Caloric needs of training

[Jdcuth]

Hi,
I hope you don’t mind me asking a question that’s been bugging me and can only really be answered by someone who’s observed lots of trainees. At what stage of progression from rank novice to elite lifter is calorie needs to facilitate training highest? Obviously novices are experiencing the most frequent weight increases but initially are using low overall weight whereas advanced lifters are using frequent very heavy loads but not progressing at rapid weights. I know in the blue book Rip observes caloric needs decreasing as the novice progression proceeds but some other SSC’s mention needing to add calories as weights increase to facilitate progress.
Best Wishes
James

[Robert Santana]

I know I had to eat a lot more when I was a novice because overload events were more frequent. I've seen the same in others. I welcome other opinions on this matter but my guess is that we get more efficient at turning over calories and protein, have a higher work capacity, and are less sensitive to weight fluctuations. If you look at advanced lifters they are typically settled into a weight class, improving very slowly, and generally at a reasonably high calorie level but maybe not so much to the point of inducing excess weight gain relatively speaking.

[Jdcuth]

Makes a lot of sense

[Robert Santana]

It does doesn't it? Most of this stuff is simply not complicated.