Lose weight first & then lift or do both @ the same time?

Since you aren't new to lifting, you will not gain muscle on a calorie deficit. Since you want to lose weight I assume you are on a calorie deficit. Without lifting, a lot of your weight loss (as much as half of it) will be muscle. To preserve the muscle you have while losing fat, you need to lift and get adequate protein. Without lifting, your body sees no reason to hold on to that muscle. So keep a calorie deficit, lift weights, and get enough protein and you'll get the toned but not bulky look you are wanting. Its as simple as that.

Okay, I will try it again. It does make sense to do both. Actually nothing else gets me results like lifting. And I do get them fast. In one month I see a difference in my legs, butt and my chest lifts. I just wonder why I looked so big before, unless it was my imagination, but two guys commented and one puffed out at me, lol. That still freaks me out. I have a very petite frame, when I get to goal weight I wear a size 0-2. I have done the bone/frame tests. So maybe I have body-image issues and I wasn't used to the muscle so I THOUGHT I was big.

Now I'm part of the anti-cleanse posse so feel free to ignore me but what follows is intended as good advice.

You should do both because strength training, form and the benefits of lifting take time. Even if you are the most unique woman on the face of the earth one of the rate limiting steps will be the amount of Dodd you consume, especially after your initial gains.

Second, the muscular gains you are initially seeing are only partially muscle - actually a large part, or even the majority of that gain is glycogen/water swelling - it looks like muscle, feels like muscle but it isn't. This swelling takes anything from a few hours to a few days to lose. Drinking more water actually helps to clear.

If you are seeing muscular growth that seems above average I suggest you see your GP or sport physician - if it is testosterone driven you shoud know because this can have cardiovascular and other medical effects tat you might want to be more aware of. If it is water retention driven it can be an indicator of various edemic responses to exercise. You probably have nothing but extreme swole can point to things that your trainer would miss.

If you are seeing significant strength increase with the swole then, yes, you are somehow building greater than average muscles and improving on the neuromuscular recruitment - congrats, tae advantage of that. Build up, compete.

5 sets of 15-20.. builds endurance and hard muscles... now diet is key if you have a **** diet you might as welll not even bother.. i wont tell you to cut out carbs but tell you to eat the right carbs at the right time. Whole wheat anything whole grain.. brown rice. Thing of this nature.. we want carbs before we lift for energy protien after for muscle recovery. Meats should only consist of fish chicken turkey and lean beef.. there are others like deer meat and those things but not evwryone can get those.. you should be eaiting 5-6 small meals a day spread out around your workout and dailu life they should be 2 1/2 -3 hours apart. This stimulates your metabolism which.burns calories.... but these are small healthy meals or snacks. Not 6 whoppers a day

Love this. I will begin tomorrow. Thank you so much. But one more question. Will I still build muscle if I am at a calorie deflect bc I am really needing to lose weight. Or was this a dumb blonde question? I'm sorry if it is! ((I am a blonde so no offense to blondes)).

People are making it seem so complicated with conflicting information.
If you want to lose weight/inches/etc., put your calories in a deficit with diet and exercise. That is the only way.
While you are doing that, you will lose weight. That weight will be both fat and muscle. If you are bigger it will be mostly fat but some muscle. When you get smaller it will be both. You don't want to lose much muscle (it burns fat, etc), so while you are losing weight, make sure you lift/strength train in order to keep as much of your muscle as you can. You aren't going to bulk up like a bodybuilder if you're eating in a deficit. But it's very importnat to do strength training of any kind to retain muscle while you are losing weight, because at the end of the day you want the lowest possible (healthy) body fat percentage (a better goal than the scale), and to do that you want as much lean muscle as possible. What sort of weight training program you incorporate isn't too important as long as it's correctly executed, challenging and covers the muscle groups it needs to.

When you get to that point, you'll be happy with the body that is uncovered when the fat has fled, (based on your concerns that you've mentioned). In order to maintain that physique you'll want to keep doing strength training, some cardio and eat to maintain your happy weight.

IMHO a manageable, nutritionally efficient diet that you can maintain without feeling restricted is a better idea than cleanses, etc. Just make the way you eat a lifelong habit.

