Does strength training actually work?

madiao
madiao Posts: 119 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys :)

First post yay! So I've been using MFP for almost 6 months now and in that time have managed to lose roughly 78 lbs which is awesome, but I'm still not overly happy with how my body looks. I seem to carry a lot of fat around my mid section which bothers me. About a month ago I read the NROLFW book and started strength training after reading that it would help me lose more fat and inches but it doesn't seem to be working.

So my question is, does strength training actually help you lose inches? I lift roughly 3-4 times a week, I must admit I've dropped back on the cardio though and maybe 1 day a week. I'm not really concerned about the scale weight anymore, more so just losing some inches to look more 'toned'.

I'm 22 and weigh 140. I eat roughly 1300-1400 calories a day and YES I weight absolutely everything.. Somewhat obsessively, I even weigh condements!

Aside from strength training, what else could I do to lose some inches around my hips?!

Thanks!! :-)
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Replies

  • kieran9810
    kieran9810 Posts: 83 Member
    I think the main thing is to be patient, I started strength training about 3-4 months ago and I'm seeing results now, my waist is getting small and I'm much stronger than I was a few months ago. I would say just keep at it. Also it's fine not to do cardio, unless you want the fitness aspect but for fat loss, strength training is better IMO because it burns more fat ( where as cardio you lose fat and muscle).
  • Mario_Az
    Mario_Az Posts: 1,331 Member
    yes it does
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    How tall are you?
  • madiao
    madiao Posts: 119 Member
    Oh yeah, sorry I'm 5'4
  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
    We have similar stats and I hazard a guess that you need more calories, I'm at around 1600 but that's at slight deficit too... I find all my results stall as soon as I go lower than 1500, it's just not enough
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    .......About a month ago

    Resistance training does take some time, as you'll have spent some of that time getting into form I'd say you're not going to start seeing results for at least another three or four weeks. But it certainly will have an effect
    lift roughly 3-4 times a week, I must admit I've dropped back on the cardio though and maybe 1 day a week.

    You might want to rack up the CV to 3 sessions per week, resistance training doesn't really burn anything like the same level of calories and as your goal is quite low it'll give you much more flexibility around what you eat. You probably need to think about optimising your protein intake as well.
    ....Somewhat obsessively

    You might also want to think about whether you've got your head round portion control and food choices now. That's significant if you're not doing phys, but if you are it's really much less significant, but the breakdown of carb/ protein and fat is.

    IT also may be that it's driving you to eat too little, and if you're training heavily you'll have a greater demand for food
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    Er... eat at a calorie deficit... the whole idea behind MFP.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Er... eat at a calorie deficit... the whole idea behind MFP.

    Which rather misses the complementary effects that both CV and resistance training have on what the end result is.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member

    lift roughly 3-4 times a week, I must admit I've dropped back on the cardio though and maybe 1 day a week.

    You might want to rack up the CV to 3 sessions per week, resistance training doesn't really burn anything like the same level of calories and as your goal is quite low it'll give you much more flexibility around what you eat. You probably need to think about optimising your protein intake as well.

    that it's driving you to eat too little, and if you're training heavily you'll have a greater demand for food

    this part is not true.

    A lot of people who lift do no cardio...

    If you like cardio go ahead but cardio is for heart and lung health and as for calories burned doing cardio vs lifting you can't even compare them.

    It's like saying an applie is a piece of steak...

    ETA: I will say you can up your calories easily and still lose while lifting...I eat about 1700 a day and lose.

    But you have to be patient...I've been lifting for 6months and still a ways off on my mid section.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    , resistance training doesn't really burn anything like the same level of calories

    this part is not true.

    You missed my point

    To put it in context, I've just run an easy paced 10k At a ten minute mile, burning about a thousand calories. If I'd done an interval or tempo session of the same duration that total would be higher.

    For an equivalent period resistance training would burn between three and four hundred calories.

    Point is, when one nets that off, that gives a lot of flexibility around what to eat. To use your analogy, the piece of steak easily fits into the calorie goal and bears a lot more protein than the apple.

    Its also worth highlighting the point that when worshippers at the altar of heavy lifting say they do no cardio, what they mean is that in the main they call their cardio other things; HIIT, circuits etc.

    I'm not suggesting either or, merely balance.
  • madiao
    madiao Posts: 119 Member
    Thanks guys. So is adding a bit more cardio, say 2-3 days a week, going to help reduce inches?
  • fushigi1988
    fushigi1988 Posts: 519 Member
    Yes it does.
    I eat around maintainance, lift 3 times a week (plus some cardio inbetween)
    I have gained some pounds, but my measurements have gone down. My stomach is a lot flatter now, and my legs and butt look amazing now ;)

    I'm 5'11" and weigh around 165 lbs. Currently eating 2500-2700 a day, maintaining weight. Current goal is getting 10k steps a day on Fitbit, and building more muscle and strength.
  • motivatedmartha
    motivatedmartha Posts: 1,108 Member
    I am adding an ignorant question here so forgive me - but I am curious. Surely the nature of the strength training is significant?
  • EpsilonGamma
    EpsilonGamma Posts: 96
    Click on my profile and check my blog.

    Yes it works. You need to make sure you have a good program. I would recommend Starting Strength by Mark Rippletoe as a good starting point. You could be on that program for years.

    Make sure that your diet has high protein. approx 0.7-0.8g of protein per lb you weigh. so if you weigh 160lb then eat around 130g.

    Make sure you are weighing cooked food BEFORE it is cooked.

    Also note that belly fat is one of the last places to go (yes it does come off with other body fat, but that "stubborn" fat is around teh back and belly) This is due to poor blood circulation around these areas.
  • robabob3
    robabob3 Posts: 79 Member
    yeah it does, if your goal is to lose weight its completely unnecessary though.

