This August I’ll have been competing for 10 years in powerlifting, first as a 220 and then pretty quickly up to a light 242 and now a heavy 242 (I have to cut about 4-6 pounds to make weight). As I’ve gained the weight, I’ve put on a lot of muscle, a lot of pounds on my total and some inches on my midsection.
Yesterday, I had a DEXA scan. I learned that my bones are really, really heavy (no surprise there) but also that I’m at just under 24% body fat. I knew my body fat had been creeping up over the course of the last several years, but I don’t have a protruding gut and don’t appear sloppy fat, just soft. Still, 24% strikes me as way, way too high to be optimal. I have no desire to say f*ck it, I’m going to get as big as possible so I can lift the most weight, so maximizing strength at a good weight class for me is my goal.
I recall reading somewhere that the optimal body fat percentage for a strength athlete is in the 12% to 15% range. If I could drop fat and get to within cutting water distance of 220 (likely about 224-226 as I have a two-hour weigh-in) and keep most of my muscle mass, I feel like I might be more competitive, as well as healthier.
I guess I don’t really have a question, just looking for any thoughts on this subject.
Question you have to ask yourself: Do you feel comfortable at the bodyweight/fat % you are at? It sounds like you were, until you got some arbitrary number that told you otherwise, which is nonsense. 99% of people underestimate their TRUE bodyfat percentage. Calipers say I’m 18.5%, but a Bod Pod told me I was 26%. Most of these guys running around telling everyone they are 10% BF (which calipers probably did tell them they are) are really 4-5 percentage points higher than that.
I imagine the article you read about strength athletes needing to be in the 12-15% range is similar.
So basically, fuck it. Are you happy with your numbers? Are you happy with how you look? Are you healthy? If so, then no need to change anything.
I’d say 12-15% is about right. If you look at most of the top powerlifters that are 242 and lighter, they are pretty lean. It’s all about maximizing your muscle mass in a given weight class.
I could drop fat and get to within cutting water distance of 220 (likely about 224-226 as I have a two-hour weigh-in) and keep most of my muscle mass, I feel like I might be more competitive, as well as healthier.
I guess I don’t really have a question, just looking for any thoughts on this subject. [/quote]
my thoughts are that this is the answer. 24% is a bit too high, regardless of how “good” you feel, or how comfortable you are there. along with many people claiming that they are at 10% bf, while they are probably 4-5% higher, as VTballer was saying, a lot of people also think they look a lot better than they do. you say you’re not sloppy fat, just “soft”…well you maybe actually look sloppier than you think you look. have someone take some pictures of you, then look at the pics and see if you look in the pics how you think you look. my guess is you wouldn’t like the pics very much.
not trying to beat you up here, but i think you already know what the best idea here is…i mean, you’ll be healthier and more competitive, not to mention look better, where’s the downside?
Thanks for all of the responses. I’ll have to measure my stomach tomorrow, can’t find the tape now. I’m guessing it will be 41" or 42".
I do feel fine and am not really concerned about my absolute body fat percentage, I just want to maximize my strength at the appropriate weight class. From a health perspective I think I’m fine – my wife and I hiked Mt. Whitney last year in a day (22 miles round trip, about 6k elevation gain) and I haven’t had my cardio deteriorate significantly from then and my blood work has always been fine. I think I’ve just gotten a bit lazy about where my body fat sits and have taken the “lazy” man’s approach to gaining strength, i.e. just add weight regardless of the type of weight.
I guess I’m leaning to where Dez is at – why not try to cut a bit of body fat to be more competitive at a lower weight class. On the other hand, I feel good at 242 and at my height of 5’10" I really should be a 242 lifter as opposed to a 220. Maybe the answer isn’t a reduction to 220 but a more of re-comp at 242. I’ve been a little lazy about my diet the last year or so, the first step is probably just cleaning that up and seeing what happens.
I feel like I’m in a similar position as you. I just got into powerlifting about a year ago and since then have put on around 50 pounds. Started out too heavy and scrawny for the 181s so started putting on weight to fill out the 198s. Did a meet in November and had to drop too much weight to make weight. I decided to move up to the 220s for a meet in March. After the meet I was sitting at a “soft” 225-228. Don’t have any meets planned for a while so seemed like a good time to lean out. I’ve only been cutting for a week now so no major changes yet. Really cleaned up my diet and have cut calories a bit and am adding in cardio sessions here and there.
Like you I’m 5’10" and know that 198 and 220 are too light to lift at but hadn’t gotten to a point in my bulk where I couldn’t tell where my weight was going. Also I’m happy with the amount of weight I gained and feel like my body needs a break. Don’t have any exact plans on when to stop my cut I’ll either cut to 190, till I have some clearly visible abs, or for 2-2.5 months.
