Originally Posted by
Robert Santana
Based on your numbers and rate of progress it sounds like you have optimized your leverage and are moving at a fine rate. You do not need to gain more weight to lift more although getting fatter has it's own advantages vs disadvantages. Ultimately, it's all about what you want to accomplish. It sounds like you don't want to be a fat guy with a big total and you've achieved a reasonable weight for your height so i'd say train at this weight, when your lifts peter off and you have to reset to start a new training cycle, scale back the calories, lose 5-10 lb. then scale them back up when the intensity goes up again. Once you find a sweet spot for performance that's typically how it's done. Milder weight swings with less calories during higher volume work and more calories during higher intensity work. If you reach a point where moving up a weight class seems feasible try it out. That said, if you are working through injuries you probably don't need to eat as much. Have you had eyes on your lifts?