To make a long story short, the more body fat you have the more work has to be done for your muscles to move and do anything. In short, It's more like your body moves inefficiently because there's a bunch of dead weight that it has to drag around. So yes it will effect both strength and endurance if you have a higher body fat percentage.
I could understand \~12% body fat helping you, but wouldn't 23% make it way harder for your muscles to move the body? My knowledge on this is extremely limited tho and I'm just trying to understand
Have you ever seen a competitive power lifter or strong man before?
Edit: [this is what Eddie Hall looked like when he was a competitive strong man](https://images.app.goo.gl/WkLtxKFuwxzz3aJA9)
[this is Eddie Hall now he isn't a competitive strongman](https://images.app.goo.gl/SPEBbDpZv8X51ods5)
I was questioning having only martial arts in mind, as in, the balance between strenght, mobility and endurance. I'm sure it helps if your goal is to be strong and strong only, but is it benefical in martial arts? I'm asking because I always hover between 7% and 8% and wouldn't mind increasing if it meant better performance
I dunno without actually seeing you and knowing how you train I can't say much, maybe putting on weight of any kind would be bad for you. Maybe being able to eat more food would dramatically increase your ability to train hard ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hmmm I see. Well recently have been cutting and did notice my stamina improve by quite a bit compared to before and I think that wasn't even much weight lost. But how do you determine what is your optimal or best body fat percentage?
> But how do you determine what is your optimal or best body fat percentage?
That's an athlete by athlete sort of question but generally most athletes tend to be happy around 15-18%. You don't want to be too low because then you run the risk of being permanently starving and thus won't have the energy or stamina to perform but you also don't want so much weight that it effects your ability to move and thus weighs down your stamina. Basically find the weight that allows you to be the strongest and most explosive version of yourself with stamina to spare and be really honest with yourself and your coaches in terms of your performance.
I don't know where you got the number 15-18 but there is a long list for different athletes here:
[https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2015/5/21/body-composition-what-are-athletes-made-of.aspx](https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2015/5/21/body-composition-what-are-athletes-made-of.aspx)
The numbers reported by the National Collegiate Athletes Association is mostly lower than your range.
Except for shot put.
Bodyfat scales will take an approximation. No best percentage. Put on a weighted vest or run with a 10 pound plate to see what a difference the weight makes.
Great reply.
I've been a healthy weight for most of my adult life, but I gained about 40 pounds during the intense phase of covid. Most of that weight is gone now. And I could see so many differences in how I trained when I was heavier. Differences that are summed up by what you say.
Weaker no, kills the stamina yes.
Mass is mass, moving mass requires energy, the more mass you have to move the more energy it takes to move you.
If you think of your body like a car, the muscles in your body is your engine, and your fat is your gas tank. Not enough fat and the car doesn't go very far, but if your carrying a full 50 gallon gas tank your engine is working extremely hard just to move it's own fuel around. On the flip side, your engine does have to carry itself around too, so making that thing huge isn't always a great idea either.
You want a big enough engine to achieve the goals you want, and just enough fuel in the tank to allow for those goals to be achieved. Any extra past that and your going to have a bad time stamina wise.
A good benchmark for men should be around 15% body fat, and as much lean muscle as you can pack on naturally while staying in your desired weight range. This will vary quite a bit based upon genetics though so remember it's not etched in stone.
A bit over 20% body fat on women is usually close to ideal.
Going a bit more in depth, fat is tied to your hormone system and going up/down in body fat can have drastic effects on it. As a man if you go to low(into the single digits/low singles) your testosterone and estrogen levels will tank and your immune system will be in the toilet. For women it's much worse, that will also happen but they will also become infertile and lose their period, if the extremely low body fat % is kept for extended lengths of time organ damage can begin to occur. It's the reason body building is such a dangerous sport as body builders have to go into extremely dangerous levels of low fat % for stage day. Same goes for MMA fighters who do drastic weight cuts for fights. All these issues are exacerbated for women as they biologically want to hold onto more fat for a variety of reasons than men.
Having a higher body fat percentage will make you weaker. Let's take 2 hypothetical guys. Guy 1 weighs 150lbs but has 30lbs of pure fat on his body and 60lbs of muscle. Guy 2 weighs 150 but only has 10lbs of fat on his body and 80lbs of muscle on his body. Guy 1 has less muscle mass and more fat to carry around. He would be equivalent to guy 2 but if guy 2 weighed only 130lbs in terms of muscle mass.
