Okay, it’s official – I need to put on some (healthy) weight in order to really maximize my potential in Olympic Lifting.
Have you ever seen a 5’9″ 135 lb Oly Lifter at the competitive level? Yeah, me neither!
Here’s the game plan (changes to workouts):
- Cut out CrossFit Endurance sessions (for now)
- Continue to follow Coach Wilkes Oly Lifting Programing 5x per week
- Do CrossFit MetCon workouts 5x per week (3 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off), but spend more time working on skills like ring dips, chest to bars, hand stand pushups, ect. . . . and also concentrate more on proper form, technique and full ROM than speed – I think that the speed will come if I improve the rest of it
Here’s the game plan (changes to eating plan):
- Staying Paleo, but increasing Caloric Intake from 1,300 range to 1,800 range
- Majority of extra calories will come from red meat and healthy fats
- More Steak, Ground Beef (grass-fed), Whole Eggs, Avocado, Nuts, Nut Butters, ect.
- Will eat steak/ground meat w/ slightly higher fat content (85-90% lean instead of xtra lean)
- Still going to try to keep fruit and simple carb intake to a minimum, but will eat approx 6 oz sweet potato immediately post-workout (after my Oly lifting sessions, not MetCon)
I’ve never actually tried to put on healthy weight before – I hope that a considerable amount of it will be muscle, but I know that the “other stuff” is going to come along for the ride, and I’m okay with that, as long as my performance and lifts increase simultaneously.
I have no idea how quickly I will see a difference, as I’ve never done this before and don’t have any past experience to draw from. For now, I’m going to set a goal of reaching 145-150 in the next 4-6 months, with a large portion of the gain hopefully contributed to increased muscle mass (and resulting increased strength).
If anyone has reading this has any suggestions or critiques of my plan, please feel free to fire away! I’m new to this, and it will definitely be an experimental process – and I’m sure I’ll make adjustments along the way.
If you don’t think my goal is realistic, or if you think I’m under-shooting it, please feel free to chime in there too!