New program coming soon!!  After getting a better feel for who you are, i think i have a better idea of how to help you out.  Stick around for the announcement of a new program coming this week!!

I got a question the other day that i posted below. It is good timing because i have been thinking about the same topic recently. I actually even made notes in my training log.
Thanks to Ben for giving me the needed push to get it out and on paper.

How strong can someone get without gaining a ton of body weight. I noticed in all of your oly lifting videos you remain under 155 pounds. If you gained 10 pounds, maybe you could snatch 15-20 more pounds. What is your method for putting weight on the bar without adding body weight (i.e. staying lean and being strong)?

First of all a bit of history: I have ranged between 145lbs (as a highs school senior, haven’t been there since graduating) and 160 lbs. Most recently i have been between 70 (154lbs) and 72 kg (158 lbs). Sorry, i have been a weightlifter for the last six months so kilos are easier for me.
I start with late high school because that is when i first got into serious training. I have never been too concerned with bodyweight, until i started weightlifting and chose the 69 kg (151 lbs) class. For the record, making weight has been among the most miserable things i have ever done. I would recommend anyone interested in their first meet to compete in a weight class that they are already in, instead of cutting weight.

It is commonly known in the weight training community that when you get bigger, while training, you get stronger. I have had personal experiences with coaches tell me that i should lift as a 77kg lifter. Their logic made sense as soon as i stepped on the platform at the American open 2009. I was almost a head taller than everyone else in my weightclass. If you think about this, the guys i competed against weighed the same but were a couple inches shorter. You see the advantage here? (they move the weight a shorter distance…).

Now, why is adding bodyweight going to make you stronger. A couple reasons. The first is obvious. You gain muscle mass and you should be stronger as your muscles grow. Muscle weighs more than fat so increased muscle mass means increased bodyweight. Second and a little more complicated is that intramuscular fat cushions the muscles and allows them to recover quicker as well as bear more load. Increasing intramuscular fat (think what you see on a well marbled steak) is a good thing for weightlifters. This IMF not only cushions the muscles during daily training but also gives a good source of energy to the local muscles.

I want to cover an important point that may come up. You don’t have to gain weight to get stronger. As i mentioned above, the added IMF helps with the fueling of muscles and recovery but is not necessary to getting stronger. If we take a look at some of the strongest people in the world per body mass, Olympic weightlifters. Lets take a look at the world of weightlifting for a moment. The 2008 olympic champion (Liao Hui CHN) in the 69kg class snatched 158 (347 lbs) kg and clean and jerked 190kg (418 lbs) and a total of 348 kg (765.5lbs). He won by a 10 kg (22lbs) margin. If we take a look at those numbers in regards to my numbers as you will see below, i am a little short of being competitive on the world stage. It also tells me something very interesting and that is that i can get stronger without gaining body mass. It is physiologically possible. Another interesting fact is Liao and the second place lifter in the Olympic games 2008, Vencelas Debaya (FRA), are both 168 cm. I had to google this but they are both 5 feet 6 inches tall. I am pushing 5’4″. For me this is also good news as i have the body mass that they do without the added challenge of lifting the wt 2 more inches.

What does all this comparison mean? Well, simply that i CAN get stronger without getting bigger. Ok, ill admit that at some point these guys may have been exposed to additional growth factors but i will not get into that subject. That is a personal choice that i don’t feel necessary for my goals.

Ok, i’ll get to the point. How did i get stronger without getting bigger. First a look at a couple of my numbers:
The first number will be from right around the CF games, either before or directly after.
The second number will be my current max as of Jan1, 2010.

Snatch:  92kg     105kg
Clean and Jerk:  120 kg     130 kg
Back Squat:   150 kg   156 kg
Front Squat:   130 kg   140 kg

While i don’t know exactly what my bodyweight was at the games, i suspect it was right around 72 kg.  I just hopped off the scale at a lean 70.9 kg.

Ok ya ready for my secret? Hard work!!! I simply shifted my focus from crossfit type workouts which are tons of volume at smaller intensities (not conducive to strength training) and started doing less overall volume (anywhere from 25- 100 reps a day at varying intensities but not below 70% of 1 RM) with higher intensity (% of 1 RM). I coupled this with smart nutrition. All too often i see people feel like they want to get stronger and therefore must gain weight. I’m not saying this isn’t effective or just flat out fun but if you are a crossfitter or a competitive weightlifter in your current class this just won’t work. As you gain bodyweight, your gymnastic movements will become tougher to perform.

What do i mean by smart nutrition? I was eating paleo (real food, that could have been alive today) and lots of it. The bigger balance of macronutrients were fat and protein while a smaller portion of my intake was carbs. This is in part what made it so hard to make weight at competition. Everyone i talked to about making weight said to just clean up my diet for the 2 weeks leading up the to competition and cut carbs if my weight was too high. This didn’t help much so i ended up doing some fluid manipulation which was absolutely miserable. We can get into that later.

I think it is quite possible for someone to achieve the same gains i have while maintaining their conditioning. I would however fight the notion that one could do it as quickly as i have by not focusing on weightlifting. A broad general and inclusive approach to fitness is not going to get you the results you want on the platform quickly.
So, am i telling you to quit crossfitting and only strength train for 5 months like i did? Not at all. I am simply telling you what i did and giving you the choice of how you want to go about achieving your goals. It is my belief that an effective strength and conditioning program will give you gains in both strength and conditioning, you just have to be patient and smart about your training.