When to start lifting?

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2

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    as soon as possible... there is no time limit as to when to start.

    Did you even read the question?

    I know there's no time limit.

    I wanted to know basically if it's better to lose weight then gain muscle or gain muscle then lose weight.

    If you're losing weight with a calorie deficit and do not strength train, you lose muscle. Start now to get your newbie gains and to preserve the LBM you have. If you lose a bunch of your current LBM it's just going to be harder to get it back in the long run. Just continue to eat at a reasonable deficit and lift. I'm at maintenance and lifting now and continue to get awesome gains and reduce BF...I started lifting pretty much when I started dieting and dropped 35 Lbs and didn't lose any LBM in the process.
  • joleenl
    joleenl Posts: 739 Member
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    I'm also interested in the answer to this question, but I never seem to find a satisfactory answer when a thread comes up.

    I think the main answers I'm looking far are:

    If I eat at a deficit and lift weights will I gain muscle, retain muscle or lose muscle?

    ie, is it pointless to lift while eating at a deficit because if you lift you HAVE to do a leangains type diet or else you're wasting your time? And if it isn't pointless, what benefit are you getting from eating at a deficit all the time and lifting weights?

    ^^ FInally someone who speaks my mind!!!! I hope someone answers this!
  • joleenl
    joleenl Posts: 739 Member
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    This is what I did.... I would lift weights and do abs on Mon-Wed-Fri... Cardio days on Tues-Thurs-Sat rest Sunday. On my weight lifting days with no cardio..I figured out my BMR and ate about 200 more calories of that and increased protein..lowered carbs.

    On my cardio days, I ate 300 more calories than my BMR and increased carbs (for energy) and ate 1 g per pound of weight... (126=126g protein) ate a good amount of healthy fats on both work out days. Sunday's was rest so I only ate my BMR.

    Its a total numbers game, but once you get it, you will be burning fat and seeing muscle in no time.


    I hope that helps.

    You mean TDEE not BMR, Right?
  • allisonmrn
    allisonmrn Posts: 721 Member
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    As soon as possible. Lift heavy and do 15 minutes of HIIT.You"re welcome in advance....(for later, when your body morphs into a hard tight powerhouse)
  • joleenl
    joleenl Posts: 739 Member
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    as soon as possible... there is no time limit as to when to start.

    Did you even read the question?

    I know there's no time limit.

    I wanted to know basically if it's better to lose weight then gain muscle or gain muscle then lose weight.

    If you're losing weight with a calorie deficit and do not strength train, you lose muscle. Start now to get your newbie gains and to preserve the LBM you have. If you lose a bunch of your current LBM it's just going to be harder to get it back in the long run. Just continue to eat at a reasonable deficit and lift. I'm at maintenance and lifting now and continue to get awesome gains and reduce BF...I started lifting pretty much when I started dieting and dropped 35 Lbs and didn't lose any LBM in the process.

    ^^ this confirms what I was thinking. Thanks for the reply!
  • JulesAlloggio
    JulesAlloggio Posts: 480 Member
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    This is what I did.... I would lift weights and do abs on Mon-Wed-Fri... Cardio days on Tues-Thurs-Sat rest Sunday. On my weight lifting days with no cardio..I figured out my BMR and ate about 200 more calories of that and increased protein..lowered carbs.

    On my cardio days, I ate 300 more calories than my BMR and increased carbs (for energy) and ate 1 g per pound of weight... (126=126g protein) ate a good amount of healthy fats on both work out days. Sunday's was rest so I only ate my BMR.

    Its a total numbers game, but once you get it, you will be burning fat and seeing muscle in no time.


    I hope that helps.

    You mean TDEE not BMR, Right?

    No I meant BMR
  • joleenl
    joleenl Posts: 739 Member
    Options
    as soon as possible... there is no time limit as to when to start.

    Did you even read the question?

    I know there's no time limit.

    I wanted to know basically if it's better to lose weight then gain muscle or gain muscle then lose weight.

