Got Strong but Fat [HELP]

[darksprezzatura]

Hey guys.

Ive gotten fat again in the journey to make strength gains.

It's not like quitting working out and eating junk all day long.

My strength has massively improved:

Bench: 248 lb
Squat: 347 lb
Single Arm Row: 124 lb (I don't DL)

I've gained over 50 pounds in an year, being in an excessive than required calorie deficit.

I avoided cardio and deficits for being scared to lose my strength gains but now I don't like how I look in the mirror.

I need to go on a massive cut but need some motivation for the same. Any advice?

 

[rart]

what's your age, height, and weight?

You don't have to get fat to get strong, but getting stronger does require gaining weight. You'll have to accept a certain body fat percentage to be OK. I think 20% body fat is totally normal if you can back it up with strong lifts. You will not look fat, you'll look strong. Granted, you will not have a six pack and you don't need it.

You say you don't like how you look, so I assume you are willing to loose some fat. What you need is very very slight caloric deficit. If you are willing to go through all the madness of counting calories, this is the most precise way to do it. What I do, however, is just clean up my diet: cut alcohol, sugars, processes foods (do allow a beer or two one day a week) and just monitor my satiety levels. Add a bit of activity, like walking or cycling. Weigh yourself every week.

On training side, don't try to go for PRs, but try to stay around your latest PR. Reduce reps if needed. For example if your squat PR was 345 5 reps for 3 sets, then do 340 3 reps for 5 sets.

Do add deadlifts to your program. Heavy deadlifts are taxing, so do just one set of 5s once or twice a week.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

You'll learn over time that all you do by gaining weight by to build muscle and then cutting to get lean is a zero sum game. Far better for you and your body to do it slow and steady.

You will not lose mass doing cardio unless you do it excessively

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

You'll learn over time that all you do by gaining weight by to build muscle and then cutting to get lean is a zero sum game. Far better for you and your body to do it slow and steady.

You will not lose mass doing cardio unless you do it excessively

Yes I agree with this. Anyone can get stronger if they put on enough weight, but it's just not worth it. You take 1 step forward then 2 steps back.

Waist size, and overall BF% are highly correlated with all cause mortality and overall fitness. It doesn't matter if you're strong when you have high BF%, any benefits are washed away.

Don't do cardio to lose weight. Do the same workouts and reduce weight or volume as needed. I'd highly suggest fasting. Losing weight is 95% diet.

 

[Kotaix]

If you don't already count your calories, start doing that as well as the source of them. You can probably maintain strength by switching your calories from fat to protein and lose some weight that way, but you'll have to play with it yourself since everyone is different.

The other thing to try is a keto diet. One of my coworkers who does hardcore crossfit lost a ton of weight with Keto for her wedding. I'm not sure what her strength or endurance losses were from the diet, but she certainly didn't lose much muscle mass.

You'll probably need to strike a balance between looks and strength at some point though.

 

[DonJuanjr]

My strength has massively improved:

Bench: 248 lb

Have you been following my rep suggestion? I stopped benching in the 6 rep range, and stick to 12. Today is chest day for me, and I hit a pr of 295 for 1 rep. Next week I'll hit 300 for sure. My benching looks like:
Set 1 - 227 - 11 reps
Set 2 - 217 - 12 reps
Set 3 - 207 - 11 reps
Set 4 - 197 - 12 reps

 

[nicksaiz65]

Have you been following my rep suggestion? I stopped benching in the 6 rep range, and stick to 12. Today is chest day for me, and I hit a pr of 295 for 1 rep. Next week I'll hit 300 for sure. My benching looks like:
Set 1 - 227 - 11 reps
Set 2 - 217 - 12 reps
Set 3 - 207 - 11 reps
Set 4 - 197 - 12 reps

Awesome strength.

I assume you’re using micro plates to get these specific weights.

 

[nicksaiz65]

Oh, and I wanted to chime in with a really useful tip I heard that can stop your bulks from going out of control. You choose a “range” or “window” of weight/Bodyfat that you want to be in, where you always like how you look. Once you leave the top of that range, you’ve got to call it on the bulk. You take your chips from the table, and you accept what muscle gain you made in that phase. Then you cut until you get near the bottom of that range, and you rinse and repeat.

That way, even if life happens and the lean bulk goes a bit quicker than expected? You’ll still be able to catch it. And this ensures that your cuts are always manageable too.

 

[DonJuanjr]

Awesome strength.

I assume you’re using micro plates to get these specific weights.

I have 1lb. wrist weights for boxing, that I put on the bar. I didn't want to spend the money for 1lb plates. I also use standard plates instead of olympic unfortunately...

 

[DEEZEDBRAH]

Hey guys.

Ive gotten fat again in the journey to make strength gains.

It's not like quitting working out and eating junk all day long.

My strength has massively improved:

Bench: 248 lb
Squat: 347 lb
Single Arm Row: 124 lb (I don't DL)

I've gained over 50 pounds in an year, being in an excessive than required calorie deficit.

I avoided cardio and deficits for being scared to lose my strength gains but now I don't like how I look in the mirror.

I need to go on a massive cut but need some motivation for the same. Any advice?

Go intermittent fasting but practice a gradual calorie deficit. Incremental decrease weekly. Do steady state cardio for now until you drop weight. Then run. Skip for now. Start off 30secd sprints skipping rope. Increase to 60. Move up to 5min and do 5 sessions.

Meal prep. Don't eat out. Only buy nutritional foods. Eat chicken and broccoli from here on throughout summer. Drink more water.

Fifty is a lot in a year. Maybe get a physical done as a safe checkup. Work on mobility. Meditate as a stress reliever. Take up biking this summer.