body fat % question

[mmaboog]

quick question, is it easier for a person with a higher body fat percentage to add muscle?

for example: eliminating all other variables, say a skinny guy and a fatter guy (who have the same starting bench, squat deadlift etc.) perform identical routines, would the fatter guy have quicker strength gains?

 

[Indivdude]

No the man who is skinny fat would beat them both.

 

[RuDOWN4It]

I think the bigger guy can add muscle faster because he eats more, therefore giving him more protein, calories, and other nutrients necessary to build muscle.

 

[Indivdude]

I think the bigger guy can add muscle faster because he eats more, therefore giving him more protein, calories, and other nutrients necessary to build muscle.

For a serious answer, this is the right answer. Doesn't mean that it will always be the case of course. But if they're both on the same routine and both eat enough for themselves to recover with the bigger guy eating more, then the bigger guy should be the one that gains more muscle and strength.

 

[cheez whiz]

Being too fat or too lean do things hormonally and/or with the endocrine system that hamper gains - at least that's my limited understanding.

 

[Dafreeclinic]

If they eat at a maintenance the fatter one since he can use his fat as a source for caloric surplus.

 

[Sakmongkol]

A "fat guy" would have improved leverages on certain lifts (i.e. bigger thighs hit parallel sooner in squat, shorter bar path in bench press with bigger chest)

A "fat guy" would presumbably be eating over the required maintenance level of calories which would facilitate faster strength gains.

 

[Origins]

I believe that most fatasses progress faster than their skinny counterparts for a number of reasons. For one thing, they already know how to eat, unlike most skinny kids who are used to taking in 2000 kcals per day. Also, endomorphs, i.e. naturally fat/large people, usually have larger joints, bone structure, etc. You could say that they are "built" to carry more mass. Like an empty frame waiting to be filled.

 

[Tosa]

A "fat guy" would have improved leverages on certain lifts (i.e. bigger thighs hit parallel sooner in squat, shorter bar path in bench press with bigger chest)

I think you're mis understanding what parallel is. Parallel means an imaginary line from the hip crease to the top of the knee is parallel. Eating more isn't going change this.

 

[Blenderate]

If they both eat the same diet, and all other variables are the same, the leaner person will gain more muscle. This is because his insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning ability is better.

If, as the other posters above me assumed, the fatter person eats more calories, then he may be the one to gain more muscle. But his proportion of muscle to fat gained will be lower than the leaner person.