Weighty Matters

I have been formulating a theory about weight loss and weight training. The preface was a question that has been rolling around in my head for a while: If I loose the 40-50lb overweight will that translate to increased weight on the bar and how?

Here is what I have discerned so far. (Mind you, I don't have documentation and foot notes. I really don't have time to put that much into it. I just do a lot of browsing and scanning of pertinent articles and try to reach a logical conclusion.)

Weight loss would translate to increased poundage on the bar in such lifts as the squat and the dead lift. These lifts require the lifting of your full body weight as well as the bar weight. Pounds of body weight lost(if significant fat loss) could affect an increase in the amount of ponds lifted by as much as 80% of the total pounds lost. If I lose 50lbs that weight loss could translate to an additional 40lbs I could add to my squat and dead lift. But pounds lost is not the only factor.

When a person experiences significant fat loss due to healthy diet and exercise, that also improves cardiovascular health and energy. Improved cardiovascular health has two effects: it improves energy as the body is less taxed by the excess weight; and it allows for improved muscle recovery and growth as the cardio system does not have to support the fatty cells and tissue.This may mean an added 3-5% of additional output while weight training.

Factoring these two things together, if my 1rm squat is 400lbs, I lost 50 pound of fat, and that fat loss translated to 40lbs(80% of 50) of output I could squat 440lbs 1rm. Add to that another 3% for cardio health and we're looking at 453lbs(440x1.03) or another 13lbs of additional output.

The thought of that makes me want to set the computer down and go run a few laps around the block!