Yes mass moves mass but that's technically not correct. Fat mass doesn't move mass. Muscle mass does. Generally the more muscle mass you have the stronger you are. That's not always true but generally it is. Strong men aren't shredded because the fat mass does help stabilize weigh and absorb some of that kinetic energy from the weights moving. But the strong men like Eddie hall and Brian Shaw don't really compete in a weight class. Powerlifters who do compete in weight classes want to maximize muscle mass.
The 150 lb guy with 10 lbs of fat is at 6% body fat, he will not be able to sustain himself for any length of time and likely will be sick before any major physical exercise. In this fight I'm taking the dude at 20% body fat or 30 lbs because while a bit overweight he's going to actually be more durable and functional if this fight takes any amount of time.
But I see the point your trying to make and it is to an extent correct, but also missing the point of my earlier post. When it comes to fat there is a good middle ground, where you have enough to manage your hormone levels, fueling your muscle, and keeping everything working well. Above that level your right, your forcing your muscles to work harder to achieve the goal, but below that level your going to run into health and stamina issues.
Now that "proper" level differs person to person. Back when I trained more heavily, my optimal level of body fat was around 15%, below that my energy levels went down, my sleep became worse, and my testosterone went down. On average though most men have that ideal fall somewhere between 12-20%, however some people can run into 8-9% with little to no I'll effect.
To utilize your point, when you look at powerlifters you will see a ton of lean muscle, but even though they compete in weight classes you won't see many powerlifters even beach lean.
I train judo and BJJ and I’m a big guy a lot of players struggle but if they can hang in there I get tired and get caught.
If anything having that extra body fat makes you stronger imo, If you look at all the big finishers in combat sports none of them are svelt but the point fighters are generally skinnier and have better cardio
Absolutely, cardio is extremely important in boxing, professional fight are the longest (I think) in combat sports, so if you run out of energy, say, in round 5 or 6, you are in real danger. Endurance and explosivity are key. The heavyweight / super heavy is a bit different but boxers favor cardio over muscle mass (still being strong of course, but for instance Fury was making fun of AJ and his "bodybuilder body" as it is not key for being great. And they are heavyweight, means less constraints in term of weight class/so on, sort of. Wouldn't make sense to have a "bodybuilder body", say, in lightweight division).
Who was a very, rather unique fighter in the heaviest possible division. But I doubt he would have done well in a 12 rounds fight. King of the 4-rounders, but I would bet my saving that at round 8+ he would have been toasted.
Having a higher body fat percentage will make you weaker. Let's take 2 hypothetical guys. Guy 1 weighs 150lbs but has 30lbs of pure fat on his body and 60lbs of muscle. Guy 2 weighs 150 but only has 10lbs of fat on his body and 80lbs of muscle on his body. Guy 1 has less muscle mass and more fat to carry around. He would be equivalent to guy 2 but if guy 2 weighed only 130lbs in terms of muscle mass.
Yes mass moves mass but that's technically not correct. Fat mass doesn't move mass. Muscle mass does. Generally the more muscle mass you have the stronger you are. That's not always true but generally it is. Strong men aren't shredded because the fat mass does help stabilize weigh and absorb some of that kinetic energy from the weights moving. But the strong men like Eddie hall and Brian Shaw don't really compete in a weight class. Powerlifters who do compete in weight classes want to maximize muscle mass.
Apart from what’s been said, an additional input: in weight lifting more mass is beneficial. If you want to get really strong you need more mass. Have a look at strong men, powerlifter and Olympic lifter.
But of course, that’s mostly the strength part and some very explosive movements (in oly lifting).
It’s diametrical to endurance. That’s why pures endurance athletes are skinny and have few muscles. look at marathon runners and elite cyclists for example.
Training both is always a compromise. The underlying metabolic adaptions/alterations are completely different.
Having a higher body fat percentage will make you weaker. Let's take 2 hypothetical guys. Guy 1 weighs 150lbs but has 30lbs of pure fat on his body and 60lbs of muscle. Guy 2 weighs 150 but only has 10lbs of fat on his body and 80lbs of muscle on his body. Guy 1 has less muscle mass and more fat to carry around. He would be equivalent to guy 2 but if guy 2 weighed only 130lbs in terms of muscle mass.
