Strength training + diet ? what to do ?

edwardkim85

Hi

I have a question since most people on this forum, even male, don't talk about weight training and lifting 'heavy'.

I used to be play rugby at a varsity level and higher 5-6 years ago and learned a lot of power lifting techniques/ weight lifting techniques. I began to incorporate overall body weight lifting such as kettle bell, dumbell snatches, push press, etc that would elevate my heart rate and isn't 'stationary'.

To give you an idea of my exercise routine, I start off with a 45 min moderate cardio, then I proceed to weight train first thing in the morning(before breakfast). I do:

1. flat bench(135 lbsx 15 , 185 x 10 , 205 x 7, 225 x 5) 2 min break

2. incline bench ( 135 lbs x 10 , 185 x 6, 205 x 4) 2 min break

3. dumbell flies ( 35 lbs x 8, 35 x 8 , 35 x 8 ) 1 min break

4. Tricep pulldown w/ rope (60 lbs x 10 , 3 sets) 1 min break

5. Tricep extension w/ rope ( 60 lbs x 8, 3 sets) 1 min break

So my question is this:

There are a lot of men out there my weight (270-280 pound) who exercise and do cardio, but don't have the 'strength' to do 1 pushup yet.

Would my diet and their diet differ?

It seems like most people focus heavily on cardio with light strength training to lose the lbs, then begin strength training properly; however, it seems that even AFTER they lose the weight, cardio is their main source of 'burning' the fat.

I'm conflicted as to how to approach my weight loss. At this point, I am getting 'stronger' while losing 'lbs', but I feel like my weight loss would be a lot faster if I focus purely on cardio with very light weight training.

Since I am eating so much protein/ day and lifting heavy, even though I'm losing fat, I still look 'bulky'.

What should I do? should I ditch lifting heavy and focus more on cardio and eat less protein??

AJ_G

DO NOT STOP LIFTING HEAVY

CARDIO IS OVERRATED AND UNNECESSARY (though it can be useful)

It all comes down to this: If you run a caloric deficit, you will lose weight, if you run a caloric surplus, you will gain weight.

It is nearly impossible to run a caloric deficit, and gain muscle while losing weight, the only exception is if someone is very overweight and they are new to lifting.

Most people make the HUGE mistake of thinking that it is better to wait to lift weights, and do heavy strength training until they lose most of the fat they need to lose, and proceed to do ridiculous amounts of cardio coupled with little to no strength training or weight lifting. If you take this course of action and choose not to lift heavy while you lose weight, you will lose a significant amount of muscle while you are losing weight. It is very hard to build muscle, and if you lose muscle during weight loss, you'll have to work hard to get it back. Heavy lifting, to failure coupled with adequate protein intake while eating at a caloric deficit is the absolute best way to lose weight with the highest possible percentage of that weight loss being from fat loss.

I mentioned before that cardio during weight loss is unnecessary but can be useful. Almost all fat loss and weight loss comes from changing your diet and calorie intake, more so than changing your activity level. All cardio does is increase the amount of calories burned for the day, so if you eat the same amount you were going to eat and incorporate cardio, you will have a higher caloric deficit. Cardio is helpful if you do not want to cut down as much on food, and obviously for cardiovascular health, but it is not needed.

Bottom line is, anytime you are trying to lose weight, make sure you preserve as much muscle as possible by lifting heavy, consuming adequate protein, and eating at slight caloric deficit. The higher your deficit, the higher the percentage of your weight loss will be muscle loss.

edwardkim85

Hey AJ,

thanks for the detailed response. I think most overweight people that are 'trying' to lose weight like myself don't have anywhere near the moderate - maximum amount of muscle mass available in our body mass.

What happens to my body if i'm on a calorie deficit YET I am intaking enough protein to 'build' muscle? Some people can eat 4000 calories sand still not meet the daily protein requirement yet it is possible to eat just 1700 calories and EXCEED the daily recommended protein intake.

If I am maxing out my protien intake(low carb) while lifting weights shouldn't I theoretically gain muscle mass while losing 'fat' ?

That's what I'm confused about.

I'm getting stronger, meaning I am building muscle while losing fat as of now, and I will be upping my weight training llbs as I decrease in weight. If this works, that means that I will be able to lift more and more as I lose weight?

Is this impossible at 1700 cal net deficit/day?

I'm a bit confused.

Confuzzled4ever

What's a dumbbell snatch??

Always looking for new exercises.

I lift heavy.

but I also do ridiculous amounts of cardio because i love it. And i want to avoid the heart conditions my family members have

I can't answer your question. Sorry

AJ_G

Hey AJ,

thanks for the detailed response. I think most overweight people that are 'trying' to lose weight like myself don't have anywhere near the moderate - maximum amount of muscle mass available in our body mass.

What happens to my body if i'm on a calorie deficit YET I am intaking enough protein to 'build' muscle? Some people can eat 4000 calories sand still not meet the daily protein requirement yet it is possible to eat just 1700 calories and EXCEED the daily recommended protein intake.

If I am maxing out my protien intake(low carb) while lifting weights shouldn't I theoretically gain muscle mass while losing 'fat' ?

That's what I'm confused about.

I'm getting stronger, meaning I am building muscle while losing fat as of now, and I will be upping my weight training llbs as I decrease in weight. If this works, that means that I will be able to lift more and more as I lose weight?

Is this impossible at 1700 cal net deficit/day?

I'm a bit confused.

First off, at your weight, you're not eating enough. I know you want to lose weight, but if you lose more than 1% of your body weight per week, you are losing weight too fast and a good portion of that weight will be muscle. I'm losing weight right now on 2000 calories, doing almost no cardio, and I'm 185 pounds.

As far as the calorie intake vs protein question: Your muscles are constantly being broken down and rebuilt on a daily basis. Muscle synthesis requires that there be enough amino acids in your system, and that comes from consuming protein. When your muscles are being built faster then they are being broken down, this is said to be an anobolic state. When your muscles are being broken down faster than they are being built, this is said to be a catabolic state.

An important thing to note about muscle is that you must look at the situation with respect to your body and survival. Your body's #1 goal is survival, when you're at a caloric deficit, it doesn't understand that you're trying to lose fat, it only sees that you're burning more calories than you're taking in. The reason your body will not increase muscle mass on a caloric deficit is because building or maintaining muscle is very calorically expensive. Muscles burn a lot of calories, even at rest, so when you're at a deficit, your body wants to lose muscle to burn less calories in order for you to survive. In order to prevent as much muscle loss as possible, heavy weight lifting is the signal to your body that you are using your muscles and you need them, and the protein intake provides the amino acids for muscle synthesis, however, you will always lose muscle AND fat on a deficit, and you will gain muscle AND fat on a surplus, the amount of each is dependent on the things I mentioned.

Another important point to note, there is a big difference between strength and muscle mass. Getting stronger does not mean you are building muscle. It is very possible to eat at a deficit, and get stronger, because your body increases muscle fiber recruitment as a response to weight lifting, so although your muscle mass is not actually increasing , and is most likely decreasing, because the percentage of muscle fibers being utilized is increasing, then you're actually going to increase strength.