5 sets of 15-20.. builds endurance and hard muscles... now diet is key if you have a **** diet you might as welll not even bother.. i wont tell you to cut out carbs but tell you to eat the right carbs at the right time. Whole wheat anything whole grain.. brown rice. Thing of this nature.. we want carbs before we lift for energy protien after for muscle recovery. Meats should only consist of fish chicken turkey and lean beef.. there are others like deer meat and those things but not evwryone can get those.. you should be eaiting 5-6 small meals a day spread out around your workout and dailu life they should be 2 1/2 -3 hours apart. This stimulates your metabolism which.burns calories.... but these are small healthy meals or snacks. Not 6 whoppers a day

Love this. I will begin tomorrow. Thank you so much. But one more question. Will I still build muscle if I am at a calorie deflect bc I am really needing to lose weight. Or was this a dumb blonde question? I'm sorry if it is! ((I am a blonde so no offense to blondes)).

Meal frequency, meal timing have no real impact but feel free to follow advice that helps you stck to your plan.

5 sets of 15-20.. builds endurance and hard muscles... now diet is key if you have a **** diet you might as welll not even bother.. i wont tell you to cut out carbs but tell you to eat the right carbs at the right time. Whole wheat anything whole grain.. brown rice. Thing of this nature.. we want carbs before we lift for energy protien after for muscle recovery. Meats should only consist of fish chicken turkey and lean beef.. there are others like deer meat and those things but not evwryone can get those.. you should be eaiting 5-6 small meals a day spread out around your workout and dailu life they should be 2 1/2 -3 hours apart. This stimulates your metabolism which.burns calories.... but these are small healthy meals or snacks. Not 6 whoppers a day

Love this. I will begin tomorrow. Thank you so much. But one more question. Will I still build muscle if I am at a calorie deflect bc I am really needing to lose weight. Or was this a dumb blonde question? I'm sorry if it is! ((I am a blonde so no offense to blondes)).

Meal frequency, meal timing have no real impact but feel free to follow advice that helps you stck to your plan.

then why are the leanest people in the world so strict about it?????? People who have professional nutritionist telling them.this..

5 sets of 15-20

Bad advice!

Have someone teach you all the compound lifts if you don't know them already and lift heavy for 5x5 or 3x8. Start light but work up to heavier weights. Starting Strength is a great book for starting and Stronglifts 5x5 is a free e-book. Compound lifts are better for a balanced body.

powerlifters and strongman competitor use the 5x5 for what?? To gain mass and strength. You are completely off base here.. i do these routines. But what would i know im only 300lbs amd have won several world powerlifting titles

5 sets of 15-20

Bad advice!

Have someone teach you all the compound lifts if you don't know them already and lift heavy for 5x5 or 3x8. Start light but work up to heavier weights. Starting Strength is a great book for starting and Stronglifts 5x5 is a free e-book. Compound lifts are better for a balanced body.

powerlifters and strongman competitor use the 5x5 for what?? To gain mass and strength. You are completely off base here.. i do these routines. But what would i know im only 300lbs amd have won several world powerlifting titles

A woman eating at a deficit will have a hard time getting much mass but she will get much stronger and firmer developing a strong core. It's all in the body type she is looking for.

Since you aren't new to lifting, you will not gain muscle on a calorie deficit. Since you want to lose weight I assume you are on a calorie deficit. Without lifting, a lot of your weight loss (as much as half of it) will be muscle. To preserve the muscle you have while losing fat, you need to lift and get adequate protein. Without lifting, your body sees no reason to hold on to that muscle. So keep a calorie deficit, lift weights, and get enough protein and you'll get the toned but not bulky look you are wanting. Its as simple as that.

Okay, I will try it again. It does make sense to do both. Actually nothing else gets me results like lifting. And I do get them fast. In one month I see a difference in my legs, butt and my chest lifts. I just wonder why I looked so big before, unless it was my imagination, but two guys commented and one puffed out at me, lol. That still freaks me out. I have a very petite frame, when I get to goal weight I wear a size 0-2. I have done the bone/frame tests. So maybe I have body-image issues and I wasn't used to the muscle so I THOUGHT I was big.

Now I'm part of the anti-cleanse posse so feel free to ignore me but what follows is intended as good advice.

