to gain weight or not

[bulaboy]

I've been lurking on this forum for a while now and have learned quite a bit thanks to you guys. I am a 54 year old guy who has been lifting in the winters but bicycling in the summers. I don't consider myself a noob cause I've been lifting for years. I just burn everything (muscle and fat) off each summer by riding thousands of miles on the bike. As a result I've never gotten particularly big or strong. I've decided to end my cycling "career" and stick with the strength training cause bicycling causes too many imbalances, loss of bone density... and I have been crashing too much and in the past few years these crashes have been leaving me with lots of broken bones. So anyway I am confused about something and I joined the forum in order to get clarity on the following issue: Just how much weight shall I allow myself to gain? I'm probably around 12-15% BF now after a couple months of lifting. I've gained 10 lbs from 165 to 175 and most of it is muscle. The six pack is starting to disappear though. Yeah I know it's the price you pay for getting stronger, but how far shall I go before restricting calories and cutting. I'm not there yet but I've read some conflicting stuff on this forum. I'll do what it takes. Losing or gaining is not a problem, but what is optimal? I read one post that said a study was done where guys were given 1000 more calories/day and 35% of their weight gain was muscle. Somewhere else I read that the body starts producing more estrogen when fat levels get above 15%. Then I read about powerlifters who are always smooth and they are as strong as can be. Where do you draw the line? Thanks in advance for your input, and for listening to my long and drawn out question.

[Shane_]

just bump your calories up and high protein gently until you are gaining mostly lean mass and not too much body fat. If you are either lower your cals or change your macros

[adelman337]

read some of the article by Justin Harris, he knows his stuff.

[bulaboy]

I couldn't find that article Adelman.

[XX]

lean bulk until you are satisfied with the muscle gained or the fat gained is too much for you to be comfortable with. I wouldnt recommend letting yourself get any higher than 17%, then you start getting into metabolic issues that arent so nice.

[farmer]

This is a tough question but an important one. In the end it's going to come down to you and your goals. Your general health, metabolism, and how far your willing to go to get there will all play a part.

If your diet is right there's no excuse for anyone to get fat. This is not the answer your looking for but I guess it's all up to you and what you're comfortable with. One things for sure...in order to gain muscle, you're gonna have to get your protein and calories. If you add a little more bodyfat than you want in the process, it simply means you need to play around with your diet and find the right amounts for you. Once you start focusing solely on lifting you'll begin to learn what works best for you. Sometimes you can just feel it. Sorry I couldn't help more.

farmer

[bulaboy]

thanks guys

One thing I just noticed, after 2 months of reduced cardio and increased saturated fats in my diet from eating more animal products to get more protein, my blood pressure is up 10 points on both the systolic and the diastolic. If that trend continues I'll be considered hypertensive soon. I'm not eating red meat either. Just adding chicken, fish and whey protein. Any of you guys having blood pressure issues as a result of the lifter lifestyle?

[dbcb314]

Get as fat as you want to be lol

For example... I can be 20% and still not really care all that much. I bet if discuslifter got past 12% he would kill himself :D



and my blood pressure has always been fine... but... im 21... so...

[weee]

After a couple ups and downs in weight due to various goals and initially an excessive bulk, I can REALLY tell when my body fat has reached a level where it adversely effects my gains. Strength starts to go down, weight goes up rapidly and it all seems fat, body image gets distorded and/or I really am that much fatter all of a sudden. The first time I panicked, went on a cutter, and lost most of the muscle and some of the strength gained.

This time, I dropped back to what I know is my maintenance diet, and I feel great, distorded body image is gone.

good luck!

[adelman337]

http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12337&highlight=justin+harris
http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12123&highlight=justin+harris