Resistance/strength training at a deficit?

js8181

So this is how i look now after a couple months of strength training. I've tried to maintain 30-40 pushups, planks for 40 seconds on each side and then 60 bicycle crunches, four days per week. I've gained weight, but I think some of it is muscle as a few weeks ago I got my body fat tested and it was about the same as before I started training.

Now I want to cut fat, but still gain muscle. I lead an 'active' lifestyle according to my pacer app (which makes sense: i tend bar 2-3 times a week and live in a city where I walk everywhere), so apparently I can lose a pound of fat per week by doing 2000 calories per day. But my question: will I also gain muscle? Or by eating at a deficit will it not 'stick'?





I way 161-163lbs now. Will see how I look at 155-157 and then think about losing more, or maintaining... As you can see most of it goes to my belly...

futuremanda

You will not gain muscle in a deficit. But you may retain more muscle than you would have otherwise.

You may also want to try to up your strength training. Progressive overload is key -- meaning increasing the stress on your body. So you could switch to a weight lifting program, or if you're sticking to body weight training, try to look up more challenging variations.

Liftng4Lis

With the exception of newbie gains, you won't be building muscle in a deficit. You will however, maintain muscle mass.

js8181

Thanks. I feel like I should focus on fat loss now though right? I don't have any definition despite my work. That will come by losing 10+ pounds right?

futuremanda

Sure.

But which one you're focusing on is about your calorie intake, not about your workout. You should have progressive overload either way.

ASKyle

No, you will not gain muscle in a deficit. I wouldn't define what you're doing as training really, either. No offense. Start a structured lifting program, see how your body SHAPE changes instead of just the weight of it.

I read on here last week: "If you're a big fat marshmallow and you lose weight and don't lift, you'll be a skinny marshmallow". I think you're already at a healthy weight and need to hit the weights!

js8181

Haha I am a skinny marshmallow in this analogy aren't I?

ASKyle wrote: »

No, you will not gain muscle in a deficit. I wouldn't define what you're doing as training really, either. No offense. Start a structured lifting program, see how your body SHAPE changes instead of just the weight of it.

I read on here last week: "If you're a big fat marshmallow and you lose weight and don't lift, you'll be a skinny marshmallow". I think you're already at a ealthy weight and need to hit the weights!

MKEgal

Those require 2 different nutrition & exercise approaches.

Cutting fat:
aerobic exercise, calorie deficit

Increasing muscle:
progressively more difficult weightlifting, slight calorie surplus

As others have already said, you're not likely to gain muscle in a
calorie deficit, though if you did weightlifting you might maintain
what you currently have. (You're not doing weightlifting now.)

Here's a calculator where you can get an estimate of your body
fat, and see if you're in a healthy range.
http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

And this site is all about exactly what you're wanting to do:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

Timshel_

I went through this myself. When I do weight loss alone with little or no strength training I don't 'look' as fit as I do at higher weights when lifting.

So yes, you don't bulk while in deficit, but you have more active muscle mass which is what people called being 'toned', so you have definition.

*edit - found a few pics.

Here is my current loss to 192lbs



Here was a few years back when I did more strength training and I was around 197lbs.



My caloric intake was about the same, but the difference was my exercise routine with more interval cardio or more strength training.

js8181

Hmmm. So I just have to choose one or the other. It seems a better idea to lose all the fat I want to lose first, and then start lifting, no? As I said, I feel like I could stand to lose at least another 10-15 pounds fat. Then start lifting to gain more muscle... trying hard not to get fat, too.

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