Strength and Muscle Loss During Cutting

Philip Pape 0:01

If you're a dedicated lifter who's been hitting the gym hard , progressing your lifts and watching those numbers climb , and you're now gearing up for a cut to reveal all that hard-earned muscle , but you're worried about losing strength and size in the process , this episode is for you . Today , I'm going to break down the truth about strength and muscle loss during a cut . We'll explore what's really happening to your body when you enter a calorie deficit and why those numbers on the bar might be dropping , even if you're not losing much muscle . When you understand the science behind cutting , you can approach it with confidence , knowing how to preserve your gains while shedding fat . And the best part is that most of the strength loss you experience is temporary and easily regained once you return to maintenance calories . So if you've been hesitant to start a cut because you're afraid of losing your hard-earned progress , what I'm about to share will give you the knowledge you need to lean out effectively without sacrificing your long-term strength and muscle goals . Get ready to demystify the cutting process and learn how to get shredded while holding on to your gains . Welcome to Wits and Weights , the podcast that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart , efficient systems to achieve your dream physique .

Philip Pape 1:13

I'm your host , philip Pape , and today we are tackling a perennial question on the mind of every lifter who goes through a fat loss phase what really happens to your strength and muscle during a cut ? Now , this topic comes straight from one of my longtime clients and listeners , heather C , who was also on the podcast . Back in episode 51 , which I'll also link in the show notes , she wrote quote we all talk about the possibility of losing muscle when we're on a cut , but what about losing strength simply because you are losing mass ? Do we have any information on what to expect for that ? So , heather , this is a great question , because she is asking specifically about strength , which you will learn about today . But strength and muscle go hand in hand , so I've decided to address both , to give you the full picture and this is one of the most common concerns I've heard from clients and listeners , and today we are going to break it down and give you the real scoop on what's happening to your body during that cut .

Philip Pape 2:10

Now , before we dive in , I've got a quick favor to ask If you've ever gotten any value from this podcast and you haven't already . Please take a moment to leave us a five-star rating in the app you're using right now to listen to my voice and , if you're feeling generous , a brief review about what you've learned or how the show has helped you . It just takes a few seconds , but it makes a huge difference in helping us reach more people who could benefit from this information . Plus , it lets me know what content you find most valuable so I can keep delivering the goods . So go ahead , pause this episode for a moment and leave that rating and review and I'll be here when you get back .

Philip Pape 2:49

All right , let's get into it . So let's start by breaking down Heather's question into three key parts Number one , what happens to muscle during a cut . Number two , what happens to strength during a cut . And number three , how much of the strength loss is due to actual muscle loss versus other factors ? So first up , let's talk about muscle loss , because usually this is what people are concerned about and we do want to understand that , to also understand the strength . They go hand in hand .

Maintaining Strength During Fat Loss

Philip Pape 3:15

The reality is that when you are in a calorie deficit , your body is craving , it is looking for energy sources . It's like what are you doing to me ? Go out and eat , go out and sleep whatever energy it can get and it wants to hold onto the muscle because the muscle is metabolically expensive and it takes a lot of energy to maintain . But if you're not careful , your body's going to start breaking down some of that muscle tissue as fuel . So in other words , it's very interesting because once you've put on the muscle , it's not going to be lost as easy as you think . Right , it's not like it just falls off . Now . If you don't train , it will definitely atrophy , but that can happen even when you're not in a diet . So I'm going to assume that if you're listening to this , you know the importance of continuing to train , even when you're a cut . And once you've put on that expensive tissue , your body you know it kind of is in a new set point where it has that muscle but it needs the energy to maintain it . So there's definitely a fine balance there .

Philip Pape 4:13

When we're in a calorie deficit , the good news is that if your nutrition and training is more or less on point , with a lot of leeway , muscle loss during a cut is usually pretty minimal , even if you're going more aggressively on your cut than we've said is doable . According to the evidence , even when you go a little more aggressive than that , you're not going to really lose much muscle unless the aggressiveness is really high or the cut is really long or some other factors . So I would say generally , what I've seen with clients and what we've seen in the evidence is that at most okay , at most 10% of your muscle , maybe 5% . For most people it's 1% If you're going at a moderate fat loss phase of the loss is muscle . Now , that's of the amount being lost , not of your total muscle or of your body weight or anything like that .

