Hi guys! How can I build muscle and get toned?

Virgiemmadrigal

A newbie here 🙋‍♀️ Even though I’m lean, my body fat percentage is in the mid 30s. I’m hoping someone can tell me the best way to use this app if all I want is get toned and gain muscle mass without losing weight.
For reference, I’m 39, 5’5, 128lbs. Any help or advice would be very appreciated.

AnnPT77

From what did you get the mid-30s body fat estimate? Many methods are quite imprecise.

If you were mid-30%s body fat, I don't think you'd be likely to look lean. Also, at 5'5" and 128 pounds, I think it would be unusual (though not impossible) to be mid-30%s body fat.

(As context for my assumptions, I'm also 5'5", currently mid-130s pounds, age 68, probably upper half of the 20%s body fat right now. That's by iffy measurement techniques, but several of them converge around that %. )

Generically, if you want to gain muscle mass and get toned at your current weight, that would be eating at estimated maintenance calories, getting plenty of protein (I go for 100g minimum daily), general good nutrition, and faithfully following a good progressive strength training program. (That would be called "body recomposition" or "main-gaining".) It can be a great approach, but it will require patience.

You might find that as you train, your calorie needs go up a bit. If you see a weight loss trend over whole menstrual cycles (or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles), add some daily calories to compensate. You can estimate the added calorie needs by assuming 500 calories per day is roughly a pound a week, then use arithmetic to figure partial pounds.

Other MFP-ers share and discuss recommended strength training programs in this thread:

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

You might also get some good information from this thread:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

. . . and you might like this one, though that's more speculative:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1

(Note: The title is joke-y. )

Best wishes!

deputyloveless01

Agree with Annpt77. 30% is not lean. My guess you’re probably around 20-23%, but like stated most techniques are not an exact but more of a tracking tool. It gives you a rough idea where you’re at and you can track to see if it’s improving or worsening. They also give you some information for comparing to others granted you used the same measuring tool (like calipers) and measured in the same locations.

The best thing a newbie can do is find a way to be consistent. Whether it be to hire a trainer or get an accountability partner but consistency is going to be the key for the first 3 months. After that you can start tailoring your workouts to focus on individual areas. Doing anything consistently will gain results!

springlering62

Where did you get the % number?

If it was off a scale or one of those hand held jobbies,take it with a grain or ten of salt because they are very inconsistent and inaccurate. I love my Renpho scale, but any numbers besides weight are laughable le, sheer fantasy entertainment.

DEXA and the buoyancy (?) type tests are the gold standard, but even DEXA can return bad results.

I did a DEXA a couple of weeks ago, and it returned almost 35% fat. I absolutely flipped out until I put my best muscle- my brain- into thinking about it.

I’m 5’7” 147 pounds, a consistent size 4. Hell, I even wear clothes from Target’s kids department just because they’re more my style. Sequins for the win, y'all.

First of all, when I pulled myself together, I remembered a photo collage that circulates here pretty often, showing women at various % of body fat. . This isn’t the same one but it’s similar:
https://ultimateperformance.com/your-goal/fat-loss/female-fat-loss/womens-body-fat-percentage-in-pictures/

No way do I look 35%. I “look” 20-25%.

Then I read up on what affects DeXA results.

Large meals beforehand. Check. I had an unusually large, 1200 calorie lunch an hour before the scan.

Heavy workouts before. Check. I walked the dog a mile and a half, did an challenging hour with my trainer, a mile of laps in the pool, joined the last half hour of aquafit, and then walked to meet my friend for that monster lunch and walked home again.

Dehydration. Check. It’s an ongoing problem right now, verified by my doctor.

Over hydration: check. I had two large pitchers of ice water with that lunch trying to “catch up”

All of these are stated by various DEXA facilities as influencing results.

My “usual” DEXA guy (I’ve only had four lol) wasn’t there and the girl filling in seemed to have difficult operating the machine, too.

Wherever you’re getting your results from, know that they are a “snapshot” of a moment in time, and may have external influences that strongly affect accuracy.

Think about it. We all have those morning when we get up and we feel and look so good. Belly flat, looking trim and fit. And then there’s those days when ya feel like it’s all flopping out, you’re disheveled, for whatever reason your leggings are fighting back or won’t pull up. And those days are back to back and you haven’t eaten or done anything different.

Keep an open mind and understand this. Don’t invest your very soul into a number. I am THE worst about this. My husband heard me say “going for a DEXA scan” and I saw the “oh *kitten* here we go again” expression on his face as I headed out the door. 🤦🏻‍♀️

adawnjones

I've taken Les Mills BodyPump classes for the last 4.5 years at my local gym. After about 3-6 months, I really noticed I could go up a little at a time on my weight, so there's been an obvious improvement in overall strength. That class is about lots of reps, not heavy weight. I like weights to music so I don't get bored - working out on machines alone just wasn't my thing. I'd never been a group fitness person, but I gradually adjusted to it. It is good to have an instructor teaching about proper form & fortunately the classes are free with membership at our gym so no extra cost. My Garmin watch syncs with this app for overall calorie burn (I use for calories, distance walk/jog, or just stretches), but before I'd used the manual entry for weight training (keeping track of reps & weight) before when I was not taking classes. It was helpful to keep up with weights so I could go up every few weeks.