Losing muscle strength while on a cutting diet is common, but it is not unavoidable. Because weight loss inevitably involves the loss of both fat and muscle, you cannot expect to make any gains during your cutting phase, and you can expect your lean mass to decrease slightly as well.
Losing strength during a cut is common. But it's not something affecting everyone to the same degree. While some people lose strength when cutting, others will end up getting stronger.
The main reason for the reduction in strength is energy. You'll be eating less food and less carbs. That means your glycogen levels will be lower then in a bulking diet. You'll be in a calorie deficit so your body won't be getting the fuel you're used to.
Furthermore, the longer the cut, the more muscle mass is lost overall since it is impossible to avoid muscle loss, so keep this in mind. Most bodybuilders do not exceed cuts of 4 months but usually do at least 2 months.
So, to summarize: if you are just starting out with training, then you can very likely increase your strength while cutting. The more advanced you are, the more difficult this becomes, and at a sufficiently advanced stage, just maintaining your strength while losing weight should be your goal.
Having the right mix of carbs and protein while you are training can keep your strength secure even when you're dieting or cutting weight. It is quite simple: having a steady stream of nutrition, especially fast-acting carbs and protein, will prevent catabolism and let you perform in the same level you're used to.
A cutting diet lasts 2–4 months, depending on how lean you are before dieting, and is normally timed around bodybuilding competitions, athletic events, or occasions like holidays ( 4 ).
Summing It Up
It's pretty simple. If you're lean enough to bulk (10-15% body fat or less for a man, or 18-23% or less for a woman), you should probably bulk first. If you're above these ranges, you should cut first. And if you're a beginner who's somewhere in the middle, you should recomp.
Once you reach a body fat percent of 15% for men or 25% for women, that's when you'll want to start the cut. With a calorie deficit and ensuing weight loss, you'll start losing that fat gain you've put on over the winter months.
Adding cardio into a cutting phase is not necessary, however, it can help in that it burns additional calories. In some instances, burning 200 calories more a day may be easier than eating 200 calories less per day. That is ultimately up to the individual.
You'll probably lose 15% of your mass if you do an aggressive cut more if you do it for a longer window. The idea is to grow more muscle than you need in hypertrophy and strength training so you have some to spare.
The best gains of an entire year often come in the first few weeks after a cutting phase, making that period of time ideal for growth. In fact, you can easily add substantial amounts of real muscle mass in just six short weeks.
Like HIIT, frequency should be about 3-4 times per week. You might be able to do more if you decide not to lift weights but if you are lifting keep it to 3-4 times per week. It also depends on your fitness. If you're really out of shape then keep it at 3 times per week.
You've gained muscle.
And here's an often overlooked fact: Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue. So as you gain more muscle and lose fat, you change your overall body composition, which can result in a higher weight, but a smaller figure and better health.
As long as you're using an appropriate volume and intensity in your workouts and maintaining a moderate calorie deficit, you probably won't have any trouble recovering from your workouts, and thus don't need to change anything while cutting. In fact, you may even be able to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.
Training with higher reps can help you get ripped as higher rep training allows you to achieve higher volumes by increasing the amount of reps you perform, which can increase your overall workload. So, do high reps help you get ripped? Yes, but getting ripped with weights is not exclusive to higher rep training.
If your main goal right now is to add more size, build muscle, gain strength, and set PR's in the gym, then a gaining phase is probably the best option as long as your current body fat % is around 10-15%. But if it's closer to 20% or above that, then start with a cut.
However, most people who start dieting by cutting out a certain amount of calories each day will see results within one to two weeks, even if it's just one pound lost.
Muscle is denser than fat, and as it is more compact within your body, as you gain muscle mass, you end up looking thinner, no matter your physical weight. So, if you've been doing a lot of strength training lately, it's likely this is the reason that you're looking fantastic but not dropping those numbers.
If you want to gain muscle and strength as quickly as possible and you're at or below 10% (men) or 20% (women) body fat, then you should bulk. And if you want to lose fat as quickly as possible and you're at or above 15% (men) or 25% (women) body fat, then you should cut.
The cut off should be around 15-20% body fat for men and around 25-30% for females, wherein anyone who is above these body fat percentages should most likely start with a cut.