Philip Pape 5:07

People who do not strength train , when they lose weight , they're losing a quarter to a half as muscle and oftentimes that's in a form of a crash diet , in which case they're accelerating the muscle loss even further . I have seen typical people following a proper nutrition plan and training lose almost negligible amounts of muscle , and if they lose a little bit more than that , it's usually the total lean mass . That also includes fluid , and then when they gain the weight back , the muscle , that lean mass comes right back . So very little of its muscle , just to assure you . And if you are a newer lifter or if you have a lot more body fat to lose , you might even gain some muscle while you cut . All right , so that's all I'm going to say about muscle today , cause I actually did want to make it more about strength . But the conclusion , the long story short there is train , eat your protein right , don't go too extreme , and you're probably going to hold on to most of your muscle . Some of you may even gain a little bit . It is not that big of a worry . If you're doing it the right way and if you track your numbers , you can kind of see what's happening .

Philip Pape 6:08

Okay , let's talk about strength , because this is really what I wanted to focus the episode on , and this is where things get interesting , because we don't talk about this a lot . You might notice your lifts start to stall or regress , you know , go down during a cut , even if you're not losing much muscle . So I often put it this way you start to lose strength before you lose muscle . From just a simplistic point of view , a very reductionist point of view , and there's a few factors at play for this . The first one is neural efficiency or neuromuscular adaptation . When you're in a calorie deficit , your body is just not as efficient at recruiting muscle fibers . You don't have the energy , and this can lead to a temporary reduction in strength , whether you call it real strength or perceived strength . You're just not as efficient even when you have the same amount of muscle mass . So just be aware of that . It's a temporary thing .

Philip Pape 7:08

The second factor is that your leverages change . Your leverage on certain lifts can change , especially in the big lifts that many of us are doing now . You know the power lifting lifts , the big lifts , bench press , squat , deadlift , press Well , the press less . So you might find that your technique may not give you the optimal output it normally does . And I was going to say your technique needs to change , needs to adjust as your body composition changes . It depends on how much it's changing . I would say this is somewhat of a natural process . You should always be working on your technique to the day you die , basically , and if things start to feel a little different , you'll know it if you're very in tune with it and you're listening to your body as you do that squat .

Philip Pape 7:50

The third factor here is the energy in general , like when you're eating less , you just have less fuel in the tank . You have less glycogen , you're eating fewer carbs , right , and this will impact your performance in the gym and it will especially impact it on the bigger lifts where strength is expressed and therefore you have technically less strength , less force production . And then , kind of related to this , the fourth factor is glycogen depletion , because when you're in a deficit , your body simply stores less glycogen overall in your muscle . Not only are you not able to restore it , you simply deplete a smaller amount , which also affects your strength and endurance during the workouts . Like you ever feel drained , right , you're during fat loss , you just feel a little more tired , a little more sluggish . Maybe you do get the lifts , but it's like you get wiped out more easily , which is part of the reason why we sometimes try to get creative during a fat loss phase and shift the calories a bit , shift the carbs a bit . You know , make sure that we are really fueled up for our workouts and not trying to train fasted , those kinds of things . So basically , to answer Heather's question directly yes , you can lose some strength simply by losing mass , even if you're not losing muscle . But most of this strength loss is temporary and then it can be regained quickly once you return to maintenance calories or a slight surplus .

Philip Pape 9:10

Now , one last thing that actually addresses what she already acknowledged is that because you're losing mass , your absolute strength declines . Right , you have less mass , less force production , less cross-sectional area , all of that . But ? But if your lifts merely stall out or even regress just a tiny bit , if you divide that load by your weight , you might find that your relative strength has maintained the same , has maintained or increased . Make sense , like so , your relative strength . If you want to know more about that , go listen to my podcast . It has the phrase scaling laws . It's one of the Wednesday podcasts I did not too long ago . I'm going to try to remember to include it in the show notes . It's about scaling laws and how relative strength is often more important than absolute strength and why that's important during fat loss .

