Is Strength Training and Fat Loss Compatible?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hey guys,

I’m 19 years old, 5ft 10in, 165lbs and about 20% body fat and have just started lifting.

I have started with the 5x5 stronglifts routine and the break down of my nutrition is 40/40/20 with a caloric deficit of 500 cal.

My goal is to build my strength and progressively bring down my body fat (no hurry). Can I achieve both of these goals simultaneously or will my caloric deficit significantly hinder strenght development?

2

Yes and no. That’s a can of worms.

So we are clear, you are eating around 4000 calories a day?

You are young and out of shape. Concentrate on consistency. In a year from now, your question will seem a little silly if you keep it up.

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3

Thanks for the reply,

I´m consuming 1600-1700 calories a day. The break down is 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fats.

4

Sigh.

Eat young man, eat.

My daughter eats more then you and she is about 110.

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5

x2 with JFG -you will hit a wall pretty quickly on a linear program like stronglifts if you dont eat enough.

And yes, as a teen beginner you can absolutely put on muscle and burn fat as long as you bust ass in the gym and eat sensibly to support your training

6

True.

You can lose fat and gain strength at the same time when you’re new–provided you are consistent and intelligent about what you’re doing. The longer you train and more specifically the stronger you get the harder it is to lose tons of fat and improve strength at the same time. For newbs it is pretty easy if you stay focused.

Eat more. eat 4-5 evenly spaced times a day, eating about the same amount of food at each time.

I would recommend walking every morning for about 30 minutes at a pretty quick pace. It won’t interfere with your weight training and it will help burn calories.

The key for people in your position is usually a variation of the following:

  1. focus on weight training consistently and hard

  2. focus on eating consistently and evenly spaced out

  3. focus on low intensity activity that burns calories but doesn’t drain you. Hiking, biking, walking, swimming, etc.

That’s the entry level recipe.

7

Thank you all for the input.

I’ll make sure I up my calorie intake and do some light cardio every morning.

8

5-10 165 and 20% BF? Just lift and eat. At this point, eat a maint calorie diet. Keep the carbs lower if you’re trying to burn fat. Eat more carbs on the day you train and much less on non-training days. For your body and age - start around 2500-2800 cals. Don’t necessarily put too much emphasis on the scale but more in how you look and feel - but the scale does matter to a degree.

To answer you’re question, yes you can do both but will be limited when doing both at the same time. Don’t expect big jumps in either direction. Slow and steady consistency wins the race.

9

Absolutely nothing unusual about fat loss and strength gain. Unless you’ve taken an enormous kick to the nuts genetically, this is the most likely outcome of eating at maintenance and training - more people should do this instead of cramming +500-1000 kcal per day then lose everything trying to strip lard

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