Benefits of heavy lifting while eating at a deficit?
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My end goal is to be strong and fit so I know that heavy lifting is somewhere in my future
You've answered your question. The point of heavy lifting is to preserve your strength while in a calorie deficit.0 -
The point is to get stronger and to preserve your lean body mass while you lose fat. If you focus mostly on cardio and don't train with resistance, you are going to lose muscle. So your weight will drop, but your body won't look the way you want it to. When I started out, I was 100+ lbs overweight, and I did only cardio for a year. I lost 70 lbs, but I still looked "fat." After three months of heavy lifting, my body had completely changed. I didn't look like a fat girl anymore. I looked like someone who spends time in the gym regularly. It is worth it. Do it.
Well said!0 -
My advice would be to not eat at much of a deficit, as the lifting will burn off a chunk anyway.
You say you don't have a lot of time, which I completely understand, so I'd suggest looking into something like StrongLifts 5x5, which has approx 30 min workouts, 3x a week. It's a good one to get started with, as you start with small weights, and steadily build up.
ok so here is what i dont' get. you burn a lot while lifting supposedly, yet MFP has it set at liek 100 calories for 30 minutes of lifting... seems a little low for me. what is it really?
My understanding is that it's extremely difficult to estimate calories burned while lifting. This is because it varies based on reps, times between sets, etc. From what I understand, it's best to use an HRM to estimated calorie burnage.. but even then, it's just a rough estimate.
HRM's are designed to estimate your areobic caloric burn, lifting weights is anerobic and therefore a HRM is terrible for determining caloric burn unless you're doing circuits and therefore not lifting at your potential heaviest. That being said, at the risk of under eating I personally just put in 150 if I don't do an aerobic warm up.0 -
My advice would be to not eat at much of a deficit, as the lifting will burn off a chunk anyway.
You say you don't have a lot of time, which I completely understand, so I'd suggest looking into something like StrongLifts 5x5, which has approx 30 min workouts, 3x a week. It's a good one to get started with, as you start with small weights, and steadily build up.
ok so here is what i dont' get. you burn a lot while lifting supposedly, yet MFP has it set at liek 100 calories for 30 minutes of lifting... seems a little low for me. what is it really?
My understanding is that it's extremely difficult to estimate calories burned while lifting. This is because it varies based on reps, times between sets, etc. From what I understand, it's best to use an HRM to estimated calorie burnage.. but even then, it's just a rough estimate.
HRM's are designed to estimate your areobic caloric burn, lifting weights is anerobic and therefore a HRM is terrible for determining caloric burn unless you're doing circuits and therefore not lifting at your potential heaviest. That being said, at the risk of under eating I personally just put in 150 if I don't do an aerobic warm up.
Well, that's good to know. Thank you!0 -
After a deficit-you wont be lifting heavy. it will seem heavy, but will be nowhere near what youre probably capable of.0
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The point is to get stronger and to preserve your lean body mass while you lose fat. If you focus mostly on cardio and don't train with resistance, you are going to lose muscle. So your weight will drop, but your body won't look the way you want it to. When I started out, I was 100+ lbs overweight, and I did only cardio for a year. I lost 70 lbs, but I still looked "fat." After three months of heavy lifting, my body had completely changed. I didn't look like a fat girl anymore. I looked like someone who spends time in the gym regularly. It is worth it. Do it.
Yep. You avoid the "skinny fat" syndrome if you lift, keep LBM while losing fat.0 -
I just posted something regarding this today. Cardio will bring down the weight but if you want a toned body you will need strength training. Strength training will give you the body you want to be in. You will need to up your protein and eat as clean as possible. Rest is also very important. Work one muscle group at a time and have rest days in between. Once you start u want to start with whats comfortable rest for 60 seconds and increase. You can also look at bodybuilders.com (it a free site and provides tips and exercise for women as well as men). Good luck0
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The point is to get stronger and to preserve your lean body mass while you lose fat. If you focus mostly on cardio and don't train with resistance, you are going to lose muscle. So your weight will drop, but your body won't look the way you want it to. When I started out, I was 100+ lbs overweight, and I did only cardio for a year. I lost 70 lbs, but I still looked "fat." After three months of heavy lifting, my body had completely changed. I didn't look like a fat girl anymore. I looked like someone who spends time in the gym regularly. It is worth it. Do it.
