Stronglifts and intermittent fasting

Stronglifts and intermittent fasting can be combined. For beginners interested in strength development a bigger window for calorie intake is preferable. For Bodybuilders who are cutting it is better to pair fasting with a program with a bigger bias towards hypertrophy.

What are your goals

What are your goals when it comes to fitness? Usually, I find that people have one of these three goals

Looks
Performance
Health

If you are interested in looks you probably think of big muscles and a six-pack. For this goal set, you make your muscles swell and cut out fat. By achieving this you will be more defined. You will follow a very strict diet and programs with higher rep ranges to get there.

Performance is usually related to a sport. Apart from bodybuilding most of this circles around getting stronger, faster and agiler to perform a task. To achieve this your diet might not be as strict but your training more complex and versatile.

The last goal set is general health. To be healthy you might not even need to hit the gym. Find ways to move more during the day. This might be standing at your desk or playing more with your pets and dogs. Yoga in the mornings is also a very good option. To achieve this goal you might only cut back the intake of sugar, alcohol, and cigarettes.

Before you pick the tools you have to know what the goal is. Stronglifts and intermittent fasting are good tools but they might not be relevant to reach the perfect look or a balanced life.

Stronglifts

Stronglifts is one of the most popular beginner lifting programs. You will train three times a week using the

Barbell Squat
Barbell Bench Press
Barbell deadlift
Barbell row
Barbell overhead press

For five sets of five repetitions. The only exception is the deadlift which comes in at 1x5 repetitions. The progression is linear. Squats are done every day while the other exercises rotate from workout to workout.

The biggest advantages of Stronglifts are its ease of use and clear progression. There are also many good references out there that it works.

The biggest disadvantages of Stronglifts are its lack of specificity and middle approach. The results will not be impressive in terms of muscle or strength gains. They will be balanced for both. The lack of specificity can lead to you progressing to fast or slow based on your personal fitness and body composition.

If you want to learn about Stronglifts read my 10-month review of the program for more insight.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting has become popular in recent years. The idea is to restrict your food intake at certain times of the day. By this, you will reprogram your body to burn more fat instead of constantly using the available sugar resources.

The most popular variations of intermittent fasting range from not eating something in a window from 10 - 16 hours. Less popular options might even have you off food for 2 - 3 days. Definitely consult a doctor before attempting intermittent fasting.

The most practical solution, in my opinion, is to leave out food after 9 pm, skip breakfast and have your first meal at 1 - 2 pm. That way you make the 12-hour window of no food intake quite easily.

One of the big advantages of intermittent fasting is that it is a very easy way of introducing portion control into your diet. It is usually easier not to have a meal than refuse what is on the table. Not having food until 1 pm also cuts out a sweet breakfast.

One of the biggest disadvantages of intermittent fasting is that people report they feel sluggish and malnourished. Especially if you have to perform at your best in the mornings you might want to hold off.

Can you combine Stronglifts and intermittent fasting

By researching a combination of an exercise regime and diet program you are already on the right track to good results. The two approaches can definitely be combined based on my experience.

I have been on an intermittent fasting schedule for a good bit of two years now. I train in the mornings between 5 am and 7 am. My breakfast is a bulletproof coffee. I don’t feel weaker during my sessions because if this. I have also gotten co to out stronger day during this period.

However, with this approach, I only get stronger. I do not look like Hulk. This is important to note.

When I was on Stronglifts I was not on intermittent fasting. Keep in mind that beginning lifters should put an emphasis on building muscle. This needs a caloric surplus. You can fit these 4000 - 6000 calories into a window of eight hours a day. That is a lot of food to get through, given that it is high quality.

If your main goal is performance a big diet distributed during the day is a better pick. If you are about looks same applies in case of muscle. Swap Stronglifts for German Volume Training if you are experienced and want a lean physique with I intermittent fasting. Stick with Stronglifts and a comfortable distribution of calories during the day if you are at the start of the road of strength.