Why the heavy lifting and lots of protein?

My sister eats very little protein, under 100 grams, if not under 80 grams, she's the same height as me and she about 108.

She has a VERY toned body, visible abs, she just has a great body (i'm real proud of her to be honest, she lost a lot of weight)

good genetics and a low body fat %


ETA: quote

Because the results speak for themselves:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/977538-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky?hl=heavy+lifting+made+me+supah+bulky

Your sister just has low body fat. And yoga is strength training when it is advanced, so to suggest that she doesn't "lift heavy" might be an oversight on your part.

Everyone's body is different, and since we are not in someone's skin all the time, we don't know what "exercise" they get outside of the gym. Yoga itself if practiced well will help with muscle retention.

The reason most of us here are fans of lifting and protein is:
1)lifting makes sure the muscles are used. The body will not "eat" tissue that it needs, so the muscles you are actively using are moreless protected from being used for energy. If she uses her muscles heavily in yoga, this could be the reason she retained them
2)high protein again to help with protecting muscle. If your body has enough dietary protein, not only it can more efficiently repair muscle after workouts, it also has protein available as immediate fuel. The amount of protein one needs is dependable on their lean mass. So if your sister weighs around 125lbs, 100g of protein would be appropriate and it's still more than the FDA recommendation (which is too low)

Simply said, if you are exercising your muscles and giving your body signals "you will need this muscle tomorrow", you have a better chance of not losing them and you'll be left with a toned body after you shed the fat.

@stefaniemazz - The amount of protein you consume is different for everyone. The amount is equal to the amount of lean body mass you carry. Your sister is doing yoga 4x a week that is great and I would consider that an active/athletic lifestyle. That said, to maintain her toned body she should be consuming about 1g of lean protein per 1kg of lean body mass. To calculate lean body mass you simply take your total body mass (for ex. 100 lbs.) and multiply that by your percentage of body fat. So if she is 10% body fat than she has 90 lbs of lean body mass. 1 pound is equal to 0.45 kg. so 90 lbs is equal to about 40 kg of lean body mass. That is about the amount of protein she should be consuming daily = 40 g. Does that make sense. If you are trying to lose weight than eating this ratio of protein to body mass is great.
Hope that helps!

Heavy lifting causes microtears in your muscles and once they heal themselves, then your muscles will become stronger and depending on your calorie intake will grow. The protein intake provides the amino acids your body needs for muscle synthesis. Heavy lifting without enough protein intake will not grow your muscles, and plenty of protein intake without heavy lifting will not grow your muscles. Some people naturally hold more muscle on their body due to genetics, and that coupled with a low body fat percentage is the reason your sister looks toned. At her weight, the maximum protein intake that her body can use for muscle synthesis is 88g per day, so any intake above that will just be used for energy, so she's probably getting enough protein already considering most of the population consumes 50g or less per day in protein.

My sister same story(she is shorter) except she does lift heavy for her through resistence training.

She is about 125lb 5 ft 4 and has about 18-19% BF....
I am 5ft 7 162lb and appx 25% BF...but I can do chinups, squat my bodyweight, Bench Press 110lbs, and Deadlift 117% off my body weight.

She can't. That is why the heavy lifting for me and lost of protien.

This is a legit question, and I am not trying to be annoying or anything before people on here attack me.

But a lot of people on here say that in order to get a "toned" body you MUST lift heavy and eat a lot of protein.

My sister eats very little protein, under 100 grams, if not under 80 grams, she's the same height as me and she about 108.

She has a VERY toned body, visible abs, she just has a great body (i'm real proud of her to be honest, she lost a lot of weight)

How is that she has a "toned" body and she doesn't lift heavy at all, she does the treadmill and does yoga about 4 days a week and eats barely any protein.

This is a serious question. I'm honestly curious.

To build muscle you don't necessarily need to lift heavy, it helps... but not needed. Muscle is built off of muscle time under tension and deep contractions. Protein aids in recovery and helps further strengthen those muscle when they are repaired from trauma or tension / resistance.

