I currently 5’ 7" 12.9 % body fat weighting in at 185-186lbs
the Maine powerlifting games are in March. I currently have had the best gains that i have ever had in the last 8 weeks, “this must have been from the curls in the squat rack” I have been eating massive amounts of food. My lifts arnt impressive but they are gaining all the time. 220 bench 300 squat 385 deadlift. With these numbers i probably wont place but like to get some competition lifting under my belt. Should i lose 5 lbs and go in to the 181 lb class or gain 10 lbs and compete in the 198 lb class, this would be in the masters division as i am 40. I am pretty happy with my size but still want to get bigger.
any thoughts?
It depends on how stable your weight is, in my opinion. You seem certain you’re almost 13%BF, which suggests you follow it closely. Do you gain mass more easily than cutting?
Point being, it would likely be easier to lose 5 pounds of the over 22 you have at your disposal than to gain 10 lean enough to make a difference. At least for most people. And also the competition is likely to be considerably tougher at the higher weight.
At least that’s my experience.
Good luck, whatever you decide.
[quote]sdspeedracer wrote:
It depends on how stable your weight is, in my opinion. You seem certain you’re almost 13%BF, which suggests you follow it closely. Do you gain mass more easily than cutting?
Point being, it would likely be easier to lose 5 pounds of the over 22 you have at your disposal than to gain 10 lean enough to make a difference. At least for most people. And also the competition is likely to be considerably tougher at the higher weight.
I do follow it close i meet with a personal trainer every 8 weeks and she does the measurements that being said i thought the same about cutting the fat but, march is a long way away right now i am leaning towards removing the fat i think i could do that in a couple of weeks.
HW
At least that’s my experience.
Good luck, whatever you decide.[/quote]
For me 10# bodyweight means alot to my powerlifts, especially squat poundage.
Compare your lifts if you have kept records between the two bodyweights and decide which you want to go for - if the contest is to get experience and not necessarity for competing then either weight class will fit the bill - why not try for the most poundage?
Realistically you might expect to add 1, maybe 2# of LEAN muscle mass per month - dependent on many variables, but if you don’t mind going up in BF for a little while the extra weight will most likely boost your total. There are no extra points in PL for BF% ;-).