Q&A: Should I Strength Train While On A Diet?

Question: 

I have been an avid follower of your blog for a while now. You are providing an excellent resource to your students. I have been a HIT lifer and have gained some weight over the years with too many calories and beers over time. I am looking to drop about 75lbs. One fellow that I know suggests I diet only and drop the weight training. He stated that I would lose weight at a more rapid weight if I concentrated solely on diet. He thinks that me being overweight is a stressor in itself, and that by adding more stress in the form of exercise that I will lose weight at a much slower pace than if I dropped all activity and concentrated on diet until I get closer to my goal weight. What is your opinion on my so-called buddy’s proposition?

Answer:

I’m sure your buddy means well, but he has no idea what he’s talking about. High intensity strength training is one of the best things you can do when dieting to lose weight because it helps to ensure the weight you’re losing is coming from fat rather than your hard-earned muscle. While excessive stress can negatively effect fat loss due to it’s impact on cortisol and other hormones, this is not a problem if you keep your high intensity workouts sufficiently brief and infrequent.

In addition to making it possible to maintain or even gain muscle while losing fat, even if stress hormones are working against you (according to Goldberg et al, “…muscular activity takes precedence over endocrine influences on muscle size”), high intensity training improves glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, and increasing your muscle mass raises your metabolism and the amount of glucose that can be stored in your muscles as glycogen (so less of it is converted to triglycerides and stored as fat).

For many people high intensity training can even reduce stress, and many of the people I have trained over the past two decades have commented on feeling less stressed when they’re working out regularly. The level of mental focus required to perform a proper high intensity training workout does a great job of driving other thoughts out which may be causing you stress, at least for the duration, and many people report feeling more relaxed after their workouts.

Whatever you do, don’t drop your high intensity training workouts, because you don’t want to lose all that fat and end up with less muscle to show off when you do!

Roger Mann at 49

As an example, check out what 49 year old Roger Mann was able to achieve in just five months with a combination of diet and only one brief high intensity workout per week. He dropped from 195 down to 165 pounds, while getting stronger in the process. He could have lost the fat with diet alone and no strength training, but the results wouldn’t have been nearly this good.

References:

Goldberg A. L., Etlinger J. D., Goldspink D. F., Jablecki C. (1975). Mechanism of work-induced hypertrophy of skeletal muscle. Med. Sci. Sports 7, 185–198

Fox KR. The influence of physical activity on mental well-being. Public Health Nutr. 1999;2:411–8. doi: 10.1017/S1368980099000567

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  • Billy Apr 8, 2015 @ 13:06

    Great info, as usual. I have a question, though …

    I have found that the high intensity strength training you recommend does indeed burn fat and retain or build muscle with just two short workout sessions per week. (And by short I mean about 25 minutes, which is amazing and stunning, if you ask me.)

    My question is, will I be hindering my results if I engage in some other intense activity on the off days? I’m talking about jumping rope, full court basketball, hot yoga or singles tennis, all of which I enjoy a lot.

    More and more I’ve come to see the importance of rest days (not to mention sleep!), but I do enjoy these other activities and am curious what you have to say on this. Thanks.

    • Drew Baye Apr 9, 2015 @ 10:33

      Hey Billy,

      Engaging in intense physical activity on off days will affect recovery from training, but unless you’re doing it most days of the week for a long time it’s not going to prevent you from getting results. Keep in mind, the ultimate goal of strength training and the improvements in functional ability and appearance it brings is to improve your life, to allow you to better enjoy those kinds of activities. Don’t build your life around your workouts, build your workouts around your life. If you find it affects your recovery enough that you require more off days you’re better off reducing your workout frequency than sacrificing activities you enjoy.

      The only exception to this would be when a person values the immediate results from exercise more than participation in the activities, as when you have a short term goal such as weight loss for an important event or competition, or improving physical performance for an important sporting competition or work related fitness testing.

      • Billy Apr 9, 2015 @ 13:35

        “Don’t build your life around your workouts, build your workouts around your life.”

        Love that! Great answer, Drew, thanks.

        • Drew Baye May 1, 2015 @ 18:01

          Hey Billy,

          Glad you like it. You’re welcome.

