Can I realistically cut 1.5 lbs a week and retain my strength/lifts?

dickpelkie
dickpelkie Posts: 2 Member
edited November 23 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all,



I am a 5'8" male, 187 lbs. When I first started last october I was 230 lbs and lost 60 lbs through bodyweight exercises and cardio. In the past 5 months I've bulked from 170 to 187, and in the past 3 months I started getting serious about barbell lifts and HIIT training.


My 1RMs are:
OHP: 135
Squat: 245
Deadlifts: 310
Bench: 185


My goal is to get down to about 170/165 while retaining my strength. Is this realistic at a loss of 1.5 lbs a week? My lifting schedule is:
Monday:squat, OHP
Tuesday: deadlifts
Wednesday:squat
Thursday: deadlifts
Friday:squat, bench


And I do HIIT after lifting. On weekends I will hike or some other LISS exercise. If I hit my macros do yo think I can retain my gains? Could I even improve since I'm still pretty new at lifting? What're your experiences?

Replies

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Depends on how long this deficit and cutting weight is going to last
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,689 Member
    So long as you keep your protein way up, you could get away with it. I increased my strength while losing .5-1 #/wk.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
    Mine went down after a while but now it's going back up some. 3 months into a cal deficit. I attribute it to better neuromuscular adaptation.
  • Giolis
    Giolis Posts: 1,204 Member
    It's possible but at such a fast weight loss you could loose a good portion of muscle too. You should notice pretty fast since any muscle loss will affect your lifts. You can slow down the weight loss if your lifts are going down too fast. Everyone is different so you have to pay attention to your body and might have to change up your routine - less reps and sets to keep the weight heavy. The reduced calories could affect how much energy you have and your recovery time so you kind of have to figure out if it's an energy issue a muscle loss issue or a combination.

    Play around with the rate of loss. The good part is that nothing is permanent.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    edited August 2015
    Easily. At this stage of the game for you, you could even get a little stronger while cutting.

    You may want to look at your lifting program though. Squatting 3x a week and deadlifting 2x a week is going to kill you (unless some of those days are light work or speed work or something)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited August 2015
    Why so fast?

    Also why only one lift per session? Have you thought about following a programme like stronglifts or starting strength
  • KittensMaster
    KittensMaster Posts: 748 Member
    Till you get close
    To ideal weight

    I have had to take a 2 week split to fat loss or muscle build since I am single digit pounds of fat to lose

    It is easier to focus on a slight overage of calories and work hard

    Then two weeks at 1 lb loss level of calories with a good bit of instense level cardio to burn some calories
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    So you dropped 60 pounds from October to March and then gained 17 pounds from March to August. And your question is about strength correct?
  • ryanflebbe
    ryanflebbe Posts: 188 Member
    What is your set and rep scheme for each day? Are the big lifts all you do each day? You may lose a little muscle, but you can probably maintain strength. There's only one way to know.
  • ovidnine
    ovidnine Posts: 314 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Why so fast?

    Also why only one lift per session? Have you thought about following a programme like stronglifts or starting strength

    These questions.

    You can probably do it, but if you aimed for say .5lbs a week you definitely could and probably continue to get stronger.

    I'm really confused by the one lift a day thing and would also highly suggest a program like stronglifts, or The Journey (by Greg Nuckols of strengtheory).
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,989 Member
    Dependent from person to person. In most cases I'm seen, a little strength loss accompanies weight loss for people who bulked then cut.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • foursirius
    foursirius Posts: 321 Member
    With being new to lifting I'd anticipate you'll still gain some strength even at a deficit.
  • dickpelkie
    dickpelkie Posts: 2 Member
    ovidnine wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Why so fast?

    Also why only one lift per session? Have you thought about following a programme like stronglifts or starting strength

    These questions.

    You can probably do it, but if you aimed for say .5lbs a week you definitely could and probably continue to get stronger.

    I'm really confused by the one lift a day thing and would also highly suggest a program like stronglifts, or The Journey (by Greg Nuckols of strengtheory).

    Thanks for the reply everyone.



    To answer questions:


    My lifts are either 3 or 4 sets x5reps or I'll work up to my 1rm. It depends on how I feel. I understand this may be suboptimal.



    After my lifts I do conditioning work. This is usually a crossfit WOD.


    Are you saying that trying to cut 1.5 lbs is too fast? I'll look it it. I did feel low energy after reducing my calories by about 500/day from my normal amount.


    To simplify, I lost 60 lbs from Oct '14 to April '15. (230 to 170) I kind of stalled in may and started taking lifting seriously in mid June. I had never done barbell work before June 16th or so. I was about 175 when I started. I probably bulked too fast but I was feeling great and making a lot of progress in a short amount of time. (I had decent conditioning from doing tons of cardio and bodyweight circuit training when I was focused on weight loss)


    My goal weight is about 165/170, while still being able to hit these lifts. I feel fine squatting 3x a week. On the days I don't feel great I will do dynamic effort. Could the program be improved?
  • ovidnine
    ovidnine Posts: 314 Member
    Ahh, ok, so you're doing crossfit stuff too. I don't really know anything about it at all so I can't really comment one way or another.

    As others have said, you won't really know if its too much until you give it a shot.

    If you do lose some muscle, you'll be at your weight goal faster and can focus on building strength again.

    Alternatively, if you go slower, it'll take longer to get there, but you probably won't lose any strength.

    For myself I take the slower route because I discovered if try and lose to fast I get miserable, then I binge eat and ruin it anyway. lol That's me though, you probably have actual discipline.

    Good luck on your cut and I'm sure you'll do great whatever route you take.

  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    Why are you in such a hurry? Dropping that much a week would require a deficit of 750cals a day or so. If you're that low it's a good chance you'll lose muscle mass aswell, why not take your time, burn .5-1lb a week and take your time while retaining strength and as much LBM as possible. And don't go by your weight, go by what you see in the mirror. Scales just show weight loss/gains, mirrors show fat/muscle gains and losses.
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