Macros for Strength Gains

power242lifting
power242lifting Posts: 1 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Been lifting weights for about 10 years. I am not a body builder but a power lifter. Two questions but related... Has anyone been able to get stronger and lose a little bit of weight and what are your macros? Is it more important to keep your fat macros higher than your carb macros? I keep my protein around 1g per lean body mass. Carbs give me the energy I need to lift very heavy. And carbs help my post recovery. Should I eat more carbs and less fat on my heavy days? And more fat on my light days? Not worried about losing muscle mass...just want to get stronger. I know the more muscle mass the more potential there is to be stronger. I am about 10 lbs over in a weight class I want to compete in. I don't take any drugs to cut (or gain) and I don't want to dehydrate before weight lifting meet. It will be next year before I compete.

Replies

  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    power242lifting wrote: »
    Been lifting weights for about 10 years. I am not a body builder but a power lifter. Two questions but related... Has anyone been able to get stronger and lose a little bit of weight and what are your macros? Is it more important to keep your fat macros higher than your carb macros? I keep my protein around 1g per lean body mass. Carbs give me the energy I need to lift very heavy. And carbs help my post recovery. Should I eat more carbs and less fat on my heavy days? And more fat on my light days? Not worried about losing muscle mass...just want to get stronger. I know the more muscle mass the more potential there is to be stronger. I am about 10 lbs over in a weight class I want to compete in. I don't take any drugs to cut (or gain) and I don't want to dehydrate before weight lifting meet. It will be next year before I compete.

    Unless you are having some kind of energy problem that would indicate more carbs, or more rest and recovery, there is no particular benefit to manipulating macros beyond getting adequate protein.

    Your macro hierarchy wants to be adequate protein, which is sounds like you are doing, adequate fat for hormonal function. For a man, about .3 grams per lb of body weight (women a little more and it is a little more important for hormones) and carbs for the rest. Or whatever you want for the rest. The protein and fat are minimums. There is no real benefit to increase protein or fat but if that's what you want to do, no harm either.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    dlatorre80s wrote: »
    You definitely need energy and carbs give you that energy, in order to loose fat just lower the percentage of fat in your macros. And you want to eat lots of carbs when heavy lifting.
    You can change your macros each day depending when you lift heavy. High carbs when lifting heavy.

    Carb cycling is really a matter of preference assuming one is eating adequate amounts. If one is doing keto or low carb, carb cycling can certainly help for workouts. It can be dangerous and unhealthy for hormone function to lower fats too much. Carbs don't need to be "high" for lifting. I get +/- 150 grams per day on average and train 3 to 4 times per week with no energy issues. If one is having energy issues, it is usually more a function of recovery and load management.

    and i would advocate higher carbs on the day before a heavy session to let the glycogen build up - vs. trying to replenish it. my highest carb days are rest days, so that i kill my workout the next day

    Yes, excellent point.
  • Rawrmachin3
    Rawrmachin3 Posts: 20 Member
    Carbs are important and in some ways more important to protein. Look at jay cutler. He used to eat around 180g of protein and 1500g of carbs.

    Protein synthesis isn’t something that is constant in the body. It happens when it happens. Keep your blood aminos at a stable level so when the body needs it it is there. Protein isn’t what builds the muscle it’s the body breaking down the protein and converting it to aminos which are the building blocks. (Without getting to in detail)

    I eat lean meat and good carb sources like white rice or sweet potatoes every 3 hours. At night I eat steak with 1 cup of avocado slices made into paste for a sauce. The less lean sirloin and the fats in the avocado delay digestion keeping my amino levels more constant throughout the night. This allows my body to stay prepped for protein synthesis whenever it should occur. You’re not going to gain.

    You can gain strength and maintain or gain muscle mass while cutting but it’s a science to it. A surplus is ideal for gaining obviously but you can gain though much slower while cutting.

    I’ve been cutting here recently and just benched 455x5 for 2 sets and 495x1 not including my warm up sets. These were PRs for me. It hasn’t been easy and has taken some trial and error but once you figure out your body you can do it. My macros are 40% protein 30% carbs 30% fats. Eat healthy fats and only eat simple carbs/high glycemic when training and after and eat complex on days you’re not working out.

    You will need to dehydrate to compete as that’s what a lot of people do and it will give them an edge.



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