Lifting in a deficit

not_a_runner

If cardio after lifts is what works best for you and what you enjoy, do it that way.
I always do my cardio after lifting because that's when is most convenient for me. (Plus I'm already sweaty, and I can use my off days for things other than the gym.)
A 60 min incline treadmill walk is not going to be very taxing no matter how you swing it, and LISS cardio can aid in recovery.

sijomial

donjtomasco wrote: »

Thank you!

Related question (kind of), is it better to NOT do the treadmill on lifting days? I typically life for 60-75 minutes then treadmill for 60 minutes.

My rational brain is telling me that my cardio is not at a point that it would factor into anything I am doing lifting wise, since it is not THAT strenuous, I am just burning around 560-580 calories on the treadmill (according to the treadmill calculator online, which contradicts the treadmill that says I burn around 400 calories - such wide differences only proving that this is not an exact science).

Depends on what you are trying to achieve with your treadmill work IMHO.
If your treadmill session is just easy calorie burning and/or endurance base building then don't see what you are doing as being a problem. The total calorie burn from your sessions shouldn't be an issue unless you are really under-feeding yourself, but that's more a diet and deficit problem than an exercise problem.

On the other hand my cardio training has a definite performance purpose and I want to be fresh and focussed on it. Also when I have two hour blocks of time free for exercise it would be a two hour cycling session as that fits my particular goals.
My overwhelming preference is to separate the workouts, alternate days the majority of the time. But I'm not you!

donjtomasco

THANKS! And Tresa and SLJ, I failed to mention (I think) that my tread milling is always walking. I am not a runner and don't want to pound my legs. I get enough of that on the tennis court. So yes SLJ, you are saying what I do, which is nothing specific or performance intended (like you said - I liked that), it is strictly to burn calories, and to continue to build up some muscle in my hip. And Tresa, I always do my tread milling after lifting, since some days at the gym, it can get backed up, so I would prefer to at least get my full lifting done if it eats into my cardio time. But I like to cardio after the lifting anyway, so that I am 'fresher' for the lifting.

This has been really helpful everyone. Thank you all!

donjtomasco

Oh, and thank you Californiagirl, I will check that out. Also helpful to hear this from another 'young person' like myself.

Rhody_Hoosier

Pretty much all of this.

I can tell you I just dumped 60 pounds and I am working my butt off to regain strength that I KNOW I had before and don't have now as a result of my weight loss. But I was obese. And I panicked. And I had some other stuff happen...and I did the only thing I know how to do when stuff goes sideways. I hit the gym.

I can tell you this much...I don't have nearly the same number of plates on the leg press that I used to, yet I'm at my lowest weight in over 12 years. 8 years ago I was pressing with far more plates than I can stack on the sled now.

My bench press disappeared too. It's amazing what happens when you "shed the pounds" thinking...hey I'm gonna lose this weight and look great, but it isn't that easy.

(EDIT) and yes I dropped most of the weight (with the exception of the last 10 pounds) running a deficit. I've been running about 250 calories over CICO the last month to work on those last 10 pounds (give or take...it's not super exact.)

SideSteel wrote: »

I have two main points in response to your post:

1) I don't think anyone can conclude with absolute certainty whether or not you are gaining muscle tissue. That being said, I DO think it's possible to build muscle in a deficit depending on the deficit size, the distance you are from your genetic limits, whether or not you previously were in fantastic shape (possibly due to satellite cells from previous training experiences), your training program, how well you partition nutrients (genetic), how well you respond to exercise (genetic), how lean you are during the diet, etc.

And so it's incredibly complex which is why a simple yes or no answer isn't typically correct.

(EDIT: A MAJOR portion of strength is rate coding which is basically a neurological process involving how efficiently you send signals to cause muscles to fire)

2) It doesn't really matter for you or anyone else under most circumstances.

Here's why I say this. Lifting weights will give you more muscle mass than you would have had were you to not lift weights. This is true regardless of whether or not you gain additional muscle mass over the course of a dieting phase.

For example, if someone goes on a diet and loses 100lbs in a year without lifting weights, they might lose a mix of fat mass and fluids and other non fat tissues some of which would be skeletal muscle. They may end up with 20lbs less muscle than they started with.

If that same person were to have dieted down 100lbs with a well designed lifting program, even if they didn't gain any muscle at all, they might fully maintain muscle mass which means a greater portion of their losses came from non muscle tissue. And so they could end up with 20lbs additional muscle mass compared to the previous scenario with no lifting.

And so you still end up with more muscle at the end of the diet if you choose to lift weights.

I know you probably know this already, but not everybody does which is why I'm typing it out this way.

Lifting weights will give you more muscle than you would have had without lifting weights, and this is true regardless of what state of energy balance you are in (deficit/mainitenance/surplus).