CT, in one of your articles (or was it maybe a discussion thread) you mentioned that you’d observed significant decreases in upper body strength (specifically bench press I think) in response to a drop in weight.
I definitely see this pattern - I notice it more the other way around. When weight goes up due to fluid retention (from hard training) I get a significant increase in strength and endurance. It’s for pullups I’ve noticed it (which you’d expect to deteriorate with weight gain). A couple of extra KG in fluid lets me do more pullups AND do them more frequently. I don’t notice any change in lower body strength.
In your experience does fat decrease/increase have the same effect? If so, do you think perhaps it’s not necessarily the case that fat loss will always improve pullup performance?
Is it something to do with increased pressure in the muscles giving them more purchase??
Another thought is that perhaps as this fluid gain increases strength and endurance I should give creatine a try? I tried it years ago but didn’t like it because it upset my salt balance and made me retain fluid. But based on your observations (and mine) perhaps the added weight would be outweighed by the increased strength and endurance? I’m going to try it but wondered if you had any thoughts on this.