Should you adjust training volume when cutting?

When your calories are low and your goal is fat loss, should your training volume change? A new systematic review sought to answer this question

Photo by Bastien Plu on Unsplash

Weight loss phases can be tough, particularly when they get aggressive, with large daily calorie deficits often leaving people lethargic and grumpy. These phases are often referred to as “cutting” phases within the fitness world.

Many lifters notice a big drop in energy when on an aggressive cut and decide to cut their training volume to make it more manageable.

There isn’t actually much evidence either way on whether this is the best approach.

That’s where this new study comes in from Roth et al, reviewing all of the available data in a qualitative manner in search of any trends that might shed some light on the question.

They found that:

1. Females on high-volume programmes tended to retain more lean mass than males;
2. There wasn’t enough evidence to confidently conclude that high-volume programmes spare more lean mass than low-volume programmes;
3. Actively reducing training volume may lead to greater losses of lean mass;
4. And actively increasing training volume may lead to better lean mass retention.