Obligatory -weight.what do? Thread.

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
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Hi Jordan. I was going to post this to the Barbell Medicine group programming group but got a little long.

After what seems like forever of rotating to between maintenance and calorie deficit. (Losing 20kg over the last 2 years).

I’m now officially in no man’s land. I’m not lean enough to have any kind of muscular definition. But at the same time getting quite skinny in the legs etc. I’m 5ft10 and weigh in at 75kilos and a waistline of 31.( On a good day). BF at a wild guess is 14-15%. Still got that small irritating amount of fat around my belly button.

This is the first time I’ve ever ran a 4 day lifting program doing intermediate 2. And with baby number 2 on the horizon coming end of may. It kind of feels like my only chance to maybe run a calorie surplus and gain for 3 months.

So my question is. Is this even worth doing? Is 3 months enough to build meaningful muscle mass that I can hold onto once baby arrives and I’m short on time?

I see things around the internet with quoted studies that the lower the bodyfat the better and easier it is to clean bulk. They quote 12% as a good start point for men. Any accuracy in this?

Ive been doing all my GPP and this is the most weights I’ve ever done week to week. I have more time to train then I ever have and am currently tracking food better then usual.

Not a simple question with a simple answer I’m aware. Just some guidance on wether you would consider this a reasonable option given the next few months of training before my life is thrown up in the air again!

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I think the biggest determinant of what you should do now should be what do you really want out of your training right now? If getting bigger is your priority, I have no reservations in you choosing that path.

With respect to things that make weight gain with resistance training go better, we know that modest increases in Calories tend to have a more favorable muscle:fat ratio than large increases. We also know that eating relatively high amounts of protein are necessary to facilitate muscle gain, even during overfeeding. We don’t know what, if any, role of existing body fat levels plays, as this has never been directly studied in individuals who were training. Rather, we’re extrapolating data from sedentary folks in overfeeding studies.

As far as the time course for gaining muscle mass, yes 3 months is a good chunk of time for that.

So, if you want increase your jackitude before the baby comes- you have my blessing :slight_smile:

1 Like
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Jordan. Thank you for this response. Excellent as always. I’m going to give it some serious thought over the weekend. I’m really enjoying all the training atm either way. But I’ve always wanted to at least gain a small amount of weight but have never felt ready in the past!

Have a great weekend.