Should You Gain Mass
It’s all too common to see clients believe they can ONLY improve their health and/or sports performance by LOWERING their weight - that a lower body fat percentage and improving sports performance and/or health markers are directly connected. Heck, I used to be one of these people!
The issue is that many do not understand how a few pounds less could NEGATIVELY impact their performance, recovery, or their health – they only think of the hypothetical positives it could bring them.
Now more than ever, I see female lifters GOING UP in weight classes to overcome strength & performance plateaus, and because they may be MORE competitive in a higher weight class. Katherine Nye and Mattie Rogers are examples.
There are many who simply feel/perform better at a higher BF% and with more muscle too. If they get TOO lean, they see performance and recovery suffer.
Adding muscle to one’s frame can help create the desired look or body composition. Tone, you say? Guess what? That’s muscle.
More muscle may also increase the metabolic rate and could improve health markers depending on your situation.
Don’t have a period? Feeling tired all the time? Not sleeping? Irritable? Hungry? Constantly thinking about food? Your BF% may be too low, and that’s going to negatively impact your long-term health.
Conversely, there are some individuals who may not benefit from putting on mass.
People who are overweight/obese will see an improvement in their health markers by losing fat.
There are athletes who perform and feel better in their sport if they lose fat and/or weight (again..depending on their situation).
More muscle may negatively impact someone’s speed, and cause a shift away from fast-twitch glycolytic fibers as well as a slower contraction velocity.
First, understand that health needs to come first. You should think long and hard about whether compromising your long-term health is worth whatever goal you’re trying to achieve.
Second, this is a very strategic discussion that should be held in coordination with your coach (and possibly your doctor), and should not be made on a whim or guess.
Third, I can tell you I’ve never once regretted putting on muscle, and putting on some fat improved my health and my life tremendously.
Written by: Megan, Nutrition Coach