Hey there anti-cleanser, I have absolutely no problem with people who hold opinions and beliefs different than my own. I value everyone for who they are. The only reason I said that to him was because of WHAT he posted. He was clearly being sarcastic. It's a long story so lets not waste our time with that.

You should do both because strength training, form and the benefits of lifting take time. Even if you are the most unique woman on the face of the earth one of the rate limiting steps will be the amount of Dodd you consume, especially after your initial gains.

What is a Dodd?

Second, the muscular gains you are initially seeing are only partially muscle - actually a large part, or even the majority of that gain is glycogen/water swelling - it looks like muscle, feels like muscle but it isn't. This swelling takes anything from a few hours to a few days to lose. Drinking more water actually helps to clear.

I think I know what you mean now that you say this. What about getting on the treadmill afterward, will this help? And/or the sauna?

If you are seeing muscular growth that seems above average I suggest you see your GP or sport physician - if it is testosterone driven you shoud know because this can have cardiovascular and other medical effects tat you might want to be more aware of. If it is water retention driven it can be an indicator of various edemic responses to exercise. You probably have nothing but extreme swole can point to things that your trainer would miss.

I believe I have testosterone levels which are high. There is one other thing that I know is odd and my Mom told me to get tested for testosterone. Dang it. I'm a dude! What is a GP? Gynocologist?

If you are seeing significant strength increase with the swole then, yes, you are somehow building greater than average muscles and improving on the neuromuscular recruitment - congrats, tae advantage of that. Build up, compete.

I do get it easily, I am not the kind to compete. I like feminine but toned. As in the fitness comps, but not bodybuilding. AKA, I like the Barbie look . This was very helpful. Thank you!

Dodd = food. Typo.

Swole will not be reduced significantly by sauna or treadmill as it is driven by muscular adaptation/recovery mechanism. At its base it is a good thing, it can be reduced by diuretics or anti-histamine/anti-leukotrienes but I REALLY do not recommend that path as the dosages necessary create an increased risk of rhabdomyolysis or compartment syndrome.

GP is a general practitioner. If you prefer you can get tested direct by a lab in certain states/countries but a referral and a medical reading are usually normal.

Testosterone is also produced in women, just normally at lower quantities. Testosterone levels do not make you "a dude" not only s there a lot of variability but medical conditions that can result in changes do not suddenly make your sex change. I know you are joking but since it can be traumatic for some, I'm taking it as a serious comment.

Glad it helped.

5 sets of 15-20

Bad advice!

Have someone teach you all the compound lifts if you don't know them already and lift heavy for 5x5 or 3x8. Start light but work up to heavier weights. Starting Strength is a great book for starting and Stronglifts 5x5 is a free e-book. Compound lifts are better for a balanced body.

I don't have anyone to teach me a compound lift. What exactly is that and I will do some research. I AM however, looking seriously at his advice of 5 sets of 15 - 20 bc that is exactly what my trainer had me do. He had me do 3 sets of 15-20 and I believe we only did three sets bc it was full body and we only had an hour. We met two times and sometimes three times a week, it varied based on my prepping for vacations, etc. I got good results from it.

My trainer was a competitor and won several and trains ppl to compete. They are winning too,.

A compound lift would be a squat, deadlift. A compound movement would be a push up, chin up, pull up, etc. I still would disagree with 5x20 or 3x20 and most isolation exercises are a waste when you could be doing compound movements that build balance and coordination. But do whatever you want.

I have done squats. The pt had me doing 3 sets of 20 with a barbell (mega heavy lifting on that). The compound exercises sound like P90X stuff and he gets great toning results so I can see this working - good idea. That makes sense. Couldn't I alternate? For example, doing the heavy lifting and then on other days do the compound exercises? I own P90X but have never used it. I have a chin up bar too.

I'll start doing both the heavy lifting and the compounds on alternating days if it isn't too much. I imagine I will be sore though so may have to ease into doing both.

Gentlemen,

Thank you all very much for answering my questions. I found very valuable information and I do understand what kind of game plan I need to get going on tomorrow.

I am very happy that I started this thread.
Thank you all again SOOOO much :flowerforyou: