Changing body composition without weights?

jrmartinezb
jrmartinezb Posts: 147 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
First a little about myself. I’m 34 yo 1.71m (5’7’) and 71 Kg (157 pounds). I started on MFP back in August. So far I’ve lost 23Kg (50 lbs) and gone from about 30% to 19% body fat (according to military calculator and bia gizmo). I am very near my goal weight (a couple of pounds). So far my exercises have been running and the program from You Are Your Own Gym. I have definitely seen improvement in my fitness, but I know I still have very big room for improvement.

Now I what I would like to do is get some/more muscular definition. As far as I know what I need to do to accomplish that is lowering my body fat. I think a reasonable goal for me would be around 15% bf. So my questions are: Is it even possible to get to that bf% with the type of exercise I’ve been doing (running and bodyweight exercises)? What, if anything, could I do to lower my bf% while maintaining my lean body mass (or at least keeping muscle loss to a minimum)?

Replies

  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    You can get down well below that fat level with diet alone, really.

    Try to get .5g/kg of lean body mass to preserve muscle tissue.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    You should be lifting heavy.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Maintaining lean mass is helped with a good protein intake, a reasonable calorie deficit and resistance training. It doesnt really matter what that resistance training comes from as long as it is difficult enough. It is relatively easy to add weight with weightlifting to continue to get the muscle retention benefits. With body weight exercises you have to be more creative but it is definitely possible. Simply doing more pushups will eventually lose this benefit as reps get higher and higher.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    I'm 6'1" 202 lb @ 11% BF right now, 9 months ago I was 187 lb @ 13% BF.

    Almost all strength training I do is bodyweight. The only exceptions are:
    - I do DB weighted pistol squats for legs on intensity days (do Doggcrapp style rest-pause BW pistols on volume days)
    - I use a weight vest (and sometimes also a DB between the legs too) for chinups and dips when doing intensity work with them.
    - I occasionally use a DB for assistance exercises, though fairly rarely.

    Yes it is possible. Resistance is resistance.

    Just because you are using bodyweight doesn't mean you have to do high reps, there is almost always a harder exercise (or way to make them harder with a little weight).
  • jrmartinezb
    jrmartinezb Posts: 147 Member
    Thanks for the replies!

    So, summing up.. I could lower my bf% with a small deficit or even at a surplus, I need to make sure I’m getting enough protein and I must make sure my exercises are hard enough.

    With that in mind, my strategy will be: Keep calorie deficit of 250 cals (10% of my TDEE). Aim for 30% calories from protein (~120 grs). Keep doing YAYOG trying to make the harder variations.

    I am still a little concerned about running. I have seen a lot people claim it leads to muscle loss. Is that something I should be worried about at the level I’m doing. I am currently doing about 30 minutes 3 times a week. Running is something I really enjoy, so I definitely want to keep doing it.
  • jrmartinezb
    jrmartinezb Posts: 147 Member
    Hate bumping my own threads but.... bump!

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