Debating lifting while in a deficit (plan or deficit)
tameko2
Posts: 31,634 Member
(This is not a 'should I lift while I am still dieting' question its more about if SL 5x5 is a good idea while I am still dieting).
I'm in my 5th week of SL 5x5 (yay) - session 15 is tomorrow.
I'm starting to wonder if i'm eating ENOUGH for *this* program. I can't tell if I'm starting to hit little stalls due to 1) hi, its getting heavy now or 2) not enough calories or 3) Just having bad/weak days sometimes like anyone could have or 4) some combination of these.
Since he targets the program entirely at guys its a little hard to tell. Obviously I'm going to hit stalls earlier on most things than a guy would, guys are cheaters with their hormones and their naturally muscle oriented physiologies and what have you. Cheatery cheats.
But still - like on Monday I got in 4 very tough but perfectly good sets of 130lb squats and then went down for the fifth set and boom, hit the ground and was a bit confused. gave it another try, got one rep, and then boom, *kitten* was back on the ground, legs were trashed, no more squatting was happening that night unless I wanted to call it squatting when you go down but not up.
Bah, where is this post even going? Ok um maybe you guys can just give me feedback on ANY of this or we can discuss or something.
So:
1) I am 5'6" and weigh 164-166 (those seem to be the most common fluctuations - I did see 162.6 and 163.6 about 2 weeks before I started SL and about 2 weeks into SL) which is REALLY heavy for a lady my height. I had caliper measurements done by a personal trainer in Feb when I weighed about this much and she came up with 25% BF 42 lbs fat mass and 125 lbs. lean mass (I weighed 167 that day but it was in the evening after work - so I probably weighed 165ish that morning).
I also have lost some visual tummy flub since then as well as a fair amount of inches (waist fluctuates but at LEAST half an inch lost there, as much as 1.5 inches) , at least half an inch around the fat part of my belly, maybe as much as an inch from my hips.
2) I was working with a trainer before this, doing work more in the 2 sets of 8-12 range with dumbells mostly - so for example I was squatting 40 or so, Stiff legged deadlifting 50, chestpressing ...maybe 40? etc. Quit the trainer because I needed that money.
3) I'm eating kind of a lot for someone who is theoretically dieting AND fairly sedentary - every so often I might have a low day around 1650 calories but 1800-2100 is my happy place. (So I mean honestly this might not even be a deficit for me - my daily routine is mostly desk work, with some walking to meetings, walking to lunch or coffee, coming home, minimal chores, video games and or exercise and or dvds)
4) most recent lifting looks like this:
Squat 130 lbs 5-5-5-5-1
Overhead press 65lbs 5-5-4-4-3 (the three weeks prior to this were stuck at 60 lbs but i pushed past it so no deload)
Bench Press 75 lbs 5-5-5-5-5 (the 2 weeks prior to this were also 75, I pushed past it here)
Barbell Row 85lb 5-5-5-5-5 (not doing Pendlay's doing barbell rows, I just found the pendlay's too odd to deal with. I might switch)
Deadlift 140 1 set of 5 (yes this is a weird number, I wasn't comfortable starting at 95 so I started lower and didn't think through the fact that it was going to leave me in baby weights forever)
5) I do barely any additional cardio due to laziness. I will maybe jog a mile once or twice a week (at my comfy/slow/easy pace which is also the only pace I can run any amount of time at which is like 12.5 minute miles) or hop on the bike/elliptical after lifting and phone it in for 20-40 minutes (seriously HR between 98-115). I occasionally do some extra walking - we live close to an "old town" area with restaurants and what not and its 1.1 miles there and back so we often walk there. 1-2x a week.
6) so some stuff I have been thinking about -- where am I even going with this? Would Starting strength be better? NROL? If so switch now, or wait a few more weeks or more than a few more weeks til I have a home gym? Are these good, bad, or mediocre numbers? Am I struggling with these lifts because they are heavy for me, or because I am underfed? Am I not losing weight because I am retaining water etc like a mofo from the lifting or is it because i'm eating TOO much and I'm closer to maintenance than would be good? Do you see where I am confused/dilemna-y because I both want to lose fat and continue my lifting?
If you made it through this, wow. You don't even have to reply now, seriously, you're probably exhausted.
I'm in my 5th week of SL 5x5 (yay) - session 15 is tomorrow.
I'm starting to wonder if i'm eating ENOUGH for *this* program. I can't tell if I'm starting to hit little stalls due to 1) hi, its getting heavy now or 2) not enough calories or 3) Just having bad/weak days sometimes like anyone could have or 4) some combination of these.
Since he targets the program entirely at guys its a little hard to tell. Obviously I'm going to hit stalls earlier on most things than a guy would, guys are cheaters with their hormones and their naturally muscle oriented physiologies and what have you. Cheatery cheats.
