I am a 39 year old male. 268lbs 23% BF 6ft tall. I have a long history of football (HS, College, semi-pro), powerlifting, body building, crossfit… I have always been able to put on muscle like a mad man sometimes without trying. When I say without trying, I mean eating 1500 to 2000 calories a day and not lifting heavy. I one year I did that and put on 22 lbs of muscle. Here is where i’m at, I am turning 40 in 8 months and it seems in recent years, my body is not responding to cutting type diets like it used to. That coupled with a few major surgeries (Lt shoulder : replacement 2012, Rt shoulder: scope, bone spur removal, proximal bicep tendonesis Dec 2018) So I am at a cross roads where I am fighting arthritic joints and feel I need to stay away from heavy weights and additionally, I don’t feel I need to carry 260+ lbs for any good reason anymore. I still want to retain healthy muscle but reduce overall mass. Suggestions please!!!
Buckshot,
Thanks for the post and welcome. I find it highly unlikely that you put on 22lbs of muscle in 1 year without being in a caloric surplus, as evidenced by the fact you’re 268 and 6’. I’d put your body fat around 33% if I had to guess based on your anthropometry and recent training history.
That all being said, I have no reason to doubt that you respond well to training. I do not think you need to “stay away from heavy weights” for any reason and I think it’s likely you’re carrying about 40lbs or so of extra body fat. My recommendation would be to resistance train 2-3x/wk using an autoregulated, progressive overload-type program and eat a diet that puts you in a caloric deficit (and thus, makes you lose weight).
Jordan,
Thanks for you reply.
I also found it hard to believe that I could put on muscle while reducing calories, it defies all logic and biology, trust me I was dumbfounded as it shouldn’t work that way. but I did, and looking back on it, it may have been more like 1.5 years. I am basing the 23% on the bizcal US Navy formula Calculator, with 37.5 waist and 17.5 neck… I have not done an official water tank or pinch calibrator test in a few years. But I have used a Tanita Body Composition scale and it lines up with the bizcal formula. Never the less, that is where I got that number from. Could be wrong I suppose…
Anyhow, if I understand what you are suggesting, its basically a old school strength building regimen based on a 3 rep max ? Correct me if i’m wrong, but isn’t that training designed specifically for adding size and strength?
The calorie deficient diet makes sense, below is what my typical training diet has been over the last few years. Including when I have added loads of muscle.
0430 - wake
0445 - 1/2 banana and cup of coffee (black)
0500- gym
0700- post workout shake (40 grams protein, 25 grams carbs, BCAA, multi vitamin… approx. 400 cals)
1000- 100 calorie pack walnuts/almonds - lowfat string cheese (60 cals)
1300- 6 oz. lean protein (elk, venison, beef or chicken), 8 oz can of green beans
1600- RTD Muscle milk (160 cals, 30 grams protein)
1900- lean protein and veggie . typically 1 can of tuna and salad or 6 egg whites and leafy greens
I don’t think I would specifically recommend for or against a training regimen based on a 3RM without seeing it first, but yes I am recommending you regularly engage in resistance training. I think training in such a way where you could induce increased lean body mass, get stronger, etc. are all good ideas.
The calorie deficient diet makes sense, below is what my typical training diet has been over the last few years. Including when I have added loads of muscle.
0430 - wake
0445 - 1/2 banana and cup of coffee (black)
0500- gym
0700- post workout shake (40 grams protein, 25 grams carbs, BCAA, multi vitamin… approx. 400 cals)
1000- 100 calorie pack walnuts/almonds - lowfat string cheese (60 cals)
1300- 6 oz. lean protein (elk, venison, beef or chicken), 8 oz can of green beans
1600- RTD Muscle milk (160 cals, 30 grams protein)
1900- lean protein and veggie . typically 1 can of tuna and salad or 6 egg whites and leafy greens
Yea this looks decent in protein- maybe a bit low for your body weight, age, etc.
I don’t think that it’s likely your previous diet and training “defies all logic and biology”, but is better explained by an alternative hypothesis.
Okay, I will bite. What is the alternative Hypothesis?
Eating more calories than reported and/or having LBM gains smaller than reported.