Increasing strength => building muscle?

cheshirecatastrophe
cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
edited November 9 in Fitness and Exercise
So we always talk about how you can't really build muscle while eating at a calorie deficit. Is it possible to increase strength without building muscle? Or is building muscle the biological result of (same thing as) increasing strength?

Maybe less confusing - My 2015 fitness goals include to lose 10 pounds and do a pull-up. Can these happen at the same time? (I am at 25 pounds of assistance, or 35 for reps, so losing the weight alone isn't gonna do it).

Replies

  • madrose0715
    madrose0715 Posts: 463 Member
    You can increase strength while in a deficit. You can build a little new muscle in the beginning of weight loss dependant on alot of variables, often referred to 'newb gains' but are negligble.

    Increasing strength (through resistance training/weightlifting) while in a deficit has many other benefits during this time. Search the threads here and there is tons about it.
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    Yes. Your existing muscle mass likely does not work at full capacity. So you can get stronger, by enlisting the work of existing muscle, without needing to create more mass. Your goals are 100% possible.
  • jenglish712
    jenglish712 Posts: 497 Member
    Yep, you can get considerably stronger without gaining any muscle. There is a limit, but you are probably very far from it.
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    Thanks, everyone!
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    BTW, Convict Conditioning has a nice set of progressions starting from vertical wall pulls and leading to full pull-ups over time (and eventually gets to one-arm pullups, but one step at a time, grasshopper). While I think the book is worth reading, you can get a good feel for the progressions at https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL2D32E319FC4344AA .
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    Hey, thanks for the heads up. I've been doing lower-downs, flex arm hangs and the assisted pull-up machine and making decent progress. I definitely want to incorporate some of those exercises, though, especially the half pull-up. I've never seen that before, but it seems like a great transition between flex arm hang and actual pull-ups.

    One arm, hmm.... >:)
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