Will strength training make a huge difference to my shape?

caoimheba
caoimheba Posts: 1
edited February 8 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone!

I'm 5 foot 2 inches and weight about 140lbs. I've lost about 30 lbs twice before in the past 5 years or so through diet alone but even at about 110 lbs I had lots of fat and was very flabby looking especially around my waist area and I can't imagine how low I would have to get my weight to actually be slim. I'm wondering if adding some strength training will make a drastic difference here so I won't have to try and get my weight extremely low. Has anyone had the experience of losing weight through diet alone previously and then losing it with exercise and noticed it had a huge effect on how their body looked at certain weights as compared to before or any information/experience regarding this? Also, since it is so difficult for women to gain muscle, particularly with a calorie deficit, how is it that people claim to see the results of strength training in as little as a couple of weeks? How is it possible for it to make such a difference to your body if gaining muscle takes is so difficult? Is it possible to improve the quality and look of muscle without actually gaining much or any or can this be explained in some other way? Sorry if these questions seem a bit stupid, I'm very confused, I've never given too much thought to exercise (the shame). Thanks for any help!

Replies

  • HexyleneGlycol
    HexyleneGlycol Posts: 56
    Strength training will help you to burn fat faster and will help harden your shape (get rid of your flabby stomach) It will also help you improve your all over exercising (like cardio) because your muscles will have the strength to perform better therefore burning even more fat. Its a win win with weights! You do not gain weight, and its not that hard. I think a lot of people confuse strength training with body building. You're not going to gain weight or suffer great difficulty lifting 3-8 pound hand weights.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Your questions aren't "stupid" at all. The positive effects of weightlifting are oversold about as much as the positive effects of, say, eating Paleo.

    There are lots of good reasons to include resistance training into an exercise program, but it's not a miracle solution to anything. While dieting, it can help minimize the loss of muscle mass in most (but not all) people. That can have a positive impact on the physique you end up with at the end of your weight loss journey, depending on what your goals are, and it can slow down the rate at which your BMR will drop as you lose weight, which may allow you to eat more than you might have otherwise.

    But it's not a magic bullet. Under a reasonable diet, 80-85% of muscle loss during dieting is determined by genetics anyway, resistance training is only helping in the margins. It's not an insignificant factor, but it's also not a dominant one, either.

    All that changes if you're going to devote many hours of intense effort a week to lifting, of course.
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