Why is it better to get lean before bulking?

[Mr.X]

Re: Re: fatass

Are you sure about this?

I was always under the impression that you constantly have the same number of fat cells, its just when your body stores fat the fat cells you have expand.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

He's right: the NUMBER of fat-cells can INCREASE but can NEVER decrease, only lose size and shrink. So, the less you have the better.

p.s. by never I'm discounting lypo and PGF2a

Mr.X

 

[DanielBishop]

I did go search for it. Just unsuccessfully....

 

[fatpimp]

sorry... just one question.. what is PGF2a? thanks

 

[crash3837]

Re: Re: Re: fatass

He's right: the NUMBER of fat-cells can INCREASE but can NEVER decrease, only lose size and shrink. So, the less you have the better.

p.s. by never I'm discounting lypo and PGF2a

Mr.X

I see, I see my bad.
It didn't sink in when I was reading his post that he was describing exactly what I was saying.

 

[DanielBishop]

But there's no physiological reason why your ability to gain muscle mass would be increased if you're leaner? Fat cells aren't catabolic or anything? Lean people don't absorb protein better or stimulate more insulin or testosterone? Nothing like that?

Just that the fat you gain during your bulking phase will be much easier to deal with.... righto.

 

[Mr.X]

sorry... just one question.. what is PGF2a? thanks

PGF2a is that stuff they inject into femal dogs for them to go into heat....

Mr.X

 

[MS]

"But there's no physiological reason why your ability to gain muscle mass would be increased if you're leaner? Fat cells
aren't catabolic or anything? Lean people don't absorb protein better or stimulate more insulin or testosterone? Nothing
like that? "

Wrong. The leaner you are, the higher the percent of weight gained will be muscle. Likewise if you are fat, you will add a higher percent of fat when 'bulking". This 'anabolic window' is what many knowledgeable bodybuilders take advantage of in the first few weeks post competition. It most likely is tied up closely with leptin levels and insulin sensitivity. With good diet and training you can gain a large proportion of LBM during this time. The other side of this coin is that it's easier for a fat dude to lose mostly fat with minimal LBM loss during the start of his diet.

Then there's the modernized 'setpoint' theory of fat gain which basically means that your body will remember the fattest it's ever been in life, and try very hard to return to that level of fatness after a diet. Don't ever let yourself get fat because you will forever more gravitate back to that bodyfat level.

 

[Tagio]

this is depressing, I was at like 30 something percent in my early teens.

 

[MS]

You may get away with it if you don't stay fat for very long. The long term problems seem to kick in if you let your weight 'stabilize' at a higher %fat so your body becomes accustomed to it. However if you've kept you fat off since your early teens, then you probably don't have too much to worry about?

As a side note, it seems your body 'remembers' your total fat mass, not your % fat. So you may have been 30% fat and 100 lbs (therefore of 30 lbs fat) at age 13, yet you might, with puberty, manage to gain 50 lbs of LBM and no fat making you only 20% fat, but your brain is still happy because it gets to keep it's 30 lbs of fat.......

 

[DanielBishop]

MS, please tell me about "muscle memory".... it's kinda along the same lines.

Is it true that if you lose muscle through dieting or a lay-off from training, or perhaps illness etc.... your body will be able to quickly return to that size when you get back into proper diet and training? Something like that? Please explain.