So I finally found the tape measure – 41.5 inches with a loose tape after training and a post-training meal (probably not the ideal time to measure). I’ll measure again first thing tomorrow morning.
I would say you skate the line between wasting time and strength cutting, versus coming in with more muscle and being able to carry an extra 20 pounds of something that actually moves into the same weight class.
I’m not a competitive powerlifter, I do local meets, raw. Nothing to brag about, but still versus the local talent, and gives me some perspective to comment.
Im very competitive in my weight class despite my less than complete emphasis on strength in the big 3, simply because I am quite lean…and I also do quite a bit more strength and lower rep work than “bodybuilding”.
I am physically larger than most of the guys in my weightclass.
Be whatever you have to be to lift more weights. Bigger is definitely better for most people. Those little lean guys that lift ungodly amounts of weights are strong as shit. Watch wade hooper or brian schwab squat though, their leverages are perfect.
There is no body fat percentage that can be labled optimal for powerlifting or even sport in general. Personally, I dont give a shit what my bf% is, I just know that I am strongest at 265-275lbs and still remain pretty lean for that size. Its going to be different for everyone.
After saying all that though, there hasnt been any skinny 1000lb benchers yet.
[quote]StormTheBeach wrote:
Be whatever you have to be to lift more weights. Bigger is definitely better for most people. Those little lean guys that lift ungodly amounts of weights are strong as shit. Watch wade hooper or brian schwab squat though, their leverages are perfect.
There is no body fat percentage that can be labled optimal for powerlifting or even sport in general. Personally, I dont give a shit what my bf% is, I just know that I am strongest at 265-275lbs and still remain pretty lean for that size. Its going to be different for everyone.
After saying all that though, there hasnt been any skinny 1000lb benchers yet.[/quote]
But how do you know you won’t be stronger at 290 or 300? I guess what I’m getting at is that I doubt going down to 220 is going to make me stronger in the absolute sense, but it may make me more competitive, i.e. a higher placing at Nationals. It’s been ages since I’ve been a 220, so I guess the only way to find out is to drop the fat and see.
[quote]StormTheBeach wrote:
Be whatever you have to be to lift more weights. Bigger is definitely better for most people. Those little lean guys that lift ungodly amounts of weights are strong as shit. Watch wade hooper or brian schwab squat though, their leverages are perfect.
There is no body fat percentage that can be labled optimal for powerlifting or even sport in general. Personally, I dont give a shit what my bf% is, I just know that I am strongest at 265-275lbs and still remain pretty lean for that size. Its going to be different for everyone.
After saying all that though, there hasnt been any skinny 1000lb benchers yet.[/quote]
But how do you know you won’t be stronger at 290 or 300? I guess what I’m getting at is that I doubt going down to 220 is going to make me stronger in the absolute sense, but it may make me more competitive, i.e. a higher placing at Nationals. It’s been ages since I’ve been a 220, so I guess the only way to find out is to drop the fat and see.
[/quote]
When I get up to 290, my deadlift goes down and my bench and squat stay the same. On the other hand, I drop below 260 and my deadlift sky rockets but my bench and squat start to go down. At 265-275, I can make improvements on everything without body mass being a factor. Thats how it works for me anyway.
[quote]mrodock wrote:
What does the largest part of your stomach measure Burt? Now that I read the question sounds a bit personal![/quote]
40.5" this morning before food with a loose tape.[/quote]
If I remember correctly 40" is some sort of generic call for concern for medical professionals (read in a Poliquin article I believe). I’m sure there is a lot of muscle contributing to 40" so probably no health issues are associated with your dimensions per se. In the end, I think you should do whatever makes you feel best.
Hi! May I attempt to hijack this thread and ask for people’s advice and/or experiences cutting b/f while maintaining strength? I too am 5’10", weigh 248 and have a HUGE gut. I know this is bad for my health, but get discouraged when strength dips when I shed weight.
[quote]Dr J wrote:
Hi! May I attempt to hijack this thread and ask for people’s advice and/or experiences cutting b/f while maintaining strength? I too am 5’10", weigh 248 and have a HUGE gut. I know this is bad for my health, but get discouraged when strength dips when I shed weight. [/quote]
You have to keep your protein high. Then just eat less carbs on non-training days. The key is to gradually change your body composition. If you try to change it quickly, then you’re going to lose strength too.
Thanks again for all the replies. I’ve made the decision after Nationals in June to try to drop to within cutting distance of the 220# class (probably about 224-226). It’s been a really, really long time since I’ve been that light, so I don’t know how much of an impact it is going to have on my numbers. If I do it right and get my gear taken in, I’m hoping they don’t drop too much. The only way to tell, however, is to try to drop the weight. I may end up coming back up to the 242 class, but if I do, hopefully it will be as a leaner lifter.