I'm cutting and gaining strength

[alec935]

Been cutting fairly aggressively for almost a week now and although I'm pretty sore everyday, my strength is still going up. My bench and row went up a few lbs, my shrug a bit more

Unless it's just neural adaptations then I'm pretty sure I'm still gaining muscle in a >500 deficit. Just wanted to comment on this because I see a lot of "eat big to get big" and "it's impossible to gain muscle in a deficit" posts.

I think you guys that can only gain in a surplus are simply more advanced lifters than most people.

[EliKoehn]

Been cutting fairly aggressively for almost a week now and although I'm pretty sore everyday, my strength is still going up. My bench and row went up a few lbs, my shrug a bit more

Unless it's just neural adaptations then I'm pretty sure I'm still gaining muscle in a >500 deficit. Just wanted to comment on this because I see a lot of "eat big to get big" and "it's impossible to gain muscle in a deficit" posts.

I think you guys that can only gain in a surplus are simply more advanced lifters than most people.

Nice job.

Have you also changed your training approach in a way that would significantly affect this, like forgoing high volume sessions?

[snailsrus]

How new to lifting are you? Also, don’t recommend trying to pr twice a week when cutting and a better judgement is to see where your strengths is once you’ve lost some body fat and still are cutting. A week is also not a very good measurement of time amount to judge if strength has changed

[alec935]

Nice job.

Have you also changed your training approach in a way that would significantly affect this, like forgoing high volume sessions?

Not intentionally, but I find that I do tend burn out more quickly, even if my strength is there on the first few sets.

How new to lifting are you? Also, don’t recommend trying to pr twice a week when cutting and a better judgement is to see were your strengths at once you’ve lost some body fat and still are cutting. A week is also not a very good measurement of time amount to judge if strength has changed

Pretty new. Technically I've been lifting for over a year but much of that was garbage which I wouldn't consider lifting (rarely going to the gym, barely eating any protein).
My "PRs" are in a 6-12 rep range, not 1RMs (not sure if strength was the right word). I usually make progress on at least one of my lifts weekly, that's why I'm judging based on a short timeframe

[EliKoehn]

Well in that case, you should expect to see considerable progress as a beginner anyway, even if you're eating at a deficit. You'll have "newbie gains" where you'll see consistently forthcoming improvement for the another year or so most likely, if you remain dedicated and train seriously.

[Strawng]

Well in that case, you should expect to see considerable progress as a beginner anyway, even if you're eating at a deficit. You'll have "newbie gains" where you'll see consistently forthcoming improvement for the another year or so most likely, if you remain dedicated and train seriously.

This. Enjoy it while it lasts, OP. I think some of the best advice out there for 90% of the population is to "eat to performance". That is, increase your calories only as much as you need to make progress on your lifts. Making progress at maintenance or even in a deficit? Great. Only add calories if you stall out on adding weight to the bar. A lot of newbies have no business bulking when they can gain muscle by maintaining or cutting, especially if they're not lean.

[xsquid99]

A lot of newbies have no business bulking when they can gain muscle by maintaining or cutting, especially if they're not lean.

This x1000. Pains me to consistently see new lifters on here well over 20% bodyfat who think they need to bulk to build muscle.

[AdamWW]

If your profile is accurate... why are you cutting at 6-2 and 168lb?

You also look very lean already... am I missing something?

[cmacken]

Been cutting fairly aggressively for almost a week now and although I'm pretty sore everyday, my strength is still going up. My bench and row went up a few lbs, my shrug a bit more

Unless it's just neural adaptations then I'm pretty sure I'm still gaining muscle in a >500 deficit. Just wanted to comment on this because I see a lot of "eat big to get big" and "it's impossible to gain muscle in a deficit" posts.

I think you guys that can only gain in a surplus are simply more advanced lifters than most people.

Like most things in life, probably takes more than a week before you can make sweeping generalizations...

[mckajdos]

...I think some of the best advice out there for 90% of the population is to "eat to performance". That is, increase your calories only as much as you need to make progress on your lifts. Making progress at maintenance or even in a deficit? Great. Only add calories if you stall out on adding weight to the bar. A lot of newbies have no business bulking when they can gain muscle by maintaining or cutting, especially if they're not lean.

+1. This creates a good information feedback system that helps guide your diet planning.

[Tommy W.]

Don’t confuse strength gain with all muscle gain. It’s usually CNS adaption especially in a deficit.

[Mrpb]

If you've been lifting seriously for more than a year then it's highly unlikely you'll see strength gains coming from CNS adaptations.

However, it's only been one week. You won't gain significant muscle in 1 week.

I think some of the best advice out there for 90% of the population is to "eat to performance". That is, increase your calories only as much as you need to make progress on your lifts. Making progress at maintenance or even in a deficit? Great. Only add calories if you stall out on adding weight to the bar. A lot of newbies have no business bulking when they can gain muscle by maintaining or cutting, especially if they're not lean.

Good advice ^^^.

[Nicksosure1]

Honestly though, a lot of people could go on a ~500 calorie deficit for ONE WEEK and continue to progress in their program, or at the very least, maintain the progress they’ve had thus far. Although some have pointed it out, I think a lot of people may have missed that part of the post. We’ll see how we’re doing a couple more weeks in...

[anthonynathan]

Maybe you were overeating before with crappy food , one week it's a small period of time for the body to change the hormonal composition. If you cut the wrong food and maintain the good one, you will keep improving if your calorie intake is positive for your body needs.