Loss of strenght. Natty.

[biggerguns]

I have been training 3 days a week for a solid year now. I had no diet in the begining. Ate whatever i want and weighed about 183 19%bf and am 5'11". When i strated i was weak an was slowly gaining strentgh. At about mid year i was bench pressing 225x3. I then decided to lose some weight and fat. I started a diet and eating alot cleaner. Right now im 170 14%bf. However i lost strenght. I could only bench press 190x4. Im not aiming at strenght training, im more into physique. I noticed strength loss in every other exercise as well. I feel good and healthy. I try really hard to do everything with perfect posture. So what is the reason for this loss? Diet? Underweight? I dont understand.

[walker11]

weight loss could be the problem, my strength usualy drops off some when i cut weight for competition. it could aslo be your routine or possibly overtraining. how often do you change your routine and how often do you deload?

[juicy j]

I think you listed why you are losing strength...you are dieting and losing weight. Those are major factors in strength loss.

[biggerguns]

Routine.
Monday- Chest and back. 3 Different chest and 3 different back excercises. 2 sets of 10 reps with the 3rd set heavier to where i do 8 reps. 15mn cardio a little over a mile.
Teusday-off
Wednesday- Core and legs. 3 Different leg excercises and 3 different core excercises. Same as above as far as reps and sets. 15mn cardio same as above.
Thursday- Off
Friday- Arms and shoulders. 3 different arm areas and 3 different shoulder areas. Same as above as far as sets and reps. 15mn cardio same as above.

I change my routine every 3 months but not every excecise. I change the weight and rep amount to the excercises i already do instead of completely changing excercises.
I work 40hrs a week, do alot of walking and casual 50pound lifting about 5 times an hour.
It probably is the weight loss. I just did not think 13 pounds would make me that much weaker.

Walker11- What is deload??

[VanR__]

I loss some strength cutting natty. It's to be expected with normal genetics.
I try to cut more with diet then cardio. Try to keep intensity up, even on low cals. Maybe use some caffeine pre-w/o.

[walker11]

deload is when you back off for a week. it's supposed to be a week when you don't lift heavy, you just lift light to allow your body to recover. if you're going natural then deloading is a good diea. i lift natural and when i'm working up to meets i will deload every third week from max outs or heavy lifting.
but like the other guys said too, when you cut weight it's expected to have a drop in strength.

[biggerguns]

Alright cool. Thanks for the feedback brothers. I dont plan to stay natty. When i get my BF to at least 12% then i'll look into the cycle.