The consensus is that obese individuals, regardless of age, have a greater absolute maximum muscle strength compared to non-obese persons, suggesting that increased adiposity acts as a chronic overload stimulus on the antigravity muscles (e.g., quadriceps and calf), thus increasing muscle size and strength.
And those with a higher percentage of body fat have more energy to spare and gain muscle. A higher body fat percentage also means that your body is likely more insulin resistant, a condition in which your fat cells resist taking on more calories, so the energy is diverted toward muscle.
Overall Effectiveness: Heavy weights are generally more effective for building muscle mass quickly due to the greater recruitment of muscle fibers and the ability to apply progressive overload. However, incorporating both light and heavy weights can be beneficial for a well-rounded program and can prevent plateaus.
In general, it is easier for fat people to build muscle than skinny people. This is because fat people have a higher body fat percentage, which means they have more stored energy that can be used to fuel muscle growth.
Most research shows that having more body fat makes it easier to build muscle leanly (full research breakdown). However, if you're still relatively new to training, your body might be happy to burn body fat to get the energy it needs to build muscle.
If you are more than 25 percent body fat, you'll do better starting with a cut first. By contrast, if you're already on the lean side and you know you want to add muscle or you don't have much muscle and you want to start lifting heavier, it would be better to start with a bulk.
Finally, creatine is an excellent supplement for people who wish to go from a skinny fat body type to a more favorable look. For starters, creatine accelerates muscle growth and helps its users to pack on desirable weight.
Most experts think the appropriate body fat range for beginning a bulk or cut should be between 10-15% for men and 20-25% for women. This range is ideal as it provides enough energy to build muscle while allowing for visible definition. Once you hit the upper end of the range, start cutting.
So even though you may be losing fat, you're gaining muscle. You might feel slimmer, even as the number on the scale rises. “The scale doesn't tell the entire story,” said exercise physiologist Christopher Mohr, PhD, RD. “Since muscle and fat take up different volume, they look very different on the body.”
The body fat percentage needed to see your pack of abdominal muscles falls somewhere around 14 to 20% for women and 6 to 13% for men. However, the ideal body fat percentage for abs can look slightly different per person, depending on how you carry weight, where you typically store fat, and your fitness routine.
Research suggests lifting smaller weights and doing more repetitions (or, in gym parlance, “reps”) can have a role to play – but it all depends on your goals. In short: if your goal is to build serious strength and bone density, lifting heavy is an efficient way to do it.
Increase the intensity of your workouts instead of working out for long periods of time. Make sure you're getting enough calories and protein in your diet for muscle growth. Get plenty of sleep and give your muscles time for recovery. Try supplements for more strength, energy, and power, like creatine and HMB.
Before you lift weights, warm up with five to 10 minutes of brisk walking or other aerobic activity. Don't rush. Move the weight in an unhurried, controlled fashion. Taking it slow helps you isolate the muscles you want to work and keeps you from relying on momentum to lift the weight.
Losing Weight Before Building Muscle
Losing weight might be a higher priority if you have a lot of weight to lose. If you're living with obesity, evidence shows that health benefits like reduced cholesterol, hypertension, and insulin resistance start to happen when you lose just 5% of your body weight.
At 10% body fat, a man is just above his essential body fat level. At this body composition you will see muscle striations and definition, six pack abs, and look athletic and fit. However, you may not see as much vascularity as you would in single digit body fat levels.
Men with a body fat percentage of less than about 14-15% should consider bulking. Bulking when you're at or above 15% can be done, but understand you won't have much leeway for fat gain. I do believe 9-12% is an ideal starting point for men to bulk.
Similarly, you may notice increased muscle definition, less softness, and an overall leaner physique. Checking in on how your clothes fit can be another useful rule of thumb. Since muscle is denser than fat, if you've gained weight but your clothes fit a little looser, that's a good sign you may have gained muscle.
The volunteers reduced their waist sizes by an average of 1 inch for every 4lb (1.81kg) they lost. So if you lose 1lb (0.45kg) a week you could hope to reduce your waistline by an inch after four weeks.
There are other terms for this, such as build mode, but bulking is a common term for this caloric surplus. Dirty bulking is when an individual is in a caloric surplus to build muscle (build mode). However, the individual is eating foods that are carb dense, unhealthy, and ultra-processed out of convenience.
Underneath 20% would be the point you would no longer be able to visually see extra fat around the hip region. To give a exact percentage would be hard as everyone is different and we all store fat differently. Somewhere between 15 and 20 % depending on the person will ensure love handles are not visible in men.
👉 Here's the answer: Cut first: If your body fat percentage is above 20-25%. Bulk first: If you look lean but lack muscle size. But remember, bulking doesn't mean eating junk food, and cutting doesn't mean starving yourself!
Since creatine draws water into the muscles, halting supplementation causes this extra hydration to dissipate. While your muscles may appear slightly smaller or less pumped, this change is due to water loss rather than an actual decrease in muscle mass.
Creatine can be effective for both bulking and cutting, depending on how you use it and what your goals are. Creatine creates a water retention surrounding the muscle that not only preserves the muscle during a cutting phase but also provides immediate muscle recovery in order to continue intense workouts.