Losing weight and getting strong?

neonkat600

I want to loose weight, but I also want to get more fit because I'm pretty weak. How should I go about this?

EliseTK1

Calorie deficit plus a strength training regimen- doesn't have to be anything crazy, just start somewhere.

MikePTY

Look into any sort of fitness regime. Weight lifting is. Obviously a great option, but anything that involves some form of strength training can help you "get strong". Usually it's a good idea to find something that you actually enjoy doing. That makes it much easier to stick with it than if it is something that you have to convince yourself to do every time, especially when you are just starting out.

filovirus76

Couple of things. Getting strong can be different than getting fit. For instance a runner will be very fit, but not have a lot of muscle mass. And a gym rat may have lots of muscle, but get winded going up a flight of stairs. You need to decide how you want to go about it. I would recommend starting with an equal amount of cardio training and strength training.

Also, while in a calorie deficit diet, it can be harder to gain muscle. The body will burn both fat and muscle to make up for the deficit.

AnnPT77

filovirus76 wrote: »

Couple of things. Getting strong can be different than getting fit. For instance a runner will be very fit, but not have a lot of muscle mass. And a gym rat may have lots of muscle, but get winded going up a flight of stairs. You need to decide how you want to go about it. I would recommend starting with an equal amount of cardio training and strength training.

Also, while in a calorie deficit diet, it can be harder to gain muscle. The body will burn both fat and muscle to make up for the deficit.

I mostly agree with the first sentence, but not so much the second (I think). I think it may be misleading when stated in an unconditional way like that.

In a deficit that isn't excessively aggressive (i.e., when weight loss rate is sensibly moderate), a person is getting adequate protein, and that person is doing muscle-challenging exercise, most weight loss will be fat, and relatively little will be muscle. (And there are forms of lean tissue that aren't muscle that can be lost: We maybe don't need the same blood volume in a much smaller body, and that sort of thing).

For OP's benefit, I'd add this: If you're new to strength training, as I'd infer from your post, then you can expect to gain strength quite rapidly at first from a proper strength program, even in a moderate calorie deficit (one that leaves you with good energy level to put into exercise). This is because initial strength gains come from recruiting and using existing muscle fibers more effectively and efficiently (i.e., neuromuscular adaptation, NMA). Initially, it isn't essential to add new muscle fibers in order to get stronger. Once the gains from NMA have pretty much run out, that's when mass gain becomes more important, and progress may then be limited when in a calorie deficit.

OP, there's a list and discussion of good strength training programs in the thread below (including some bodyweight programs, despite the thread title suggesting that it's all weight-lifting):

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Pick a beginner program from among those, stick with it, and you'll see strength gains. (If you are weak now, and find that you need to start with exercise adaptations or less weight than the program suggests at first, and work up to it, that's totally fine. If you work persistently, you'll get stronger and be able to do more.)

As others have said, it's also good for all-round fitness to do some cardiovascular exercise. That can be machines or classes at the gym, or it can be something like walking, hiking, biking, swimming, jogging, playing tag with your or friends'/relatives' kids, playing games like basketball or tennis, dancing (of many types), martial arts, or generally anything fun you can think of that gets your heart beating a little harder. It doesn't have to be some daunting, miserable intense thing as some people think (unless you enjoy that ). It doesn't even have to be the same activity over and over: It can be varied. Then, as you begin to get fitter and find your activity easier, you can gradually increase the intensity, duration, or frequency (whatever is practical) so there's a bit of a challenge on an ongoing basis.

For someone who doesn't exercise much at all, it may be good to start with an every other day kind of schedule, and maybe start with either the strength or cardiovascular exercise, get that going as a routine, then add the other one, so there's plenty of recovery time. If you elect to do a strength routine, I wouldn't suggest adding cardiovascular exercise in one of the forms that involves classes or videos where you do strength-challenging calisthenics or high-rep light weights, because that will be a lot for your body to handle on the strength side of things. Something like strength training, then add walking or dancing or biking or something that isn't as strength-focused, would be a better kind of on-ramp IMO.

Weight loss is all about the calorie deficit (eating a little less than you burn, and that means what you burn from just being alive (basal metabolic rate or BMR) as well as daily life activities (job, chores, etc.) plus any purposeful exercise you may choose to add).

Starting to eat in a calorie deficit (which is a stress on your body) and immediately jumping into full-bore strength and cardio exercise at the same time (which also stress the body) can be a bit much for many of us, and increase the risk of burnout. A gradual build-up can be more practical and achievable. Also, it's important to eat enough to keep your strength and energy level high (it can still be eating a little less than you burn, but not crazy-much less).

Best wishes!