Bodyweight

Managing bodyweight is primarily a concern of competitive weightlifters, although most athletes will certainly have reason to control their weight in order to maximize performance. There are three basic bodyweight scenarios: maintaining weight, losing weight and gaining weight. All three have the implicit goal of maximizing functional muscle mass—body fat does not lift weights.

Bodyweight can effectively be controlled by both training and nutrition. However, because training should be focused on achieving athletic and functional objectives, the primary control of bodyweight is better left for nutrition. In addition, nutrition offers much greater possible control because of the relative ease of shifting calorie balance to great degrees.

The fundamental principle of bodyweight—and the one that is so frequently neglected—is the First Law of Thermodynamics: Neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed. The two can be converted, but there is never any net change in the total quantity. What this means in terms of bodyweight is that weight cannot be reduced without a deficit of energy, and weight cannot be increased without a surplus of energy. No amount of heavy back squatting will make a skinny kid huge if said skinny kid refuses to eat more energy and material than his body is using simply to survive—as remarkable as the human body is, it cannot create muscle tissue from thin air. Likewise, no amount of physical activity will cause a reduction in bodyweight if the individual is consuming more food energy than is being used in a given period of time. These things seem obvious, but they’re ignored to an exasperating degree. When evaluating a bodyweight plan, always return to and rely on this fundamental principle to guide your decisions.

Dr. Michael Eades recently posted an article about this very topic, actually criticizing this argument. His criticism was based on the addition of the second law of thermodynamics—entropy. Entropy is the transfer of a percentage of the energy during a chemical reaction to the realm outside the reaction—commonly this transfer is referred to as a “loss”, but because, according to the first law, energy cannot be lost, it is simply being relocated, usually in the form of heat. Eades goes on to explain that protein has fewer usable calories per gram than carbohydrate because the greater number of chemical reactions required to use protein as energy result in a lower net amount of energy with the increased entropy. This is of course true, and is an excellent argument for using low-carb nutrition for weight loss, but it does not alter the fact that a calorie is a calorie—it only forces us to consider calories in terms of net instead of gross. And it certainly does not change the fact that an individual cannot gain weight without a net calorie surplus, or lose weight without a net calorie deficit.

Maintaining Weight

Maintaining weight is a simple endeavor. For those who compete or live at bodyweights other than what would occur naturally, maintenance can range from requiring no work at all to being extremely troublesome. For those who maintain their weights without any thought, the only remaining issue is that of body composition.

As was alluded to previously, the maintenance of bodyweight is simply a matter of balancing energy consumed as food and energy expended through metabolism. This is referred to as a calorie or energy balance. For those whose bodyweights fluctuate continually, the goal is developing consistency in eating and activity. The first step is to assess the current situation. A detailed food journal should be kept for at least a week, describing accurate quantities of each food and any beverages, including water. Online programs can be used to then calculate calories and macronutrients for each day. In this journal, records of bodyweight can be kept as well. Weight should be taken at the same time and under the same conditions every time. The typical recommendation is to weight first thing in the morning on an empty stomach; however, we’re concerned with bodyweight two hours prior to competition. This being the case, it may be more appropriate to check bodyweight later in the day. For the most accuracy, check weight at both times each day. The food and weight journal should be paired with the athlete’s training records to provide a complete picture.

The first thing to look at is water consumption—16 ounces of water weighs 1 pound. Much bodyweight fluctuation can be attributed to inconsistent hydration, particularly considering most individuals are not extraordinarily disciplined with their water intake. If the food log shows large changes in water consumption that correlate appropriately with bodyweight changes—that is, lower water intake is associate with lower bodyweight and vice versa—the first step should be equalizing daily water consumption for a period of time and evaluating its effect on bodyweight.

If during a period of consistent hydration bodyweight does not stabilize satisfactorily, it will be necessary to additionally make adjustments to food intake. Start by averaging the daily calorie totals from the food log to arrive at a baseline. From this, determine a daily calorie intake: if the weight fluctuation tends to be heavy, start with 5-10% fewer calories than the average; if the weight fluctuation tends to be light, start with 5-10% more calories than the average. Attempt to hit this calorie number every day for a week and assess its effect on bodyweight. Continue making minor calorie intake adjustments according until the desired bodyweight is reached and maintained. Be patient and give each intake level at least a week before adjusting.

Once the correct bodyweight has been achieved, more focus can be directed to improving body composition through macronutrient adjustment. If the desired bodyweight requires unusually difficult food intake, whether too little or too much, consider changing weight classes to allow living closer to a natural bodyweight if it will not negatively impact performance. That said, don’t be impatient—over time, the body will adjust to a given weight and maintenance will become less of a struggle.

