Gaining strength on a cut = ??

[Mysterion27]

Hope this is in the right section of the forum's I just have a quick question guys, I have started a cut (although i have little to cut to) but basically my aim is to reduce body fat until i have a good base to bulk up a little!!

Iam losing an average of 2lbs a week and over the last 5 weeks have seen a decrease in body fat

However, I realised today when squating that my 1 rep max was up 10kg , Obviously this has to be a good thing , wether its slow progress or not, I have got stronger over the last 5 weeks while shedding 2lbs a week , But does this mean iam building mass? Obviously if iam losing weight iam getting smaller not bigger but iam not sure if this strength gains on a cut mean iam building muscle?

I know of people who are strong but not big muscular guys, I also know guys who are strong and are heavy fat wise.... so in short, is it likely iam building muscle if my strength is going up ? I understand iam i can get bigger in a defecit but at the same time it seems hard to comprehend that someone could get stronger n stronger whilst not getting any muscle gains?

Just to add, I usually start with 1 warm up set of 10 , then 2 sets of 5 followed by 2 sets of 3 and one last set of 1 or more!

Strength wise it seems to be serving me well but i have no idea wether or not iam in fact putting on some muscle despite being in a defecit

Any thoughts?

[lee__d]

Certain conditions exist where one can put on lean mass when dieting:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...ng-fat-qa.html

As far as strength, most people cutting should be gaining a little strength, to a point at least (unless they're doing something extreme).

[Mysterion27]

Certain conditions exist where one can put on lean mass when dieting:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...ng-fat-qa.html

As far as strength, most people cutting should be gaining a little strength, to a point at least (unless they're doing something extreme).

The trouble is, I started lifting over a year ago but after a few months, i unfortunetly became idle for 6 months so iam now only 5 weeks back training but still consider myself a newb! I used to train in the 10 - 12 rep range but not my reps are lower, Iam not sure if my strength increasing over the past 5 weeks is because iam gaining some muscle (neb gains, muscle memory even) or if its a simple case of strength does NOT equal muscle and i will simply not add muscle until i eat in a surplus!! Its actually quiet confusing ha

Also , i was going to create a separate thread for this but figured i would post here instead, I have noticed i look smaller since beginning the cut and i suppose i do look better in the mirror , but at the same time , despite losing a decent amount of fat , iam still looking at myself going wow you still have a ton of fat In fact i look like i have no muscle and iam made of fat ha Thats why i would hope that my strength increase indicated muscle gain because if i was building muscle in a deficit , whilst losing body fat then obviously that would be great! But iam scared iam gonna end up a skinny twig if i cut to below 15% , Iam already around the 20 mark and feel iam getting skinny, and likewise if i bulk then although i may build some mass, iam gonna have this fat for a long ass time

[Mysterion27]

Bump

[Jass79]

Hope this is in the right section of the forum's I just have a quick question guys, I have started a cut (although i have little to cut to) but basically my aim is to reduce body fat until i have a good base to bulk up a little!!

Iam losing an average of 2lbs a week and over the last 5 weeks have seen a decrease in body fat

However, I realised today when squating that my 1 rep max was up 10kg , Obviously this has to be a good thing , wether its slow progress or not, I have got stronger over the last 5 weeks while shedding 2lbs a week , But does this mean iam building mass? Obviously if iam losing weight iam getting smaller not bigger but iam not sure if this strength gains on a cut mean iam building muscle?

I know of people who are strong but not big muscular guys, I also know guys who are strong and are heavy fat wise.... so in short, is it likely iam building muscle if my strength is going up ? I understand iam i can get bigger in a defecit but at the same time it seems hard to comprehend that someone could get stronger n stronger whilst not getting any muscle gains?

Just to add, I usually start with 1 warm up set of 10 , then 2 sets of 5 followed by 2 sets of 3 and one last set of 1 or more!

Strength wise it seems to be serving me well but i have no idea wether or not iam in fact putting on some muscle despite being in a defecit

Any thoughts?

You will see a lot more strength gains as a newbie even on a cut and maybe a little muscle also.

Keep at it and good luck

[LJ9]

I usualy maintain/loose strength on a cut. for some reason i make slight strength gains for my pulling exercises even on a cut. In ur case might just be newbie gains. just keep it up GL