help with bodyweight and lifting

[Introspective]

Around 2 months ago i weighed 12 stone 8 pounds, today i weighed 16 stone 1 pound, 16 is my ideal weight so i want to stick as i am
Will i still be able to make progress in my lifts if i try and keep my current weight as it is? im still doing single factor 5x5

 

[asdfzxcv]

It is definately possible to get stronger whilst staying the same weight.My lifts have all pogressed rather well and yet my weight has not changed.Strength will increase due to an increase in CNS efficency and motor unit recruitment,rather then increases in muscle size.

If you have a fair margin of bodyfat(around 18%+) it is possible to remain at a steady weight while gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time (though both happen at slower rates then dedicated cut/bulk cycles).

hope this helps

 

[anotherbutters]

You've put on 49 lbs in about 2 months? How can there be anything ideal about that?

Food is an incredibly anabolic substance. All you've done is taken a short cut to your 'ideal weight' without utilising the food to build muscle along the way.

 

[Introspective]

I had no idea i was gonna weigh 16 stone, i was expecting scales to say something like 13-14, My cousin weigh's 15 stone something and he says i dont look 16 stone at all, he get weighed often he was expecting me to weigh about 13-14 also.
About taking a shortcut, that is the first time i have ever heard anyone say anything about utilising food to build muscle along the way. I read the post's on youngsquaters journal where mark ripptoe told him to drink gallon of milk a day. And also people saying eat like it's going out of style, so thats what i did. I havn't been doing any cardio, but when i get my tredmill early january im gonna lose some bodyfat then. Also i think im gonna cut back a little to keep my current weight.
I havn't been following a proper eating plan, but earley january i will be starting to eat clean and counting my calories protein fat, and not drinking much milk.

 

[anotherbutters]

About taking a shortcut, that is the first time i have ever heard anyone say anything about utilising food to build muscle along the way.

What do you think the reason for the following is?

I read the post's on youngsquaters journal where mark ripptoe told him to drink gallon of milk a day. And also people saying eat like it's going out of style

"Drinking a gallon of milk a day" and "eating like it's going out of style" simply mean eat enough excess food to support building muscle, which is what I was referring to. You've just gone a little overboard, that's all.

The body's only capable of building so much muscle per week. Once you've reached that amount, any extra food you eat is just going to get stored as fat, no matter how clean your diet is. Otherwise, we'd all be eating 10,000 clean calories a day and putting on several pounds of muscle every week. A very rough rule of thumb is that you can build 1lb of muscle per week, but it will vary depending on your age, how effective your training is, how much sleep you're getting, etc.

The best thing for building muscle is simply an excess of calories. From your original weight of 12 stone 8, you could have put on 1lb per week for 49 weeks, most of which would have been muscle. As it is, you've gone up 49lbs in just 2 months (say 10 weeks), so you might have put on 10lbs of muscle, but 39 lbs of fat.

 

[blut wump]

I weigh about the same (approx 19 stone) as I did a year ago give or take a couple of kilos but my BF has dropped by about 6 or 7 points. If the extra blubber doesn't bother you then don't let it bother you. Keep lifting hard and your body will recomposition as time passes. Bear in mind that when doing dips, chins, squats, deadlifts etc, you're having to lift that surplus bodyweight.

Just as some would consider it a mistake to pile it on in a couple of months, many would consider it an equal folly to try to lose it rapidly.

 

[Introspective]

Thanks for your help guys, i didn't know about the 1 pound of muscle a week rule but cheers 4 that butters i will stick by that from now on.
I would prefer to be 16 stone of pretty much solid muscle, can you guys suggest what would be the best way to keep my muscle, lose the fat whilst still making the same progress with my strength ?
maybe eat same level of protein hardly any fat cut down on overall eating stop drinking lots of whole milk and try more cardio?

 

[blut wump]

When I want to lose weight I cut out evening carbs and pretty much eliminate bread from my diet. Besides that, keep hitting the gym. I've heard cardio can help but it isn't needed.

 

[Introspective]

Thanks blut wump, no more kfc, pizza and fish and chips for me.
I will weigh myself in about 3-4 weeks and report back.
How can i tell how fat i am, is there something i can buy to measure bodyfat?

 

[blut wump]

I got some calipers from IronMind ( http://www.ironmind.com )

Take a look at this page for testing methods.
http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magazine/ultimatebodyfattestingguide.htm

 

[Introspective]

Thanks again blut wump.
You must spread some Karma around before giving it to blut wump again.

 

[Warrior57]

just wondering how to comvert pounds to stones. I live in the US and just wondering what i would wieght over there. Thanks. as far as training goes, ive been fat since i was a kid. only til after high school did i start to work out. i use to weigh 350lbs and was very unhappy. i worked hard and last year i was down to 236lbs. im bigger now but my fat percent is around 16%. still higher what i want it to be but i weigh 275lbs at 5'8" i will be dropping 20-30lbs here shortly. everyone is different as far as gaining muscle. i gain weight and then in the process turn as much into muscle, then try to cut fat, then do the cycle over again.

 

[Introspective]

here is a conversion calculator. http://www.web-max.ca/tools/conversion_page2.php?select=77
i weigh 16 stone 1 pound = 226 pound 275 = 19.6 stone
My ideal weight is 16 stone, im gonna try lose the fat and gain muscle at the same time whilst trying to keep at the same weight, strange thing is as butters said i have probably put on about 30 or so pounds of fat and only around 10 muscle, but i look slightly more toned than i did at 12 stone 8, and even then i had a little muscle showing,i dont know why i weigh so much, i might have to get circumsized

 

[anotherbutters]

i dont know why i weigh so much, i might have to get circumsized

lol. Well considering that wouldn't be fat you'd be removing, that would cause your bf% to increase slightly

 

[Introspective]

Not sure about increased bodyfat lol, but still i would lose a kilo in weight