I have seen many power lifters and it seem that the more weight you carry the more weight you can lift. Can some explain why that is. Also does this mean that it is beneficial for a lighter to gain weight in order to gain strength at a certain point.
There are a few things. For the big guys, getting fat can make gear work better. A big belly also compresses at the hip in the squat and could give some rebound. In the bench, the fatter you are, the shorter the range of motion. Generally though, the best power lifters at like 275 and below are lean.
Also, the simplest answer is more muscle mass = more potential for strength. So to answer your question in the most basic way, yes, a guy who is solely concerned with getting stronger (and doesn’t care if he gains weight or not) will find it much easier to get more weight on the bar if he gains more muscle mass.
As DD pointed out, at top levels and with geared lifters, body FAT too can have an impact. But for the most part, if you can put on body weight that is mostly comprised of muscle, you will probably gain strength, or at least the potential to be stronger
[quote]blacmoor wrote:
I have seen many power lifters and it seem that the more weight you carry the more weight you can lift. Can some explain why that is. Also does this mean that it is beneficial for a lighter to gain weight in order to gain strength at a certain point.[/quote]
Usually works for the squat and bench. Not so much for the DL.
This doesn’t address relative strength, though. So your wilks will not necessarily be higher if you gain more weight unless the amount of weight you can move is proportionately more.
Increased mass (fat or muscle) increases joint stability allowing the muscles to generate more force.
That concept is outlined more in this article in points 5 and 6
Getting fat helped with my strength, especially with shoulder work.
After dropping weight, I actually had to work harder at laterals because of the difference that extra width gave as far as leverage.
People underestimate what that can do in the long run to only worry about short term aesthetics.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Getting fat helped with my strength…
People underestimate what that can do in the long run to only worry about short term aesthetics.[/quote]
Amen…but I prefer the term ‘beefy’ to fat.
[quote]BlueCollarTr8n wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Getting fat helped with my strength…
People underestimate what that can do in the long run to only worry about short term aesthetics.[/quote]
Amen…but I prefer the term ‘beefy’ to fat. [/quote]
Me too…but I have tons of guys way less muscular than me running around the forum acting like all I did was get fat.
I weighed close to 300lbs at my heaviest. That is why I can do the whole stack on lateral raises like some people might do partial reps…and why I can shrug what I do slowly now with no jerking at all.
It is all a progression…and yeah, being just big and heavy helps a shit load when the goal is to get really big and muscular.
You just have to remember that you will need to drop some of that fat later.
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
Increased mass (fat or muscle) increases joint stability allowing the muscles to generate more force.
That concept is outlined more in this article in points 5 and 6
This.
People underestimate how fatness (not muscle mass) helps with strength in the big 3 (for raw lifters). You will experience it when you have gotten to highish bf and then cut down. Your strength will plummet. At least that is what I experienced when I did that a couple times.
Is it useful to allow for more fat gain than “necessary” to reap the strength benefits? I would say no, because you will also lose (some of) them when you cut down. Of course, when you don’t plan to cut down any time soon, there might be a place for this strategy.
Lateral raises? ha
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
Is it useful to allow for more fat gain than “necessary” to reap the strength benefits? I would say no, because you will also lose (some of) them when you cut down. Of course, when you don’t plan to cut down any time soon, there might be a place for this strategy.[/quote]
Yeah, I would listen to people who actually did it.
I would say yes…just from the better joint insulation alone which can potentially add years to a lifter’s career.
I mean, hey, I lift big and my only injuries have come from a motorcycle accident or some straight up foolish non-warm up act. I see people as beginners acting like they are falling apart.
Yeah, I would call that a freaking benefit…and a big one.
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
Lateral raises? ha
[/quote]
LOL. My shoulders right now are bigger than in my avatar. Keep laughing.
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
Increased mass (fat or muscle) increases joint stability allowing the muscles to generate more force.
That concept is outlined more in this article in points 5 and 6
Good article, Tim. I enjoy your contributions.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
LOL. My shoulders right now are bigger than in my avatar. Keep laughing.[/quote]
To be fair this is the powerlifting forum so nobody really cares how much someone can lift in the accessory movements or necessarily how big they are. It’s about how much we’ve moved in the big 3 on the competition platform. That’s it.
Lateral raises are an accessory movement for the bench. I wouldn’t laugh at them simply because they are effective for shoulder health but nobody here is going to really care how much weight we use on them.
james
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
Increased mass (fat or muscle) increases joint stability allowing the muscles to generate more force.
That concept is outlined more in this article in points 5 and 6
Good article, Tim. I enjoy your contributions.
[/quote]
I agree with Steely. You’ve always got great things to say.
james
[quote]atypical1 wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
LOL. My shoulders right now are bigger than in my avatar. Keep laughing.[/quote]
To be fair this is the powerlifting forum so nobody really cares how much someone can lift in the accessory movements or necessarily how big they are. It’s about how much we’ve moved in the big 3 on the competition platform. That’s it.
Lateral raises are an accessory movement for the bench. I wouldn’t laugh at them simply because they are effective for shoulder health but nobody here is going to really care how much weight we use on them.
james
[/quote]
We seem to have been sidetracked by the other poster.
My only point was about body leverage and how that had to change. Infinite-bore is who took the thread into lateral-land.
The bottom line is, it helped me lift more weight in that movement and that it was clear that this occurred when I had to change my body mechanics after dropping weight.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
The bottom line is, it helped me lift more weight in that movement and that it was clear that this occurred when I had to change my body mechanics after dropping weight.[/quote]
Absolutely agree with this.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
Is it useful to allow for more fat gain than “necessary” to reap the strength benefits? I would say no, because you will also lose (some of) them when you cut down. Of course, when you don’t plan to cut down any time soon, there might be a place for this strategy.[/quote]
Yeah, I would listen to people who actually did it.
[/quote]
We are in the powerlifting sub-forum, yes? You talk about how your extra bw helped with lateral raises and shrugs. We don’t care. You don’t even do the big 3, do you? So your experience is of little use to the discussion. Actually begs the question why you post in the powerlifting sub-forum at all.
I, on the other hand, have direct experience with the subject and how it applies to the big 3 (aka powerlifting).
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
Is it useful to allow for more fat gain than “necessary” to reap the strength benefits? I would say no, because you will also lose (some of) them when you cut down. Of course, when you don’t plan to cut down any time soon, there might be a place for this strategy.[/quote]
Yeah, I would listen to people who actually did it.
[/quote]
We are in the powerlifting sub-forum, yes? You talk about how your extra bw helped with lateral raises and shrugs. We don’t care. You don’t even do the big 3, do you? So your experience is of little use to the discussion. Actually begs the question why you post in the powerlifting sub-forum at all.
I, on the other hand, have direct experience with the subject and how it applies to the big 3 (aka powerlifting).[/quote]
I actually used to train more like a powerlifter and even did a few nminor meets when I was in school.
I grew up around powerlifters. Got to see that short Hawaiian big powerlifter train for months back when he was in Houston.
You don’t know me well enough to tell me what I do or don’t know.
What I wrote falls right in line with this thread.
Hey girls, put each other on ignore. Your constant bickering gets old.