Gain Or Lose?
 

Been following this board for along time. Today at my gym, I go to a globo, I did the underwater body fat test. I weighted in a 152.7 with a bodyfat of 12.9%. I am stuck in deciding if I should try and gain weight, or try to stay at 152 and try and lose some bf while gain muscle. I am 5'8 and use to be overweight, around 240 in high school. Ideas or suggestions please

Re: Gain Or Lose?
 

I'll try to get in here before you get a handful of members sarcastically asking "How can we answer if we won't know your goals?"

So I'll nicely ask.....what are your goals?

At 5'8" and 152 I'd personally say add some weight. But if you'd rather be shredded, than go that route. I think if you were 5'8" and 170 lbs. your lifts would go up. It all depends on you, man.

Re: Gain Or Lose?
 

my goal is to get stronger. I forgot to add that when I was writing. I have some loose skin from when I was overweight. When I see it, it does make me feel fat even though I know im skinny. It is a mind game

Re: Gain Or Lose?
 

You are really at a point where it could go either way. I used to try to gain when I was at higher bf percentages and I was always disappointed in the end because I had to diet for so long to get lean again. Because of that I am waiting until I get to 10% until I gain again but I would say you could do either. I wouldn't bulk past 15% personally.

Re: Gain Or Lose?
 

Don't focus on the weight. It isn't the priority at this point. If the goal is to get stronger, then get stronger. There are gymnasts and crazy barbarian/bartendaz (NY playground scene guys) that weigh probably in your 150 range that are crazy strong. There are also some parkour, breakdancer type guys (usually demonstrating gymnast strength) that are also crazy strong at around 150 lbs.

There are also some 69kg Olympic weightlifters that can put 400lbs over their heads, so clearly - strong again.

Point is, if the goal is getting strong, then that isn't based on weight. See how strong you can get.

Now, if the goal is somewhat met and you want to start getting STRONGER (you already 2 to 3x bodyweight Back Squat, DL, 2x BW C&J, Planche push-ups, etc) then maybe start looking into what it takes to hit a 600 lb BS and pull 700 from the floor. Now that, will almost certainly require gaining weight.

Also, if the goal changes to "I want to look like an NFL linebacker while being strong, or I want to look like even Rich Froning - now that is gaining weight - 60+ lbs for the former and 30+lbs for Rich looking size.

As it stands, if you are happy with your weight, then look like a chiseled 155 and get crazy strong. I have a good friend that is a bodybuilder. Insane strength for his size, weighs 150 TOPS, has muscle and the look of someone that is 170lbs easy and DLs 400+, Bar Muscle-ups for sets of 20, etc.

Re: Gain Or Lose?
 

Its easier to gain strength with gaining weight (either fat, muscle, or both), the "hardest" way of adding strength is via neuro muscular adaptation, that takes a lot of time.

Plus there are PEDs involved in 69kg who can C&J 400lbs+

Re: Gain Or Lose?
 

Those top people are also insanely talented when it comes to strength and power.

For you, I vote for getting bigger and stronger. I bet 185 or so with about the same body fat would suit you pretty well. It's fun to be big and strong, more muscle will make any extra skin or remaining body fat be less important asthetically, your CrossFit performance (if you care) for any workout with weight will be a lot better, and cutting down is a lot easier when you have some serious muscle mass.

So, pick a lifting plan, lift heavy weights, eat enough to build muscle and gain weight. With a past history of being very overweight I wouldn't recommend anything crazy (no 5000 calorie a day, or anything), but err on the side of eating too much, and adjust as necessary. Probably overshoot your weight goal and then cut down later.

BTW, where are your lifts at now?

Re: Gain Or Lose?
 

thanks guys.
my lifts aren't great
back squat 185 x5
press 120x5
bench 135x5.... always a weak point
deadlift 250x5
pullups 9 at bw

Re: Gain Or Lose?
 

Any ideas on diet style... Zone with extra fat to gain, eat like a bodybuilder?

Re: Gain Or Lose?
 

If you are looking to gain then I would eat at least 1g of protein per lb body weight (more is fine). From there you can adjust your carb and fat intake to reach the caloric intake you want to reach. Most people are at maintenance level calories at around 14-16 calories per pound so start around there and add calories as appropriate. Give it a couple of weeks and if you are gaining too fast cut it back, gaining too slow add more calories. Bulking is the easy part. Eat enough protein and other than that eat what you enjoy but just keep track so you know you are eating enough or too much. Also, you might want to play around with carbs/fats depending on your energy needs.

Here is a great article about what you can expect in terms of muscle gains:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...otential.html/ (WFS)

Since you don't want to put a lot of fat on I would make sure you aren't gaining faster than what you think you can add muscle wise (you will still gain fat, it is pretty much impossible not to).