weight affected by muscle building

holothuroidea

From what I've read you won't gain any (or much) muscle if you are eating at a deficit, but if you do strength training you can maintain the lean muscle you have while losing fat (notice I didn't say losing weight).

My trainer, who has been doing this for 30+ years would call this a load of crap. He says, the human body is actually quite simple. When you lift you make miniscule tears in your muscle tissue. Every time your body repairs one of those tears there is a little more mass added to that muscle. He says your body doesn't say, "oops, Joe is eating at a deficit now so we cannot repair the muscle", no, it does what it is programmed to do. It repairs the muscle tissue and in the process adds more mass.

This is coming from a man that has been training people for 30+ years. He has trained all kinds of shapes and sizes and he says it is all about the basics.

well your trainer of 30 years is WRONG on this subject, if that is what he says

when eating at deficit, a woman will not gain lean muscle... she can, however, protect what lean muscle she has by lifting heavy...She will, however, lose fat in the process

I don't think either of these is entirely true.

Your body will repair muscle tears, and that is how you get stronger. You need the materials to add mass, though, and the fuel to make that happen. If you don't have significant body fat stored, and if your body is using all of it's incoming energy for more important things (i.e. you're eating a significant deficit), then no- it won't be able to make those changes to the muscle tissue.

It's also not entirely true that you can't gain muscle mass or strength on a deficit, though. If your body has a lot more fat than muscle and you're new to weight training, more likely than not you'll end up gaining muscle mass as long as you're eating above your BMR.

I've made some pretty significant gains in strength over the past couple of months and I've been eating a deficit the whole time. I think the difference is that my muscles were completely untrained to start with and my deficit is pretty small.

RGv2

From what I've read you won't gain any (or much) muscle if you are eating at a deficit, but if you do strength training you can maintain the lean muscle you have while losing fat (notice I didn't say losing weight).

My trainer, who has been doing this for 30+ years would call this a load of crap. He says, the human body is actually quite simple. When you lift you make miniscule tears in your muscle tissue. Every time your body repairs one of those tears there is a little more mass added to that muscle. He says your body doesn't say, "oops, Joe is eating at a deficit now so we cannot repair the muscle", no, it does what it is programmed to do. It repairs the muscle tissue and in the process adds more mass.

This is coming from a man that has been training people for 30+ years. He has trained all kinds of shapes and sizes and he says it is all about the basics.

murphy612

Wow. That is amazing. I know almost every woman says the same thing about not wanting to get bulky- I should know better by now. I would like to start adding weights into my routine- actually- when you guys first started- did you start on the machines or free weights? Did you use trainers or just go for it?

Free weights and a trainer. But I know a lot of women have success doing it on their own, I'm just not that disciplined and coordinated hehehe The trainer is expensive but it was really the best decision I made for myself.

adopt321

I respectfully disagree. In three months I gained 4.5 lbs muscle and 1.5 lbs fat per my trainer's measurements. He said he wouldn't expect as much muscle and low fat but it is definitely possible.

I do agree to get on the weight wagon! Don't be afraid to lift and lift heavy. It's a body transformation waiting to happen!

Even with intense weight training, you can only build a couple of pounds of muscle per year (seen apart from steroids etc). Perhaps your body will store some additional water/glycogen as well, but it shouldn't be too much, so I wouldn't really worry about that.
Furthermore, more muscle mass = higher BMR!
Don't be afraid of lifting weights!

RGv2

I respectfully disagree. In three months I gained 4.5 lbs muscle and 1.5 lbs fat per my trainer's measurements. He said he wouldn't expect as much muscle and low fat but it is definitely possible.

I do agree to get on the weight wagon! Don't be afraid to lift and lift heavy. It's a body transformation waiting to happen!

Even with intense weight training, you can only build a couple of pounds of muscle per year (seen apart from steroids etc). Perhaps your body will store some additional water/glycogen as well, but it shouldn't be too much, so I wouldn't really worry about that.
Furthermore, more muscle mass = higher BMR!
Don't be afraid of lifting weights!

Um, how did they measure it and are you super human?

ironanimal

I respectfully disagree. In three months I gained 4.5 lbs muscle and 1.5 lbs fat per my trainer's measurements. He said he wouldn't expect as much muscle and low fat but it is definitely possible.

I do agree to get on the weight wagon! Don't be afraid to lift and lift heavy. It's a body transformation waiting to happen!

Even with intense weight training, you can only build a couple of pounds of muscle per year (seen apart from steroids etc). Perhaps your body will store some additional water/glycogen as well, but it shouldn't be too much, so I wouldn't really worry about that.
Furthermore, more muscle mass = higher BMR!
Don't be afraid of lifting weights!

