Hello, just had a question regarding choosing my next program or potentially switching the program I’m currently using.
Just finished strength 3 for the third time in a row as I always see great progress after completing it.
4 weeks ago tested my maxes and got…
365 bench
560 squat
575 deadlift
These are much higher than 4 months ago so I’m pretty happy but my body weight/ bf percentage is alot higher than I want right now, currently 6ft 2in, 258lb ~25% bf.
The website recommended I run powerbuilding 2 on a caloric deficit but my concern is that by staying at the recommended rpe7 for most of the main lifts I will lose some of my strength, and found in the first couple weeks of running the program my strength tanked in the pressing movements but stayed for the most part in my lower body lifts.
Now I think that could be due to less water/glycogen in my muscles, changing leverages and coming off of a “peak” in my strength but I think the total decrease was about 10% of my previous working weights for bench and pressing overhead and this is off estimated 1RM.
Not just the switch from RPE8 to RPE7.
My question is should I go back to doing the more intense low volume style of training like that in strength 3 or the new strength 3 version 2.0, or should I stick this program out and maybe just adjust the volume and deal with the fact that ill just be weaker for a while?
Thanks you for any of your input!
You could certainly run Strength III (now in it’s second generation) while losing a bit of weight. Alternatively, if you wanted a change of pace in training, you could run powerbuilding II.
Unless you lost something like 10 pounds in 2 weeks, I don’t think your maximal strength changed much just from a 1-point drop in RPE. Rather, normal fluctuations in performance, different programming (and e1RM derivations), etc. are likely causal. I also do not think it’s advisable to maintain peak maximum 1RM strength year round, as this would compromise additional development to some level.
While I would not expect to be weaker for awhile going in, I also think that this outcome is fine during weight loss. Short-term changes in strength just don’t get me going much unless the drop is massive and/or there’s a competition coming up.
Me personally? I’d run the hypertrophy or bodybuilding template during the cut just to have a change of pace. If strength is of primary importance still and/or your preference, powerbuilding or hypertrophy templates would be my recommendation.
-Jordan
Thank you so much for the quick reply!
Now that you mention it in my first week or two I did lose around 10ish lbs after starting the cut so maybe my deficit was a bit too large to start but seems to have leveled out to around 1.5-1.8 lbs a week not that I’m 4 weeks in.
Will chalk it up to a big change in weight too fast and stick out the powerbuilding II template.
Thank you again!
Copy that. Potentially strange question, but…are you following a low carbohydrate diet?
Unintentionally I do think that the first couple weeks of my diet I was prioritizing protein intake way more than carbs or fats and may have been missing my goals for them by quote a bit…
I recently read “To be a Beast” again and tried lowering my protein slightly and really focusing on eating as much carbs as I can while still maintaining weight-loss and so far for just the couple weeks i’ve done it its helped somewhat.
Especially before a workout to try and give myself something to help me push through it.
Currently at
~280g carbs
~240g protein
~64g fat
This is roughly 2700-2800 calories a day depending on how close I get to those macros each day.
If you think I should make some adjustments I’d appreciate the input,
Thanks again!
Based on our Calorie and Macronutrient calculators that I developed, I’d be thinking 220/280/90 P/C/F aiming for ~ 2800-2850 Cal/d.
Just my 0.02