Just a thought about fat loss...

[Mike Zero]

This has probably been overdone before, but low reps for fat loss?

I understand a lot of people swear by them, but I've never understood why. When we train with low reps, ala, when we train for strength, we get more efficient at using our muscle fibres. But for high rep training you generally (and I say generally) need a calorie surplus to put on size. Assuming muscle is maintained during a cut, if we were to train for strength through this time it is possible to get stronger, right? As in become more efficient at using our muscles?

A downside is that the work done for low reps is usually less, so less energy is burned (but that's what cardio is for ). But an upside is more strength leads to more hypertrophy (the size one) in the long run, as a stronger person will be able to do more reps of a bigger weight.

Is this right? Or have I gone wrong somewhere?

[2guns]

burning fat is all about diet and supplements has nothing to do with high or low reps in my opinion. just train to failure and either way youl keep your muscle

[Mike Zero]

Sorry I probably wasn't clear: Can you still make good strength gains on a calorie deficit with a low reps?

[Marcus]

I think it depends on how low you drop your calories. If your diet starts affecting your energy then obviously your strength may suffer.

[poos_n_wees]

I understand a lot of people swear by them, but I've never understood why. When we train with low reps, ala, when we train for strength, we get more efficient at using our muscle fibres. But for high rep training you generally (and I say generally) need a calorie surplus to put on size. Assuming muscle is maintained during a cut, if we were to train for strength through this time it is possible to get stronger, right? As in become more efficient at using our muscles?

A downside is that the work done for low reps is usually less, so less energy is burned (but that's what cardio is for ). But an upside is more strength leads to more hypertrophy (the size one) in the long run, as a stronger person will be able to do more reps of a bigger weight.

I'd agree that it is possible to get stronger, but it would be a bonus rather than the goal (where your goal during a deficit is to hold onto what muscle you already have by trying to maintain strength at the very least).

If I was to diet, I'd always try to lift as heavy as I can, but reduce the overall volume (which would end up being low reps in the 3x3 range etc, for the bigger movements ) and I'd let my diet/cardio take care of fat loss :grin:

[Dumbelldog]

Sorry I probably wasn't clear: Can you still make good strength gains on a calorie deficit with a low reps?

With the operative word being "Good" na I dought it, especially if you are an advanced athlete.

[waldo]

Sorry I probably wasn't clear: Can you still make good strength gains on a calorie deficit with a low reps?

With the operative word being "Good" na I dought it, especially if you are an advanced athlete.

Dan Duchaine had people getting stronger and bigger on the BodyOpus diet, an extreme sort of ketogenic arrangement.

Olympic lifters maintain strength when making weight classes. I'd say it can be done.

[Dumbelldog]

Sorry I probably wasn't clear: Can you still make good strength gains on a calorie deficit with a low reps?

With the operative word being "Good" na I dought it, especially if you are an advanced athlete.

Dan Duchaine had people getting stronger and bigger on the BodyOpus diet, an extreme sort of ketogenic arrangement.

Olympic lifters maintain strength when making weight classes. I'd say it can be done.

I'm almost going to contridict my self here but in the past the first few weeks of a competition diet the change in eating has given me a strength boost as well as other bodybuilders that I know of, but that usually fades over the period to the point where it is a struggle to just maintain strength.

I assume that the BodyOpus Diet is for untrained individuals not an advanced athlete as I said earlier, also an extreme Ketogenic diet shouldn't be confused with a diet low in calories in fact it would usually be higher in claories. Olympic lifters may maintain strength but that's not a "good" strength gain.

[poos_n_wees]

Olympic lifters may maintain strength but that's not a "good" strength gain.

Why is it not a 'good' strength gain?

[Dumbelldog]

well because gaining and maintaining aren't the same thing.

[bheeman]

Another reason Mike, that low reps are great for gaining size. The bigger the muscle, the more fat is burned. One of the reasons why weight training is always incorporated in good fat reducing training programs. When an overweight person is on a fat reducing goal, they usually get annoyed even though they are exercising well, they are not losing any weight. The fact is, they are gaining muscle, and losing fat.

[ExpensiveUrine]

With lower reps (intensity of 1RM% is high, not just low reps for the sake of doing low reps) you have a better chance of maintaining muscle during weight/fat loss. And yes, it is possible to get stronger, not just maintain even while caloric balance is negative (this of course would depend on how low the calories are, drop them too low right from the start and you'll suffer the effects; training history (ie current program, intensity/volume, ect). You'd have to reduce overall volume (and possibly frequency) to compensate for low calories. Even with low reps, you're still going to lose some muscle (unless you're a newbie or an overweight person starting out, or using assistance). *Some* will depend on nutrition, training, genetical factors, ect. With OL, it depends where you are in terms of training and just how much fat/weight you need to lose. If you're an advanced lifter, then the strength increase may not be that drastic when compared to a beginner. Regardless of strength maintenance or increase, if both of those lifters try to lose fat/weight too fast then both of them will be affected in terms of weight they're going to lift. Keep in mind that I'm not talking about making weight for a competition, but more of a long term solution for fat/weight loss.

Which is what everyone said.