How to NOT gain weight but increase strength?

by **Luke** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:11 am

Being a wrestler hindered by weight classes, is it possible for me to have a low calorie/ high protein diet that will help me lose weight but gain strength. Not mass I just want to increase strength. Do I need calories to get more strength or are calories purely weight maitenence?

by **Young Athlete** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:45 am

Just for you man I'll redo stronglifts 5X5 for this exact purpose.
Switch all the reps to 3 reps continue on with 5 sets. Add in 30 minutes of plyometrics twice a week. You can research them on www.higher-faster-sports.com. You may continue to gain a little mass but don't be afraid to move up a weight class.... Goodluck with wrestling

by **jdurando** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:36 am

A valid question there Luke - the general theory behind your question is to get 1g per pound of bodywieght in protien and to lose weight your caloric intake should be somewhere near your bodyweight x 16 which will give you approximately what you need to lose weight, that you are as concerned as you are I would say to shoot for maybe 600 - 700 lower than that to see how it works for you.
If need be you can cut somewhere near 500 calories per day if you find you arent losing weight or add some additional cardio
The short answer to your questions is yes - you can have a diet high enough in protien to gain strength with calories low enough to lose weight if need be, make sure you get adequate protien though.

by **Luke** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:33 am

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into plyometrics.
I'm not afraid of like 5-10 lbs I just don't want to undergo a substantial amount of hypertrophy
I'd like to look a lot less strong than I am not the other way around

by **deads** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:21 am

i think controlling your calorie intake is important. take lean body mass (total weight - bodyfat %*total weight) and multiply by 16. do that for about 1 weeks and monitor your weight. if you go up, you can cut a 100 to 200 calories out. if you go down, you add 200 or so calories until you find sweet spot for calorie intake.

also, you probably won't progress as fast as a person who did not care about gaining weight.

by **Mehdi** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:53 am

Key is training low volume. Volume = hypertrophy. Doing 3x5 is less volume than 5x5. Doing less exercises is less volume. Lower rep range is also a different muscle development. The rest is food intake.