Need help with a strength routine while on a diet!

[bird901]

Just like it says. I need advice putting a strength routine together while I'm on my diet. I did a Westside routine for a couple months before I started my diet and I really didn't care for it. Ive been doing bodybuilding type splits for a couple a years and I couldnt get used to the Westside stuff. I really want to start focusing more on strength, but Im trying to get in better shape. Hence the diet. I read about alot of routines, but I want some advice on a routine from people that have experience with it while dieting. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[bird901]

Nobody does a strength style routine while cutting?

 

[CoBra666]

guess not. im kind of starting my own thing like that now. doing 5x5 routine. cardio the 4 days a week i dont lift for an hour. kickboxing 3 times every other week. ( i work out of town 7 days at a time then get 7 off) gonna aim for less than 50 grams of carbs per day. probably with forged burner and need2slin. lift fresh and use stims to get thru cardio.. or maybe stims for it all depending on how lethargic i get. a dose of n2kts will be my life line for energy

 

[bird901]

Good luck with that, I crash with carbs that low. I found a routine I kinda like. It hits upper body twice and lower twice, mixing low and some high rep stuff. Lower volume. I just don't want to overtrain. I always end up doing that after a couple weeks and I crash.

 

[CoBra666]

yeh dude. i dont know how it will go. just gonna wing it and see how my body reacts. stim it until im wiped i guess and start over

 

[_cato_]

Most important thing when cutting is doing high intensity work. High intensity work will preserve muscle even when volume and/or frequency is significantly reduced. So choose a program that has you doing lowish rep stuff at least once per week.

 

[bird901]

I always keep my workouts intense. If I can't give it my all. I leave the gym and will give it another shot the next day. If I'm not balls to the wall, I don't feel like I'm doing anything. I like working out. Not hanging out. Been doing HIIT for 20 to 30 mins every other day. I was doing 45min low intensity 5-6 days a week in the morning, but my knee started killing me. Since I start HIIT my weight has stayed the same for a week and a half.

 

[SouthernLord]

I like to train total body using compound lifts and strength circuits.

Basically I train three non consecutive days per week with an upper push, an upper pull, and a lower body exercise each day. Depending on my energy I'll add some assistance and/or bodyweight work at the end of each session. Each day has a different rep range for the main three lifts and I typically use straight sets after a warm up.

Here's my current split for an idea.

Day 1 5x5
A weighted dip
B pendlay row
C front squat

Day 2 5x10
A incline DB press
B DB row
C DB reverse lunge

Day 3 8x3
A weighted chin up
B standing BB press
C deadlift

The key is to make the rest periods between each exercise short. Do exercise A, rest 45 seconds to a minute, then do exercise B, and on and on until you finish all the sets.

Strive to add 5-10 pounds per week to each exercise and complete all the reps each session. After four to six weeks or when progress stalls swap out exercises.

The volume is low and this doesn't look like much, but training at a high percentage of your 1RM with the short rest periods will kick your ass. Day two with the 5x10 and short rest periods is absolutely brutal.

Run sprints, push/pull sleds, and do strongman finishers after the main lifts if you need additional conditioning.

 

[red head]

imo and experience i would not swap routines when i change from surplus of cals to a deficit . ive always kept my training the same and just trained the same as if i was trying to gain . this works for me and now i never lose strength when dieting although i diet slow (maybe half a pound a week) , im 44 now so its easy to lose muscle with an aggressive large cal defecit approach to dieting .

 

[_cato_]

I always keep my workouts intense. If I can't give it my all. I leave the gym and will give it another shot the next day. If I'm not balls to the wall, I don't feel like I'm doing anything. I like working out. Not hanging out. Been doing HIIT for 20 to 30 mins every other day. I was doing 45min low intensity 5-6 days a week in the morning, but my knee started killing me. Since I start HIIT my weight has stayed the same for a week and a half.

Just to clarify, when I say "high intensity," I don't mean it in the sense of working hard or the workout being intense. I mean using weight which is a high percentage of your 1-Rep Max. The routine SL posted above is a good routine to use while cutting because it has high intensity work in the low rep ranges (5x5 and 8x3). In addition, he is using all compound movements and completing them in circuit fashion with relatively small rest periods, which means that it'll keep the heart rate up throughout the workout--an added benefit when trying to cut.

Also, don't base things just on your weight. It's possible the HIIT or the HIIT combined with the rest of your workouts has caused you to gain some LBM in your lower body. This would offset any fat loss you may have had. If, however, you prefer the lower intensity cardio, or think it works better for you, you might try something aside from running which might be easier on your knees. For example, cycling of some kind.