    My goal is to lose fat so i lift weights.

    plus.. being strong is fun
  • fushigi1988
    fushigi1988 Posts: 519 Member
    yeah it does, if your goal is to lose weight its completely unnecessary though.

    My goal is to lose fat so i lift weights.

    plus.. being strong is fun

    No it isn't. Strength training helps with preservign muscle mass, and it's great for maintaining bone density. It's good for an age and weight.
  • robabob3
    robabob3 Posts: 79 Member
    yeah it does, if your goal is to lose weight its completely unnecessary though.

    My goal is to lose fat so i lift weights.

    plus.. being strong is fun

    No it isn't. Strength training helps with preservign muscle mass, and it's great for maintaining bone density. It's good for an age and weight.

    Everything you said is correct, but so is what i said... lifting weights is not at all necessary for you to lose weight. You can lose weight doing cardio and weights or doing just cardio or even doing just weights. You can lose weight surviving on fast food and soft drink. All thats required to lose weight is a caloric deficit.
  • fushigi1988
    fushigi1988 Posts: 519 Member
    True, it's not needed for losing weight, but for long term it is probably healthier for you.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Thanks guys. So is adding a bit more cardio, say 2-3 days a week, going to help reduce inches?

    CV, strength training and tracking your diet work together to reduce your weight and improve your shape.

    It'll contribute to it, but in its own right it won't give you the optimum results.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    Yes
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Yes. Here's my best personal example. The first year I was here I lost 50 pounds eating at a calorie deficit, doing cardio and a little strength training. The second year, I focused on strength training. I lost 2 pounds but went from a size 10 to a size 6.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    For an equivalent period resistance training would burn between three and four hundred calories.
    How did you work out the relative calories burnt?
    Is this a period continually resistance training, as you would be continually running?
    (1000 is a fair bit for just over an hour's running, even including BMR, but does depend on weight etc, of course.)
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    caloric deficit is most important
  • 6ftamazon
    6ftamazon Posts: 340 Member
    Definitely works. I strength train 3-4 days a week and I've noticed a drastic shape change. Plus I have more energy and I get to eat more lol
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    I have been weight lifting for over a year now I didn't lose inches nor weight, but people comment on my muscle tone...it's very obvious...and it changes the way I move too. It gets noticed...

    I still wish more tangible changes..but guess that's how it is for now...
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    Because I never get tired of posting it....

    Same woman in all three pics. On the left, at her goal weight. On the right, after a heavy lifting program. Even though she weighs less on the left, she looks better on the right.

    bodycomp_zps5030830e.jpg
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    For an equivalent period resistance training would burn between three and four hundred calories.
    How did you work out the relative calories burnt?
    Is this a period continually resistance training, as you would be continually running?

    I figured that in the context of the point that was challenged an assessment based on elapsed time would be most appropriate, recognising that in an hours worth of resistance training there is reasonable proportion of reduced intensity when reconfiguring equipment and resting between sets.

    I got the range on resistance training from injecting my own metrics into four different exercise trackers, and it seemed reasonably consistent with many of the discussions here.
    (1000 is a fair bit for just over an hour's running, even including BMR, but does depend on weight etc, of course.)

    It was a hilly offroad session on the Salisbury Plain Training Area, so probably a little overcooked, but again loading the file into the same four trackers gave me a range with 1000 being most conservative, although MFP reduced it a little on import. I was in one of the forestry areas on the plain this morning for 13k and the count was even higher, although I was anaerobic for a reasonable amount of that, given how steep some of the terrain is. It's probably about 150 to 200 higher than a flat road session, like South Bank of the Thames.

    Notwithstanding all of that my original point remains the same, CV and resistance are complementary, they have different outcomes. There was discussion the other day that likened it to a range of effect, which struck me as quite a useful way describe it. Stuff like light weights with lots of fast paced reps give a predominantly CV effect with minimal resistance effect. Similarly grinding a bike up a steep climb goes anaerobic and has much less CV effect but a fair resistance effect, whereas 30kph on a flat road is predominantly CV with minimal resistance effect.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    To be fair, just looked back and endomondo gave a similar calorie burn for that sort of distance for me on a run which involved some VERY steep stuff on moors in West Yorks. (Endomondo incluides BMR, however.)

    My point about weight training is that it's nigh-on impossible to get a decent figure.

    A lot of people seem to think that the 'EPOC' (after burn) is over-rated, but I believe some studies have shown it as high as in the 700 calorie region. This was fairly recently too - I've noted that my calorie burn according to the HRM has gone down as I've got fitter. I'm presuming from your avatar, running isn't too unusual for you either!

    While it's more 'cardio' rather than strength, I'd suggest something like 'body pump' is going to be the closest to running for comparison. Suppose that's not unreasonable for calories burnt at the time as the arm work using small weights over smallish ranges won't do much.

    But yes, I would agree; it's a sliding scale.

    From doing 5RMs one one side to a 16 hour walk/jog/cycle on the other.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    for that "post burn" thing, I havent found reliable sources on affirmative studies and data..but guess my reseach skill may not be as competent...

    Anyway, I recently got a bodymedia fit armband. I was wondering if this thing could help me track if post burn exists and what pattern it might be following...just a thought...
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Anyway, I recently got a bodymedia fit armband. I was wondering if this thing could help me track if post burn exists and what pattern it might be following...just a thought...
    Not in the slightest, I'm afraid.

    As it goes, I DO Have a product that could give you an idea of it - a metabolic testing unit.

    Not something you can really use that usefully as you have to breath through a mask and so on.

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