Why lift weights when losing weight if not to build muscles?

mustgetmuscles1

This again?

Somehow, there all these humans that defy science. Someone should call a physician and study these groups of people that gain muscle in a calorie deficit. Because, it should be studied, since it cannot happen. But, since they insist, it should be carefully studied and documented for the unexplainable science that is happening in such large volumes.

The study was already done... http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attach...1&d=1310193169

Now, this was performed with highly trained athletes under strict controls, but it IS possible to lose weight and gain lean body mass and strength. The study is amazing though, because trained and elite athletes would have the hardest time to lose weight and gain muscle without the aid of exongenous drugs.

To speak to an earlier comment : an untrained, very overweight person, or even someone who is severly obese, will find that building muscle while losing weight in a caloric deficit is very likely and possible. With the right protein intake and focus on diet, this individual is recruiting muscle fibers that have been underused. Caloric restriction using diet, combined with further reduction of calories through weight training will simultaneously burn excessive fat and build muscle.

It's very easy to just give an answer that "sounds" right. With a little research, it's better to give an answer that is correct. Gotta love science!!

I would like to see the study but you link is not working.

dieselbyte

This again?

Somehow, there all these humans that defy science. Someone should call a physician and study these groups of people that gain muscle in a calorie deficit. Because, it should be studied, since it cannot happen. But, since they insist, it should be carefully studied and documented for the unexplainable science that is happening in such large volumes.

The study was already done... http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attach...1&d=1310193169

Now, this was performed with highly trained athletes under strict controls, but it IS possible to lose weight and gain lean body mass and strength. The study is amazing though, because trained and elite athletes would have the hardest time to lose weight and gain muscle without the aid of exongenous drugs.

To speak to an earlier comment : an untrained, very overweight person, or even someone who is severly obese, will find that building muscle while losing weight in a caloric deficit is very likely and possible. With the right protein intake and focus on diet, this individual is recruiting muscle fibers that have been underused. Caloric restriction using diet, combined with further reduction of calories through weight training will simultaneously burn excessive fat and build muscle.

It's very easy to just give an answer that "sounds" right. With a little research, it's better to give an answer that is correct. Gotta love science!!

I would like to see the study but you link is not working.

Apologies. The link to the study is from bodybuilding.com Halfway down the page, there is a link that will open up the pdf of the study...
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=141780961&page=1

I'll also include the link to the study from NCBI, but it only includes the abstract...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21558571

kdchase

This.

kdchase

As far as I know (From my personal trainer, Lindora, My own research and stuff they told me in the Army) Muscle burns calories. A person with more muscle will have a higher resting metabolic rate than someone without. When you are burning fat if you do not lift weights or weight train then you will lose muscle mass and after losing the fat you want your resting metabolic weight will decrease with the loss of muscle and since you burn less calories it will be harder to keep the weight off.

When you lift or do exercises that tire your muscles it breaks them down and the rich protien diet helps rebuild them. If you do not want to bulk up you do less weights and more reps... (That is what I do) If you want to be like Arnold was "Ill be back" then more heavy weight and less reps.

Hope that helps. I am not professional but I have had a lot of experience and plan to get into the field of weightloss at some point so I hope this helps. That is as accurate as I can get. If anyone finds inaccurate information in here please contact me so I can make sure to learn what is true and not!

This. All of this. You want to lose weight? Do strength training exercises. You'll burn more calories throughout the day and build your metabolism. Cardio is great, but once you step off that treadmill and your heart rate goes down, cardio ceases to do anything else for your body. Lifting weights will continue to burn calories long after you finish your workout.

dieselbyte

This. All of this. You want to lose weight? Do strength training exercises. You'll burn more calories throughout the day and build your metabolism. Cardio is great, but once you step off that treadmill and your heart rate goes down, cardio ceases to do anything else for your body. Lifting weights will continue to burn calories long after you finish your workout.
[/quote]

This. Is. Not. True. While you may be able to "calculate" how many calories you burn while during cardio, the intensity of the cardio has an impact on caloric expenditure post workout (EPOC)

The intensity in an aerobic exercise bout has the greatest impact on EPOC. As exercise intensity increases, the magnitude and duration of EPOC increases. Therefore, the higher the intensity, the greater the EPOC and the greater the caloric expenditure after exercise.

LaurenAOK

The point is that when you do shred the fat, what's underneath it will look fantastic

Basically this :happy:

jasonpclement

I read nothing other than the original post. I'm sure the answers been hit, but just in case.

Lifting allows you maximum muscle retention while losing fat. So while you may not get stronger, you will not lose as much muscle as you would otherwise, if you were not lifting.

