Gaining weight on Strength III

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi,

For someone on the Strength III template aiming to gain weight on a calorie surplus, is there a certain portion of the program this is most appropriate for - as I’m aware certain portions of it are lower in volume (e.g. the last 2 weeks). My understanding of being in a surplus is that it is mainly for gaining muscle mass which may possibly aid in strength performance in the long term (although I’m aware the evidence on muscle gain increasing strength is controversial somewhat at the moment). ### I’m on the second to last week of Strength III and have gone back to maintainence calories based on the fact that I’m assuming volume wouldn’t be high enough to increase muscle mass during the peak weeks and so being in a surplus might not benefit me in that portion of the program.

Would I be correct in my approach? I saw a similar post from someone else where someone had mentioned only being in a surplus in the developmental block which didn’t seem like very long to me?

For some background, I’ve been lifting for just over 10 years.

Current stats:

Weight: 65kg

Height 5.5"

Waist 30.75"

Squat - (best 160kg) current e1RM 149kg

Bench - (best 92.5kg) current e1RM 90kg

Deadlift (best 190kg) current e1RM 195kg

I was stronger previously at a slightly heavier bodyweight (68kg) but when the gyms closed with COVID my lifts went down as I lost some weight. Whilst maintaining my weight initially on the Powerbuilding I-II programs i didn’t really see any progress and si### nce my bodyweight has been around 64-68kg for years now and I really want to push my lifts up (bench in particular as hoping to get at least 100kg in the next year) I figured it might be useful to push my weight up to see what happens (up to around around 72-73kg or so).

So I tried powerbuilding III in a slight calorie surplus (1lb per month) but whilst my bicep curls and chinups got much better, my squat, bench, and deadlift didn’t really change.

However, since being on Strenth III with the same surplus and gaining another 3lbs of bodyweight, all of my lifts have gone up around 7.5kg.

2

Nope. The entire program is more than suitable for modest weight gain (or loss). I would not micromanage bodyweight based on small programming changes, e.g. moving to a different block, deload weeks, etc. This is especially true given that appreciable changes in muscle mass and fat take a long time.