Originally Posted by
ottsville
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You will probably see diminishing returns on the strength as you try to drop weight. The two are not completely mutually exclusive, but it is difficult to keep dropping weight and add strength. And forget about big gains in lean mass while running a caloric deficit. You will get overall leaner, but the bulk of that will be through loss of body fat. You may be better off doing strength training for several months , then doing some cutting, then back to strength, then back to cutting, etc.
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Seriously though, are you aware of what it takes, not only to reach those goals, but to maintain that? You are looking at a ton of work simply to maintain it once you get there, especially since the strength you are building is not strength you exercise in your everyday life. I would suggest you look into crossfit or something similar. But again, I'm a cyclist who lifts, not a lifter who cycles.
Yep I'm aware of what effect cutting weight will have on strength. I recently spent 4 months eating at maintainance and making great strength increases but ultimately I'm a little tired of being strong but pudgy so I can deal with slow strength gains for a couple months while I cut weight. I probably won't go all the way to 175 at once, I may pause in the 180s to recover and gain more strength.
I realize that some of the muscle I will be putting on is not terribly useful in everyday or sports use, however I have found that squats and deadlifts in particular have had a huge benefit to my posture and my ability to lift heavy things without groaning like an old man. I used to have weak knees too, now thanks to the squats and leg work they are very solid and I feel like my stronger p-chain helps out alot.
I also realize that to achieve the goals I posted I will probably need 5-10 years if not more of solid training and great diet.