I have a long training history of around 20 years. For the past few years I’ve been getting stuck in a loop where I gain weight for a while in a modest caloric surplus until I reach a point that I don’t like how I look. This tends to happen at around 190 pounds. I feel very strong at this weight and enjoy my training most at this weight. I then inevitably diet down to around 175lbs which is where I am currently, but my strength does suffer quite a bit it seems when I reach this lower body weight. I’m 5’10”. I understand that it’s a personal preference to be fluffier and stronger vs leaner and potentially weaker but I’m curious what your thoughts are on finding balance here to prevent this yo-yo effect. Should I stick to gaining slowly for a while and just not waffle or find a happy medium at like 180-185 that I can easily maintain and just not “bulk and cut?” I have sound programming and technique and iv had a BbM coach in the past. Strength training prioritizing sbd is my goal and what I enjoy. I’ve been much heavier and much stronger in the past being as hevmavy as 222lbs but had a waist of like 38 inches at that weight and decided to lower my bw for health reasons.
Recent 1rms
squat- 405
bench- 350
dl- 585
these we’re done at around 185lbs bw
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Hey JCalvin,
Thanks for the post. I think that bulk and cut cycles should aim to leave you heavier than you started after the cut, but with more lean body mass. Similarly, I think cuts shouldn’t really affect your strength significantly if the programming is appropriate. So, I think what I’m trying to say is that the processes and strategies you may be using may not be well-suited for you if these are the results. As far as how to specifically do each of these things, I think I can provide some general guidance:
- During a bulk, I would aim for a small energy surplus (a few hundred Calories) from carbohydrates and fat. I would plan on gaining weight slowly, meeting or exceeding the guidelines for conditioning, and watching waist measurement to make sure it’s not growing disproportionately to your BW.
- During a cut, I would aim for a small energy deficit from carbohydrates and fat, again losing weight slowly. I would not change strength programming provided it has been working for you and is appropriate. I think maintenance is unlikely to make you much bigger over time, but I’m not sure if that’s one of your goals. I suspect strength would likely increase over time on maintenance.
-Jordan
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JCalvin,
Take a step back and look at what you’ve accomplished.
You’re ~185 lbs and you DL 585 and you bench tree-fiddy. That’s ridiculous. That’s stronger than 99.99999% of the population, and 99.999% of the lifting population. I just made up those numbers and typed a bunch of 9s, but it’s probably close to accurate.
The fact that you cut and keep track of your bodyweight means you’re intrigued by looking leaner. I know the feeling, because I’m the exact same way. I simply can’t let myself get too far away from a lean state. I find that my strength does not suffer for this, over the course of time. It’s slow going, but that’s ok. I just have to be a little more meticulous with my overall training load and my recovery. I have to take the long view.
If I were you, I’d stay very close to a lean state, and be happy with my ridiculous lifting totals. And I say the word ‘ridiculous’ in the most positive tone.
You’re stronger than you’ll ever need to be, for any real-world task that you ever encounter. If your mom needs you to move a huge planter in her yard that weighs 200 lb, you can do it. If your neighbor needs help unloading a portable generator off his tailgate, you can do it by yourself with ease.
Life is about more than your SBD total. We’ve all been at that phase where our lifting numbers are everything in our lives. At some point, you have to, again, look at where you’re at and take some of the pressure off yourself.
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