Ss @ > 20% bf

[srcuster]

I've scanned the forums and have read a number of threads but can't find precisely the answer I'm after.

Background:
As of last October I was literally sedentary then I hit the gym and got interested after starting Body Pump (it got me fit for sure but would never get me strong). I'm 37 years old, 5'10", 176lb, 24% body fat right now up from 165lb, 21% BF when I started Stronglifts 5x5 + GOMAD. I have since stopped SL 5x5 and have reset myself to SS. My current 5 rep PRs are: 155 bench, 105 Press, 170 Squat but I started over yesterday with a new "first day" workout.

I'm "fat" with greater than 20% BF and I'm not entirely sure what target weight I should be after. Some material that I've read says ~180lbs (Aragon's Girth Control says that ideal weight for my height is 166lb + 10% for targeted "high muscle mass" or ~182lb). I've since read threads here that suggest my target weight should be 3lb / inch or 210lb.

My questions are:

1) What should my target body weight be while doing the beginning phase of this program while trying to achieve BW on bench and ~1.5X BW on squat? Would it really be 210lb or is the 180-ish range I've read more correct?

2) Obviously if the answer to #1 is I need to weigh a bunch more then this question can be ignored. If my body weight is > 20%, do I need to eat to caloric excess and continue GOMAD given I'm "fat" or do I use my maintenance diet and rely on the fat conversion to muscle?

Thanks in advance. Hopefully this makes sense.

[Carlos Daniel]

If you are over 20% there is no reason to do GOMAD.

[mstrofbass]

http://startingstrength.com/articles...n_rippetoe.pdf

[MikeC1]

If you're already fat, then you dont need to keep pigging out. I wouldn't worry about specific numbers to aim for. Learn to pay attention to your body recovery-wise, if you are recovering fine then keep your diet where it is, if not then make the appropriate adjustments. As long as you are training hard and consistently, you'll get stronger and leaner.

[gzt]

I think 200 is a good number to shoot for.

How do you know your body fat %? What method?

[srcuster]

I think 200 is a good number to shoot for.

How do you know your body fat %? What method?

It is probably not exact but I use a body fat scale at home. I've got a pretty fair gut.

If you are over 20% there is no reason to do GOMAD.

I was at ~22% at 165lb so I used GOMAD to gain to 176. I guess how I interpret your comment is assuming the weight target is greater than where I am now, but BF is high, I should eat to caloric excess but limit the fat? Fundamental question is 176 too low (as I suspected 165 was)?

The article posted by mstrofbass which I've read several times still doesn't seem precise on this point. It says, "A bodyfat level over about 20% means that you’re headed in the direction of carrying around more than is required for an anabolic environment and more than is efficient for moving either the bar or an opponent." I feel like I'm in a corner case - high BF but moderate body weight whereas I think the quote may apply to a heavy person and high BF person?

Thx and apologies if being dense here and missing something obvious.

[LimieJosh]

You are a novice and therefore have a lot of room for growth in your lifts and your muscles. However, you are already carrying more fat than is neccessary so you will benefit from a more considered dietary approach than is required for those of us of a leaner disposition.

You need to gain muscle (this is an important point to keep at the forefront of your mind), but the point of the passage you pulled out of Rip's article is that with your energy reserves this can and should be done on a less aggressive and liberal eating regime.

[amazhad]

As someone that was near 40% fat while doing SS, I can give you my following experiences. I'm 34, 5'11" and have stayed around 235 lbs. for the last 3 months but dropped 3 pant sizes. I can't give you an accurate idea of my current body fat, but a wild guess would be mid-upper 20's. I can wear 38" pants comfortably.

-I didn't focus on a weight, but on lifting hard consistently. The training log, clothes, and a tape measure were my guides. I am making steady linear progress in my workouts (reason for the log), and at the same time my clothes around the waist and stomach got looser.

-I ate when I was hungry and stopped when I wasn't hungry anymore (ie.. not eat to full). I did pick random days to count calories of what I did eat, so I could have an idea of my baseline calorie intake. It ended up being around 3,500 calories a day.

-I added daily walks of 30 minutes to an hour. Brisk pace and I have never felt it interfered with my workouts. The walks are for using the muscles you are building to burn the fat you want to get rid of.

-My workout log is my guide. If I have trouble with a weight or missed some reps I would reflect on reasons why. If I lost focus or form, then I wouldn't make any changes to my food. Instead I would up the weight and focus better the next workout. If my focus and technique was good, but I missed reps or felt things were almost too heavy, I would consider the quality of my sleep and how much I have eaten. Usually correcting one or the other allowed me to still add weight the next workout and hit all of my reps.

-When I decided I needed more calories, I usually just upped the protein by 300-500 calories. For myself, I enjoy 1-2 glasses of whole milk a day. I treat it like any other food source, but as Rip has said, GOMAD is intended for skinny teenagers. Everyone can benefit from milk, but it needs to be adjusted for age and body-fat levels.

These points have worked for me. I am not claiming it is the most efficient way of doing things, but my general philosophy is work hard, work consistently, eat to fuel the work, sleep, and the rest will sort itself out. Reflecting on your workouts vs your sleep/calorie intake is key to adjusting things to suite your body. Following this I went from 42" pants (pretty tight at the waist) to wearing 38" comfortably. Squats went from 135 quarter squats (limited flexibility) to 300 lb full squats with no sign of slowing down yet. 135 bench to 205lbs, and 85 lb press to 160 lbs. Just to throw a few numbers and lifts out there. Each is doing 3x5.

[Bloodninja666]

I started SS in a similar situation to you, sedintary and BF over 20%, and saw big progress on my lifts with zero bodywieght gain. The trick, I think, is just to eat when you're hugry. Don't try to restrict food, but you don't need to pound the milk either. Just make sure you're getting a lot of protein in, it seems to be key for recovery. You'll really start noticing your body turning around after the 6 month mark. Good luck.

[srcuster]

Thanks to all - this is really helpful feedback. Amazhad - congrats on your progress and Bloodninja666 appreciate hearing the perspective that started from my same position. And LimieJosh - got it - your comments make sense.

I think this is what I'm concluding:

I think what I'll do is design a diet for now to get me to, say 185 @ 15% BF without doing anything crazy (+9 lbs which will be a moderate caloric excess with protein at 1.25 X target LBM). Then I'll incrementally add based on how I feel / look. Eventually perhaps I get to gzt's 200lb suggestion but slowly and now I know I don't *have* to get there. Just focus on building strength / train hard. I can do that.