Wow, you put it on faster than a champion bodybuilder. Congrats!

KatLifter

I respectfully disagree. In three months I gained 4.5 lbs muscle and 1.5 lbs fat per my trainer's measurements. He said he wouldn't expect as much muscle and low fat but it is definitely possible.

I do agree to get on the weight wagon! Don't be afraid to lift and lift heavy. It's a body transformation waiting to happen!

Even with intense weight training, you can only build a couple of pounds of muscle per year (seen apart from steroids etc). Perhaps your body will store some additional water/glycogen as well, but it shouldn't be too much, so I wouldn't really worry about that.
Furthermore, more muscle mass = higher BMR!
Don't be afraid of lifting weights!

Just so you know, most methods of measuring body fat vs. muscle aren't amazingly accurate. Unless it was in a BodPod, I'd take it with a chunk (not just a grain) of salt.

murphy612

I've made some pretty significant gains in strength over the past couple of months and I've been eating a deficit the whole time. I think the difference is that my muscles were completely untrained to start with and my deficit is pretty small.

Strength gains and muscle gains are not exactly the same thing. I have also gained a ton of strength. My lean body mass has not increased but stayed the same and my fat % has decreased. I have also heard you can get beginners gains (which I did and then they went away) and also gains if you are very overweight when you start. The OP doesn't have a lot to lose so I didn't bring that up. Regardless, congrats on your process, you look fabulous!!

meshashesha2012

I respectfully disagree. In three months I gained 4.5 lbs muscle and 1.5 lbs fat per my trainer's measurements. He said he wouldn't expect as much muscle and low fat but it is definitely possible.

I do agree to get on the weight wagon! Don't be afraid to lift and lift heavy. It's a body transformation waiting to happen!

Even with intense weight training, you can only build a couple of pounds of muscle per year (seen apart from steroids etc). Perhaps your body will store some additional water/glycogen as well, but it shouldn't be too much, so I wouldn't really worry about that.
Furthermore, more muscle mass = higher BMR!
Don't be afraid of lifting weights!

Wow, you put it on faster than a champion bodybuilder. Congrats!

couldnt these also be newb gains? from what i've read the first 6-12 months newbies can see a lot of growth but after that it becomes harder

HIITMe

From what I've read you won't gain any (or much) muscle if you are eating at a deficit, but if you do strength training you can maintain the lean muscle you have while losing fat (notice I didn't say losing weight).

My trainer, who has been doing this for 30+ years would call this a load of crap. He says, the human body is actually quite simple. When you lift you make miniscule tears in your muscle tissue. Every time your body repairs one of those tears there is a little more mass added to that muscle. He says your body doesn't say, "oops, Joe is eating at a deficit now so we cannot repair the muscle", no, it does what it is programmed to do. It repairs the muscle tissue and in the process adds more mass.

This is coming from a man that has been training people for 30+ years. He has trained all kinds of shapes and sizes and he says it is all about the basics.

well your trainer of 30 years is WRONG on this subject, if that is what he says

when eating at deficit, a woman will not gain lean muscle... she can, however, protect what lean muscle she has by lifting heavy...She will, however, lose fat in the process

I don't think either of these is entirely true.

Your body will repair muscle tears, and that is how you get stronger. You need the materials to add mass, though, and the fuel to make that happen. If you don't have significant body fat stored, and if your body is using all of it's incoming energy for more important things (i.e. you're eating a significant deficit), then no- it won't be able to make those changes to the muscle tissue.

It's also not entirely true that you can't gain muscle mass or strength on a deficit, though. If your body has a lot more fat than muscle and you're new to weight training, more likely than not you'll end up gaining muscle mass as long as you're eating above your BMR.

I've made some pretty significant gains in strength over the past couple of months and I've been eating a deficit the whole time. I think the difference is that my muscles were completely untrained to start with and my deficit is pretty small.

I've made some pretty significant gains in strength over the past couple of months and I've been eating a deficit the whole time. I think the difference is that my muscles were completely untrained to start with and my deficit is pretty small.

Strength gains and muscle gains are not exactly the same thing. I have also gained a ton of strength. My lean body mass has not increased but stayed the same and my fat % has decreased. I have also heard you can get beginners gains (which I did and then they went away) and also gains if you are very overweight when you start. The OP doesn't have a lot to lose so I didn't bring that up. Regardless, congrats on your process, you look fabulous!!

QFT

ironanimal

I respectfully disagree. In three months I gained 4.5 lbs muscle and 1.5 lbs fat per my trainer's measurements. He said he wouldn't expect as much muscle and low fat but it is definitely possible.

I do agree to get on the weight wagon! Don't be afraid to lift and lift heavy. It's a body transformation waiting to happen!

