recomposition heading into my first meet

[tweakxc03]

Hey Jordan,

I'm training for my first weightlifting meet here in a couple of months. I know that weight class really doesn't matter all that much for me at this point, but I also want to continue to advance in my training. I'm currently ~225ish at 6'3". I'd like to really fill out the 105kg weight class, which I'm not too far away from doing but I don't really want to add too much more fat in the process, as I've put on a decent amount of fluff at this point. My thought was to sort of tread water for a while until I've leaned out.

If I were to adjust my macros to what you recommendations are per pound for recomposition (~260p/280c/79f), would the drop in calories relative to what I'm eating now impact my strength gainzz? I'm currently doing a 4-day HLM with a fair amount of volume.

Would it make sense to maybe up carb intake a little more on training days?

Thanks,


Adam

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Adam, what are you eating right now and how has that affected your weight? You don't have to answer that for my answer, as I'll lay it out for you.

If you would be decreasing cals by >250kCal from your daily intake currently- provided that's accurate- then I think that's too much of a decrease. I don't think it will directly affect your strength unless your leverage changes significantly from a rapid weight loss. In general, I prefer small manipulations to the total cal/macro intake. I also think that the best situation for your lifting is to push your weight up to 240 or so as you do more volume in preparation for the meet. Then I would take about 10 weeks to make 231. After that, I think continuing the diet for another 6-8 weeks would be advisable, likely taking you back to 100-103kg. Then I'd push your weight back up over the course of 12-16 weeks to 107 or so and repeat over time.

[tzanghi]

I also think that the best situation for your lifting is to either push your weight up to 240 or so as you do more volume in preparation for the meet. Then I would take about 10 weeks to make 231. After that, I think continuing the diet for another 6-8 weeks would be advisable, likely taking you back to 100-103kg. Then I'd push your weight back up over the course of 12-16 weeks to 107 or so and repeat over time.

I've thought about the order of this recommendation before.

1. I start with the assumption that if two people are at the same calorie level, but one is increasing their calories over time to gain weight, and the other is decreasing their calories over time to lose weight, the one who is increasing calories will perform better.

2. I then reason that it is more advantageous to first decrease calories and then increase so that one can perform better going into the meet.

Am I incorrect?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I've thought about the order of this recommendation before.

1. I start with the assumption that if two people are at the same calorie level, but one is increasing their calories over time to gain weight, and the other is decreasing their calories over time to lose weight, the one who is increasing calories will perform better.

2. I then reason that it is more advantageous to first decrease calories and then increase so that one can perform better going into the meet.

Am I incorrect?

Eh I don't think there's a linear relationship to the cals/BW/performance until you get a marked swing in BW either way. Even then, it's a bit murky on association. Still, I think volume tolerance is higher overall in people getting more food provided they both have the same level of training- so from that standpoint you are probably right.