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For the weight lifting guys/girls

happywithme12
happywithme12 Posts: 477 Member
edited January 29 in Chit-Chat
Ok so I have been going to the gym 4 days a week and working on weight training and I am sure this topic has come up before but I am not really getting any answers. I measured my arms about a month ago and although I know I am getting stronger I am not sure how to really tell if I am getting results. I mean I can lift more and do things with heavier weights that I never used to be able to do. The weight bench that you sit up straight and lift in front of you, when I first started I could barely do 5 of them and last week I did 3 sets of 10 so I know something is happening. How do I really know if my measurements don't change if it's doing anything other than being able to lift more. Does anyone else have this same problem. Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Replies

  • KiltFuPanda
    KiltFuPanda Posts: 574 Member
    You can get stronger without significant muscle growth - you're training your muscle utilization instead. You are engaging more of the muscle fibers in your movement, which equates to more strength. Normally, you only use a portion of the muscle fibers to move around, and an untrained lifter's central nervous system is geared towards only using that portion. When you start to weight train, your body "learns" to use more of what muscle it has.

    As most people have said, you need to eat more than your daily calorie burn to gain weight. This includes muscle size. If you're getting stronger without gaining weight, you're getting more muscle utilization.
  • djeffreys10
    djeffreys10 Posts: 2,312 Member
    ^What he said. It is refered to as "newbie gains." If you want to gain muscle mass, eat at a calorie surplus of around 250 calories per day.
  • happywithme12
    happywithme12 Posts: 477 Member
    whats a calorie surplus, but at same time i am trying to loose my belly fat and for that your suppose to eat less calories--urggg what to do what to do
  • happywithme12
    happywithme12 Posts: 477 Member
    bump
  • KiltFuPanda
    KiltFuPanda Posts: 574 Member
    I'd go with losing weight to start with - get trimmed up before you try to make serious muscle gains. You'll probably continue to make newbie gains in your strength in the meantime. I'd wait until you are stuck at a specific weight (like "I've been lifting for a month and I haven't made any improvement") before even considering eating more calories. This may take a while - I was rolling on newbie gains for almost a year before I tapered off, and those gains were huge. My squat almost doubled, and my bench and deadlift increase about 75%.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    If you want to lose fat, then you want to eat a calorie deficit (eat fewer calories than you burn overall). You want to keep up with the lifting while on a calorie deficit so you lose less muscle mass than you would otherwise. And you can definitely gain strength while on a deficit which is awesome ;)

    If you want to gain muscle, you need to lift AND eat more than you burn overall (calorie surplus). But you would also gain fat while gaining muscle.

    If you choose to lose fat, you will probably find that your muscles get more defined and look larger as the fat goes. :)
  • iarelarry
    iarelarry Posts: 201 Member
    Progressively load more weight = cha ching!
  • sire137
    sire137 Posts: 41
    congrats on your improvement! If you want bigger muscles, use heavier weights. If you want more definition add in different arm exercises.
  • djeffreys10
    djeffreys10 Posts: 2,312 Member
    If you want to lose fat, then you want to eat a calorie deficit (eat fewer calories than you burn overall). You want to keep up with the lifting while on a calorie deficit so you lose less muscle mass than you would otherwise. And you can definitely gain strength while on a deficit which is awesome ;)

    If you want to gain muscle, you need to lift AND eat more than you burn overall (calorie surplus). But you would also gain fat while gaining muscle.

    If you choose to lose fat, you will probably find that your muscles get more defined and look larger as the fat goes. :)

    Qft. Couldn't have said it better.
  • happywithme12
    happywithme12 Posts: 477 Member
    If you want to lose fat, then you want to eat a calorie deficit (eat fewer calories than you burn overall). You want to keep up with the lifting while on a calorie deficit so you lose less muscle mass than you would otherwise. And you can definitely gain strength while on a deficit which is awesome ;)

    If you want to gain muscle, you need to lift AND eat more than you burn overall (calorie surplus). But you would also gain fat while gaining muscle.

    If you choose to lose fat, you will probably find that your muscles get more defined and look larger as the fat goes. :)

    Qft. Couldn't have said it better.





    Thank you all for the help I have cut my calories. By a lot the past few days so I give it few week and see how that goes
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