Philip Pape 10:00

Now let's talk about what you can expect and how to minimize the strength loss . Okay , because as much as we can say , well , it happens . Great , I'm doing all the things . So what ? There are things we want to do . Okay . There's five things in particular I'm going to mention today . Number one training intensity . Maintain the training intensity . By intensity I mean the load on the bar . Keep lifting heavy .

Philip Pape 10:25

A lot of people think during fat loss , you need to switch to high reps and high volume , right , and burn a bunch of calories . No , no , no . This is one of the almost shocking revelations I had when I started lifting . You know , with compound lifts and for strength , I realized , and I learned from the best out there , that you know you might want to reduce volume and sets and reps , but you want to keep the weight on the bar pretty high . You know it doesn't have to be one arms or , or definitely not PRS , but it is going to be a decent percentage of your max to maintain that strength . Now can you do a bodybuilding type program and maintain strength ? Absolutely , okay , absolutely , you can . You can , as long as you're training hard and close to failure right , and you are progressing . You're still from your body's perspective , you're still recruiting significant amount of muscle mass and giving yourself the right signal . But I like to say keep lifting heavy , because a lot of people will go way to the extreme in the other direction .

Philip Pape 11:23

Okay , number two protein , protein , protein , protein . Whether you're a new listener or you've listened to my last 300 episodes , it can never be said too often that you have to eat sufficient protein If you're going to be lifting weights , if you want to build muscle , if you want to maintain muscle and just really have a great life . So we've got to eat protein , and I'm going to give you the range again it is 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of protein , per pound of body weight , per pound of target body weight , but just simplify it as up to 1 gram . Now you might have heard a lot of recent research or podcasters talk about how , in reality , you know something as low as 0.6, . 0.7 is probably enough for most people , and that's that's true . I like the stretch goal of one because a lot of people struggle to get enough in general and it kind of pushes you well past that minimum plus protein keeps you full . There's a lot of side reasons to have more protein , but it's not that you have to . Okay , get at least around 0.7 grams per pound and you're good . Hey , this is Philip and I hope you're enjoying this episode of Wits and

Optimizing Strength and Muscle Loss Strategy

Philip Pape 12:24

Weights .

Philip Pape 12:24

I started Wits and Weights to help ambitious individuals in their 30s , 40s and beyond who want to build muscle , lose fat and finally look like they lift . I've noticed that when people transform their physique , they not only look and feel better , but they also experience incredible changes in their health , confidence and overall quality of life . If you're listening to this podcast , I assume you want the same thing to build your ultimate physique and unlock your full potential , whether you're just starting out or looking to take your progress to the next level . That's why I created Wits and Weights Physique University , a semi-private group coaching experience designed to help you achieve your best physique ever . With a personalized , done-for-you nutrition plan , custom-designed courses , new workout programs each month , live coaching calls and a supportive community , you'll have access to everything you need to succeed . If you're ready to shatter your plateaus and transform your body and life , head over to witsandweightscom slash physique or click the link in the show notes to enroll today . Again , that's witsandweightscom slash physique . I can't wait to welcome you to the community and help you become the strongest , leanest and healthiest version of yourself . Now back to the show .

Philip Pape 13:41

Number three is you never want to cut too aggressively . If muscle loss is a concern , or at least do it for too long of a period , all right . The range we talk about is quarter to 1% of your body weight a week . The 1% is kind of the controversial one , because a bigger person with a higher metabolism has a lot of muscle . Who's lifted for years can probably handle 1.25% a week for a while , but after a while it will start to catch up with them . Somebody with a lower metabolism who maybe is an intermediate trainee not as much weight , not as much muscle . 1% is probably as much as they're going to push it before . It just tanks your performance , accelerates muscle loss . It's not sustainable , all of those things . So for most people when they're in a fat loss phase , I'm going to recommend a half to 0.75% of your body weight a week .

Philip Pape 14:38

Very simple . Push it to one if you want . And if you're in a special case or you're working with a coach , like if you're working with me and it makes sense to go more aggressive , which I've done many times with clients where everything is in control , everything is precise and you know , accounted for and go for it right . If it works , all right . Number four the fourth thing you can do here is reset your expectations , and this is based on the stuff I talked about earlier today , as well as that scaling laws episode . It is totally normal to get some reduction in your lifts when you get leaner and during fat loss . So both reasons , like being in fat loss but also being leaner , don't panic , it's normal .

Philip Pape 15:16

Focus on relative strength , right Strength in relation to your body weight instead of absolute numbers . And then the last thing here is recovery , recovery , recovery . When you're in a deficit , your recovery capacity is massively reduced and for those older folks like me we're in our 40s , 50s and beyond it's reduced even further . So you've got to get enough sleep , got to manage that stress . You've got to have the right frequency of your lifting sessions where you're not just overtraining or overreaching , not doing a ton of cardio where it doesn't make sense . Pay attention to recovery and listen to your body , all right . So the last thing I want to talk about here is something that might surprise you , and that is that if you do focus on maintaining absolute strength , like PRs during a cut , this can backfire . This can be very counterproductive in multiple , multiple ways , tied into many of the things we just talked about .

Philip Pape 16:10

So let's take a hypothetical dude named Mark . All right , mark's a big guy , he's pretty strong , he's a lifetime lifter and he's in his fifties . Okay , actually quite common for my clientele . The other part of my clients are women in peri-postmenopause . So two very common populations I work with . And he's pretty strong , he can bench press , you know , three plates , 315 . And he wants to stay there even during his . He psychs himself up , he loads the bar . He's really good at doing the thing , training hard , and so he grinds out these really ugly reps just to hit the number .

Philip Pape 16:53

Now , if you can't tell that , I'm speaking from personal experience , I am as well . Okay , and it's gotten me in trouble and I've seen it with other lifters who send me videos . I'm like dude , this is not what we mean by a max . I mean it is a true max , but not what we want during fat loss . And so he's trying to get a new PR , even while losing weight and being in a deficit . And I'm talking like arm shaking , bar tilting , the whole thing . And the problem is Mark is probably losing muscle by doing this . Why is that ? Because he's so focused on hitting a PR , he's neglecting his form and he's overreaching .

Philip Pape 17:31

And when you overreach like that , not only are you putting a lot of stress on your tendons , your connective tissue , especially for an older person , but you're doing it in a state of poor recovery , low glycogen . This is going to smash your recovery . It's going to give you a high level of fatigue that is far beyond the trade-off we want for the recovery and the growth you get out of it , because you're actually not going to get growth . You don't have the recovery capacity . You also increase your injury risk , especially for shoulders on the bench , all right at that level , especially when you see all the shaking going on and that is going to stall your progress , because now you're going to regress , probably , or you might get injured I'm not going to say you're going to get injured , but you're going to feel it and you might then experience muscle loss because the totality of your progress during the phase is not there , like it would be if you had taken a just slightly more intelligent , moderate approach . That's still training hard and pushing , and so I would recommend , in this case , using an auto-regulated style of training program .

Philip Pape 18:34

Okay , now I'm speaking to all of you who love pushing PRs . I'm not speaking to those who are already doing physique type programs , which lend themselves very well to a fat loss phase by default . I'm speaking for people who are more strength focused or power building and they're pushing for one rep maxes or pushing for PRs . With an auto-regulated program , you can push for your max relative to today and your capacity , but not to your all time right , because this relative strength is the important thing . Your absolute strength might be dropping , you're losing body mass . You're a different person with different amount of energy coming in and you want to recalibrate to how much you can lift in relation to your new , leaner body weight and lower energy capacity .

