Routine while losing weight

[Edge]

So I am nearing the end of my SS phase of lifting, I am 5'10, 210lbs and 32 years old.

What are some good programs to maintain strength while running a caloric deficit? I will likely run it until around 12-15% bfat...

I'm guessing I'll be maxed out sometime in October and would like to read about any routines before selecting one.. (hence the pre-emptive question)

Current Stats after 3 months on SS

Squat 115 --> 295
Bench 105 --> 185
OHP 85 --> 125
Deadlift 175 --> 325
P.Clean 85 --> 145

Any advice is appreciated (nutrition, programming, recovery tips, anything really.. this will be my first recomp)

[Edge]

Wrong forum, sorry.

[Manimal]

Honestly man there is no set routine or routines for losing weight and maintaining or getting stronger. If there were, that would be the main routine and people wouldnt do programs like starting strength. With that said, it is not impossible to lose weight and maintain strength, not by a long shot. More than routines there are a few general principles to follow.

1) never stop lifting, you're numbers will drop faster than (insert lame joke here), and keep the intensity up. I lost 30 lbs over the last 4-5months, my lifts didnt really start suffering until i quit lifting. If you follow no other rule, just keep lifting.

2) dont overdue your calorie deficit. 500 cal deficit max

3) i prefer deficits in cycles, after about 8 weeks or so your numbers are going to be sliding because of the cut, at this point i would stop dieting and eat maintenance for a little while till you normalize. Then diet again.

4) alot of folks recommend HIIT training a few times a week for a short duration. Most recommend against LSD cardio.

my program of choice is TM with 3 sets of 5 volume and intensity at whatever level you can keep it at. You will go backwards, you just try to avoid it as long as possible. Also, if you started eating maintenance calories now you would probably recomp a bit and be at a better starting place for your diet.

[Edge]

Also, if you started eating maintenance calories now you would probably recomp a bit and be at a better starting place for your diet.

I didn't really want to eat maintenance while still running my LP.. I'm at +500 now and will most likely continue that until I'm done with SS... I was hoping for some tips/programming/literature to read before my LP runs its course so that I am a bit more educated when I make the switch.

Thanks for the tips, I had planned on a 500 deficit @ like 220 protein minimum... Was thinking about getting a private consult from Jordan during it.

Any good books on the subject of running deficits while maintaining strength?

Honestly man there is no set routine or routines for losing weight and maintaining or getting stronger. If there were, that would be the main routine and people wouldn't do programs like starting strength. With that said, it is not impossible to lose weight and maintain strength, not by a long shot. More than routines there are a few general principles to follow.

I'm not looking to gain strength.. Just maintain... Isn't the point of SS to gain strength? I don't understand how a maintenance program would replace SS as a get strong quick program... If I ran a maintenance program instead of SS I'd be maintaining my 115 squat...

[Simon Rest]

One of the coaches posted a link to a program, I just tried to find it for you but to no avail. It set macros based on body type as well as weight. As a 240lb endomorph it has me eating 2450 kCal at 350p/80f/80c. And yes it's working

[Edge]

One of the coaches posted a link to a program, I just tried to find it for you but to no avail. It set macros based on body type as well as weight. As a 240lb endomorph it has me eating 2450 kCal at 350p/80f/80c. And yes it's working

Thanks uhhh smartarse.. I don't overly buy into the endomorph stuff, thanks for the nutritional info.. What were you eating when you were lifting for gains? height? age? Program?

[boot29342342]

Hi Edge,

Books: have you seen Lyle McDonald's site, http://bodyrecomposition.com ? It is one of the best resources for fat loss that I know of. There is a LOT of free content on that site, but he has books, too.

As for what I would recommend, the problem with maintenance is that it takes a lot of careful calorie logging to know what maintenance is for you. And it is important for performance to not set the deficit too low, at least not for a long time. You can set the deficit at a more aggressive level at the beginning of the process, but taper it down to a lower amount as you keep losing fat. You're spot on as far as protein goes.

If you are going to count calories, I would recommend using My Fitness Pal, but not their default settings. What I do is set my intake goal to a fixed amount, the same every day (rather than eating a variable amount depending on activity--not a good idea when you are lifting, in my opinion, since recovery requires food). I also set custom levels for macros, and I don't log my weight there because it resets things sometimes based on how much you've lost. So I use it just as a tracking tool, not as a guide. Another tip is to use a digital scale--it's by far the most useful tip I've gotten about tracking intake. People are pretty bad at eyeballing portions, and going by volume can be so inaccurate that you might overeat energy-dense foods by 200 or 300 calories per serving without realizing it.

Forgot what I was gonna say: there are a lot of calculators out there for estimating maintenance, but Lyle has a simple method that is pretty much spot on: take your body weight in lb, multiply it by 15. For men, that's usually close to maintenance, though it could be higher for you.

[cph]

Here's a thread where Jordan gave advice on cutting.

[krazyduck]

You can try a less demanding program then SS while eating at maintenance. I've had success doing that but I wasn't trying to lose weight though.

[Paul1]

For programming, think of it this way: the whole premise of SS is adding weight every workout because that forces adaptation to the new weight. You do it 3x a week because you CAN do it that frequently. SS is based on efficiency of adaptation. If you don't want to force adaptations, then stop adding weight. Honestly if you can squat 295x3x5, then drop a little to say 265 or 275 and do 3 sets of 5 once a week. Keep doing the same thing. Drop the weight so that you're not too too far from your max, and it will take less effort to maintain that slightly lower strength level.

As for the weight loss, I think that this stuff gets way overquantitized and thought out in too much detail a lot of the time. For weight loss a good rule of thumb is 'do the right things and then just let time pass'.

The right things are 1) more time with your heart rate elevated (due to exercise) and 2) fewer calories.

Within the exercise variables, one can debate on an on about HIIT vs prowler vs tabatas vs jogging on a treadmill vs water aerobics. But the most effective exercise is the one that you will actually do. I think HIIT and tabata workouts suck ass. I think a good mix of intervals (not necessarily at 95% of your max HR) and steady state, using exercise that you ENJOY, is the most sustainable in the end. Playing tennis twice a week is interval training, because you have brief sprinting bouts. I like swimming -- so I do swimming intervals 2-3 times a week and a longer steady state swim once a week. But that's me. Pick what you like. In retrospect I think P90X was silly as a lifting program, but it kicked ass for weight loss. You could do that program, sub out a couple of the workouts to lift, and lose weight.

And as for diet, man I have this conversation in clinical settings almost every day. Make easy changes. Find the crap and substitute it with less crappy stuff. Protein bars are candy -- get your protein from greek yogurt or beef jerky or something. Fruits and foods with a lot of fiber are satiating, they fill you up and last longer. You won't even need nearly so much protein as 220 grams if you're just trying to maintain -- the issue is really more of a caloric deficit one. If you run a 1000 calorie deficit then you could eat 300 grams of protein but your body is just going to use it for energy anyway. So find small, sustainable changes.

This is generic advice -- but if you just make a good sustainable exercise choice and a good sustainable diet choice, all you have to do is keep it up -- let time pass and the weight will come off.