  • Greg Roseman Apr 8, 2015 @ 15:01

    Drew,

    great article, couldn’t agree more. If you strength properly your not gonna want to perform “cardio”, because you realize that it will distract from your strength training and you understand that nothing conditions you like proper strength training.

    Did you train the subject in the aforementioned article? What was his volume and frequency. What calorie level did he begin and finish with? He looks fantastic and someone who doesn’t understand proper strength training and diet would probably guess this individual must workout 6 days a week, two hours a day. Practically a part time job.

    Keep up the great work,

    Cheers

    Greg

    • Drew Baye Apr 9, 2015 @ 10:28

      Hey Greg,

      He only did one set each of six exercises, once a week. I’ve written down his routine in my response to another comment.

    • Roger Apr 16, 2015 @ 2:33

      Greg, thank you for the nice compliments. As to the type of “diet” I follow, it’s more of an eating style than a diet, consisting of fairly low fat, moderate protein, and mostly complex carbohydrates. But that’s merely a general estimate, as I never “count” calories or keep close track of macro-nutrient percentages. I simply try to eat wholesome foods and avoid processed junk and high calorie desserts for the most part. In general, I’d say I follow the eating approach that Clarence Bass, of the famous “Ripped” book series, advocates.

      However, while I was in the process of losing the 30 pounds, I did include a 24 hour fast twice per week (from dinner one night to dinner the next night) on non-consecutive days, as described in Brad Pilon’s “Eat Stop Eat” intermittent fasting book. Since I’ve lost the extra body fat I’ve been able to maintain between 165 to 170 pounds simply by eating healthy as outlined above. I’ll reincorporate the intermittent fasting if my weight starts creeping up or if I want to lose a few pounds in the future. As you can see, I follow the classic K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) principle of eating and weight training! 😉

      • AC Apr 22, 2015 @ 7:49

        Roger,

        Where do your fasting days fall in relation to your training days during the week?

  • AC Apr 8, 2015 @ 15:20

    “The level of mental focus” is just hovering there as an unfinished sentence.

  • Greg Apr 8, 2015 @ 16:13

    Thanks Drew,

    Question:what about nutrient timing when on a caloric deficit? When I’m not trying to lose I don’t worry about it. But when I’m on a diet, I try to eat some carbs pre-workout to hopefully give me a little energy boost, and have the biggest meal of the day afterwards. Is there any benefit to this?

    • Drew Baye Apr 9, 2015 @ 10:21

      Hey Greg,

      If you haven’t eaten within the last two or three hours before your workout a small snack with some carbs helps, and eating after the workout helps with recovery, however the overall diet is far more important than the specific timing in the long run.

  • Don Apr 8, 2015 @ 17:04

    What did Roger’s program consist of?

    • Drew Baye Apr 9, 2015 @ 10:20

      Hey Don,

      Roger used workouts similar to the Condensed A/B Routine from my book High Intensity Workouts. He performed one set each of only six exercises, alternating between two workouts:

      Workout A:

      Sled Leg Press
      Hammer Incline Chest Press
      Hammer Seated Iso-Row
      Triceps Machine
      Standing Cable Curls
      Abdominal Crunch Machine

      Workout B:

      Trap-Bar Deadlift
      Standing Smith Machine Overhead Press
      Seated Pull-Downs (w/rotating handles)
      Dips
      Standing Cable Curls
      Abdominal Crunch Machine

      • Don Apr 9, 2015 @ 11:11

        Thank you for your reply….

      • Andy Apr 16, 2015 @ 16:07

        I’m no expert but it looks as though the total amount of arm work is much greater than the volume for legs(a much larger muscle group) over the two routines.

        • Drew Baye Apr 17, 2015 @ 11:39

          Hey Andy,

          There is a little more work for the upper body, but the leg exercises selected cover all the muscle groups in the legs very well and the additional upper body exercises are for smaller muscle groups. I go into more detail on exercise selection and workout design in detail in High Intensity Workouts.

