Do I Need To Be In A Surplus?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi,

I’m currently making my way through NLP. My stats are 23yo M, 6ft3 at around 210lbs. I’ve put on weight over the last few months, some of which being fat. I feel a little uncomfortable with how I look, but honestly just wanna get strong.

My question is: can I still make the same strength gains without eating so much food? I honestly don’t really enjoy eating a lot, mainly because I have stomach problems that I think are worsened by high food intake.

Will I in any way be doing myself a disservice by just focusing on protein intake and not worrying about calories?

I see Austin lifting over 3x BW on some lifts which makes me think all this bulking stuff isn’t necessary.

Thanks,

Andre

2

You should be fine with a more conservative food intake.

If you notice poor progress on the program, I would simply change programs, rather than trying to force down more food in an attempt to push progress.

3

Thanks for the reply.

So is it correct to say that strength and muscles gains could be a result of poor programming but being in a constant surplus, or on the flip side exceptional programming and maintenance/deficit calories?

4

I’m not sure that I understand the phrase entirely, but it’s highly unlikely that poor programming will drive strength or hypertrophy improvements while in an energy surplus. The better the programming gets for an individual, the more likely it is to work period.