Even with intense weight training, you can only build a couple of pounds of muscle per year (seen apart from steroids etc). Perhaps your body will store some additional water/glycogen as well, but it shouldn't be too much, so I wouldn't really worry about that.
Furthermore, more muscle mass = higher BMR!
Don't be afraid of lifting weights!

Wow, you put it on faster than a champion bodybuilder. Congrats!

couldnt these also be newb gains? from what i've read the first 6-12 months newbies can see a lot of growth but after that it becomes harder

Lean Mass increases from swelling? Sure. Muscle? No. I'm guessing the trainer used a tape measure and that doesn't account for increased water volume in the muscle - hence the muscle measures larger and voila you "gained" 4.5lbs of muscle.

RGv2

I respectfully disagree. In three months I gained 4.5 lbs muscle and 1.5 lbs fat per my trainer's measurements. He said he wouldn't expect as much muscle and low fat but it is definitely possible.

I do agree to get on the weight wagon! Don't be afraid to lift and lift heavy. It's a body transformation waiting to happen!

Even with intense weight training, you can only build a couple of pounds of muscle per year (seen apart from steroids etc). Perhaps your body will store some additional water/glycogen as well, but it shouldn't be too much, so I wouldn't really worry about that.
Furthermore, more muscle mass = higher BMR!
Don't be afraid of lifting weights!

Wow, you put it on faster than a champion bodybuilder. Congrats!

couldnt these also be newb gains? from what i've read the first 6-12 months newbies can see a lot of growth but after that it becomes harder

Lean Mass increases from swelling? Sure. Muscle? No. I'm guessing the trainer used a tape measure and that doesn't account for increased water volume in the muscle - hence the muscle measures larger and voila you "gained" 4.5lbs of muscle.

Kind of what I was thinking, but that's why I asked. 4.5 lbs surpassed "a lot of growth" 4 lbs ago.

holothuroidea

I've made some pretty significant gains in strength over the past couple of months and I've been eating a deficit the whole time. I think the difference is that my muscles were completely untrained to start with and my deficit is pretty small.

Strength gains and muscle gains are not exactly the same thing. I have also gained a ton of strength. My lean body mass has not increased but stayed the same and my fat % has decreased. I have also heard you can get beginners gains (which I did and then they went away) and also gains if you are very overweight when you start. The OP doesn't have a lot to lose so I didn't bring that up. Regardless, congrats on your process, you look fabulous!!

I know that a lot of strength gains, especially in the beginning, can be neuromuscular in nature. It just sounded as if some people were saying that lifting is only beneficial for strength if you're eating enough calories to build significant bulk and I was just giving evidence otherwise.

I still think that it's possible to gain some muscle mass eating a small deficit if you have enough fat stores and your muscles are untrained, but definitely not enough to offset fat loss on the scale as I said in my first post.

ladyphoto

Well I don't know enough to join the debate about gains and all that, but thank you for all this information- you all really helped me and I have decided to add strength training into my regimen. I think I would like to start with a trainer just to show me how and what I should do for a few sessions and then go it alone.

I'm actually kind of excited- I think it would be really cool to have the best body of my lifetime at 43 years old after 4 kids and c-section. I would really love that. From what you all are telling me, strength training will define the muscle I have and make me "smaller" in certain areas- I am thinking that with cardio work to help burn off the fat layer- at some point- it's got to come together.

Thanks again for all of your input! It helped.

Rebecca

holothuroidea

Muscle definition is all about your body fat percentage, so if you want to have a "toned" look you need to get down to around 18-20% body fat.

What strength training will do is help you get to that bf% by preserving your lean mass as you loose fat. Also if you decide to bulk at any point and gain muscle mass, larger muscles will fill you out in all the right places and make you look "shapely." You will also get to a lower bf% at a higher weight with more muscle mass, giving you an athletic and fit look if that's the aesthetic you're going for.

But most of all it will make you stronger and healthier, and your life will become easier.

ladyphoto

Muscle definition is all about your body fat percentage, so if you want to have a "toned" look you need to get down to around 18-20% body fat.

What strength training will do is help you get to that bf% by preserving your lean mass as you loose fat. Also if you decide to bulk at any point and gain muscle mass, larger muscles will fill you out in all the right places and make you look "shapely." You will also get to a lower bf% at a higher weight with more muscle mass, giving you an athletic and fit look if that's the aesthetic you're going for.

But most of all it will make you stronger and healthier, and your life will become easier.

This is perfect. Thank you- Very imformative. I am so new to the weight lifting world. Healthy eating, Cardio, heart rates, clean eating, carbs vs protein,- all that stuff I could practically write a book on- but weight training I have absolutely no education on - yet.