Philip Pape 19:22

So if you can auto-regulate , if you can do a program that has rep ranges , for example , or a session-based RPE or 1RM , not an all-time-based or a cycle-based 1RM , just whatever you can hit today and you don't overreach , the 1RM is achievable and feels like , if you guys know RPE , it feels like an eight or nine RPE and not a nine and a half or 10 RPE . Then your absolute strength probably is not going to decrease not very much at all , and your relative strength might actually improve . And then when you go back to maintenance calories , you're going to quickly surpass those old numbers . I see it time and again this bounce back where , like you did a really good job being intelligent during fat loss , and then when you're done and you come back , like the numbers come back quickly and then they start to grow even further . It's pretty incredible . So the lesson here don't let your ego dictate your training during a cut or really ever focus on quality reps . Listen to your body , trust the process , the process . If you're not sure what the process is reach out to me , we can go over the process for you and if you do that , your muscles and your joints , us older folks come on . A lot of you are listening . I know they're going to thank you for it . They're going to thank you for it and you're going to maintain your strength and your muscle and your connective tissue , health and your sanity All right .

Philip Pape 20:46

As we wrap up , let's recap the key points for you guys . Number one muscle loss during a cut is minimized with proper nutrition that's protein , and training that's training hard . Whatever your program is training hard , keep the intensity up . Number two strength loss during a cut is more often about the neuroefficiency , the change in your leverage , the low energy availability , than actual muscle loss . Number three most strength loss during a cut is temporary and you're going to regain it very quickly . Number four focus on keeping the intensity high , the bar , the weight on the bar high , prioritizing your protein that needs to be high during a fat loss phase and then managing recovery . And then , number five , don't obsess over numbers . Look at the relative strength you have , which , granted , can be reduced to a number still if you'd like to go that route , but think of it in terms of form and pushing and training hard and progressing rather than ego lifting .

Philip Pape 21:42

All right , cutting is temporary . Remember , we're not supposed to be cutting for years and years and years . You cut for a few weeks , you know . You cut for maybe 8 , 12 , 16 weeks , maybe a little longer , the first time you do it and your goal is to preserve as much muscle and strength as possible . Why so that what you lose is fat and not muscle . That's it .

Philip Pape 22:03

Let the other 95 plus percent of people out in the world who don't have a clue what they're doing or , more correctly , they might , but they're not willing to put in the work like you are , okay , or they haven't found this podcast , or they haven't , you know . Send them here , share the podcast so they understand the importance of body composition and not just scale weight . We're trying to just lose fat , right , and so when you're in a cut , you're not trying to set PRs . That's not the goal , right ? That's what your building phases are for , okay . So I get passionate about this stuff , heather and everyone else out there who are worried about losing gains during a cut . You are good . You have a smart training and nutrition approach . Like we discussed on this show , you can absolutely get lean while holding onto your hard-earned muscle and strength . Focus on the things that do get better . For example , you might be able to do more pull-ups because you're lighter . Just think about it . And when you transition back to maintenance or even a building phase , then you'll be primed in a fantastic way to push those numbers even higher . All right , that's it for today .

Philip Pape 23:00

If you found value in the episode , I do have one last request . Just stick around for a second . I really hope that you would take a moment to leave a rating and review for the show , even if it's just a rating . Your feedback does help others find the podcast , but I think , more importantly , for your benefit , it helps me create content that serves your needs . When I see a review hopefully a five-star review , although lower stars will still give me feedback , but I hope it's a five-star review and you're specific as to how it helped you , or even the things that you wish to hear more of .

Building a Lifting Community

Philip Pape 23:31

I listen to that , I look at those and I come up with topics based around those . So , whether it's on Apple , spotify , wherever you're listening , take a few seconds to leave that five-star rating and maybe a quick comment about what you've learned today , and that would mean the world to me . It would help us continue to grow this community of smart , efficient lifters . All right . Until next time , keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember a temporary dip in those numbers does not always mean you're losing progress . It's all part of the process and the journey to your best physique . This is Philip Pape and you've been listening to Wits and Weights . I'll talk to you next time .