Losing Weight

Losing weight is no more complicated than creating a calorie deficit over a given period of time. The more gradual the weight loss, the less of a negative effect on performance it will have. Large calorie deficits will produce systemic fatigue and decreases in strength and stamina, and will be psychologically taxing. Plan weight loss as far out from a competition to allow continued successful training during the drop.

Our weight loss plan begins in the same way as our maintenance plan—we first need to record and find our average daily calorie intake over a week. From here, we’ll drop this figure and consume the calculated number of calories consistently for 1-2 weeks, evaluate the progress, and readjust if necessary.

How much we drop the calorie level will depend on two things. First, is bodyweight constant, increasing or decreasing at present? Second, how quickly does the weight need to come off?

If bodyweight is constant and we have no time constraints, we may drop the calories by 10-15% or so each day for 1-2 weeks and monitor weight and performance. If the weight is dropping at a reasonable rate—probably around 0.25 – 1% of bodyweight per week—and performance has not been negatively affected to any degree beyond what is acceptable, this calorie level can be maintained until weight loss begins to slow. At that point, the calorie intake will have to be again dropped to account for the lower bodyweight. In this fashion, a gradual but steady rate of weight loss can be easily maintained.

If bodyweight is already dropping, the goal is either to maintain the current rate of decrease or accelerate it if and when necessary. In the same manner, calculate current average daily calorie intake and continue adhering to this level until progress slows, at which time calorie intake can be decreased another 10% or so.

If bodyweight is currently increasing, the initial calorie decrease will simply need to be greater. Depending on how quickly weight is increasing, this initial cut may be as much as 20%. Unusually large drops are not advisable because of their potential to cause sudden metabolic shifts that can make assessment, as well as training, more difficult.

If time for weight loss is limited, more aggressive calorie deficits can be created; however, it’s important to keep in mind that the greater the deficit, the greater its impact on performance will be. In general, I’d suggest avoiding this situation entirely. An attempt to drop too much weight too quickly can result in relative competition performance no better than would have occurred competing in the next weight class. In other words, the lifter will likely be more successful competing at a heavier weight than trying to cut quickly because of the detrimental effects of the rapid weight loss on training leading into the competition.

In any case of weight loss, macronutrient composition becomes more important. Primarily, the greater the drop in calorie intake, the greater the percentage of total calories should be from protein and the fewer from carbohydrate. There are few instances in which weightlifters need a carbohydrate intake any greater than what comes along with daily vegetable and fruit consumption—easily as little as 50-100 grams. During periods of weight loss, restricting carbohydrate intake to vegetables and some fruit is of particular importance because, in concert with adequate protein intake, it will encourage the maintenance of lean tissue and the minimization of body fat. One gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, as arbitrary as it actually is, should be considered a minimum during weight loss; protein intake can, in fact, be considerably higher. The remaining required calories should be filled in with quality fats.

Last minute weight loss in order to make weight for competition is covered in the Competition section.

Gaining Weight

While in theory gaining weight is no more complex than either maintaining or losing it, in practice it invariably proves difficult for a variety of reasons. Foremost of those reasons is that the discipline required by the pursuit of functional mass surpasses that of even aggressive weight loss. Nearly all will be quick to argue that the deprivation alone of weight loss eclipses weight gain in difficulty; these individuals have never attempted to gain large amounts of quality weight and have no basis for comparison, and consequently may be dismissed.

The fundamental principle of weight gain is merely the opposite of weight loss: create a surplus of energy and material. In cases of aggressive weight gain, simply consuming the necessary quantity of food is uncomfortable at best and seemingly impossible at worst. Contributing to the difficulty is the great importance of food quality and macronutrient composition. A calorie surplus of any composition will produce weight gain—but the role of additional weight is to provide additional functional capacity, and body fat is incapable of contributing in any direct or significant manner to strength and power. The difficulty lies in encouraging the body not to simply increase its mass, but to do so through the hypertrophy of the functional components of muscle and connective tissue—this demands the control of food quality and macronutrient composition.

As is the case with weight loss, the longer the period of time over which weight is gained, the better the quality of the added mass can be controlled. There are limits to the rate at which the body’s lean mass can grow, and reaching far beyond these limits will result in greater gains in body fat relative to muscle mass.

That said, weightlifting is a sport with broad weight classes and a brief off-season, and often weight must be gained rapidly in order for an ascending lifter to remain competitive. In these cases, quality must take a back seat to quantity with the presumption that efforts will be made to improve quality once the lifter has settled into the higher weight.

