Cutting and keeping strength gains

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Phoenix_Warrior
Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
edited February 8 in Fitness and Exercise
I've been on a cut for what will be 6 months in three weeks. I'm under the assumption that as long as my cut is slow (I'm estimated at 25%, via forum dudes on bodybuilding.com, it's the best I got), I should still see some strength gains and retain what I've made. I was curious about length of bulk vs strength gains. Does the length matter as long as the deficit is marginal? I know it's more probable to stall or in the least see very minimal improvement. As long as I'm getting proper protein and keep up my weight lifting routine, should i not regress, despite length of cut, i guess is the question.

I'm losing about .9 lbs a week, according to my Libra (I typically log weight stats once a day, same time to get a weight loss trend). Should I slow it down to .5 lb loss at this stage to minimize LBM loss and assuming give greater chance it will be fat loss? I really could care less what the scale says now, but it does give me feedback to keep my cut in check. I have a tendency to do 30 minutes of cardio about 4x a week but I've been scaling back because my priority is lifts.

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  • SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish
    SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish Posts: 831 Member
    The more you can keep this deficit with weight training and calorie restriction alone, the better. Aerobics *may* bite into some muscle. And of course yes, the slower the more likely to not eat LBM, but conversely, I find it harder to reliably maintain a steady low loss and keep weight training consistent, if thats your difficulty too, then 1lb/wk and back to bulk may be a better option.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    honestly, my advice is to pick which goal (retained strength vs cuts) is the most important to you right now and keep your eyes on the prize. you're on the right track for minimizing losses but at a certain point there is going to be some backsliding. when, where and how that backslide happens is will have something to do with your genetics as well as your programming. IMO too much trying to do all the things leads to sacrificing maximum efficiency.

    You've been on this cut for 6 months? How much longer do you have to go? And why is retaining the strength important to you? Besides the obvious reasons, of course. If you don't have a lifting event coming up, the strength you lose while deep into a cut will rapidly return when you're off the cut and hopefully into some sort of surplus.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    Well, I started out in the obese BF %, so its taken me this long to get to this point. I guess as long as I don't backslide too much, I would be okay with continuing the cut. The mirror I do have a problem with in small aspects and I've got genetics against me. My stomach is the one place resilient to lose body fat. Once that's decently lean, I would be happy enough to maybe a small bulk. I'm not sure. I'm completely lost with this. I care about what I see but I love seeing strength gains. You're right though, even at a slight loss of gains, if I can get low enough BF% for a decent bulk, it may be more beneficial than getting impatient ans trying to do too much at once
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Well, if you started off as obese congrats because your profile pic looks great. It sounds like you have a general handle on things so you could probably leave it to your best judgement without Overthinking it.

    One note: if you've been lifting hard and heavy throughout a 6+ month cut, at some point you may want to consider taking a break and eating at maintenance or a small surplus for a month or do and then starting the cut again.
  • PriceK01
    PriceK01 Posts: 834 Member
    How tall are you, and what do you figure your TDEE at? I ask because it looks like we have similar stats and calorie goals. The difference is 1900 is a slight surplus for me, whereas yours is a slight cut.

    You look really strong in your photo :)
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    Davpul- Thank you. I appreciate your knowledge. June 29th of this year I started with just the bar for lifts and now have a 1 RM of 90 lb bench, 140 Deads, 60 overhead press, 110 squat, 70 row. It has started getting really difficult to progress and I know part of that is just the nature of starting to reach the heavier side but another is the cut itself. I honestly wouldn't mind finding my maintenance. That might be fun. I had my second kid May 16th of this year at 188 lbs lol. I'm 127 lbs now, so things have changed!!

    PriceK01- I'm 5'5". Iifym.com has me at 1800ish and scoobyworkshop.com had me at around 1900 (if I cut back my cardio, those may be close but I don't know :P). And thank you! I've certainly gained quite a bit over these months. I love that lifting seems ever progressive.
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