Gain Muscle while Loosing Fat?

Stoshew71

Is it possible to do lifting and gain some muscle while I am still eating at a deficit to loose the fat?

My plan is to first work on loosing the fat till I get to my goal weight then switch it up to put on the muscle (eating just above maintenance). But while I am in the calorie deficit mode, does it hurt to do light weight/strength training?

I already run on the treadmill (worked up to 3 miles) every morning to do calorie burns. My legs tend to be a little tired from that. I don't run on Sundays tho to give me a rest.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts.

micheleb15

You won't gain much muscle, but lifting now will help you maintain the lean muscle that you have. You can't go wrong with adding in strength training.

tonynguyen75

Don't do it "light'. Do it heavy. Like the above poster said, lifting while on a deficit will help preserve the LBM you have now. Also ensure you have a good amount of protein in your diet.

RGv2

Is it possible to do lifting and gain some muscle while I am still eating at a deficit to loose the fat?

My plan is to first work on loosing the fat till I get to my goal weight then switch it up to put on the muscle (eating just above maintenance). But while I am in the calorie deficit mode, does it hurt to do light weight/strength training?

I already run on the treadmill (worked up to 3 miles) every morning to do calorie burns. My legs tend to be a little tired from that. I don't run on Sundays tho to give me a rest.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts.

Why worry about getting to a number on the scale before lifting. If you are in a deficit, losing weight, and not lifting you are losing both LBM and fat. If you continue to do this to get to a weight, you'll need to build back up any muscle that was lost, this will include putting fat on along with trying to build muscle (which is extremely hard and can take pain staking hours in the gym), aka Bulk Cycle. From there you'll want to lose the fat you just put on with the muscle you tried to build by eating at a deficit and lifting, aka cut cycle.

Right now you could be in the cut cycle if you started picking up and putting down heavy things, continue the deficit, forget the scale, and measure progress with the tape measure. You may not get to that goal weight, but IMHO you'd probably be happier with the mirror test.

FrnkLft

It's not a bad idea to drop your bodyfat% before bulking. To maintain your lean mass, you need to be lifting, just like you would on a surplus.

This is anecdotal, as a beginner I think I noticed some growth in my arms while on a deficit, but that was before I was actually taking my own measurements.

There are two kinds of hypertrophy. The first is the result of your muscles adapting to retain more fluid/energy within the muscle cells (not comfortable enough with the specifics to be more exacting). So you haven't "built" any muscle, but your muscles are still larger. The second of course is building more muscle tissue.

My best guess is that size gains on a deficit are due to the retention of more fluid/energy.

Independent of all that, don't go light, always go heavy. Just keep in mind that, hypertrophy aside, you're eating a deficit and it's going to affect you in the weight room. You're probably going to see a drop in strength for a little while, but that's normal.

Remember, strength and size are built over months and years, not days and weeks. Just keep at it, make sure you're on a smart program with incrementation built in, and keep at it.

Stoshew71

Thanks all. Kind of what I figured.

AndrewEdge

I agree with RGv2 and FnkLft completely, so I won't add to that. But I will toss in my own experience, that it's possible to gain muscle while on a mild deficit. As long as the goal is just improved health, not serious body sculpting.

I've lost weight and watched my body fat drop a few percentage points over a period of 3-4 months, while eating <500 kcals/day under maintenance. At the same time, the amount I'm able to lift in most exercises has climbed steadily. I haven't been measuring inches, but I assume that translates to muscle gain and not just adaption.

But I also have experience in the past losing strength and efficient metabolism while doing traditional dieting without any strength training. I won't make that mistake again.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

Stoshew71

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

^^^^^^^^^^^ Nice read. Thank you very much!!!