Age - 29
Height - 6ft
Weight - 234lbs
Body fat - not measured but I reckon at least 30-35%
Waist measurement - 44inches
Hi there - I’m currently running The Bridge, but after seeing photos of myself this weekend I’m sick of being fat so want to focus on fat loss. Could you offer some thoughts on the below proposed program? I intend to use my current 5@RPE8 weights, so this would be:
Mon:
Squats - work up to 4 or 5 sets of 5@120kg
Bench - work up to 4 sets of 5@100kg
Light cardio (e.g. 25-30 mins)
Weds:
Press - work up to 4 sets of 5@62.5kg
Barbell rows
Light cardio
Fri:
Deadlift - work up to 3 sets of 5@150kg
Light squats
Light cardio
Supplement the above with abs, or arms, or light cardio on my off days (whichever takes my fancy really).
Whilst I won’t be adding weight to the bar, my thought process is that I will be getting stronger in relation to my (hopefully) reducing bodyweight, and then when I’m in a position where I’m happy with my body fat, run SSLP again before moving on to a more intermediate program like the bridge.
Any thoughts on the above? Is this a reasonable approach? If so, would you recommend switching any of the days or lifts around? Is it sustainable with good diet etc? I’m hoping I can maintain this level of strength whilst losing weight, as I’m not super strong in relation to a lot of more slender people in the gym anyway.
I would continue running the Bridge and moderate your calories in order to lose weight. You can most certainly do this AND I would except you to add weight to the bar as well. It might not be weekly, but you should be getting stronger. And if you want to lose weight you should make 1-2 steady state cardio sessions a priority each week, not a variable.
Thanks for the reply Leah - much appreciated. To be clear, would cutting calories and increasing my steady state cardio still allow me to add weight to the bar? Part of my problem in the past is that I find it difficult to focus on more than one goal, i.e. if I focus on getting stronger, I tend to forego weightloss in favour of keeping calories the same, and if I focus on weightloss I tend to lose strength (admittedly I’ve probably been going about this wrong!)
I would like to do more cardio - I want to be in a position where walking up a few flights of stairs at work doesn’t get me out of breath etc - could I do 3-5 steady state cardio sessions whilst running the bridge and still gain strength?
Pat, someone on a cut can still add weight to the bar. At what rate this happens depends on so much, only. a small bit of this related to your diet. With goals like yours, you will do best with a more comprehensive, long-term plan, and while I know this sounds self-serving, I don’t intend it to be-you honestly sound like a prime candidate for some type of coaching. That outside input, guidance, and objective look at the plan AND your progress as you go would likely help you stay quite focused.
So reading between the lines, here, coach or not, you need to set some goals and stick with the plan, even there are a few weeks here or there that seem “off”. You can lose weight and NOT lose strength, many do. Food should not be so closely tied to the idea of training success here. However at you waist size and with the report that stairs leave you out of breath, I would most definitely make weight loss while training a high priority. I’d start here right away-keep doing the Bridge, then more to a hypertrophy template unless you get a coach. And right now, read the To Be a Beast article, and start working on your diet. You should be just fine with 2 steady state cardio sessions to start with, you don’t really need more, you need that and diet consistently. And then I’d encourage you to look for ways to be more active in your daily life-walk a bit more around town, take a stroll, take an easy bit ride for fun, that kind of thing.