What about calorie intake? What range did you eat before heavy lifting and while heavy lifting?
thanks
Very low calories while I was only doing cardio. I was netting less than 1000 per day, which was the exact wrong thing to do. And I was eating bad food ... Lean Cuisines, "low fat" foods with fake ingredients, etc. But I was clueless back then.
Once I started lifting, I quickly realized I HAD to eat more, and I had to eat real food with lots of nutrients. It simply wasn't possible to train the way I wanted to train on so few calories. I started eating at maintenance (roughly 1900 calories) on training days and 25-30% below maintenance on non-training days. But it's important to note that my calories consist of a lot of good food ... a ton of lean protein and vegetables. I regularly eat 180 g of protein per day, which typically includes around 32 oz of meat, as well as egg whites and Greek yogurt, and a lot of healthy fat from fish, olive oil, and nut butters. A diet high in protein and healthy fats + resistance training will prime your body for fat burning.
And here's a good time to make the point: it's okay if you don't know everything right now. Just make the effort to learn as much as you can. And as much as I would like to say this site is a good place to do that, there is so much total BS on here that it's very hard to pick out the good advice. So verify things by researching other sources. I can tell you what has worked for me, but it will be much more effective for you if you figure out WHY it works and why other things (like the nonsensical thread about how you can get leaner thighs by neglecting to train them) don't work.0 -
The point is to get stronger and to preserve your lean body mass while you lose fat. If you focus mostly on cardio and don't train with resistance, you are going to lose muscle. So your weight will drop, but your body won't look the way you want it to. When I started out, I was 100+ lbs overweight, and I did only cardio for a year. I lost 70 lbs, but I still looked "fat." After three months of heavy lifting, my body had completely changed. I didn't look like a fat girl anymore. I looked like someone who spends time in the gym regularly. It is worth it. Do it.
What about calorie intake? What range did you eat before heavy lifting and while heavy lifting?
thanks
Very low calories while I was only doing cardio. I was netting less than 1000 per day, which was the exact wrong thing to do. And I was eating bad food ... Lean Cuisines, "low fat" foods with fake ingredients, etc. But I was clueless back then.
Once I started lifting, I quickly realized I HAD to eat more, and I had to eat real food with lots of nutrients. It simply wasn't possible to train the way I wanted to train on so few calories. I started eating at maintenance (roughly 1900 calories) on training days and 25-30% below maintenance on non-training days. But it's important to note that my calories consist of a lot of good food ... a ton of lean protein and vegetables. I regularly eat 180 g of protein per day, which typically includes around 32 oz of meat, as well as egg whites and Greek yogurt, and a lot of healthy fat from fish, olive oil, and nut butters. A diet high in protein and healthy fats + resistance training will prime your body for fat burning.
And here's a good time to make the point: it's okay if you don't know everything right now. Just make the effort to learn as much as you can. And as much as I would like to say this site is a good place to do that, there is so much total BS on here that it's very hard to pick out the good advice. So verify things by researching other sources. I can tell you what has worked for me, but it will be much more effective for you if you figure out WHY it works and why other things (like the nonsensical thread about how you can get leaner thighs by neglecting to train them) don't work.
You are wise. :drinker:0 -
I started my weightloss journey with 110 pounds to lose. I've lost 67 pounds so far. I started Chalean extreme (just the circuit classes only 3 days a week) about a month ago while continuing my regular Turbofire workout. I feel stronger already so I hope this means I'm preserving some lean muscle mass even though I eat at a deficit. I've been losing weight at a similar rate as before about 8-10 pounds a month but a plus for me is I've been eating more and I enjoy eating ;-) I say go for it!0
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Anyone know if theres any "point" to heavy lifting while eating at a deficit? I've still got quite a bit of weight to lose (5'7", 218 lbs, goal: 145 or so), but I am extremely interested in heavy lifting and cannot wait to get started. My end goal is to be strong and fit so I know that heavy lifting is somewhere in my future, I'm just anxious to get started. I don't have a whole ton of time (single mom, work full time,school full time), so I feel like.. if there's very little point, I shouldn't waste the time. I would still want to work in cardio for the aerobic benefits and calorie burn.
