Effects of lifting while in deficit

greenlizard72

I have read many threads trying to find the answer to this. Apologies if I missed it somewhere. I am about to start a simple progressive lifting routine this weekend, while maintaining a caloric deficit.

My understanding:
Lifting weights tears muscle fibers. When not in a caloric deficit, our bodies repair these tears and then, for good measure, add some more fibers and increase muscle efficiency somehow. Not an expert obviously.

What happens to those fiber tears when you are in a deficit? From what I can gather, if I increase my protein level to X, I can use lifting to prevent lean muscle loss. Does this mean the fibers will be repaired, but no new fibers will be added?

I also read that if I am new to lifting, or it has been years since anything resembling lifting has occurred, that the newbie-effect can result in muscle gain from lifting even in a caloric deficit.

I am going to start lifting regardless. I have to believe that strength training is a net positive. But I'm curious. Thanks for any wisdom/experience in advance.

NorthCascades

You'll probably build a little bit of muscle ("newbie gainz") but the truth is it'll be very difficult to know for certain. What matters is: the time will pass whether you lift or not, and you'll have a better body if you do.

greenlizard72

NorthCascades wrote: »

You'll probably build a little bit of muscle ("newbie gainz") but the truth is it'll be very difficult to know for certain. What matters is: the time will pass whether you lift or not, and you'll have a better body if you do.

Thanks. Funny that you say "time will pass" as that is exactly how I see it. I'm definitely doing it, I was just curious as to the science of it.

leggup

Elaborate answers: https://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/10086/how-is-muscle-repair-affected-by-a-caloric-deficit

cwolfman13

greenlizard72 wrote: »

I have read many threads trying to find the answer to this. Apologies if I missed it somewhere. I am about to start a simple progressive lifting routine this weekend, while maintaining a caloric deficit.

My understanding:
Lifting weights tears muscle fibers. When not in a caloric deficit, our bodies repair these tears and then, for good measure, add some more fibers and increase muscle efficiency somehow. Not an expert obviously.

What happens to those fiber tears when you are in a deficit? From what I can gather, if I increase my protein level to X, I can use lifting to prevent lean muscle loss. Does this mean the fibers will be repaired, but no new fibers will be added?

I also read that if I am new to lifting, or it has been years since anything resembling lifting has occurred, that the newbie-effect can result in muscle gain from lifting even in a caloric deficit.

I am going to start lifting regardless. I have to believe that strength training is a net positive. But I'm curious. Thanks for any wisdom/experience in advance.

Mainly you are going to preserve the muscle mass you have so that when you shed the fat, you come out the other side with a nice body composition looking leaner and more fit. If you're a novice and overweight, you will likely experience some noob gains...these are relatively small gains in muscle mass and pretty short lived. When you're in a calorie deficit, you're in a catabolic state...essentially, you can't create something from nothing.

You can gain measurable strength which is often confused with gaining muscle. There is a correlation between muscle size and strength, but in the early stages, your strength gains are going to come from neural adaptation and your existing muscles learning how to recruit and work.

People also mistake more definition for gaining muscle...in reality what they're seeing is muscle that has always been there, but it was covered with fat so it looked softer...and two, pump from water stored in the muscles making them appear larger, particularly while working out and sometime after.

greenlizard72

Thanks @leggup That last article was too much science! I'm gonna have to use Google for translation. It seems like it is as I thought. I can keep lean body mass and leverage newbie-ness to some initial gains. I'm going to make sure to track macros and workouts well, but like @NorthCascades said, time will pass whether I lift or not, so why not!

estherdragonbat

Caveat: I don't lift heavy. I'm doing a combination of dumbbells (up to 15lbs) and body-weight, with ankle weights for bent-leg lifts.

My results certainly bear out what Cwolfman13 says. I've lost weight before, doing mainly cardio for exercise. At one point, I belonged to a gym, got one session with a personal trainer who gave me a starting workout for weight machines, and I pretty much kept doing that workout for a year with no changes to reps or weights. (I was young, unsure, and it didn't occur to me to ask for more sessions). So, at that time, the pounds dropped off, I do think I got a bit stronger, but I didn't notice any real changes to body comp. My monthly cramps went away, but that was about it.

This time, a gym membership was an expense I didn't want to take on. I bought a book on strength training and some dumbbells and added more equipment along the way. But I've also been progressively adding weights, reps, and sets, following the guidelines in the book. And the results:

• Muscle definition on arms and legs. It turns out I actually have some decent deltoids.
• Ab work has once again lessened my cramps.
• Overall, I feel "tighter". I'm aware that what's generally meant by muscle tone is something of a misnomer, but whatever it is, mine's improved.
• More stamina/endurance. I mostly walk for cardio, and it seems like my time to cover a certain distance has been reduced by 20-25%.
• Thanks to genetics/luck/other factors, my belly seems to be where the fat takes the longest to disappear. I've accepted that unless I start lifting heavy (which would probably mean a gym membership, since I don't have a reliable spotter and I know that working out with barbells alone can be hazardous), I probably have no chance at a six-pack. But I had surgery last month. In the recovery unit, the nurse asked me to try to sit up while he cranked the bed behind me. When I did, without trouble or hesitation, he commented that I had strong trunk muscles. So, I suspect there's something improving under that stubborn flab.

And this is all while eating in a deficit.

greenlizard72

Thank you @cwolfman13 and @estherdragonbat . I appreciate the experience and wisdom. There is so much information out there, many contradicting each other. I'm kinda stoked to get started. I'm going to keep it simple, starting off with a very low weight until I have the form correct and then figure out how to progress, either by wieght or reps. I understand increasing weight over reps helps build mass, but if I am not going to make any significant gains until I'm done being in a deficit, maybe increasing reps is better. I need to research more, but I have some time as this first week (next week) is really going to be about getting a good start.

I'm also a workout at home person, not just for the savings, but who wants to see a fat weak guy struggle? I have dumbbells and old bowflex, so I should be good for the next 6 months before I might need additional equipment or a gym membership.

NorthCascades

greenlizard72 wrote: »

My understanding:
Lifting weights tears muscle fibers. When not in a caloric deficit, our bodies repair these tears and then, for good measure, add some more fibers and increase muscle efficiency somehow. Not an expert obviously.

What happens to those fiber tears when you are in a deficit? From what I can gather, if I increase my protein level to X, I can use lifting to prevent lean muscle loss. Does this mean the fibers will be repaired, but no new fibers will be added?

Your understanding is basically correct, but isn't the whole story. You switch back and forth between anabolic (muscle building) and catabolic (muscle losing) states all day every day. Your body is constantly breaking down and repairing tissue in response to all sorts of things.

I don't think it's the case that if you're in a deficit your body will build exactly the same about of tissue and no more. There have been (rare) cases of people who lifted rights and lost muscle as a result. Most people gain muscle, some more than others based on training, diet, recover, genetics, etc.

I think it makes more sense to view this probalistically than mechanically. Especially since you can't count muscle fibers or even know exactly how many pounds of muscle you have. But you know that eating protein and lifting heavy will put you in the best place you can be, by raising the chances that your body will make and preserve as much muscle as possible.