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Making Increases when dieting AND a little video of inspiration

A question from yesterday:

1) This brings me back to my original question then, how to keep progressing when one is on a calorie deficiency? Put another way, won't it be difficult, if not downright impossible to progress when trying to cut body fat?

Sorry, I missed this two days ago. Yes, it can be hard to maintain strength while dieting down. If you start losing strength right away chances are you have dropped to many calories to quickly. That said, strength is neurological. If you have a solid program set up and your diet is properly planned, you should be fine as far as strength goes. When I used to diet, I would typically not lose much strength at all. What I would lose was some reps off of the weight I was handling since I had less energy. For example, if I could bench 255 for 10, after maybe 8 weeks of dieting I would get it for 8 reps. But, looking back i think I could have planned my program even better to avoid even that strength loss. You have to learn to manage your training volume and intensity when you are dieting. Some periods of low volume/high intensity work will serve you well while dieting, when mixed in with periods of slightly higher volume, more metabolic type work. Learn to set up your program in a way that has you lifting heavy after days when you intake higher amounts of calories, so that you can take advantage of the extra energy.


What is your excuse?

I have talked about it a lot. People have tons of excuses why they can't diet, why they don't have time to train, blah blah blah......Watch this video and let me know if you still have any excuses. This guy seems to have every opportunity to throw in the towel. He seems to have a perfect excuse to not do anything physical. But he doesn't. Instead, he works his butt off and is rewarded amazingly for it. If you make excuses for your poor health, you should be ashamed of yourself after watching this young man.

Just amazing!

Patrick

“If you start losing strength right away chances are you have dropped to many calories to quickly.”
“When I used to diet, I would typically not lose much strength at all. What I would lose was some reps off of the weight I was handling since I had less energy.”

Yes, you are right. I have NOT lost strength, but instead have experienced a loss of energy.




“For example, if I could bench 255 for 10, after maybe 8 weeks of dieting I would get it for 8 reps.”

Would be it better to drop the weights slightly to maintain the reps or would it be better to keep the same weight and drop the reps slightly? And why?




“But, looking back i think I could have planned my program even better to avoid even that strength loss. You have to learn to manage your training volume and intensity when you are dieting. Some periods of low volume/high intensity work will serve you well while dieting, when mixed in with periods of slightly higher volume, more metabolic type work.”

What you have described above is basically what I call the Zig Zag method and was asking you about the other day. Basically I drop my calories slightly on most days and do cardio and weights, but on maybe say every 8 ~ 10 days I up my calories and strive for progress in lifting weights, then I rest a day or two and go back to lower calories again.




“Learn to set up your program in a way that has you lifting heavy after days when you intake higher amounts of calories, so that you can take advantage of the extra energy.”

By this do you mean I have to up my calorie intake A DAY BEFORE I lift heavy? Because what I have been doing all this time is only up my calorie intake on the day of the heavy lift. Does the body really need that much time to “be prepared” ? Or am I thinking waaay too much into this? LOL


As for that video, all I can say is WOW. That kid rocks. Kudos to him, such fighting spirit. Awesome.

I would lower the reps and do more sets to achieve the same amount of volume without as much metabolic fatigue setting in.

Up the calories the day before the heavy lifting day so that you can be completely full of energy.

Good Canadian boy.

Thanks for the reply Patrick. I appreciate it. :)

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