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Thread: Can excess body fat be used to fuel muscle and strength growth

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Location
    Grand Rapids, MI
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    Default Can excess body fat be used to fuel muscle and strength growth

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    I have a question about how body fat can be used to fuel muscle growth, and whether I should eat in a caloric surplus vs. at a caloric maintenance level when seeking increased strength.

    I am a 23-year-old male, and I currently weigh about 215 ibs at 5'9", and have roughly 25%+ body fat with a 38" waist. About a year ago i started a NLP cycle weighing around 180, and by increasing my calories quickly got up to around 210 in only 2-3 months. Over the past 8 months, I have cut back to eating a more normal amount for myself, and have easily maintained the weight, only gaining 5-10 ibs. My strength has increased over this period, but unfortunately, injuries have slowed it down. I am currently squatting 320 for 3x5, deadlifting 410x5, OHP 172.5 for 3x5, and bench around 245 for 3x5

    What I am wondering, is when you have an excess amount of body fat to spare as I do, will I be able to continue gaining strength and muscle mass for a while without eating a caloric surplus, as long as protein intake remains high? Or does the body not really like to break into fat stores just to recover from a workout and build bigger stronger muscles?

    I ask this because I want to get stronger but not necessarily fatter than I am now. Ideally, I would like to continue to build strength and muscle while roughly maintaining my body weight under 225 or so, and eventually lose some of this body fat and be closer to the 15% body fat level without losing much of my muscle and strength gains if possible.

    Hope this makes sense, let me know if you need anything clarified.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
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    Default

    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?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Location
    Grand Rapids, MI
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    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?
    Thank you Robert, I appreciate your response. Yes I have been working with a SS coach on my lifts over the past 8 months.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
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    4,613

    Default

    You are well on your way then. Just keep eating and training and when the time comes throttle the calories as needed.

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