    If you're losing weight with a calorie deficit and do not strength train, you lose muscle. Start now to get your newbie gains and to preserve the LBM you have. If you lose a bunch of your current LBM it's just going to be harder to get it back in the long run. Just continue to eat at a reasonable deficit and lift. I'm at maintenance and lifting now and continue to get awesome gains and reduce BF...I started lifting pretty much when I started dieting and dropped 35 Lbs and didn't lose any LBM in the process.

    ^^ this confirms what I was thinking! Thanks for the reply!
  • CharliesInCharge
    CharliesInCharge Posts: 278 Member
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    As soon as possible. Lift heavy and do 15 minutes of HIIT.You"re welcome in advance....(for later, when your body morphs into a hard tight powerhouse)

    this lady knows of what she speaks :)
  • krhn
    krhn Posts: 781 Member
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    Your situation was my situation years back, you should aim only at cutting till you get to your goal weight, since you have technically only begun lifting, you still build muscle whilst on a caloric deficit - albeit a small increase but increase nonetheless !

    If you bulk / eat a caloric surplus now, you will have more weight to shed through when you feel like cutting again... As someone has mentioned, you can set different caloric goals daily to suit your purpose but when it comes down to it, your either going to be in a caloric deficit/surplus so if I were you, stick to one and get the other target at a later date!


    Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • Punkin7411
    Punkin7411 Posts: 45 Member
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    I'm at the same place. I have lost 48 lbs doing Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire cardio, with a little strength training. The weight loss has slowed/stopped and my BB coach says I should be lifting more. So I've started the TF/CXT hybrid at week 5, push phase, and will go to the end. Didn't want to start at week 1 because I've done so much already. I'm in the 2nd week of the hybrid and I've gone up 1 lb. I know I've got to ignore the scale and I'm really trying to ignore that because of what I've learned about the muscle vs. fat stuff. But I need to lose another 30-35 lbs so that scale has to keep going at some point. Wonder how long before the scale might start moving again? I know my body has to catch up with the new routine. I also track eating on MFP and eat at a deficit but since starting the hybrid I'm trying to get more protein in.
  • jujuki47
    jujuki47 Posts: 84 Member
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    good info
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    My only regret is that I did not start earlier. I am on my last 5-10 lbs to lose, and I wish I had started from day one. As the weight comes off, the more developed your muscle is under the fat, the better you will look.


    Here is a calculator that I LOVE, which can help you decide on how to calculate your goals.

    http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
  • joleenl
    joleenl Posts: 739 Member
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    As soon as possible. Lift heavy and do 15 minutes of HIIT.You"re welcome in advance....(for later, when your body morphs into a hard tight powerhouse)

    this lady knows of what she speaks :)

    Thanks you both. I'll try this while at a deficit until I achieve my goal thanks!
  • joleenl
    joleenl Posts: 739 Member
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    Your situation was my situation years back, you should aim only at cutting till you get to your goal weight, since you have technically only begun lifting, you still build muscle whilst on a caloric deficit - albeit a small increase but increase nonetheless !

    If you bulk / eat a caloric surplus now, you will have more weight to shed through when you feel like cutting again... As someone has mentioned, you can set different caloric goals daily to suit your purpose but when it comes down to it, your either going to be in a caloric deficit/surplus so if I were you, stick to one and get the other target at a later date!


    Good luck! :flowerforyou:

    Thanks sounds like good advice
  • joleenl
    joleenl Posts: 739 Member
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    My only regret is that I did not start earlier. I am on my last 5-10 lbs to lose, and I wish I had started from day one. As the weight comes off, the more developed your muscle is under the fat, the better you will look.


    Here is a calculator that I LOVE, which can help you decide on how to calculate your goals.

    http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

    I'll check it out thanks
  • T_X_L
    T_X_L Posts: 140 Member
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    And remember, the goal is to REDUCE BODY FAT. Stressing over the scale number decrease is secondary, and for most people's psyche (including mine), detrimental. My advice: sell the scales, and buy a tape measure. Muscle is denser than fat, so you can lose inches while gaining weight. Lifting will help you gain muscle mass. Male or female, muscle mass is GOOD. It'll help you look like a goddess (and unless you are taking a strange steroid brew, you won't look like Arnie) Besides looking better, it increases your RMR (resting metabolic rate) This is also GOOD. It means you'll burn more calories ALL THE TIME, because it'll take more energy to keep the muscles nourished, even resting.
  • originalcookiemonster
    originalcookiemonster Posts: 278
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    I'm also interested in the answer to this question, but I never seem to find a satisfactory answer when a thread comes up.

