Weight gain in elite athletes (8-12 weeks, 4 extra strength sessions a week): a counselled energy surplus raised body weight more (3.9% vs 1.5%) but mostly as fat (+15% vs +3% fat mass); lean-mass gain did not differ from eating ad libitum, and 40 m sprint 'decreased' in the counselled group (read as slower; the abstract gives no times)
Elite athletes were randomised to a nutritional counselling group with a meal plan for a positive energy balance or to an ad libitum group, during an 8-12-week weight-gain period with sport training plus four strength sessions a week. Content from the abstract only.
Participants
39 elite athletes: counselling group (NCG) n=21, 19.1±2.9 years, 70.9±8.9 kg; ad libitum group (ALG) n=18, 19.6±2.7 years, 75.0±5.9 kg.
Protocol
Sport-specific training plus four additional strength sessions per week, 8-12 weeks.
NCG: meal plan giving a positive energy balance; ALG: ad libitum intake.
Measured: body weight, body composition, 1RM, 40 m sprint, countermovement jump (CMJ).
Key Results
Energy intake: 3585±601 vs 2964±884 kcal (NCG vs ALG).
Body weight: +3.9±0.6% vs +1.5±0.4%.
Fat mass: +15±4% vs +3±3%; lean-mass gain not different between groups.
1RM improved in both groups (6-12%); 40 m sprint and CMJ unchanged, except a significant decrease in 40 m sprint for the NCG athletes.
Authors' conclusion: excess energy intake in a weight-gain protocol should be considered carefully because of undesirable increases in body fat.
Practical Application
"Will eating a lot more help an athlete gain muscle?" In 39 young elite athletes lifting four extra times a week for 8-12 weeks, a counselled surplus (~3585 vs ~2964 kcal/day) raised body weight more, but as fat (+15% vs +3%); lean-mass gain did not differ between groups, and 40 m sprint 'decreased' in the counselled group (read as slower; no times in the abstract).
With REF-1088: in trained people, a large surplus mostly buys fat. Inference, not tested here (no non-lifting arm): the strength training, not the extra food, drove the lean-mass gain both groups shared.
Not from this paper: for endurance athletes this is the cost side of "eat big to gain muscle" — extra fat is extra weight on every climb.
Limitations
Sports, sex split and the body-composition method are not given in the abstract.
Young athletes (mean ages 19.1 and 19.6 years); 8-12 weeks.
The ad libitum group also gained weight (1.5%), so this compares a larger with a smaller surplus, not surplus with maintenance.
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
parallel RCT with 39 (rubric: 20–39 = B+)