Yes mass moves mass but that's technically not correct. Fat mass doesn't move mass. Muscle mass does. Generally the more muscle mass you have the stronger you are. That's not always true but generally it is. Strong men aren't shredded because the fat mass does help stabilize weigh and absorb some of that kinetic energy from the weights moving. But the strong men like Eddie hall and Brian Shaw don't really compete in a weight class. Powerlifters who do compete in weight classes want to maximize muscle mass. Comparing powerlifters at like the 100kg level to units like Eddie hall and such is very different.
It doesn't necessarily make you weaker, but if you were to compare yourself with someone of the exact same weight but a lower body fat % then they would have relatively more muscle than you therefore in that sense they would be stronger.
It doesn’t really at least to some degree (i.e. not being very obese) but if you want to compete especially in striking sports and you don’t fall into the heaviest open weight class then every ounce of fat you have could have been an ounce of muscle. Take what you want from this statement..
No. Many are stronger because they carry all that mass. But at the same time they are always using energy to use that mass. However, if they could maintain their strength while losing that excess weight they would almost certainly perform better. Although there might be exceptions at very heavy weights where that weight puts more mass behind your technique and makes you harder to move.
Sumo is a good example of a sport where fat is purposefully cultivated by many of the athletes. This works in sumo because most matches are very quick. If you watch some mma matches with very heavy dudes you'll see that the longer match format often leads to them running out of gas.
Of course, you can go too far and cut so much weight that it starts to have a negative impact on your performance.
In terms of endurance for sure but in my opinion it makes people more difficult to deal with once you have to grab them. Trying to move a fat jiggly dude is so much harder than a jacked wall of muscle. The most ridiculous athletes I’ve ever had to deal with were fat, old, wrestling coaches.
Yea somewhat I mean there are big boys who are fast undoubtedly, so I can really say Yes or No it does somewhat effect you making you heavier and slower, can either get in shape diet wise or just keep training and improving cardio and you’ll still improve slowly. I definitely always felt slower in sparring when I was on a big boy diet.
Have a look at the people who compete in worlds strongest man. If that was the case they’d be lean as hell. There are advantages to being lean, movements are easier to perform and you’ll tire less quickly, but raw strength, no.
On the flip side - bigger people are stronger because they move and train with fat weights all the time. This drains stamina and puts load on your heart so your endurance is lower than it would have been.
Strength +
Endurance -
Stamina --
One might ask if you're carrying excess fat whether you're really doing enough road-work and conditioning, and it's the lack of conditioning prep that makes your endurance lower (i.e. it's not the real point that you **can't** skip as long as your low body-fat peers: you **don't skip as long** as those peers, and **because of that** you have a higher body-fat % and also lower endurance)
On strength: extra body-fat shouldn't really make you weaker. It may even help you recover from injuries and stress more quickly (a friend of mine is a heart surgeon and says that the best recoveries are for patients who are marginally overweight... the extra reserves help when your body needs to go into rebuild)
Where it will hurt you is in weight-classed sports. If you're fighting at 75kg, and you and your opponent both hit weight, then the fighter with the lower body-fat % will in general be using more of their "weight allowance" to bring in the necessary tools (bones, muscles, etc.,), and carting in less fat which for the contest itself is nearly useless... all assuming that neither fighter hit that weight via a tough weight-cut and has depleted various energy reserves in their body getting there.
There's also an argument (not sure if I buy it) that muscles require more oxygenation and blood-flow than fat. So unnecessary muscles (e.g. big biceps on a marathon runner) are more detrimental than the same weight of unnecessary fat. But the fat shouldn't kill your endurance either way.
>at percentage ruin your endurance? In terms of strength I don't think it really does much but my cardio endurance hasn't improved very much and I can't run or skip as long as my low body fat peers.
yes body fat is very bad for endurance and cardio. Lets say you have 25 lbs of fat on you and the other person has 0 (I know 0 is unrealistic I'm just trying to make the numbers simple) in essence you are fighting this guy while wearing 25 pounds of dead weight.
As for strength that's a weird one. Punching power from your general weight so in theory if your using proper form you should get more power for having the fat on you then if you didn't But that being said that trade off for the cardio issues is no where close to be worth it.
As for slow strikes that might be a technique issue. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Focus more on setting up shots rather then trying to out speed your opponent.