    I think the main answers I'm looking far are:

    If I eat at a deficit and lift weights will I gain muscle, retain muscle or lose muscle?

    ie, is it pointless to lift while eating at a deficit because if you lift you HAVE to do a leangains type diet or else you're wasting your time? And if it isn't pointless, what benefit are you getting from eating at a deficit all the time and lifting weights?

    ^^ FInally someone who speaks my mind!!!! I hope someone answers this!

    If you eat at a deficit you will have MINOR newbie gains (along with some water retention, so don't freak, many do) but mainly you will be maintaining your LBM. Whilst doing this, you will be burning the fat on top of them.

    The benefit is preventing the loss of your LBM while you are exercising and eating at a deficit, gaining strength, burning the fat on top of my muscles so they will become visible, and for me personally, feeling badass.

    When I have reached my goal BF percentage, I will then go on a bulk and put on some weight in an attempt to gain some muscle.

    Hope that helps!
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
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    I want to start heavy lifting. But I am at loss as to what to do other than show up at weights section of the gym. Is there any good sites/ books or any place at all I can get some solid info on what and how to build a good routine and when I should increase my weights. I use little weights now but nothing over 15 pounds.

    My personal recommendation would be to READ 'New Rules of Lifting For Women' and 'Starting Strength' to get a good foundation of how to eat and how to actually do the lifts then follow the Strong Lifts 5x5 program which can be found online. It's easy to follow and has a iPhone app that will keep track of what lifts to do each day, how many and how heavy. Good luck to you.
  • TX_Aggie_Dad
    TX_Aggie_Dad Posts: 173
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    In short, start lifting now. Period. That is the easy question. When in doubt, lift heavy.

    Let me give my perspective on the cut vs. bulk discussion. As someone that has struggled with weight, my suggestion is that you don't spend any time worrying about the "bulk" process. Just lift, eat a caloric deficit and continue to shed the body fat. As several have stated above you will likely add some muscle anyway. Once you get down to a very lean body composition (sub 20% body fat or even sub 15%) then *maybe* you can consider doing a clean bulk. My concern would be that if you start eating at a caloric suplus at this point that you will just gain back fat and fall into old habits. I'd say get very lean, prove you can stay there for some time while still eating clean, lifting/exercising, etc. and then *maybe* consider a bulk. For now, banish the thought of a caloric surplus from your mind. Just my two cents.
  • originalcookiemonster
    originalcookiemonster Posts: 278
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    Your situation was my situation years back, you should aim only at cutting till you get to your goal weight, since you have technically only begun lifting, you still build muscle whilst on a caloric deficit - albeit a small increase but increase nonetheless !

    If you bulk / eat a caloric surplus now, you will have more weight to shed through when you feel like cutting again... As someone has mentioned, you can set different caloric goals daily to suit your purpose but when it comes down to it, your either going to be in a caloric deficit/surplus so if I were you, stick to one and get the other target at a later date!


    Good luck! :flowerforyou:

    Thanks sounds like good advice

    While this is not bad advice, I would suggest a goal BF percentage rather than goal weight, only because weight can fluctuate and change due to many things and can often be misleading. A goal BF percentage is a little more accurate. Because muscle is more dense than fat, when you eventually reach the point where you have more muscle than fat, you could potentially weight much more than you think you'd like to, but you'll look at yourself in the mirror and think, "I can't believe I look this freaking good at X amount of weight!" Case in point, I know a lady who lifts and is at about 17-18% body fat and rocks a size 2 jeans and looks stunning in a bikini. She is 5'3" and weighs 160. You'd never know by looking at her!

    Just food for thought.

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