The end result, a leaner looking, more muscular you. As opposed to... a smaller, but similiarly soft version of your former self.

This is why bodybuilders cut their weight slowly. If you cut too fast, you lose lots of weight, but a high percentage of it is muscle. In the end, despite losing more weight, your body composition (fat percentage vs. muscle percentage) is worse.

WendyTerry420

Gaining muscle does not necessarily translate into weight gain.

of course it does. muscle has mass. thus weight will go up when you gain it.

My BF% has lowered by 6% in the last few months, even though the scale hasn't moved. I eat at a slight deficit (average about TDEE minus 200 calories). This is all from weight training and diet only. I have done no planned cardio.

Another benefit to lifting weights is increasing bone density. As a middle-aged woman, that's important to me - more important than a "bikini body."

iplayoutside19

This. All of this. You want to lose weight? Do strength training exercises. You'll burn more calories throughout the day and build your metabolism. Cardio is great, but once you step off that treadmill and your heart rate goes down, cardio ceases to do anything else for your body. Lifting weights will continue to burn calories long after you finish your workout.

This. Is. Not. True. While you may be able to "calculate" how many calories you burn while during cardio, the intensity of the cardio has an impact on caloric expenditure post workout (EPOC)

The intensity in an aerobic exercise bout has the greatest impact on EPOC. As exercise intensity increases, the magnitude and duration of EPOC increases. Therefore, the higher the intensity, the greater the EPOC and the greater the caloric expenditure after exercise.
[/quote]

Indeed, anyone that's done HIIT and is still shaking 30 minutes afterwards knows that there are still effects from the "cardio" afterwards.

GrouchySprout

When you lift or do exercises that tire your muscles it breaks them down and the rich protien diet helps rebuild them. If you do not want to bulk up you do less weights and more reps... (That is what I do) If you want to be like Arnold was "Ill be back" then more heavy weight and less reps.

I have to disagree with this bit. Females will never resemble Arnie by lifting heavy unless they have intentionally spent several hours in the gym most days, eating a calorie surplus over a long time period and even then it wouldn't be guaranteed. We aren't made to gain the muscle size like men.

bammer4560

My daughter is competing in fitness body building competitions. And she is training me through my weight loss and work outs. Basically what she says is it's the repetitive at low weights. The idea is not to build huge muscles, which would mean I would have to eat more to maintain them, but to get those muscles to fire again and again. I stick to my 1200 calorie a day diet, work out with light weights and walk 3 miles on the treadmill every single day. I'm losing 2-3 lbs a week and toning. Not gaining a massive amount of muscle. I want to look lean, not saggy.

Annette_rose

I too need to incorporate more weights into my workouts, but I have heard that as women it helps with our bone density that we tend to have more of a problem with than men. I definitily know it can't hurt from all that I have read and the results I see in other women. I love the way it defines the body. As far as cardio, we have our cardiac rehab dept here at the clinic and from my understanding, the heart muscle itself is a muscle that needs to be worked also and a bit of cardio helps. I do find that my heart rate goes up though even when I am lifting weights so maybe that can count as cardio? Not sure. I really wish they would let us use the cardio machines just for a good walk during our lunch period, but they are off limits and only for cardiac rehab patients.

mdn15

"When you lift or do exercises that tire your muscles it breaks them down and the rich protien diet helps rebuild them. If you do not want to bulk up you do less weights and more reps... (That is what I do) If you want to be like Arnold was "Ill be back" then more heavy weight and less reps." - Quoted from above

Women: You will NOT bulk up by lifting heavy. You will NOT look like "Arnold". We do not have testosterone to become "Arnold" or "bulk up".

Lifting heavy w/ a proper plan and diet is the fastest way to changed your body. "Less weight and more reps" wont change your body b/c it does not challenged your muscles enough. I have changed (more muscles, leaner, less body fat etc.) more in my 6 months of heavy lifting than 1 1/2 years of "low weights and more reps".

Don't be afraid to lift heavy. Just remember: Nail down the form!!!!

Cassierocksalot

This. Is. Not. True. While you may be able to "calculate" how many calories you burn while during cardio, the intensity of the cardio has an impact on caloric expenditure post workout (EPOC)

The intensity in an aerobic exercise bout has the greatest impact on EPOC. As exercise intensity increases, the magnitude and duration of EPOC increases. Therefore, the higher the intensity, the greater the EPOC and the greater the caloric expenditure after exercise.