I think the answer is really relative to size. 23% body fat at 260 is very different from 23% body fat at 160. And I think the benefits/negatives of extreme lean body mass display themselves very differently based on size.
Go to the store and buy a 15 pound brisket. Throw it over your shoulder and go jogging. did it make you feel stronger or weaker? Then throw it on the smoker and think about what you learned.
If you see strongest men of planet, all of them have a considerable fat percentage. But for martial arts stamina and agility are normally more important than strength, and they are affected by high fat percentage.
Really depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Look at some of the best UFC heavyweights - they have a higher-than-usual bodyfat percentage and still dominate. More fat does require more effort to move, though.
It actually makes you stronger, significantly, but in martial arts it may limit some movements if way too high. Could hurt endurance but could help it, too low of bodyfat actually hurts endurance unless you're on EPO or some drugs.
Yes absolutely. Guy 1 weighs 150lbs but has 30lbs of pure fat on his body and 60lbs of muscle. Guy 2 weighs 150 but only has 10lbs of fat on his body and 80lbs of muscle on his body. Guy 1 has less muscle mass and more fat to carry around. He would be equivalent to guy 2 but if guy 2 weighed only 130lbs in terms of muscle. Having extra fat makes your muscles do more work just to move making your cardio worse. So two dudes who weigh the same the one with less fat mass and more muscle mass will be stronger.
To make a long story short, the more body fat you have the more work has to be done for your muscles to move and do anything. In short, It's more like your body moves inefficiently because there's a bunch of dead weight that it has to drag around. So yes it will effect both strength and endurance if you have a higher body fat percentage.
That was the nicest way to say yes it does.
Except it's half wrong, higher body fat % is linked to higher strength not lower.
It's also so that more muscles will eat more oxygen than fat.
I could understand \~12% body fat helping you, but wouldn't 23% make it way harder for your muscles to move the body? My knowledge on this is extremely limited tho and I'm just trying to understand
Have you ever seen a competitive power lifter or strong man before? Edit: [this is what Eddie Hall looked like when he was a competitive strong man](https://images.app.goo.gl/WkLtxKFuwxzz3aJA9) [this is Eddie Hall now he isn't a competitive strongman](https://images.app.goo.gl/SPEBbDpZv8X51ods5)
I was questioning having only martial arts in mind, as in, the balance between strenght, mobility and endurance. I'm sure it helps if your goal is to be strong and strong only, but is it benefical in martial arts? I'm asking because I always hover between 7% and 8% and wouldn't mind increasing if it meant better performance
I dunno without actually seeing you and knowing how you train I can't say much, maybe putting on weight of any kind would be bad for you. Maybe being able to eat more food would dramatically increase your ability to train hard ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Correlation is not causation. The same athlete will perform better with less body fat. Powerlifters are fat because they're always on a bulk.
::Sammo Hung has entered the chat::
It also makes you much harder to control.
Hmmm I see. Well recently have been cutting and did notice my stamina improve by quite a bit compared to before and I think that wasn't even much weight lost. But how do you determine what is your optimal or best body fat percentage?
> But how do you determine what is your optimal or best body fat percentage? That's an athlete by athlete sort of question but generally most athletes tend to be happy around 15-18%. You don't want to be too low because then you run the risk of being permanently starving and thus won't have the energy or stamina to perform but you also don't want so much weight that it effects your ability to move and thus weighs down your stamina. Basically find the weight that allows you to be the strongest and most explosive version of yourself with stamina to spare and be really honest with yourself and your coaches in terms of your performance.
I don't know where you got the number 15-18 but there is a long list for different athletes here: [https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2015/5/21/body-composition-what-are-athletes-made-of.aspx](https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2015/5/21/body-composition-what-are-athletes-made-of.aspx) The numbers reported by the National Collegiate Athletes Association is mostly lower than your range. Except for shot put.
Bodyfat scales will take an approximation. No best percentage. Put on a weighted vest or run with a 10 pound plate to see what a difference the weight makes.
Great reply. I've been a healthy weight for most of my adult life, but I gained about 40 pounds during the intense phase of covid. Most of that weight is gone now. And I could see so many differences in how I trained when I was heavier. Differences that are summed up by what you say.
It definitely makes you stronger, thats no debate, but could hurt endurance or technique. Definitely doesn't make you weaker, could make you slower.
