62 year old master lifter here currently in a weight loss phase. I had balooned as high as 249 at a height of 5’-6". When younger, I lifted at a bodyweight of 205-211 and am trying to return to that weight and stabilize. The motivation for the weight loss is health related - BP is ok, triglycerides are ok, but A1c is rising to just over the Type 2 threshold (I also have familial renal glycosuria). plus I’m not happy abou walking around with a 43 inch waist. So, I have lost 10 lbs in the last 6 weeks so off to a decent start.
Now, my question is: I have read in numerous sources that when cutting, intensity needs to rise and volume needs to be reduced. What are your thoughts about this and is there any research related to this issue?
Great job initiating that weight loss so far; it sounds like you’re making a wise decision here.
I have read in numerous sources that when cutting, intensity needs to rise and volume needs to be reduced.
This is not a reliable/generalizable claim for all trainees. As with most things, there is a high degree of individual variability in training response that can’t be predicted, such that some degree of experimentation is required. However, the caveat here is to ask the question: what is the goal of training during this weight loss period?
For someone whose goal is to maintain absolute maximum strength above all else, then a degree of exposure to higher intensities will likely need to be maintained, although the dosage of volume will need to be individualized based on tolerance and training response.
If the goal is primarily *health-*focused, then we’d probably make a stronger argument for training volume being the main variable that is maintained at higher levels, since most health-related outcomes are more strongly impacted by overall training volume, almost independent of training intensity.
is there any research related to this issue?
There is some; I believe we have discussed some of it on our previous research reviews, but it is difficult to recall those for citation directly. Our friends at Stronger by Science have discussed a few papers on this topic, although not necessarily focused on health outcomes (here, here).
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Thanks. I thought that would make sense. I’m currently using less stressful variations of the lifts (SSB to a box, CG Bench, Incline, RDL, Sumo off blocks etc.) and trying to exercise restraint to not exceed an RPE of 7 and slowly titrating volume upward in 6 week blocks.