But still - like on Monday I got in 4 very tough but perfectly good sets of 130lb squats and then went down for the fifth set and boom, hit the ground and was a bit confused. gave it another try, got one rep, and then boom, *kitten* was back on the ground, legs were trashed, no more squatting was happening that night unless I wanted to call it squatting when you go down but not up.
Bah, where is this post even going? Ok um maybe you guys can just give me feedback on ANY of this or we can discuss or something.
So:
1) I am 5'6" and weigh 164-166 (those seem to be the most common fluctuations - I did see 162.6 and 163.6 about 2 weeks before I started SL and about 2 weeks into SL) which is REALLY heavy for a lady my height. I had caliper measurements done by a personal trainer in Feb when I weighed about this much and she came up with 25% BF 42 lbs fat mass and 125 lbs. lean mass (I weighed 167 that day but it was in the evening after work - so I probably weighed 165ish that morning).
I also have lost some visual tummy flub since then as well as a fair amount of inches (waist fluctuates but at LEAST half an inch lost there, as much as 1.5 inches) , at least half an inch around the fat part of my belly, maybe as much as an inch from my hips.
2) I was working with a trainer before this, doing work more in the 2 sets of 8-12 range with dumbells mostly - so for example I was squatting 40 or so, Stiff legged deadlifting 50, chestpressing ...maybe 40? etc. Quit the trainer because I needed that money.
3) I'm eating kind of a lot for someone who is theoretically dieting AND fairly sedentary - every so often I might have a low day around 1650 calories but 1800-2100 is my happy place. (So I mean honestly this might not even be a deficit for me - my daily routine is mostly desk work, with some walking to meetings, walking to lunch or coffee, coming home, minimal chores, video games and or exercise and or dvds)
4) most recent lifting looks like this:
Squat 130 lbs 5-5-5-5-1
Overhead press 65lbs 5-5-4-4-3 (the three weeks prior to this were stuck at 60 lbs but i pushed past it so no deload)
Bench Press 75 lbs 5-5-5-5-5 (the 2 weeks prior to this were also 75, I pushed past it here)
Barbell Row 85lb 5-5-5-5-5 (not doing Pendlay's doing barbell rows, I just found the pendlay's too odd to deal with. I might switch)
Deadlift 140 1 set of 5 (yes this is a weird number, I wasn't comfortable starting at 95 so I started lower and didn't think through the fact that it was going to leave me in baby weights forever)
5) I do barely any additional cardio due to laziness. I will maybe jog a mile once or twice a week (at my comfy/slow/easy pace which is also the only pace I can run any amount of time at which is like 12.5 minute miles) or hop on the bike/elliptical after lifting and phone it in for 20-40 minutes (seriously HR between 98-115). I occasionally do some extra walking - we live close to an "old town" area with restaurants and what not and its 1.1 miles there and back so we often walk there. 1-2x a week.
6) so some stuff I have been thinking about -- where am I even going with this? Would Starting strength be better? NROL? If so switch now, or wait a few more weeks or more than a few more weeks til I have a home gym? Are these good, bad, or mediocre numbers? Am I struggling with these lifts because they are heavy for me, or because I am underfed? Am I not losing weight because I am retaining water etc like a mofo from the lifting or is it because i'm eating TOO much and I'm closer to maintenance than would be good? Do you see where I am confused/dilemna-y because I both want to lose fat and continue my lifting?
If you made it through this, wow. You don't even have to reply now, seriously, you're probably exhausted.
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Replies
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Quick thoughts--I think you are eating enough if you make 1800 your minimum and I think you are lifting great. I wouldn't switch to Starting Strength. (If you don't like Pendlay Rows, you'll hate Power Cleans *ducks*)0
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I'd do stronglifts if I were you. You'll still gain strength on a deficit, but you won't gait the maximum strength. You'll also add some muscle if you've never lifted before.0
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Quick thoughts--I think you are eating enough if you make 1800 your minimum and I think you are lifting great. I wouldn't switch to Starting Strength. (If you don't like Pendlay Rows, you'll hate Power Cleans *ducks*)
I switched over to the pendlays tonight. (Deloaded and switched) - I feel better about them now for some reason.
had a terrible session anyhow because I was just weak and not good but I'm 99.9% sure that I'm a bit sick (sore swollen throat, but other than general weakness I feel ok).0 -
Alright, you got me, I'll post on this. I can't comment on much other than my own experience. I've always done well lifting heavy at a deficit and doing light cardio and core work on the off days. I can definitely notice a difference when going from a carb loading high calorie diet to a deficit though so I cut the workload a bit. I don't think there would be much of an issue doing 5x5 at a deficit as long as it is a minor deficit and you are doing well with your macros. If you are sticking to good carbs like sweet potatoes, oatmeal and brown rice it should keep you going strong.0
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