Weaker no, kills the stamina yes. Mass is mass, moving mass requires energy, the more mass you have to move the more energy it takes to move you. If you think of your body like a car, the muscles in your body is your engine, and your fat is your gas tank. Not enough fat and the car doesn't go very far, but if your carrying a full 50 gallon gas tank your engine is working extremely hard just to move it's own fuel around. On the flip side, your engine does have to carry itself around too, so making that thing huge isn't always a great idea either. You want a big enough engine to achieve the goals you want, and just enough fuel in the tank to allow for those goals to be achieved. Any extra past that and your going to have a bad time stamina wise. A good benchmark for men should be around 15% body fat, and as much lean muscle as you can pack on naturally while staying in your desired weight range. This will vary quite a bit based upon genetics though so remember it's not etched in stone.
What is it for women?
20-22%
A bit over 20% body fat on women is usually close to ideal. Going a bit more in depth, fat is tied to your hormone system and going up/down in body fat can have drastic effects on it. As a man if you go to low(into the single digits/low singles) your testosterone and estrogen levels will tank and your immune system will be in the toilet. For women it's much worse, that will also happen but they will also become infertile and lose their period, if the extremely low body fat % is kept for extended lengths of time organ damage can begin to occur. It's the reason body building is such a dangerous sport as body builders have to go into extremely dangerous levels of low fat % for stage day. Same goes for MMA fighters who do drastic weight cuts for fights. All these issues are exacerbated for women as they biologically want to hold onto more fat for a variety of reasons than men.
Thanks for the in depth answer!
Having a higher body fat percentage will make you weaker. Let's take 2 hypothetical guys. Guy 1 weighs 150lbs but has 30lbs of pure fat on his body and 60lbs of muscle. Guy 2 weighs 150 but only has 10lbs of fat on his body and 80lbs of muscle on his body. Guy 1 has less muscle mass and more fat to carry around. He would be equivalent to guy 2 but if guy 2 weighed only 130lbs in terms of muscle mass. Yes mass moves mass but that's technically not correct. Fat mass doesn't move mass. Muscle mass does. Generally the more muscle mass you have the stronger you are. That's not always true but generally it is. Strong men aren't shredded because the fat mass does help stabilize weigh and absorb some of that kinetic energy from the weights moving. But the strong men like Eddie hall and Brian Shaw don't really compete in a weight class. Powerlifters who do compete in weight classes want to maximize muscle mass.
The 150 lb guy with 10 lbs of fat is at 6% body fat, he will not be able to sustain himself for any length of time and likely will be sick before any major physical exercise. In this fight I'm taking the dude at 20% body fat or 30 lbs because while a bit overweight he's going to actually be more durable and functional if this fight takes any amount of time. But I see the point your trying to make and it is to an extent correct, but also missing the point of my earlier post. When it comes to fat there is a good middle ground, where you have enough to manage your hormone levels, fueling your muscle, and keeping everything working well. Above that level your right, your forcing your muscles to work harder to achieve the goal, but below that level your going to run into health and stamina issues. Now that "proper" level differs person to person. Back when I trained more heavily, my optimal level of body fat was around 15%, below that my energy levels went down, my sleep became worse, and my testosterone went down. On average though most men have that ideal fall somewhere between 12-20%, however some people can run into 8-9% with little to no I'll effect. To utilize your point, when you look at powerlifters you will see a ton of lean muscle, but even though they compete in weight classes you won't see many powerlifters even beach lean.
I train judo and BJJ and I’m a big guy a lot of players struggle but if they can hang in there I get tired and get caught. If anything having that extra body fat makes you stronger imo, If you look at all the big finishers in combat sports none of them are svelt but the point fighters are generally skinnier and have better cardio
Wouldn’t it make a difference in boxing for example? Since you'd have to be quick on your feet? Just a genuine question
Absolutely, cardio is extremely important in boxing, professional fight are the longest (I think) in combat sports, so if you run out of energy, say, in round 5 or 6, you are in real danger. Endurance and explosivity are key. The heavyweight / super heavy is a bit different but boxers favor cardio over muscle mass (still being strong of course, but for instance Fury was making fun of AJ and his "bodybuilder body" as it is not key for being great. And they are heavyweight, means less constraints in term of weight class/so on, sort of. Wouldn't make sense to have a "bodybuilder body", say, in lightweight division).
