BodyPump class for maintaining LBM
pancakehead
Posts: 14 Member
Hi! I'm new here
I've been reading a lot of comments about the importance of focusing on strength training over cardio to prevent loss of LBM during calorie restriction. It makes sense to me. However I do more cardio than I do strength--one BodyPump class a week and (usually) a 30-minute intense abs class. The rest is spinning twice a week, treadmill and brisk walking.
Is one Pump class a week enough to build muscle? Do I need to focus on more frequent, or heavier, lifting? Is this balance right?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
I've been reading a lot of comments about the importance of focusing on strength training over cardio to prevent loss of LBM during calorie restriction. It makes sense to me. However I do more cardio than I do strength--one BodyPump class a week and (usually) a 30-minute intense abs class. The rest is spinning twice a week, treadmill and brisk walking.
Is one Pump class a week enough to build muscle? Do I need to focus on more frequent, or heavier, lifting? Is this balance right?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
0
Replies
-
Other people are probably going to tell you that bodypump is not real weight lifting, it's just another form of cardio, but as a non- athlete who lifts at her maximum ability in bodypump class (which isn't a whole lot, but I have been gradually increasing my weights, so I've improved from where I started), I think it's been helpful to me.0
-
are you asking about building or maintaining?
1 workout a week isnt going to be enough to build muscle, especially if you're eating at a deficit
as to whether or not once a week is enough to maintain, i think that would depend on whether or not you are using a weight that's challenging to you AND you are progressively increasing that amount AND how many reps you are doing. after a certain point in reps you're not going to be using them for strength but using them for endurance and with your endurance, your body eventually learns the most efficient way to perform the action so that it doesnt have to use as many muscle fibers0 -
one pump class per week wont build any muscle (generally you need a calorie surplus for this) but it will help with maintaining LBM.
maybe look at swapping one of your other cardio sessions for some more strength/resistance training though.0 -
Thanks everyone. I am restricting calories so realistically not expecting to build muscle, just maintain LBM and build some strength.
I lift to the limit of my capacity during the class, though obviously you can only go so heavy considering how many reps you have to do for each muscle group. This is what makes me question to what extent you can build or maintain your muscle with Pump. It might be a good idea to replace one cardio session with a strength session but it'll be hard. I'm a bit of a cardio junkie!0 -
^ really i think it would depend on your fitness level when you start body pump.
if you've never dont anything like that then you might be able to build or maintain, but if you were working out like a powerlifter then you'd more than likely end up losing muscle and strength if body pump was all you were doing resistance wise0 -
^ really i think it would depend on your fitness level when you start body pump.
if you've never dont anything like that then you might be able to build or maintain, but if you were working out like a powerlifter then you'd more than likely end up losing muscle and strength if body pump was all you were doing resistance wise
I've never done any strength training outside of Pump, to be honest, so this isn't a huge concern for me. However if another lifting method is more effective I'd be interested to try it!0 -
I did bodypump for about 6 months 2 or 3x a week, and lost 3 lbs of muscle in that time, but I was also walking a lot and was losing 1.5 lb a week, so it's not really surprising. Then I figured out that just lifting heavy dumbbells for 20 minutes would be faster and give me the same results.
It's definitely better than nothing though.0 -
Body pump is mostly about muscular endurance. It will allow some limited benefits.
It's quite possible it will increase strength if you're otherwise 'untrained'.0 -
Other people are probably going to tell you that bodypump is not real weight lifting, it's just another form of cardio, but as a non- athlete who lifts at her maximum ability in bodypump class (which isn't a whole lot, but I have been gradually increasing my weights, so I've improved from where I started), I think it's been helpful to me.
But if you are doing 15+ reps/set it is not "strength training" and will not reap the same benefits as you would lifting in the 3-12 rep range.0 -
It's hard to tell exactly, it will depend on your deficit, your protein intake and if you are hypertrophying your muscles enough. The best thing you can is monitor body composition (even with calipers) to get a rough estimate.
As already mentioned, you will see much more improvements in endurance as compared to pure strength gains.0 -
^ really i think it would depend on your fitness level when you start body pump.
if you've never dont anything like that then you might be able to build or maintain, but if you were working out like a powerlifter then you'd more than likely end up losing muscle and strength if body pump was all you were doing resistance wise
I've never done any strength training outside of Pump, to be honest, so this isn't a huge concern for me. However if another lifting method is more effective I'd be interested to try it!
Stronglifts 5x5, starting strength, new rules of lifting, will all be superior for increased strength and lean muscle retention while in a deficit.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 415 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions