current: deadlift 300x1x5, press 102.5x1x5, squat 260x1x5, bench 140x1x5. Body
weight down to 360 lbs.
Question: I've gotten a fair bit stronger while losing a moderate amount of body
weight. This can't continue forever, and I suspect I'm hitting that limit now. I
believe this because even with intermediate programming, my press is pretty
stuck, and bench is nearly stuck. I am resting plenty long, I think - 12 minutes
before a 5-rep max on intensity day, 8 minutes between sets on volume day. I
keep failing press and bench on intensity day, and even recently started failing
squats on intensity day. I have been advancing all of these only in 2.5-pound
increments, and only advancing after succeeding at the prior weight (should be a
given). I haven't kept close track of how much sleep I've been getting, but it's
not uncommon for me to lie awake for hours on end. I don't know what can be done
about that. I am still slowly losing weight, so I must conclude that I am eating
at a caloric deficit.
The first goal I set when I started training was to do an unassisted pull-up,
and AFAIK this basically requires further weight loss. Does my assessment of the
above seem accurate, and if so, how should I best modify my programming and diet
to retain lean body mass while losing weight?
I've read
“Fat Loss Training” is Not Training | Robert Santana
where it says
Quote:
If you are a legitimately obese lifter that needs to lose large amounts
of bodyweight, plan for a minimum of one year of cycling between fat loss and
weight maintaining diets to minimize long-term muscle loss
but what are the details of these cycles? How many times should I be lifting
weekly? What rep scheme should I be using? Will there be light days, heavy days,
etc? How long should a cycle be? How steep a calorie deficit should I aim for?
I'm sure someone has written about this somewhere, but my searches for "weight
loss", "weight loss cycle", "preserving lean body mass", etc with
Starting Strength haven't found it yet.