I don't believe in the "genetics" excuse some people use. I come from a larger body size family (Italians) and all we do is eat but I'm the only one with abs. Your sister sounds like she just has a low bodyfat % from constantly being in a caloric deficit. REAL muscle ab examples are guys like Phil Heath, Jay Cutler, Arnold.... not because your so skinny your abs show.

The resistance training and protein recommendations are generally to retain LBM while losing weight. Retain strength and figure while losing body fat.

I like lifting heavy things, and i like meat.

Sounds like your sister is eating around 1g protein/lb LBM and doing bodyweight strength training.

This^^^

You don't necessarily have to lift "heavy" or weight train...a lot of people do nothing but body weight work and do just fine and can yield a very athletic look. I would personally consider yoga, particularly certain forms of yoga to be very good body weight strength work. For me, weight training is just a more efficient way of getting those results...I enjoy restorative yoga for recovery.

But a lot of people on here say that in order to get a "toned" body you MUST lift heavy and eat a lot of protein.

A lot of people on here also say that cayenne pepper 'ramps up' the metabolism and that a coffee enema is good for you and that Dr Oz knows anything about weight loss. A lot of people say a lot of things.

I wouldn't say "in order to get a "toned" body you MUST lift heavy and eat a lot of protein."

You need to eat sufficient protein. You also need to eat sufficient fats and carbohydrates. It's also advisable to meet your micronutrient targets.
Resistance training cultivates muscles. It increases their density, their resting resistance to stretch (i.e. tone), and the overall proportion of lean body mass to fat.
Cutlivating muscle tissue will increase your resting metabolic rate which will increase the amount of calories you burn at rest. This will make the task of burning fat less intensive.
A 'toned' look is only attainable through reduction in body fat. At low body fat, if you have little muscle, you will look more wirey/sinewy/lean than if you have more muscle.
However, physiologically we all have the same muscle groups located in the same places. It is human anatomy. The various ratios of fat to muscle, muscle to height and build, fat to height and build, etc - - these are all variable.


So I will not undertake a defense of an assertion with which I disagree - and I think that when folks here are trying to answer you, they're trying to provide simplified explanations in response to a question which I'm not even sure you're asking.


All my lovin',
-DC

for me, it's because the aesthetic result i want comes from lifting.
in addition to that, i really enjoy it. before i lifted and was doing only cardio, i dreaded my workout.
now i look forward to it. every. damn. day.

Yoga actually is a form of strength training.

A key thing about your sister: has she ever been a higher weight than she is now? *Edit to respond to your edit* Ah, so she lost weight. Still sounds like she's following the "recommendations" for not losing LBM. Higher protein relative to her. Some form of strength training.

The key is to keep protein up and do some form of strength training is when losing weight. While eating at a deficit, some amount of LBM is going to go with the fat. As a result, too much LBM gone with the fat can result in a body that isn't as "toned" as someone hoped for. With high protein and heavy lifting, less LBM is lost during weight loss. Add in a very small deficit, you're even better.

Also, 80~100g of protein is still a pretty decent amount, especially for an individual weighing 108 lbs. High protein is relative to LBM.

^This. Also, "lifting heavy" in regards to using barbells or dumbbells is a form of resistance/strength training and is usually recommended because you get the most bang for your buck.

But it's not the only form of resistance/strength training out there. Swimming, sprinting, bodyweight/calisthenics training (w/variations replacing the basics to continue to offer resistance), certain advanced/certain types of yoga, TRX Suspension, Sandbags, etc are also forms of resistance/strength training.

I guess I didn't realize yoga could have the same effect as "heavy lifting" and I also didn't realize 80 grams of protein is actually enough for her size.

I see a lot of people on here in really great shape, eating like 150 grams of protein and I'm like "woahh"

Thanks for the answers again.

She has low body fat and a relatively low amount of muscle. Mediocre training and protein intake is enough to sustain that.

If you want to actually be stronger and have muscles bigger than an average sorority girl, you need to have high quality training and even more protein intake.