# losing strength during cut



## over9cc (May 28, 2015)

i ****ed up.

been losing around 2p a week for the past 5 weeks and have seen alot of strength decrease. my bench is down around 30p for 5s.

my question is should i keep cutting and increase cals and try to lose 1p a week or should i take 2/3weeks off and go into maintenance to try and rebuild some strength. 

i need to be as lean/big as possible for a photo shoot mid july. 

my diet is pretty normal and don't get very hungry, my energy levels are fine which is why the drop in strength got me by surprise.

currently eating around 250c 180p and 50f which we could say is 1000c below maintenance i.e 2 pounds a week (these numbers are estimates) 
weight 178 at 11%. 

i train 4days a week full body push pull. first exercise includes 7x5x3 of the big 4 (squats on a pull day). 

im by no means a power lifter but a big believer in strength=size 

and im currently not doing any cardio
thanks


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## Azog (May 28, 2015)

Are you on any gear?


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## DF (May 28, 2015)

Pretty sure most will lose strength during a cut.


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## snake (May 28, 2015)

If the goal is to be be photo ready by July, I wouldn't worry too much about a little loss in strength but I think your past "A Little". Your protein is good so I'm not sure what gives there. It's not my field of work but maybe someone could tell you if your burning your protein up for fuel. At 11% BF, you shouldn't be having the loss in strength you are having. For most, the 8% mark is the death zone.


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## HDH (May 28, 2015)

During a show, bodybuilders are at their weakest but look their strongest  

If you drop slower, you won't look as lean.

H


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## Azog (May 28, 2015)

Losing 30lbs on bench is a bad sign. No one is gonna keep 100% of their strength if they peeled, but at 11% body fat you shouldn't be losing strength. Something is ****ed. Post your diet.


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## over9cc (May 28, 2015)

im cursing 250/test e a week. i thought about maybe coming down from a blast would cause the loss in strength but i haven't blasted for 5months so it cant be that.

i posted this thread cuz of the loss in strength so early. i would understand if i was 8% but this much of a loss at 11% makes me worried what il be like at 8. 

my diet is usually around 4 meals a day, 2 protein shakes with carbs- bananas,oats,OJ,low fat ice-cream, rice cakes. and 2 "bro" meals with rice or pasta as the carb and meat/chicken/fish as the protein with greens. then at night depending on the day il usually fill the remaining of my fats with olive oil if needed.


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## DocDePanda187123 (May 28, 2015)

Could just be accumulated fatigue from training while in a calorie deficit. A quick deload would help rule it out.


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## wabbitt (May 28, 2015)

When in doubt, up the tren!!


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## over9cc (May 28, 2015)

DocDePanda187123 said:


> Could just be accumulated fatigue from training while in a calorie deficit. A quick deload would help rule it out.



how do u suggest i deload while on a cut? should i bump calories? or just lower the weights and keep the deficit? 

and back to my first post. should i just lower the deficit to 1p a week or do a maintenance phase to try and rebuild strength for a few weeks?


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## MrRippedZilla (May 28, 2015)

Why are you doing strength type training (reps below 5) when cutting? 

To maintain muscle on a cut you need hypertrophy training because the best type of training to build muscle is also the best when it comes to maintaining it. 
Basically, the rep ranges your using are not going to do you any favours in this regard - stick to the typical 6-12 rep range and don't go any lower.

I also agree with Snake, the photoshoot is the main goal here so I don't think slowing down your fat loss at this point is a good idea. 
Revaluate your current training split, add some carb load days in here and there and stick the course.


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## DocDePanda187123 (May 28, 2015)

over9cc said:


> how do u suggest i deload while on a cut? should i bump calories? or just lower the weights and keep the deficit?
> 
> and back to my first post. should i just lower the deficit to 1p a week or do a maintenance phase to try and rebuild strength for a few weeks?



Take 10-20% off the weights of your working sets and cut the amount of sets in half or so. There's many other ways also this is just a quick simple one


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## MrRippedZilla (May 28, 2015)

over9cc said:


> how do u suggest i deload while on a cut? should i bump calories? or just lower the weights and keep the deficit?
> 
> and back to my first post. should i just lower the deficit to 1p a week or do a maintenance phase to try and rebuild strength for a few weeks?



Just to add a warning to this - deloading while still in a deficit will make any potential muscle loss worse.
When your already in a caloric deficit and you remove the tension stimulus from training, your pretty much asking for trouble.

If your going to deload then you need to bring calories back up to maintenance - I really want to emphasise that reducing intensity (weight on the bar) while still dieting is a really bad idea.


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## oceanwild (Jul 24, 2015)

if u working out too hard. should take some supplements like L-Carnitine It can Promote normal growth and development. trans the fat into energy.


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## Itburnstopee (Jul 24, 2015)

I honestly feel like 1000 cals is too low to preserve strength. What do I know I'm a beginner.


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## Cobra Strike (Jul 24, 2015)

Stop worrying about being as big as you can...nothing about 178lbs is big...and get off the scale. That is doing nothing but hurting you and is part of the reason your making this post. Also stop worrying about your strength....your in a cut...your going to lose strength...its normal. Im not sure if you started at 1000 cal deficiet or not but if so wouldnt start a cut at a 1000 cal deficiet. My goals in a cut is to retain muscle and burn fat not burn both. Im not saying its the worst thing ever but does explain your experience. 

I agree with mr. Zilla...switch to hypertrophy training. Realize though your going to have to drop a significant amount of weight to hit those reps.

And clean up that diet...ice cream? Oj? What is that? Stay away from sugar unless its taken at the right time. 

My advice to you is to ditch the ego and focus on your diet and training. If you want to see how your doing look in the mirror.


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## rburdge84 (Aug 3, 2015)

Anytime I have cut I will always lose strength, due to the calorie deficit. It's normal, but to help preserve as much muscle and strength I would advise to keep lifting heavy on your lift but not too much volume to where you can't recover. I think it's a mind thing, you can't expect to keep your same strength while your body is cutting. But that's just me and my experience and what I have had with clients. I'm at lost if it comes to gear


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