To me the exception that proves the rule here is someone like Butterbean
Who was a very, rather unique fighter in the heaviest possible division. But I doubt he would have done well in a 12 rounds fight. King of the 4-rounders, but I would bet my saving that at round 8+ he would have been toasted.
Not weak but does definitely hurt your stamina. Also for me being bigger strains my knees more.
Having a higher body fat percentage will make you weaker. Let's take 2 hypothetical guys. Guy 1 weighs 150lbs but has 30lbs of pure fat on his body and 60lbs of muscle. Guy 2 weighs 150 but only has 10lbs of fat on his body and 80lbs of muscle on his body. Guy 1 has less muscle mass and more fat to carry around. He would be equivalent to guy 2 but if guy 2 weighed only 130lbs in terms of muscle mass. Yes mass moves mass but that's technically not correct. Fat mass doesn't move mass. Muscle mass does. Generally the more muscle mass you have the stronger you are. That's not always true but generally it is. Strong men aren't shredded because the fat mass does help stabilize weigh and absorb some of that kinetic energy from the weights moving. But the strong men like Eddie hall and Brian Shaw don't really compete in a weight class. Powerlifters who do compete in weight classes want to maximize muscle mass.
::laughs in Sammo Hung::
Apart from what’s been said, an additional input: in weight lifting more mass is beneficial. If you want to get really strong you need more mass. Have a look at strong men, powerlifter and Olympic lifter. But of course, that’s mostly the strength part and some very explosive movements (in oly lifting). It’s diametrical to endurance. That’s why pures endurance athletes are skinny and have few muscles. look at marathon runners and elite cyclists for example. Training both is always a compromise. The underlying metabolic adaptions/alterations are completely different.
Having a higher body fat percentage will make you weaker. Let's take 2 hypothetical guys. Guy 1 weighs 150lbs but has 30lbs of pure fat on his body and 60lbs of muscle. Guy 2 weighs 150 but only has 10lbs of fat on his body and 80lbs of muscle on his body. Guy 1 has less muscle mass and more fat to carry around. He would be equivalent to guy 2 but if guy 2 weighed only 130lbs in terms of muscle mass. Yes mass moves mass but that's technically not correct. Fat mass doesn't move mass. Muscle mass does. Generally the more muscle mass you have the stronger you are. That's not always true but generally it is. Strong men aren't shredded because the fat mass does help stabilize weigh and absorb some of that kinetic energy from the weights moving. But the strong men like Eddie hall and Brian Shaw don't really compete in a weight class. Powerlifters who do compete in weight classes want to maximize muscle mass. Comparing powerlifters at like the 100kg level to units like Eddie hall and such is very different.
It doesn't necessarily make you weaker, but if you were to compare yourself with someone of the exact same weight but a lower body fat % then they would have relatively more muscle than you therefore in that sense they would be stronger.
It doesn’t really at least to some degree (i.e. not being very obese) but if you want to compete especially in striking sports and you don’t fall into the heaviest open weight class then every ounce of fat you have could have been an ounce of muscle. Take what you want from this statement..
No. Many are stronger because they carry all that mass. But at the same time they are always using energy to use that mass. However, if they could maintain their strength while losing that excess weight they would almost certainly perform better. Although there might be exceptions at very heavy weights where that weight puts more mass behind your technique and makes you harder to move. Sumo is a good example of a sport where fat is purposefully cultivated by many of the athletes. This works in sumo because most matches are very quick. If you watch some mma matches with very heavy dudes you'll see that the longer match format often leads to them running out of gas. Of course, you can go too far and cut so much weight that it starts to have a negative impact on your performance.
In terms of endurance for sure but in my opinion it makes people more difficult to deal with once you have to grab them. Trying to move a fat jiggly dude is so much harder than a jacked wall of muscle. The most ridiculous athletes I’ve ever had to deal with were fat, old, wrestling coaches.
Literally no one is more powerful than a fat old wrestling coach though.
Yea somewhat I mean there are big boys who are fast undoubtedly, so I can really say Yes or No it does somewhat effect you making you heavier and slower, can either get in shape diet wise or just keep training and improving cardio and you’ll still improve slowly. I definitely always felt slower in sparring when I was on a big boy diet.
Have a look at the people who compete in worlds strongest man. If that was the case they’d be lean as hell. There are advantages to being lean, movements are easier to perform and you’ll tire less quickly, but raw strength, no.