For gradual weight gain, the process is in essence no different than gradual weight loss, the difference being only that the daily calories will be incrementally increased instead of decreased. Accurate record keeping is equally important—the same ease of self-delusion during weight loss applies to weight gain. Protein intake can be adjusted up to around 1.5-2 grams per pound of bodyweight per day. How well this higher protein intake accelerates muscle gain seems to vary among individuals, but it has certainly never hurt. Vegetable and fruit consumption should be maintained, and fat intake can be adjusted to account for the necessary caloric increase after any increases in protein are considered.

For more aggressive weight gain, the rules must be changed somewhat. The rule standing high above all is eat more. More than you ate before, more than what you want to eat, more than what you think you can eat. Quality and macronutrient composition are irrelevant until quantity has been taken care of. This is by no means intended to dissuade attempts to maintain quality and composition, but to more forcefully underscore the importance of a large and consistent calorie surplus. In other words, if the only options are eating fast food and eating nothing, the choice must be fast food, and more than is appealing. Always remember—if you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not eating enough, and if you’re hungry, you’re failing miserably.

With gradual weight gain, the body is allowed time to adjust to progressively larger quantities of food; with rapid weight gain, there is no such luxury. In order to mitigate this problem, foods with the greatest possible caloric density will become necessities. Fats will be instrumental considering that a given quantity has over twice the calorie content of the same quantity of either protein or carbohydrate. Nut butters, olive oil, and coconut milk are relatively easily stomached but extraordinarily calorie-dense. For those who eat dairy, whole milk can replace its reduced-fat counterparts. In the same vein is supplemental protein, which will provide an extremely helpful service considering the physical difficulty of eating enormous quantities of meat. This will be discussed more in the Supplements chapter.

Fitting in another meal in the middle of the night has been a successful tactic for many. Typically this meal is in the form of a shake consisting of supplemental protein, nut butter or coconut milk, and possible fruit. This can obviously increase the number of quality calories in a 24-hour period, and will consequently be successful if eating the rest of the day is in order. However, the quality and quantity of sleep, particularly during times of weight gain, is of great importance. Because of this, my recommendation is to prepare a shake and place it in the refrigerator. If you wake naturally during the night, drink the shake. If not, you can drink it the next morning. Intentionally disrupting sleep is potentially more detrimental than night feedings are beneficial. If you’re the kind of individual who can be awakened, drink a shake, and fall immediately back to sleep, this may not be an issue. But for many, a five-minute task can result in multiple hours of lost sleep.

Macronutrient composition in cases of aggressive weight gain does not necessarily need to be modified any further from the relative increases in protein intake described for gradual weight gain. Some have suggested as much as 3 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day and swear by its efficacy. However, real world practice of this for already large individuals is remarkably difficult and the effect is questionable. It can certainly be experimented with to gauge individual response; just be sure to consume at least as much fat and continue eating as much vegetable and fruit matter as possible to prevent any sickness from too high a percentage of calories from protein.

The Super-Heavyweight

As has been alluded to a number of times previously, the super-heavyweight (over 105 kg / 231 lbs) lifter is somewhat of a special case in terms of nutrition. In essence he or she is eternally attempting to gain weight, and doing so at an already very large body mass. This extreme demand on the body often necessitates more extreme measures.

Ideally the super-heavyweight follows the same kind of nutritional prescription as any other lifter; that is, an optimal amount of quality protein, carbohydrate limited to vegetables, fruits and tubers, and large amounts of quality fat. Carbohydrate is not anymore energy-dense than protein, and is less than half as dense than fat, by the gram, but it’s invariably much easier to consume in great quantities. Because of this, for many super-heavies, carbohydrate intake will be much greater than what would normally be considered necessary or healthy. This is acceptable to a degree; however, being a super-heavyweight is not an excuse to entirely abandon quality nutrition. Any non-vegetable, fruit or tuber carbohydrate foods should be considered supplemental to the foundational diet, not as substitutes for the more appropriate foods. In other words, their use should be limited to bridging any gaps between actual and needed caloric intake that the lifter feels unable to close with protein and fat.

The prevailing notion in the weightlifting community regarding super-heavyweights seems to be that more weight is better irrespective of composition. Granted, any significant weight gain will be accompanied by at least some increase in muscle mass. However, at what point does the additional non-functional weight—i.e. body fat—become a hindrance eclipsing the benefits of the additional functional weight? By no means am I suggesting super-heavyweights attempt to maintain a low percentage of body fat, but merely that they continue making an effort to ensure the highest quality weight gain possible, not simply reach indiscriminately for higher numbers on the scale. No one can argue that 10kg of muscle and 10kg of fat doesn’t lift more than 5kg of muscle and 15kg of fat; not only is there 5kg less muscle to lift the barbell, but that 5kg must also lift 15kg of extra bodyweight that contributes nothing to elevating a bar other than perhaps some compressive bounce out of the bottom of the clean.