What is the point of getting muscle if it burns so few calories?
benjamin380
Posts: 30 Member
I heard that a pound of muscle only burns 5 calories a day. So what is the point of getting muscle then?
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Because you look and feel better when you are strong and healthy?
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I would hope, if you built muscle, it would be more than one pound of it.
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For the GAINZ
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Physical appearance, personal achievement, vanity, GAINZ.0
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If I remember correctly, fat burns 5-6 calories where as muscle burns roughly 9 calories (a lb per day). So having muscle is better in that sense.
Though that isn't the main reason that most people obtain muscle. It is to feel better, look better, and or pick up heavier things. I like my muscles, because I worked hard for them during my 33 year bulking period.0 -
Because you can still be skinny and walk around with your fat jiggling around like a waterbed every time you move. Doesn't matter how skinny you are to me, that's still not a look I would want. Firm and powerful all the way for me.0
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For me? It's all about protecting my bones and bad joints. I want to be a strong middle aged woman and then a strong older woman. I don't want to be frail.0
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I always thought the extra calorie burn from muscle was a nice bonus, not a justification in and of itself.
Do people really think, "What, 5-6 calories a day per pound? Screw that, I don't want muscle."0 -
PeachyCarol wrote: »For me? It's all about protecting my bones and bad joints. I want to be a strong middle aged woman and then a strong older woman. I don't want to be frail.
Exactly this^^.
Also, having muscle on the body looks much better than having fat.0 -
If I remember correctly, fat burns 5-6 calories where as muscle burns roughly 9 calories (a lb per day). So having muscle is better in that sense.
Though that isn't the main reason that most people obtain muscle. It is to feel better, look better, and or pick up heavier things. I like my muscles, because I worked hard for them during my 33 year bulking period.
You on that forever dreamer bulk.
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benjamin380 wrote: »I heard that a pound of muscle only burns 5 calories a day. So what is the point of getting muscle then?
You can weigh your target weight and still feel and look flabby if you have no muscle. Building some muscle will give you the look you want.
Say what you will about crossfit, there are an enormous number of pictures and videos of crossfit enthusiasts of both genders who look excellent. Not overbuilt crazy muscle, just fit and strong. Sure, some of the men look like bodybuilders and some of the women have overdone it but for the most part crossfit maniacs look like really healthy, really lean normal people. You can't look like them at their weight without muscle. (I'm not saying do crossfit; I'm saying muscle has a point for appearance.)
Aside from appearance a moderate amount of muscle is good for any gender. Surprisingly Dr Kenneth Cooper's simple formula for target body weight will give you a very reasonable goal weight (that does require some exercise). For men, your height in inches * 4 - 128; for women, height in inches * 3.5 - 108. Of course a fat percentage scale will do a better job than this but it gives you a target.
Osric0 -
6'9", 196 doesn't seem reasonable to me, especially if we're talking about having any muscle above baseline.OsricTheKnight wrote: »Aside from appearance a moderate amount of muscle is good for any gender. Surprisingly Dr Kenneth Cooper's simple formula for target body weight will give you a very reasonable goal weight (that does require some exercise). For men, your height in inches * 4 - 128; for women, height in inches * 3.5 - 108. Of course a fat percentage scale will do a better job than this but it gives you a target.
Osric
Zero percent body fat would have me less than 10 pounds under that number.
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OsricTheKnight wrote: »benjamin380 wrote: »I heard that a pound of muscle only burns 5 calories a day. So what is the point of getting muscle then?
You can weigh your target weight and still feel and look flabby if you have no muscle. Building some muscle will give you the look you want.
Say what you will about crossfit, there are an enormous number of pictures and videos of crossfit enthusiasts of both genders who look excellent. Not overbuilt crazy muscle, just fit and strong. Sure, some of the men look like bodybuilders and some of the women have overdone it but for the most part crossfit maniacs look like really healthy, really lean normal people. You can't look like them at their weight without muscle. (I'm not saying do crossfit; I'm saying muscle has a point for appearance.)