Exactly. I walk on a treadmill at an incline for cardio; please don't tell me that I'm burning as many calories as the folks holding on for dear life. This is also why I use a pre-workout drank before lifting...without a little boost, those 5 PM sessions are useless!

Dre8604

Bump.

xidia

Ok I've read a lot of threads about it and I know it's important to lift weights while losing weight so we don't lose muscles... but I've also read that you can't build muscles on a calorie deficit (although the nurse calculated that I gained 2lbs of muscles in 3.5 months, but I was obese then and 2 lbs is really not much out of 118 lbs).

So, what's the point? Wouldn't a protein rich diet be enough to maintain our muscles then? Can someone explain to me the logic behind it?

From your body's point of view, muscles are expensive to keep around because they burn calories even when you're sitting still, and fat doesn't. So when you're eating at a deficit, your body will burn fat (to keep your fuelled) and muscle (to reduce the amount of fuel needed in the future).

To convince your body that muscles are useful and should not be burned, you need to exercise them. The most effective way to do that is with resistance training.

That deals with maintaining muscle mass. Burn the fat off from the top from the deficit, and hey presto, a better physique. Plus, you know, useful increases in functional strength like being able to change the water bottle on the office cooler, and carry cases of wine in from the car.

jlapey

As far as I know (From my personal trainer, Lindora, My own research and stuff they told me in the Army) Muscle burns calories. A person with more muscle will have a higher resting metabolic rate than someone without. When you are burning fat if you do not lift weights or weight train then you will lose muscle mass and after losing the fat you want your resting metabolic weight will decrease with the loss of muscle and since you burn less calories it will be harder to keep the weight off.

When you lift or do exercises that tire your muscles it breaks them down and the rich protien diet helps rebuild them. If you do not want to bulk up you do less weights and more reps... (That is what I do) If you want to be like Arnold was "Ill be back" then more heavy weight and less reps.

Hope that helps. I am not professional but I have had a lot of experience and plan to get into the field of weightloss at some point so I hope this helps. That is as accurate as I can get. If anyone finds inaccurate information in here please contact me so I can make sure to learn what is true and not!

^^^^ EXACTLY^^^^

Well, maybe not 'exactly'. No one is going to look like Arnold by accident and certainly not while eating at a deficit, especially a woman. Women lack the testosterone to build muscle like that. Lift heavy, low reps, progressive weight loading, for best results. Not only will you lose fat and maintain lean body mass, but you will become stronger (yay) and increase your bone density which is important for ALL women especially those of us who are getting older. When you get to how you want to look, stop progressing the weights and maintain. Trust me, you would need decades of intense training, eating at a surplus and drugs to look like Arnold.

toutmonpossible

I do it maintain strength. I'm not terribly interested in building muscles. I do like to look firm.

mrmessma

"When you lift or do exercises that tire your muscles it breaks them down and the rich protien diet helps rebuild them. If you do not want to bulk up you do less weights and more reps... (That is what I do) If you want to be like Arnold was "Ill be back" then more heavy weight and less reps." - Quoted from above

Women: You will NOT bulk up by lifting heavy. You will NOT look like "Arnold". We do not have testosterone to become "Arnold" or "bulk up".

Lifting heavy w/ a proper plan and diet is the fastest way to changed your body. "Less weight and more reps" wont change your body b/c it does not challenged your muscles enough. I have changed (more muscles, leaner, less body fat etc.) more in my 6 months of heavy lifting than 1 1/2 years of "low weights and more reps".

Don't be afraid to lift heavy. Just remember: Nail down the form!!!!

This... This is spot on, thank you.

Far too many women are scared of getting the muscles that will give them the form they're actually striving for. Nobody gets huge on accident with a low calorie diet.

sunglasses_and_ocean_waves

You can gain mucle in a deficit. I'm quite noticeably larger but much leaner.

sure you are...

For those reading this. It _may_ be possible. but ONLY under 4 conditions

1) you're very fat.
2) you're utterly untrained.
3) You used to be trained, but are now untrained for long period of time. muscle memory
4) You're on gear

And even then if these conditions are true, there is no guarantee. The simple fact is for most people losing fat requires a calorie deficit and gained muscle mass requires a calorie surplus. these are very opposing conditions.

O rly?

I weigh more in the first picture

I don't read that many threads here, but lately every thread I read has these legs in them. I've been ignoring them, but since they're practically the MFP logo, I'm going to hand out some honesty. The first pic looks better IMO. The 2nd pic looks like you're laying down on an unstained deck, and you totally forgot to work your calves. I wouldn't be so critical except you work them into every post like they're leg mecca. They're nice, and you're proud. Got it.