Uploaded February 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
FREE Download: thinkeatlift.com/master
The Fat Loss Diet I use: thinkeatlift.com/afl
Music by ThatKidGoran
Weight loss is not the same thing as fat loss. Losing weight doesn’t necessarily mean your body composition is improving. That is because some of the lost weight may actually be muscle mass.
I'm sure you don't want that. So to maintain muscle mass during a cut here's what you need to do:
Have a moderate calorie deficit
Maintain training intensity
Get enough protein
Do only a moderate amount of cardio
We'll address each of these one by one.
This the cutting hierarchy of importance. As you can see at the very base of the pyramid is your calorie intake. That is what determines how fast you lose weight.
A well set calorie deficit restricts only enough energy to force your body to burn body fat, but not enough to interfere with muscle recovery and growth. That usually means 20-25% under maintenance.
There is an exception to this however. Overweight beginners can use a larger deficit and still gain muscle during their cut.
In a recent study a group of young overweight males were put into a 40% calorie deficit and a 6 days a week strength training regimen. The results: They still gained muscle despite losing about 5 kilograms of fat in 4 weeks.
But if you already have well developed muscle mass, you can't afford to have a deficit that is larger than 25%. It will negatively affect protein synthesis and will reduce your strength in the gym.
Which brings us to the next point:
Strength Training is the most important factor for maintaining muscle mass during a cut. Lifting weights provides a signal for muscle to be retained even when you're in a big calorie deficit and have a low protein intake.
Intensity, the weight on the bar is what matters most. Your muscles were forced to adapt to their current level by lifting heavy weights. If you remove or reduce the weights that caused the adaptation, then you lose the adaptation.
Lyle McDonald one time said that you can maintain all your muscle mass even if you reduce volume by 2/3rd as long as intensity stays the same. Put another way, you could maintain volume and frequency at the same level but if you cut intensity, you will lose some muscle mass.
This is why doing high rep training while cutting is a mistake.
So here are the recommendations for strength training:
Start lifting. If you don't currently lift weights, start. Not only will you be able to maintain muscle mass, you'll also gain muscle
Keep your training the same. If you've been lifting for a few months or years, keep your training as it is while cutting. There's no need to make adjustments unless you lose strength.
Alright, next point: get adequate protein.
A few month ago Greg and I did a video with Eric Helms, who studied protein requirements for lean athletes in a deficit. That's you and me. He found the range of 1-1.3g of protein per pound of bodyweight or 2.2-2.9g per kilogram to be ideal for cutting.
Of course you would be able to maintain or gain muscle using a lower protein intake but probably not as well as you could.
And the final point: Don't do a lot of cardio.
Now I'm really not a fan of cardio. My conditioning sucks actually. The only form of cardio I do is walking but now during the winter I don't even do that consistently.
The truth is you can lose fat without doing any cardio. You just need to have a calorie deficit in place.
But expending some energy through cardio allows you to eat slightly more so it can be useful.
If you like doing cardio I recommend doing between 2 and 3 hours of cardio per week. Doing more than that can affect your recovery, interfering with your strength progression.
A few months ago I did an incredibly detailed video about cardio which you can watch here if you're interested.
And that's it. To maintain muscle while cutting
Don't starve yourself
Train with heavy weights
Eat some protein
Get good rest
It's not exactly rocket science.
FREE Download: thinkeatlift.com/master
The Fat Loss Diet I use: thinkeatlift.com/afl
Music by ThatKidGoran
Weight loss is not the same thing as fat loss. Losing weight doesn’t necessarily mean your body composition is improving. That is because some of the lost weight may actually be muscle mass.
I'm sure you don't want that. So to maintain muscle mass during a cut here's what you need to do:
Have a moderate calorie deficit
Maintain training intensity
Get enough protein
Do only a moderate amount of cardio
We'll address each of these one by one.
This the cutting hierarchy of importance. As you can see at the very base of the pyramid is your calorie intake. That is what determines how fast you lose weight.
A well set calorie deficit restricts only enough energy to force your body to burn body fat, but not enough to interfere with muscle recovery and growth. That usually means 20-25% under maintenance.
There is an exception to this however. Overweight beginners can use a larger deficit and still gain muscle during their cut.
In a recent study a group of young overweight males were put into a 40% calorie deficit and a 6 days a week strength training regimen. The results: They still gained muscle despite losing about 5 kilograms of fat in 4 weeks.
But if you already have well developed muscle mass, you can't afford to have a deficit that is larger than 25%. It will negatively affect protein synthesis and will reduce your strength in the gym.
Which brings us to the next point:
Strength Training is the most important factor for maintaining muscle mass during a cut. Lifting weights provides a signal for muscle to be retained even when you're in a big calorie deficit and have a low protein intake.
Intensity, the weight on the bar is what matters most. Your muscles were forced to adapt to their current level by lifting heavy weights. If you remove or reduce the weights that caused the adaptation, then you lose the adaptation.
Lyle McDonald one time said that you can maintain all your muscle mass even if you reduce volume by 2/3rd as long as intensity stays the same. Put another way, you could maintain volume and frequency at the same level but if you cut intensity, you will lose some muscle mass.
This is why doing high rep training while cutting is a mistake.
So here are the recommendations for strength training:
Start lifting. If you don't currently lift weights, start. Not only will you be able to maintain muscle mass, you'll also gain muscle
Keep your training the same. If you've been lifting for a few months or years, keep your training as it is while cutting. There's no need to make adjustments unless you lose strength.
Alright, next point: get adequate protein.
A few month ago Greg and I did a video with Eric Helms, who studied protein requirements for lean athletes in a deficit. That's you and me. He found the range of 1-1.3g of protein per pound of bodyweight or 2.2-2.9g per kilogram to be ideal for cutting.
Of course you would be able to maintain or gain muscle using a lower protein intake but probably not as well as you could.
And the final point: Don't do a lot of cardio.
Now I'm really not a fan of cardio. My conditioning sucks actually. The only form of cardio I do is walking but now during the winter I don't even do that consistently.
The truth is you can lose fat without doing any cardio. You just need to have a calorie deficit in place.
But expending some energy through cardio allows you to eat slightly more so it can be useful.
If you like doing cardio I recommend doing between 2 and 3 hours of cardio per week. Doing more than that can affect your recovery, interfering with your strength progression.
A few months ago I did an incredibly detailed video about cardio which you can watch here if you're interested.
And that's it. To maintain muscle while cutting
Don't starve yourself
Train with heavy weights
Eat some protein
Get good rest
It's not exactly rocket science.
