Jogging+upper body/abs strength training

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  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    It sounds like based on what Im reading you have to strip away all of the underlying fat before you can even begin working towards gaining muscle for the lean definition look. Also seems like I may be able to get some of that look just by continuing to jog and stay in a deficit. My goal weight is 115, so I think I'll continue the running and deficit until i reach that point and then re evaluate everything at that point.

    When you're in a deficit, you lose fat and muscle. So, if you want to look lean and "toned" you should do some type of resistance training and get adequate protein to preserve the muscle you already have. It's much harder to get back muscle after the fact than it is to maintain what you already have.

    So i will continue to do what I am doing which is the 3 miles daily and upper body with 5lb weights every other day and ab video every other day.

    5lb isn't going to get you anywhere.

    Do you have children? Or do you carry grocery bags? Those are way heavier and you didn't get bigger muscles from that.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
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    Yes. Don't neglect strength training. It can help you with the lean look you are seeking. It can also help your running power. Lift heavy!

    Also push-ups, planks, rotations and pull-ups can help your upper body.
  • _Bropollo_
    _Bropollo_ Posts: 168 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    For now I will pick cutting. I am sure that you are all more knowledgeable than I am on this subject, but it just seems strange that you can't gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously. If that were the case (and Im not saying it's not) why would people even work out while dieting?

    You lift on a deficit to retain muscle. If you try to drop weight strictly through calorie reduction, with no external stimulus telling your body you need muscle to "survive", your body will drop muscle in order to maintain peak caloric efficiency. The body doesn't really want to have added muscle mass; it requires additional calories to keep around, and our bodies are hardwired to maximize our longevity between meals, aka, use as few calories as possible.
    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    The program I just purchased (21 day fix) combines a calorie deficit with intense 30 minute strength training videos and it is sold on the premise that you will lose weight and gain muscle tone.

    Gotta sell programs somehow :p. The fitness industry is highly unregulated; companies can sell all kinds of snake oil and legally get away with it.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    It sounds like based on what Im reading you have to strip away all of the underlying fat before you can even begin working towards gaining muscle for the lean definition look. Also seems like I may be able to get some of that look just by continuing to jog and stay in a deficit. My goal weight is 115, so I think I'll continue the running and deficit until i reach that point and then re evaluate everything at that point.

    When you're in a deficit, you lose fat and muscle. So, if you want to look lean and "toned" you should do some type of resistance training and get adequate protein to preserve the muscle you already have. It's much harder to get back muscle after the fact than it is to maintain what you already have.

    So i will continue to do what I am doing which is the 3 miles daily and upper body with 5lb weights every other day and ab video every other day.

    That isn't going to get you where you want to go. 5lb weights won't do much for the resistance training we're all talking about.

    You should be finding a solid progressive overload program, a few of them were listed above.
  • _Bropollo_
    _Bropollo_ Posts: 168 Member
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    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    It sounds like based on what Im reading you have to strip away all of the underlying fat before you can even begin working towards gaining muscle for the lean definition look. Also seems like I may be able to get some of that look just by continuing to jog and stay in a deficit. My goal weight is 115, so I think I'll continue the running and deficit until i reach that point and then re evaluate everything at that point.

    When you're in a deficit, you lose fat and muscle. So, if you want to look lean and "toned" you should do some type of resistance training and get adequate protein to preserve the muscle you already have. It's much harder to get back muscle after the fact than it is to maintain what you already have.

    So i will continue to do what I am doing which is the 3 miles daily and upper body with 5lb weights every other day and ab video every other day.

    You need to progressively overload your lifts. You will make progress with that weight for maybe a solid week before your strength progress is totally stalled.

    Here is how pretty much all (good) weight training programs work (this principle is called progressive overload):

    -You pick a lift (let's take dumbbell shoulder presses for example, since you have dumbbells).
    -You find a weight you can do for 5-10 reps of that lift. If you can do more 10 reps, it's too light. If you can't do 5 reps, it's too heavy.
    -You pick a number of sets based on your reps you just tested out. You want to keep the total reps in the 25-35 range. You will do best to just follow the program for this until you get a better idea how to select number of sets.
    -The next time you workout again and do this lift you either a) increase the number of reps you do each set compared to last time or b) increase the weight, and drop your reps down to a lower amount. Ex. You did 5 sets of shoulder presses for 5 reps each last time. This time, you should do 5 sets of shoulder presses, but do 6 reps each set. After a couple of rep increases, maybe once you hit 7 or 8 reps per set, you need to increase the weight. If you were doing 5lbs, its time to grab the 7.5lbs or 10lbs weights, drop your reps back down to 5, and repeat the process until the new heavier weight is once again too light.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    Jillianx115x wrote: »
    It sounds like based on what Im reading you have to strip away all of the underlying fat before you can even begin working towards gaining muscle for the lean definition look. Also seems like I may be able to get some of that look just by continuing to jog and stay in a deficit. My goal weight is 115, so I think I'll continue the running and deficit until i reach that point and then re evaluate everything at that point.

    When you're in a deficit, you lose fat and muscle. So, if you want to look lean and "toned" you should do some type of resistance training and get adequate protein to preserve the muscle you already have. It's much harder to get back muscle after the fact than it is to maintain what you already have.

    So i will continue to do what I am doing which is the 3 miles daily and upper body with 5lb weights every other day and ab video every other day.
    You can continue doing what you're doing but the point everyone is trying to make is that the 5lb weights are not going to help you retain very much muscle. Sure, you'll lose weight but you won't be very "toned" once you get to your 115 pounds. Then, you'll decide you want to put on more muscle to lose some of the flabbiness that's still there. Building new muscle takes a lot more work, and requires also gaining some additional fat along with it, than maintaining what muscle you already have right now (and then lost while getting to 115 pounds). Do yourself a huge favor and start a real, progressive lifting program now.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
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    Just going to add in here: if you're doing strength training, work out your lower body too. DO NOT assume jogging is doing enough. A few squats, lunges, planks, etc., will help keep your legs and core strong, which will in turn make you a better runner.

    And if you don't work on strengthening your lower legs, you run the risk of running exacerbating existing muscle imbalances. That happened to me-I had imbalances between my left and right leg, and was running a relay (5 miles in the AM, hopped in a car to support teammates, hopped out for my second 5 mile leg) and within 2 miles I was limping badly. A month later I found out I'd trashed my meniscus, and the physical therapist I saw post-surgery basically determined it was all about muscular imbalance. So work those legs and core in addition to running.

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