The Pond of Gold Analogy: Why Strength Training is Important

For many people, scale weight is the only metric of progress that matters. In this scheme, preservation of lean mass is often overlooked - which results in even more work and time done to get the desirable physique even when goal weight is reached. As a former personal trainer, many women came to me with the goal of "looking toned." To accomplish this "lean" appearance, one must understand that relative preservation of muscle mass is absolutely essential.

This simple graphic demonstrates the outcomes of two intervention strategies: (A) caloric deficit with strength training (with cardio being optional) vs (B) caloric deficit alone or with cardio.



Imagine you have a 10 ft deep pond whereby the upper half is filled with water and remaining 5 ft with gold. Your goal is to remove enough water so that the gold becomes visible from the surface. Translated into body composition terms: you are to reduce enough fat mass so the underlying muscle tissue becomes visible. .

In scenario (B,) more total volume (weight) was lost. However, because a significant amount of gold (muscle) volume was lost, its visibility from the surface (skin) hasn't been observed. In other words, the goal of a "toned" appearance was not accomplished.

In scenario (A), less total volume (weight) was lost. However, because a maximum amount of gold (muscle) volume was kept, its visibility from the surface (skin) has been observed. In other words, the goal of a "toned" appearance was accomplished.

Granted, there is a lot more to preservation of lean mass than simply engaging in strength training. For instance, assuming a reasonable and appropriate caloric deficit along with adequate protein intake is also a must. Even within the scope of strength training, training volume and intensity must be set in a progressive manner.

I won't go into detail regarding all of above, since there are multiple resources on the site, but I wanted to offer a graphic as to why strength training should be incorporated in every intervention when possible because a lot of people will reach their desirable goal weight but still feel dissatisfied with the results. The reason was that their issue all along was one of body composition rather than body weight.

And in other news the Titanic has sunk