Thanks for any advice!!!! :drinker: :drinker:
Honey, I am 5 inches shorter than you, and I have similar weight goals....
this picture says it all.
gray top pics by crochetmom2010, on Flickr
in the picture on the left I was between 188-199 pounds. I wore a size 42DD bra and 16/18 pants. I actually went on to gain 30 more pounds before I got my head on straight. In the picture on the right, I am 196 pounds. I am wearing the same shirt, but a size 38C bra and size 12/14 shorts. The difference? I have been using the strength machines at the gym for 6-7 months, and heavy lifting ( squats and deads) for several months.0 -
If you a 5'7" and 200+lbs, you likely have plenty of muscle. Resistance training has other specific benefits that are more important to weight loss than building muscle. (In fact most people people will never gain a significant amount of muscle anyway).
So start lifting today. Twice a week is plenty. No need to go really heavy at first--make it challenging, work on form, build up a consistent routine. Then start increasing the intensity.0 -
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If you are working hard lifting weights (high intensity, long breaks, medium intensity, medium breaks, low intensity, short breaks are all working hard), the calorie but should be in the 2/3 to 5/6 of your hour running pace calorie burn.
For me (6'1", 200ish) my hour running calorie burn is about 850-900 calories.
My hourly strength training calorie burn is in the 600-750 calorie area.
Most people grossly underestimate their strength training calorie burn. This works fine when losing weight, though many often find they have to eat more else they crash due to undereating (as many comments in this thread point out), though the place it is really noticed is when switching from losing to maintenence-bulking, EVERYBODY underestimates their bulking calorie needs the first time, sometimes by comical amounts, a major culprit is gross underestimation of the calorie burn of strength training.
In MFP the high effort calisthenics and circuit training entries under cardio capture the actual calorie burn the best for the main part of the workout. Low effort calisthenics and the strength training entry are good for warmup level work.0 -
ok so here is what i dont' get. you burn a lot while lifting supposedly, yet MFP has it set at liek 100 calories for 30 minutes of lifting... seems a little low for me. what is it really?
Muscle is more metabolically active so you will burn more calories even just sitting still. It doesn't mean that you will burn more calories lifting versus cardio, but it will boost your metabolism more.0 -
The metabolism boost from muscle added by noobs on a calorie deficit is negligible. Not that I don't advocate lifting of course.0
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The metabolism boost from muscle added by noobs on a calorie deficit is negligible. Not that I don't advocate lifting of course.
Its pretty negligible bulking cycle to bulking cycle too.
Unless they gain 20+ lbs, I highly doubt most people could detect a difference in their metabolism, even if they keep very detailed records.
However recovering from strength training does have a very noticable metabolism raising effect, on the order of 10-15%+ of your BMR, that lasts a few days after a strength training session. It becomes the new normal for people who regulary strength train.0 -
Jean Fry is another example of heavy training can do.
http://syattfitness.com/athletic-performance/making-powerlifting-more-approachable-an-interview-with-female-powerlifter-jean-fry/0 -
Heavy lifting will help you retain lean muscle. If all you do is cardio, you can compromise lean muscle tissue along with fat. This intern would lower your metabolic rate and mean you would have to eat even less or do more cardio to burn more calories to help you reach your goal.Anyone know if theres any "point" to heavy lifting while eating at a deficit? I've still got quite a bit of weight to lose (5'7", 218 lbs, goal: 145 or so), but I am extremely interested in heavy lifting and cannot wait to get started. My end goal is to be strong and fit so I know that heavy lifting is somewhere in my future, I'm just anxious to get started. I don't have a whole ton of time (single mom, work full time,school full time), so I feel like.. if there's very little point, I shouldn't waste the time. I would still want to work in cardio for the aerobic benefits and calorie burn.
Thanks for any advice!!!! :drinker: :drinker:
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