        • Roger Apr 20, 2015 @ 2:55

          Andy, the lower volume for my legs is due to the fact that my legs don’t recover as well as my upper body does. In other words, I can handle the extra volume for my upper body and still make good progress. But whenever I try to add more volume for my legs, my progress comes to a screeching halt within a few weeks. So there’s a method to my madness! 😉

          However, I do include a set of calf/heel raises after completing the leg press exercise. I simply forgot to mention it to Drew when I gave him my routine. I rest for about 60 seconds after completing the leg press, and then use the same weight for a set of calf/heel raises to failure.

  • Rita Apr 8, 2015 @ 17:33

    Does your program still work even if I workout 5 days a week? May seem like a dumb question, but I’m in a triathlon training program now and I’m having trouble losing weight. I work my butt off & get very little results. My swimming and stamina are improving, but my musculature and body fat % are less than impressive. Also, I have a knee injury. So, can I follow your Getting Ripped, one-day a week program and still do my triathlon training? Or, should I do one or the other? Many thanks!

    • Drew Baye May 1, 2015 @ 18:21

      Hey Rita,

      You can perform the workout and follow the nutritional guidelines from Getting Ripped while training for a triathalon if you factor the activity level correctly, however depending on how long and how hard your triathalon practice sessions are your ability to recover from and adapt to your workouts may be compromised (“workout” meaning proper strength training exclusively; the rest, running, cycling, swimming, etc., do not meet the requirements of exercise and so technically are practice sessions, not workouts).

      Depending on the condition of your knee you may want to reconsider training for a triathalon currently, but if you do continue to train for it I would cut back from five to three practice sessions a week, one for each activity, so that you can have at least one day of rest before and after your workout. If nothing else, strength training will help protect the knee somewhat against the stresses of running and cycling.

  • Curtis Apr 8, 2015 @ 19:08

    What is the best way to figure out your optimal rest period? Is careful workout tracking the only tool? Body By Science recommends 7 days for the newbie, but I see you mention between 3 and 5 in a lot places.

    • Drew Baye Apr 9, 2015 @ 10:12

      Hey Curtis,

      Most people can get good results training as infrequently as once every seven to ten days, but most people do not require this much recovery time and will progress more quickly with a higher frequency, especially when starting out. I recommend training three days a week for the first six to eight weeks during which the focus should be more on learning to do it right than doing it hard and the demands on recovery are lower. After that I recommend cutting back to twice a week and adjusting from there based on both your workout charts and progress on goal-specific measurements.

      For more on this I recommend reading The Sun Tan Analogy and Workout Performance Versus Progress.

    • Curtis Apr 9, 2015 @ 10:13

      Nvm found your video! For anyone interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXdrbpcWWng

      • Drew Baye May 1, 2015 @ 18:04

        Thanks Curtis,

        I had forgotten all about this interview.

  • sammysamsam Apr 8, 2015 @ 20:07

    What I like about the pictures on your site is that the guys are not roided out. Roger looks great. That’s what a lean, strong man looks like. What’s par for the course on the internet is an obvious juice head offering training and diet advice without mentioning the juice.

    • Drew Baye Apr 9, 2015 @ 10:08

      Hey Sammy,

      Unfortunately a lot of the information out there isn’t appropriate for drug-free trainees, and the photos used by most of the bodybuilding and fitness media portray people using steroids and other drugs and present people with an unrealistic standard. It wouldn’t be so bad if they were more open about it, but due to the laws here in the United States admitting steroid use is risky.

      While I have nothing against people using steroids and it is understandable for them to not want to be open about their use considering the legal risks, what really bothers me is the implication in many articles and advertisements that they have achieved their results solely by using a specific training method or supplement. It’s one thing to use them and not be vocal about it, it’s another thing entirely to use them while falsely claiming to be natural for the sake of selling something.

      I have used photos of Mike Mentzer and Casey Viator here, who have used steroids, but I don’t think anyone would mistake them for natural. I’m trying to use more photos of people like Roger who’ve achieved great results without the use of drugs and give people more realistic standards for natural trainees.

  • Scott M Apr 9, 2015 @ 11:17

    Hi Drew,

    What do you think is the best bodyweight substitute exercise(s) for deadlifts? Hip extension and squats?

