# Do overweight people need caloric surplus to gain strength ?



## viktor89 (Aug 30, 2014)

Hello brothers,

Yes you guessed it - that's me. I weigh 220 lbs and 5'11. I'm not a beginner lifter- but I want to grow stronger here's the twister but I do not like belly fat. I was doing Bill starr and hit a bump and now resetting it back 4 weeks (on 2 week break right now to recuperate). 

*Question* - Do I have to bump my calories if I want to keep getting stronger ? 

In two months of this program I lost 5 lbs cuz calories were normal. _All I did was add casein protein shake before bed time, (ON Creatine on the days I workout i.e 3x a week) and Banana shake with nutella and peanut butter in the evening 2-3 hours before dinner. _

I've been scouring google and some say one thing - some another. 

I only ask because I know that if I end up being 240-260 lbs - It'll be so hard for me to lose weight since I don't like running or volume training or even working out 5-6 days in a week. 

So, please advice me. 

Thanks in advance.


----------



## PillarofBalance (Aug 30, 2014)

I am in a caloric deficit while prepping for a meet right now at 5'11 260.

If you want to get stronger and not gain weight I would suggest you either get off 5x5 or do a lot of accessory stuff after to keep burning calories.


----------



## viktor89 (Aug 30, 2014)

PillarofBalance said:


> I am in a caloric deficit while prepping for a meet right now at 5'11 260.
> 
> *If you want to get stronger and not gain weight I would suggest you either get off 5x5* or do a lot of accessory stuff after to keep burning calories.



What should I do instead then ?- I can start boxing religiously on my days off which I don't do right now. 

All I was planning to add to my regime was a Mass gainer protein shake or an extra meal during the day -preferably Salmon or tuna.  Not something crazy like extra thousand calories but whatever I could get from the above mentioned items. A shake with less than 400-500 calories.


----------



## PillarofBalance (Aug 31, 2014)

Eat enough to fuel your workouts. If you are walking around full all day long that's probably more than you need. 

If you started boxing that would be a hell of a way to burn some of that fuel. Try that and see how it goes. It can be tough to get much stronger with boxing in the mix though. Never know till you try though.


----------



## shenky (Aug 31, 2014)

I have personally found that I lose a significant amount of power and explosiveness when in a deficit. I feel quicker, have more endurance and stamina, but I can't move as much weight. Admittedly, I'm no powelofter to begin with, and my training does change slightly when cutting


----------



## ken Sass (Aug 31, 2014)

i have tried to do a lean bulk and it did not work for me. i lost bf and weight but strength and poundage lifted went down. bulk or cut do them separately imo


----------



## viktor89 (Sep 1, 2014)

PillarofBalance said:


> Eat enough to fuel your workouts. If you are walking around full all day long that's probably more than you need.
> 
> If you started boxing that would be a hell of a way to burn some of that fuel. Try that and see how it goes. It can be tough to get much stronger with boxing in the mix though. Never know till you try though.



but boxing would be only twice a week -maybe once and it's only 30-40 mins in total. 

My bag is also just 100 lbs.


----------



## PillarofBalance (Sep 1, 2014)

viktor89 said:


> but boxing would be only twice a week -maybe once and it's only 30-40 mins in total.
> 
> My bag is also just 100 lbs.



So what? If you want to get stronger you don't want to be beating yourself up every day. You need to recover between training days.

I am getting the feeling that your goals are maybe a bit wishy washy. Like you want it all. 

So let's clear up your goals.

What are you using to gauge your strength? A squat? A deadlift? An overhead press? Your total perhaps?

So tell me how you determine whether you are stronger and tell me what your best lift is for that gauge.


----------



## viktor89 (Sep 1, 2014)

Before Bill starr 2 months ago my total was 645 lb and now it's 780lbs. 

It is entirely possible that I might have been measuring PR in a wrong way before so it is possible that total was more than 645 before. PR Bench 235 Squat 250 Dead 295 (5x - don't know that max) 

I want to be stronger than I look. 

But in the process of becoming stronger I don't want to end up looking like a slob- you know "overbulking". If I sit down , I have a round belly that pops out right now lol . I don't want that to increase that - that's why I asked if an 
overweight person needs caloric surplus to be stronger ?

I cannot eat super clean but at the current diet I'm fairly clean but if I need surplus I'd just start taking a Mass gainer protein shake which is usually 300-500 calories extra a day?

Does it clear up what I asked further?


----------

