How much muscle mass affects fit?

[radio3]

I am currently under weight by about 10 lbs. my bodyfat percentage is the same as normal, but due to dieting without exercise, I’m relatively low on muscle.

Does anyone have experience getting things like suits and jackets fitted at different sizes in their fitness histories? I would like to lift weights and perhaps gain around 10 lbs muscle over next year or so and then stay there while keeping the same bodyfat.

Would getting sport coats and buying leather jackets now be prone to ending up with the wrong size, though? Are jackets mostly sized according to your skeletal dimensions, or do fluctions in muscle mass potentially affect them greatly as well? Anyone bought a jacket, then lifted weights for a while and had it become too small?

Thanks for any opinions or experiences on how strength training affects sizing of upper body clothes.

 

[Sfroide3]

Gaining or loosing weight wether it is lean muscle mass or fat is going to destroy your wardrobe. Trust me I started loosing weight and building muscle mass about 3 years ago. There is always a margin for alteration during your muscle building route (one size up or down). But my advice would be to avoid investing in very expensiv item such as quality suits, leather jackets, made to measure shirts, etc. I would only buy second hand suits for example. That will save you tone of money. You don't know now how your body is going to react to mass building. If you build shoulders very quickly, your suit is going to be waisted in less than a year.

 

[radio3]

Gaining or loosing weight wether it is lean muscle mass or fat is going to destroy your wardrobe. Trust me I started loosing weight and building muscle mass about 3 years ago. There is always a margin for alteration during your muscle building route (one size up or down). But my advice would be to avoid investing in very expensiv item such as quality suits, leather jackets, made to measure shirts, etc. I would only buy second hand suits for example. That will save you tone of money. You don't know now how your body is going to react to mass building. If you build shoulders very quickly, your suit is going to be waisted in less than a year.

Did you find that the actual width of your shoulders changed or what in particular? I’m sort of a large size 48 European. I wonder if gaining 10 lbs of muscle would make me go up a full size in most things or what. Are you talking 10 lbs is enough to rekt wardrobe, or are you talking more like 20 lbs or something. I’m talking pure muscle. I’m already lean and am pretty much always lean, just scrawny-ish.

 

[Sfroide3]

I can't tell you exactly what's part of fat loss and muscle build as I did the two in the same process. If you plan on only taking 10 lbs of lean muscle I wouldn't fear too much for my wardrobe as long as your clothes are not already tight fitting.

A quality suit should be made so that your weight can vary a little. You will only need minor alterations (let out the seat, let out the jacket, etc). Don't buy anything that is already tight fitting and need to be let out. Buy something that needs to be taken in so that you can let out later !

 

[johng70]

Here's the thing - muscle is more dense than fat. If you replace 10 lbs of fat with 10lbs of muscle you'll be smaller overall. It's rare that it's a 1-for-1 though. Just gaining muscle mass takes a LOT of buildup to affect shirt/jacket fit. It's generally not an issue until you get into serious body building where the mass becomes problematic and shoulder/chest proportions to waste mean you're into lots of alterations.

In your situation, just adding 10lbs of muscle isn't going to affect normal clothes - shirts/jackets/etc will handle it. This assumes you're doing full body workouts and adding that muscle mass all over.

 

[radio3]

Ok. Yeah. I’m just a little worried about the shoulder and chest throwing off blazers. My shoulders are pretty weak right now and if I build them then I could easily see slim fitted shirts and blazers suddenly becoming ill-fitted, straining, etc. I guess I have to hope that exercise changes my SHAPE more so than actual SIZE. Do you have experience with gaining 6% body mass in muscle?

 

[johng70]

Yes. As mentioned, it's a small amount. For your chest/shoulders to get large enough to make a difference you'd have to double or triple that amount. Shirts & blazers get pushed more from fat gain than muscle - fat is less dense. So, 10lbs of fat takes up more room than 10lbs of muscle.

 

[bvbellomo]

1) Do a beginner power lifting program - starting strength, stronglifts, etc. Without steroids, most of your size gains are in the first 6 months of lifting. I'd love to get my bench to 315lbs, but realistically, that isn't going to make my chest noticeably bigger, and no where near the change going from not lifting to benching 225lbs gives you.

2) Different muscles affect clothing differently. For me, trapezius and thighs limit clothing choices. Everyone thinks they will pickup a pair of dumbells and their biceps will suddenly make their sleeves explode. Arms grow slowly and sadly, mine still have plenty of extra space.

