Gaining while controlling body fat%?

zz0413

Ok, so I've always been a really lean athlete but more on the embarrassingly scrawny side (5'11, 145lbs, ~12-14% fat). Overweight people said I looked great, but fit and athletic people encouraged me to eat. I've been really dedicated to lifting weights 4x per week and eating a healthy surplus for the past 5.5 weeks. I'm a little concerned about how to control body fat. I'm seeing gains in weight and strength, but it also comes with fat% (now 154 lbs, ~15-16% fat).

Does anyone have any tips for what I should be doing to keep growing while keeping body fat around 10-14%? I currently limit cardio but play competitive tennis 1-2 times per week for 2hrs a pop. When I do, I "eat back" all those burned calories. What should I do from here?

Any tips/experience appreciated. Thanks!

Brolympus

You can't gain muscle without some fat. It's not possible; Nobody has a 100% calorie partitioning ratio in favor of muscle (called p-ratio). Just part of our built in survival mechanisms. Think back to our ancestors trying to prepare for winter; if any surplus they ate got converted into 100% muscle (which also demands more energy for upkeep) and no fat, they would starve a heck of a lot faster if they couldn't find food for an extended period. There would be no way to store up for anticipated famines. Obviously, this evolutionary feature is no longer helpful in modern-day society.

A big part of your body's p-ratio is determined by genetics (unfortunately). However, your current bf % is also a significant factor in how your p-ratio is geared.

Low bf % means more of your surplus calories will be pushed to muscle tissue production. It is also harder to cut body fat at a lower body fat %. Typically fat becomes particularly stubborn to drop past 10% for men without losing some lean mass in the process.

At high bf%, your body tends to put more of your surplus cals into fat storage, and less and less into muscle production. This shift starts to really kick in past 20% body fat for men. This is where most people stop bulking and cut back down to an ideal bf for building muscle.

The surplus has its limits; your body can only make so much muscle in a given time frame, therefore there is a maximum amount of calories that will go into tissue production. Any amount over this goes 100% into fat storage. This number is recognized as somewhere between 300-500 calories over your maintenance cals. The p-ratio still applies though, even in this range, some of the cals will go to fat storage.

It takes a lot less time to drop 1lb of fat than it does to build 1lb of muscle because of this imposed restriction on muscle production, which is why most people choose bulk/cut cycles. It is the most time efficient way to build lean mass.

You could possibly pursue a body recompisition, where you cycle between a small surplus and a small deficit every few days. Your body will slowly gain muscle this way while staying relatively the same bodyfat, but again, this is a terribly slow way to build muscle. You would be lucky to get half of what could be realized bulking at a moderate surplus, because a) you may not hit your surplus goal due to logging inaccuracies in cals and exercise, which are common. Trying to maintain a small surplus of a 100, 200, or even 300 cals when your logging inaccuracy could be as much as +/- 10-20% everyday makes it a futile effort at best. You might just be hitting maintenance, thinking you are in a surplus, and get very frustrated when you aren't getting any stronger.

TL;DR: You are gonna gain some fat. Its part of bulking. You can cut it later. Just don't overeat and make unnecessary work for yourself.

zz0413

Thanks for the info/suggestions. First time putting anything on my small frame had me in a body-fat panic. I'll keep watching the cals.

Brolympus

Just realized I forgot my b). LOL. long post is long. was just gonna say trying to train as hard in a deficit/maintenance as you do in a bulk will wear on you, you might not hit the progression required to trigger growth because you will just feel flat when you hit the gym.

Moar info on calories/diet/p-ratio: acaloriecounter.com/diet/

seanm55

man i wouldnt stress the fat, brolympus is right, building for growth you will pack on some fat, if your 12-14% and keep eating healthy and working out 4x a week you should be able to keep the fat at bay and continue to grow.

jdscrubs32

zz0413 wrote: »

Thanks for the info/suggestions. First time putting anything on my small frame had me in a body-fat panic. I'll keep watching the cals.

Do it slowly. I was like you when I started this as I had a small frame as well and was worried about body fat. Got over that as its hard to gain muscle without gaining fat at the same time. If you take it slowly though, the increase will be the same for both which is happening to me. Be patient and you will get there.
What @Brolympus said above is right.