ucimigrate
Active member
Hi Everyone,
My high school friend was a know-it-all. When he got into weight lifting, he said, "I am never doing cardio again. As long as I bust my behind in the gym, I can burn off 4000-5000 calories daily. I will gain muscle along with the fat, so things stay proportional.
While what he says does have some truth, I think he was over-generalizing.
1. Yes, resistance training is good for every goal I can think of.
2. Yes, it does increase metabolic rate.
3. However, someone needs to watch their diet, even on bulking.
4. In my current case, I wonder if I could hold my bodyfat steady?
Suppose I could go from 200 to 300 lbs over the next year, but stay 30% bodyfat.
a. That would mean 140 to 210 lbs of lean mass. (+70 lbs of lean mass)
b. That would mean 60 to 90 lbs of fat mass (+30 lbs fat).
At 174 cm, I doubt that would be true.
While those numbers are drastic, it actually would be a great thing, in the long run. Slowly, over about two years, I could diet and exercise down to a ripped 200 lbs.
5. For other people, the opposite seems true.
I was once 19 years old, 174 cm, 125 lbs, 5% bodyfat.
That comes out to about 119 lbs of muscle and only 6 lbs of fat.
When my doctors said I was too thin and needed to gain some weight, I gained about 40 lbs to be about 160 lbs: 140 lbs of lean and 20 lbs of fat. That still is a good trade.
6. Beyond arithmetic, I think neurology and hormones play a role.
a. For someone untrained or detrained who pumps iron or does a physical job, the neurological system tries its darnedest to regain strength, for adaptive purposes.
b. For someone overweight, like me, the body is trying hard to stop weight gain. But, with enough calorie surplus, it needs to gain weight.
c. My fat mass is not challenged, so no problem. With enough calories, my fat mass will increase. If I start dieting, there will initially be little resistance.
As I get leaner, my hormonal system will down-regulate my metabolism. But, that will only happen when I get below 10% or so.
7. Any commentary?
My high school friend was a know-it-all. When he got into weight lifting, he said, "I am never doing cardio again. As long as I bust my behind in the gym, I can burn off 4000-5000 calories daily. I will gain muscle along with the fat, so things stay proportional.
While what he says does have some truth, I think he was over-generalizing.
1. Yes, resistance training is good for every goal I can think of.
2. Yes, it does increase metabolic rate.
3. However, someone needs to watch their diet, even on bulking.
4. In my current case, I wonder if I could hold my bodyfat steady?
Suppose I could go from 200 to 300 lbs over the next year, but stay 30% bodyfat.
a. That would mean 140 to 210 lbs of lean mass. (+70 lbs of lean mass)
b. That would mean 60 to 90 lbs of fat mass (+30 lbs fat).
At 174 cm, I doubt that would be true.
While those numbers are drastic, it actually would be a great thing, in the long run. Slowly, over about two years, I could diet and exercise down to a ripped 200 lbs.
5. For other people, the opposite seems true.
I was once 19 years old, 174 cm, 125 lbs, 5% bodyfat.
That comes out to about 119 lbs of muscle and only 6 lbs of fat.
When my doctors said I was too thin and needed to gain some weight, I gained about 40 lbs to be about 160 lbs: 140 lbs of lean and 20 lbs of fat. That still is a good trade.
6. Beyond arithmetic, I think neurology and hormones play a role.
a. For someone untrained or detrained who pumps iron or does a physical job, the neurological system tries its darnedest to regain strength, for adaptive purposes.
b. For someone overweight, like me, the body is trying hard to stop weight gain. But, with enough calorie surplus, it needs to gain weight.
c. My fat mass is not challenged, so no problem. With enough calories, my fat mass will increase. If I start dieting, there will initially be little resistance.
As I get leaner, my hormonal system will down-regulate my metabolism. But, that will only happen when I get below 10% or so.
7. Any commentary?
