[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
[quote]pwolves17 wrote:
[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
Do you think it’s possible to build muscle while keeping fat at the same level, or even reducing it? In other words, do you subscribe to the religion of bulking up and cutting back down?
What would you recommend to a guy who took a break from training, got a bit on the skinny-fat side and is looking to reduce body fat while getting his old muscle back?
Other than that, keep putting in work.[/quote]
Ok great question, i thought about this one all morning
YES, i do think its POSSIBLE to gain muscle while maintaining current BF levels or reducing it. I think during my last contest prep, my quads may have grown, slightly.
can you build A LOT of muscle under these conditions? hell no. Is it optimal to gain muscle that way? id say NO.
DO i subscribe to the relgion of bulking and cutting? In a sense yes, but you need certain parameters in place to make sure either does not get out of hand. Since i decided im probably at least two years away from the stage, id probably allow myself to get as heavy as 195 lbs (23 lbs over stage weight) as long as im making great strength and size gains. anymore than this and i know ive gone too far. IN addition to this, i probably wouldnt want to start a prep at that weight unless i was starting 30 weeks out.
as for your last question- I think this would be a very individual thing. ID want to assess the persons current BF and physique condition before answering this. However, generally speaking though my first instinct would probably be to keep calories static (eat the same amount they were before) and make sure they have adequate dietary protein to support muscle growth, and ride that out until changes need to be made. probably the most important thing is to just CHOOSE a goal and stick to until you feel you the need to change things.[/quote]
Good post. I’m 12 weeks away from starting a 20 week contest prep, and am trying to be sensible in how I use these remaining weeks of “improvement season.” I’m sitting at 187 lbs at the moment, and realistically will probably be at about 170 on stage. Part of me wants to try to really be a little bit aggressive with my macros and try to get my carb and fat ceilings as high as possible before starting prep, but I also don’t want to put on unnecessary fat gain in the next 12 weeks. After all, how much lbm am I really going to build in that short of a time? Do you have any thoughts on this Grind?
[/quote]
Sure,
What I’d be doing is be monitoring my weight consistently and make damn sure that I don’t go over 190 lbs and be damn sure 170 will get me lean enough… 17 lbs in 20 weeks Sounds perfect to me, you want to be ready 2 weeks out. So really that puts you at about 1 lb a week average weight loss. As for improving your metabolic capacity , that is good. But it is secondary to the other factors I mentioned.
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Thanks man! Yep, 190 has been the number I’ve had in mind all offseason as my “cap.” I’m confident that 170 will be about right, as when I competed last fall i was right at 170 and not quite lean enough. I’ve had a very productive offseason, so I think a little better conditioning with added size should put me right around 170. not that stage weight matters, just a good reference point as far as staying within striking distance of stage leanness