Aside from appearance a moderate amount of muscle is good for any gender. Surprisingly Dr Kenneth Cooper's simple formula for target body weight will give you a very reasonable goal weight (that does require some exercise). For men, your height in inches * 4 - 128; for women, height in inches * 3.5 - 108. Of course a fat percentage scale will do a better job than this but it gives you a target.
Osric
Yikes, that would put me at 12% body fat at my current lean mass.0 -
Why? cos strong is the new sexy!!!!! and you can carry all your grocery bags from the car to the house in 1 trip
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PeachyCarol wrote: »For me? It's all about protecting my bones and bad joints. I want to be a strong middle aged woman and then a strong older woman. I don't want to be frail.
Allll thisssss. I wish I would have started in my 20's.
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Chicks dig muscles0
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DeguelloTex wrote: »6'9", 196 doesn't seem reasonable to me, especially if we're talking about having any muscle above baseline.
I found his formula surprising because it works for so many people, but 6'9" is well above the 95th percentile of 6'2" so very few people are in that boat. 6'2" which is the 95th percentile works out to 168lbs, which according to this article is in the average range for medium frame male, very top end for small frame, and 4lb under the low end of large frame - pretty good for a 95th percentile outlier height.
Osric
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Yikes, that would put me at 12% body fat at my current lean mass.
Sure, but it looks like you still have about 18lb to go, and most likely as you lose that 18lb you'll lose 3-6lb of lean mass. For me, if I held my lean mass constant I'd have 0% body fat at my target weight, but that's not worth worrying about as it's essentially impossible not to lose some lean mass along with fat mass.
Osric0 -
HappyCampr1 wrote: »LBM aside, that formula puts my goal weight at a BMI of 19, which is borderline underweight and not the look I'm going for.
Well your photos show that you're an awesome success story so who am I to argue with that :-)
As my 12 year old said looking over my shoulder as I was writing this reply "Now that really looks nice - she's made a really good change".
Osric0 -
DemoraFairy wrote: »For the GAINZ
lol, nice0 -
I believe muscle burns at a faster rate while in recovery, but I'd have to do some digging to verify that.0
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CitricAcidCycle wrote: »If I remember correctly, fat burns 5-6 calories where as muscle burns roughly 9 calories (a lb per day). So having muscle is better in that sense.
Though that isn't the main reason that most people obtain muscle. It is to feel better, look better, and or pick up heavier things. I like my muscles, because I worked hard for them during my 33 year bulking period.
Fat burns roughly 2 calories per lb while muscle burns just under 6 calories per lb.
Then I stand corrected, thank you.0 -
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I watched an attractive 60 something thin woman in white yoga pants walk out of a store the other day and her sagging hindend was giggling like crazy. That's why I just started weight lifting. Hope it's ok I said this....0
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PeachyCarol wrote: »For me? It's all about protecting my bones and bad joints. I want to be a strong middle aged woman and then a strong older woman. I don't want to be frail.
Ditto.
Any extra calorie burn is great. But mostly it's all about aging as well as possible.
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To be able to walk up stairs with no issue. To be able to lift my kid up in the air. To change a tire on my van. To climb up rocks. It's pretty endless the amount of things that muscle actually assists in and disregard of it usually leads to inability to do some of the basic things in life without soreness or injury.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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For me? I'd throw that formula right out the window. It says I should weigh 130 lbs. I'd be a bag of bones.
Well judging by the number of people who say it doesn't work for them, seems like we're better off to talk body fat percentages than weights. Cooper recommends body fat in the 18-22% range for women.
As for you specifically, this article has recommendations for women who are 5'8" and the middle of the range is 140, which is quite a bit more than the 130 that the formula gives. Their overall range is 126-154, based on wrist measurement to figure out build.
Osric0 -
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This discussion has been closed.
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