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How do you train for fat loss? Most people screw this up by making disastrous training adjustments like switching to high reps, dropping intensity, or adding excessive cardio. Then they wonder why their muscle and strength drop.
Discover how to preserve every bit of hard-earned muscle while losing fat by keeping load/intensity high, reducing volume (strategically and if necessary), and using auto-regulation to manage recovery when it's your most limited resource.
Learn why lighter weights and high-rep "fat burning" workouts destroy body recomp results, how to time carbs for better performance during a deficit, and why HIIT could be sabotaging your strength training and muscle preservation.
This evidence-based approach to lifting weights during fat loss will help you maintain body recomp results in a calorie deficit, preserve muscle through smart nutrition and training adjustments, and come out of your cut looking lean, strong, and ready to build again.
Episode Resources:
Timestamps:
0:00 - Training for fat loss (not fat burning workouts)
2:52 - The myth of high reps for fat loss
5:20 - Understanding strength vs. muscle during a deficit
9:32 - Intensity (weight/load, % of 1RM) and volume
13:12 - Auto-regulation strategies that work during cuts
20:24 - Recovery is your limiting factor
24:10 - How Fitness Lab helps adjust training for fat loss
26:43 - Carb timing strategies for better performance
30:00 - Too much cardio?
33:12 - Simplifying assistance (accessory) work
36:00 - Exercise selection and joint care during cuts
39:20 - Realistic expectations and mindset during fat loss
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