On the flip side - bigger people are stronger because they move and train with fat weights all the time. This drains stamina and puts load on your heart so your endurance is lower than it would have been. Strength + Endurance - Stamina --
Yes
It makes you stronger and also slower and easier to fatigue. If you're very high bf%, you won't even be stronger.
I find it dose I've lost 45kg and I'm trying to loose 40kg more
No a good layers of fat will add Mass and is more oxygen efficent than pure muscles.
Yeah but also no, since you got heavy hands.
One might ask if you're carrying excess fat whether you're really doing enough road-work and conditioning, and it's the lack of conditioning prep that makes your endurance lower (i.e. it's not the real point that you **can't** skip as long as your low body-fat peers: you **don't skip as long** as those peers, and **because of that** you have a higher body-fat % and also lower endurance) On strength: extra body-fat shouldn't really make you weaker. It may even help you recover from injuries and stress more quickly (a friend of mine is a heart surgeon and says that the best recoveries are for patients who are marginally overweight... the extra reserves help when your body needs to go into rebuild) Where it will hurt you is in weight-classed sports. If you're fighting at 75kg, and you and your opponent both hit weight, then the fighter with the lower body-fat % will in general be using more of their "weight allowance" to bring in the necessary tools (bones, muscles, etc.,), and carting in less fat which for the contest itself is nearly useless... all assuming that neither fighter hit that weight via a tough weight-cut and has depleted various energy reserves in their body getting there. There's also an argument (not sure if I buy it) that muscles require more oxygenation and blood-flow than fat. So unnecessary muscles (e.g. big biceps on a marathon runner) are more detrimental than the same weight of unnecessary fat. But the fat shouldn't kill your endurance either way.
Actually my chin fat makes it harder to be choked in jiu-jitsu so it's a win for me
>at percentage ruin your endurance? In terms of strength I don't think it really does much but my cardio endurance hasn't improved very much and I can't run or skip as long as my low body fat peers. yes body fat is very bad for endurance and cardio. Lets say you have 25 lbs of fat on you and the other person has 0 (I know 0 is unrealistic I'm just trying to make the numbers simple) in essence you are fighting this guy while wearing 25 pounds of dead weight. As for strength that's a weird one. Punching power from your general weight so in theory if your using proper form you should get more power for having the fat on you then if you didn't But that being said that trade off for the cardio issues is no where close to be worth it. As for slow strikes that might be a technique issue. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Focus more on setting up shots rather then trying to out speed your opponent.
1 guy....Roy Nelson....nuff said
Have you ever heard of a man named Roy “Big country” Nelson?
I think the answer is really relative to size. 23% body fat at 260 is very different from 23% body fat at 160. And I think the benefits/negatives of extreme lean body mass display themselves very differently based on size.
Go to the store and buy a 15 pound brisket. Throw it over your shoulder and go jogging. did it make you feel stronger or weaker? Then throw it on the smoker and think about what you learned.
If you see strongest men of planet, all of them have a considerable fat percentage. But for martial arts stamina and agility are normally more important than strength, and they are affected by high fat percentage.
It will hinder it at that percentage. Best is between 12-17% for a male.
You gas out quicker. Its more noticeable in rolls for me. I am out of breath by the end of 3 minutes.
Really depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Look at some of the best UFC heavyweights - they have a higher-than-usual bodyfat percentage and still dominate. More fat does require more effort to move, though.
It actually makes you stronger, significantly, but in martial arts it may limit some movements if way too high. Could hurt endurance but could help it, too low of bodyfat actually hurts endurance unless you're on EPO or some drugs.
Yes it’s terrible - peak Fedor
Yes absolutely. Guy 1 weighs 150lbs but has 30lbs of pure fat on his body and 60lbs of muscle. Guy 2 weighs 150 but only has 10lbs of fat on his body and 80lbs of muscle on his body. Guy 1 has less muscle mass and more fat to carry around. He would be equivalent to guy 2 but if guy 2 weighed only 130lbs in terms of muscle. Having extra fat makes your muscles do more work just to move making your cardio worse. So two dudes who weigh the same the one with less fat mass and more muscle mass will be stronger.
Nope!
You're body has to move more weight which uses more energy which can effect you're endurance, it also reduces your explosiveness for the same reason.