Stronglifts and Keto [Article]

Stronglifts and Keto

You can combine Stronglifts with the keto diet to lose weight while gaining strength. The main drain on strength comes from a caloric deficit. You don’t need to go on one me when on keto. While keto and Stronglifts will get good results for strength gains and weight loss it is unlikely to get ripped. This takes usually more extreme measures.

What is your goal

When you want to reach your goals you got to know them first and prioritize. In fitness, the goals mostly swing between

Looks
Performance
Health

For looks, there are two types. The ones that feel too big and the ones who want to improve to look like on a magazine cover. For the first group, the goal is weight loss for the second definition.

The group that cares about performance is generally interested in increases in endurance, strength or speed. Also here you need to ask yourself what is most important to you.

The last group is interested in general health. If you fall into this category I would question anything extreme in the gym. If you just want a balanced life with a healthy outlook yoga is a very good option.

Based on this write down what you want I achieve and why. Then prioritize everything to each other. This will help to make clearer choices for your programming.

Stronglifts

Stronglifts 5x5 is a beginner program for you if you are mainly interested in strength. You will perform the

Barbell squat
Barbell bench press
Barbell deadlift
Barbell overhead press
Barbell row

For five sets with repetitions three times a week with exception from the deadlift. The deadlift is programmed in with 1x5 repetitions. For a detailed break down of the program, you can read my ten-month review of the program.

The structure of the program puts you right in the middle of strength theory between building muscle and strength. Therefore do not expect outstanding but solid results in both directions. It is a good program when you want to build a good base for general strength with a barbell.

If your goal is to maximize muscle growth for aesthetic purposes goes with German Volume Training.

Ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet aims at taking very little carbohydrates in. By this, you force your body to burn fat instead of sugar for energy. In practice, this means that you eat very little

Potatoes
Noodles
Bread
Sugar
Fruit

In return, you maximize the percentage of fat in your diet. You can enjoy the following

Cream
Butter
Meat
Oils

The ketogenic diet is very similar to the Atkins diet. There is more and more empirical evidence that it works well for weight loss. This has to be seen within bigger trends over decades. There is an ebb and flow where carbohydrates and fat are demonized as good sources depending on what the “Anti trend” is. There is money in this so you should take it with a grain of salt.

Can you combine Stronglifts and keto

By asking this question you are already on the right path. Rather than looking into cardio plus strength training, you are looking into strength training plus diet. This is way more likely to get you the desired results as a beginner for strength gains and aesthetics.

I have the keto diet to lose 10kg before my wedding in mid-2017 in three months. While on the ketogenic meal plan I still got stronger even though I was losing weight. Back then I was on the Juggernaut template for lifting. I am confident that the results would have been similar on Stronglifts.

At no point, I felt drained or unsatisfied when on keto even though I trained heavy four times a week. If you want to obtain a six pack you have to do more than keto. You will also have to go on a caloric deficit to get you below 10% body fat. So far I have not managed that as I enjoy my dessert on weekends.