Strength & Mass after 40 on a cut

[TarzanMoosefart]

I got over 30% bodyfat and it's time to lose some blubber. Would it make sense to keep the layout of the After 40 program and just lower the weights as needed until I get to where I want to be?

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Depends on how fast you want to lose the weight. You can certainly use that program on a cut. Do the best you can on the program and if you need to recalibrate weights every so often to accommodate weight loss then do so. Don't just assume everything will fall apart though. Bench and Press will probably suffer the most, squats maybe some, deadlift maybe not at all.

[TarzanMoosefart]

Depends on how fast you want to lose the weight. You can certainly use that program on a cut. Do the best you can on the program and if you need to recalibrate weights every so often to accommodate weight loss then do so. Don't just assume everything will fall apart though. Bench and Press will probably suffer the most, squats maybe some, deadlift maybe not at all.

Well I've always been told it's best to lose the fat relatively slowly. I'm not competing in anything, just cleaning things up because i personally don't like to be this fat (feels uncomfortable, looks trashy, and its unhealthy).You seem to be hedging a bit on recommending the program on a cut, do you think there is a better program? I obviously want to maintain as much strength as I can but I'm okay with some strength loss as that is to be expected when eating less. Thanks.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

I can't tell you what program to use on your cut to give you the absolute best results because I really don't know anything about you. But I do know that the volume/intensity prescription in the SM40 program is in line with what would be appropriate in a weight loss program. It's probably as good as anything else out there for an intermediate. Is it perfect? How the hell do I know. Fat loss should be 1-2 lbs per week, except maybe the first 10 days or so where you'll drop more due to some water loss. More than 1-2 lbs per week and you are gonna strip down too much muscle....less than that and you aren't trying.

[BenM]

I ran it while I was in a deficit for a couple of cycles, but for me I found that 4 days a week was a bit difficult to recover from, particularly the first week of the cycle where you're doing higher volume so the workouts take a bit longer. I'm probably atypical though, I'm only just over 40 but I also have poor sleep (due to a young child) and am generally at the lower end of the strength curve. Could be because I'm eating more now too, but going back to 3 days a week has got me feeling much better about my training.

All you can do though is try it and see how it goes for you.

[TarzanMoosefart]

I can't tell you what program to use on your cut to give you the absolute best results because I really don't know anything about you. But I do know that the volume/intensity prescription in the SM40 program is in line with what would be appropriate in a weight loss program. It's probably as good as anything else out there for an intermediate. Is it perfect? How the hell do I know. Fat loss should be 1-2 lbs per week, except maybe the first 10 days or so where you'll drop more due to some water loss. More than 1-2 lbs per week and you are gonna strip down too much muscle....less than that and you aren't trying.

Good. I really like the layout of the program so glad to hear it will work fine. Thanks.

[Bbinck1]

Currently doing that program now for 4 or 5 weeks. Went from 209 to 193 but did it fast with low carb and half is water from depleted glycogen. I just stopped progressing. It was hard to maintain weights the first week for obvious reasons but I have kept predicted maxes 95% of start. So for me it is working great. I didn't add any cardio just dropped calories by 25%.