Q: What do you think of the current expert recommendation that when training for fat loss – the training itself doesn’t change – only the diet?
A: I don’t think much of it. I know the experts you are speaking of who say that and I’m afraid I just don’t agree. The underlying logic is that training for strength or muscle growth is the same regardless of your goal – and the sole reason for weight training during a diet is to maintain muscle.
At first glance that’s pretty good advice. Until we dig further.
When you ask the experts how exactly they would adjust the diet — you usually get a stock answer of keep protein the same to maintain muscle, keep fat at about the same and reduce the carbs.
Really? The only difference between a strength and mass program and a fat loss program is the amount of carbohydrate? In other words – a 24 year old rugby player trying to gain size will be on the exact same program as a 24 year old rugby player trying to drop excess fat, only the amount of bread and pasta he can eat is different?
Let me summarize – so the prescription for increased muscle mass/strength AND fat loss is for example heavy weights and lower reps. So a strength coach can simply write one program and just modify the diet without changing anything ??
Uh no.
Let’s reverse the scenario — That would mean that if a client used a program to get down to 9% bodyfat, and decided that they wanted to gain 20lbs of muscle – all we’d have to add is 3 or 4 bagels per day?
As usual this is an example of people who don’t actually train people for a living. If a client hires me to get them bigger – the ENTIRE plan is different from a client who wants to lean out or drop a weight class. Training, nutrition, cardio and supplementation all change.
Training to increase size and training for fat loss will definitely have similarities – but if the desired goal is different – the training has to be different too. I don’t believe in two people having the exact same program even if their goals are the same — so I definitely don’t agree with this “logic”.
Fat loss and hypertrophy training templates are definitely going to be different.