3) I still wear a jacket fitted 20 years ago when I was 20lbs lighter - almost all upper body muscle. I had no muscle or fat when it was fitted, but broad shoulders and a large frame. Filling out the upper part of the jacket really doesn't change the fit much - it lays different and may be a little shorter. An extra inch of waist fat would change the fit more, maybe even make it unwearable.

 

[radio3]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Sounds good.

 

[andy b.]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Sounds good.

I'll echo what the others stated above. I've been alive quite a few decades. I'm about 5' 10" or 11" and was 140lb when I graduated from high school and now I'm about 153lb. I run, mountain bike and go to the gym. It takes a LOT of effort to build muscle mass. You can get stronger without getting much bigger. Some people are just genetically inclined to not have a lot of mass.
I'd say don't buy skinny fit shirts or jackets, and any mass you gain won't affect your clothes to a noticeable degree.
Now if you plan on taking steroids and becoming a body builder, I have no idea what effect that will have.

 

[Jmccle2]

My weight tends to fluctuate ~10 pound throughout the year. I’m usually heavier in the winter and by spring I’ll start cutting down for summer.

Those 10 pounds make a huge difference. I can still wear the same size shirts, but they will fit a bit more loose around the midsection. Pants are a different story. I will drop about 2 waist sizes, which requires me to keep “big pants” and “skinny pants”.

 

[Nigel Scott-Williams]

I must agree : muscle mass is heavier, but definition is often 'smaller' than flab. At 63, my weight is about 15lbs. more than at age 25, but my waist is an inch smaller than at age 25. The difference after working out will probably not affect your clothes at all if you are over 25 or 30. If you are 19 or so, and embarking on a major bodybuilding effort ( as if you were using steroids, I say, 'as if'!) you could change your overall frame somewhat, with the quads being the most affected, but other than that it is hard for a new committed workout routine to make all your clothes redundant.

 

[Diamondflame]

You’ll notice some muscular development in the shoulders, chest, back and quads. And possibly a drop in waist size depending on where you were initially. I’m guessing those slim fit dress shirts will now be too tight-fitting. But the blazers and pants will start to feel more snug.

If you’re planning to build muscles by all means go for it but my advice is don’t overdo it. I’ve never seen a bodybuilder looking good in formal wear. Better to build a better-looking body than one that is just masses of muscles.

 

[Jmccle2]

You’ll notice some muscular development in the shoulders, chest, back and quads. And possibly a drop in waist size depending on where you were initially. I’m guessing those slim fit dress shirts will now be too tight-fitting. But the blazers and pants will start to feel more snug.

If you’re planning to build muscles by all means go for it but my advice is don’t overdo it. I’ve never seen a bodybuilder looking good in formal wear. Better to build a better-looking body than one that is just masses of muscles.

I do have problems with very slim fitting pants or dress shirts, but I wouldn’t be concerned with looking funny in formal wear. There are plenty of fits I can find off the rack or go made to measure.

It’s going to take a very long time (and steroids) to overdo it. Guys you see on strongman or Olympia competitions aren’t the norm or typical bodybuilder.

 

[Kilo11]

I dropped from a lean 230lbs down to a leaner 210lbs, and my jackets haven't changed much in the point-to-point. I wore a 46R/56R or 48R/58R (depending on the jacket) at 230lbs, and I still wear the same at 210lbs. If I wanted to get cute, I could shorten the collar 1/4", but why?

Trousers are where I've seen the most change as I went from a 34 down to a 32, but pinching the waist and the accompanying taking in of the seat is about all I've done. I went from cutting 38's down (needed the room in butt and thighs, but 4+ inches out of the waste) to cutting down 36's.

I'm a tailor's nightmare (I mostly have everything made as very little off-the-rack is workable), but the secret is to go with soft shouldered jackets. It's all in the shoulder/point-to-point. A little bit off in the chest is manageable, but the shoulder has to be right. My preference is zero padding at all. It'll give you room to fill the shoulders out without it getting all out of whack, and if you trim down, the shoulder will naturally fall and you might only need to shorten the sleeves a touch.

For example: The jacket below is an Isaia Dustin/Domenico (same thing), zero padding in the shoulder, 100% cashmere (different fabrics drape differently) full-canvased, half-lined. I'm 210lbs in the picture on the left and 230lbs in the picture on the right. Not a single thing has been changed on the jacket. It's a fraction big when I'm down the weight and if I wanted to get cute, I could shorten the collar 1/4" or so...but why? When the shoulder is soft, it just works.