    Thanks,
    Scott

    • Drew Baye May 1, 2015 @ 18:03

      Hey Scott,

      Bodyweight squats and hip raises or back extensions on a 45-degree Roman chair for the hip and thigh muscles, inverted rows for the upper back.

  • Curtis Apr 9, 2015 @ 13:18

    Just wanted to say ty, you give out so much free useful information and don’t really try to push products that hard, even though this is your business.

    • Drew Baye May 1, 2015 @ 18:02

      Hey Curtis,

      You’re welcome. I have to do some marketing since without book sales I would have to spend more time doing consultations and training and wouldn’t have time left to write, but I try to keep it to a minimum.

  • AC Apr 11, 2015 @ 3:34

    Very impressive.

  • Gareth Apr 12, 2015 @ 5:57

    Hi Drew

    Great results with Roger! Was he following any specific diet or was it simple calorie reduction that was responsible for the fat loss? Also what was Roger’s previous training history?

    Thanks
    Gareth.

    • Drew Baye Apr 17, 2015 @ 12:27

      Hey Gareth,

      If you search the comments Roger recently answered this.

    • Roger Apr 20, 2015 @ 4:25

      Gareth, as far as my training history goes, prior to switching to HIT early last year, my typical routine would consist of a three way split — Monday (chest, shoulders, triceps), Wednesday (legs, abdominals), Friday (back, biceps) — doing anywhere from 6 to 8 sets per body part, ramping up in weight “pyramid” style and then backing off (lower weight, higher reps) for one final set. I almost never pushed my sets to complete positive failure though. I worked out like that on and off for years, but I’ve made much greater progress since switching to the above listed HIT routine once-per-week. I also feel much better, with less overall aches and pains. My recovery ability obviously SUCKS! LoL

  • Curtis Apr 15, 2015 @ 12:01

    Any chance we could get some shirtless pics of you? HIT is not that popular among the general masses. Its almost impossible to find non-roided “results’ pictures of people who use HIT, and in all your recent shots you always seem to be in baggy clothes. I really appreciated the shots of Roger Mann in this post showing what was capable in just a few short months. I’m curious what someone who has been training for years can expect.

    • Drew Baye Apr 17, 2015 @ 12:21

      Hey Curtis,

      Regardless of the number of years someone has been training their body composition is largely a matter of diet. Until recently I’ve been a bit lax with mine. I haven’t gotten fat, but I don’t have the definition I used to, either. I’m currently working on leaning down again and when I’m “photo ready” I’ll be posting photos shirtless.

      The reason I wear baggy clothes is to conceal the pistol I wear on my right side and the several extra magazines on my left. I always have these on me, and the law requires concealed weapons to be completely obscured from sight. Because of this I buy shirts that run a little large. If I wear form-fitting shirts the outlines of the pistol grip and the extra magazines are clearly visible. Being armed and having my weapons properly concealed is more important to me than impressing anyone with my shoulder to waist ratio.

  • Gareth Apr 23, 2015 @ 11:01

    Thanks for the info Roger. The reason I asked was to see if you had gained any muscle while training HIT or simply retained muscle you had built previously while losing bodyfat. Either way you’re looking great!

    All the best

    Gareth

  • Gyu May 17, 2015 @ 12:04

    Hey Drew 🙂 Thanks a lot for all the good information out there, I had to preorder your new e-book ‘Elements of form’. I hope I will gain all the necessary details about HIT from it. I’m really excited.

    But i wanted to ask you the appropriateness of going paleo if someone wanted to bulk on his ectomorph physique. I quite reigidly stick to high-fat, high-protein and low-carb diet. Is it possible to gain 10kg with such eating habit in a year?

    • Drew Baye May 17, 2015 @ 12:53

      Hey Gyu,

      You’re welcome. As long as you are consuming adequate protein and calories and enough carbohydrate to support a high intensity of effort during your HIT workouts you will be able to gain muscle. Whether you can gain 10kg of muscle in a year depends on your genetics, however. This is a realistic goal for most people during their first year of training, but the longer you’ve been training and the closer you get to the upper limits of your genetic potential the more slowly further increases in muscular strength and size will come.