Lose Weight First or Build Muscle?
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I do both with the more emphasis on cardio.0
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I would suggest doing something more strength focused than 30DS, which is more like cardio with weights. take a look at strong curves, starting strength, or new rules of lifting.
It is best to start strength training when you start losing weight, you will retain more muscle, get stronger, and be a lower BF% at your goal weight.
When is the best time to start strength training, the right answer is yesterday! I would argue that in a deficit strength training is more important than cardio. Cardio is good as it allows you to eat more and lose the same as you can do with diet alone (helps some people stick to it since they get to eat more)0 -
I would not focus on weight so much. Instead focus on reducing percentage of body fat. If you gain muscle, your percentage body fat will be reduced (assuming your diet does not change). You will gain weight. If you maintain your lean mass and lose body fat - your will lose weight. A big advantage to gaining muscle is that your BMR (your metabolic rate at rest) will go up. That means you will be burning more calories 24X7. Your strength will increase and you will feel great. You can get a rough estimate using a tool like this; http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat
or a more direct measure with calipers, or InBody, BodPod or DEXA. Here is another article: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/your-body-fat-percentage-how-its-measured-and-why-its-useful.html
David0 -
You can absolutely do both, especially if you are new to this. Take a look at Mike Matthews program. He has a book for women called thinner, leaner stronger. It's a mix of common sense diet with heavy lifting. You at the very least preserve the muscle you have. I have lost 50 pounds of fat and added 10 pounds of muscle on the program. My fiancé and I are both on it and it's been amazing. Nothing magical, just getting your macros right, counting calories, and a good lifting program.0
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I would not focus on weight so much. Instead focus on reducing percentage of body fat. If you gain muscle, your percentage body fat will be reduced (assuming your diet does not change). You will gain weight. If you maintain your lean mass and lose body fat - your will lose weight. A big advantage to gaining muscle is that your BMR (your metabolic rate at rest) will go up. That means you will be burning more calories 24X7. Your strength will increase and you will feel great. You can get a rough estimate using a tool like this; http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat
or a more direct measure with calipers, or InBody, BodPod or DEXA. Here is another article: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/your-body-fat-percentage-how-its-measured-and-why-its-useful.html
David
This is conflicting. You tell her not to focus on weight- but then list the advantages to lifting.
Also she will most likely NOT gain weight from adding new / bigger muscle while in a deficit. A calorie surplus is required for building muscle.
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I would suggest doing something more strength focused than 30DS, which is more like cardio with weights. take a look at strong curves, starting strength, or new rules of lifting.
+1
I found this convo to be super helpful and inspirational:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky
Last February I started Stronglifts and gave up most cardio. I ate at a small deficit. I lost 25 pounds, and at 175 I was wearing clothes that hadn't fit since I was 165. I'm so glad I didn't wait to start lifting.
Before lifting, I was a fitness infomercial junkie. I have them all: 30DS, turbo jam, turbo fire, Billy banks, insanity, T25, and on and on.... nothing has changed my body like heavy lifting, and with less time in the gym. I'm currently 8 months pregnant and gave up lifting for various reasons. I CANNOT wait till I clear my 6 week post-partum appointment to get back to the heavy weights.0 -
I would suggest doing something more strength focused than 30DS, which is more like cardio with weights. take a look at strong curves, starting strength, or new rules of lifting.
It is best to start strength training when you start losing weight, you will retain more muscle, get stronger, and be a lower BF% at your goal weight.
When is the best time to start strength training, the right answer is yesterday! I would argue that in a deficit strength training is more important than cardio. Cardio is good as it allows you to eat more and lose the same as you can do with diet alone (helps some people stick to it since they get to eat more)
I'm 100% on board with all of this.
I lost my weight doing only heavy lifting, little to zero cardio. The strength and physique results were incredible.
Lift heavy! I don't know what all this piyo 30double d business is.0 -
arditarose wrote: »I would suggest doing something more strength focused than 30DS, which is more like cardio with weights. take a look at strong curves, starting strength, or new rules of lifting.
It is best to start strength training when you start losing weight, you will retain more muscle, get stronger, and be a lower BF% at your goal weight.
When is the best time to start strength training, the right answer is yesterday! I would argue that in a deficit strength training is more important than cardio. Cardio is good as it allows you to eat more and lose the same as you can do with diet alone (helps some people stick to it since they get to eat more)
I'm 100% on board with all of this.
I lost my weight doing only heavy lifting, little to zero cardio. The strength and physique results were incredible.
Lift heavy! I don't know what all this piyo 30double d business is.
30DS = Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Can be very hard on knees: http://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred/product-reviews/B00127RAJY/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&showViewpoints=00 -
kshama2001 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »I would suggest doing something more strength focused than 30DS, which is more like cardio with weights. take a look at strong curves, starting strength, or new rules of lifting.
It is best to start strength training when you start losing weight, you will retain more muscle, get stronger, and be a lower BF% at your goal weight.
When is the best time to start strength training, the right answer is yesterday! I would argue that in a deficit strength training is more important than cardio. Cardio is good as it allows you to eat more and lose the same as you can do with diet alone (helps some people stick to it since they get to eat more)
I'm 100% on board with all of this.
I lost my weight doing only heavy lifting, little to zero cardio. The strength and physique results were incredible.
Lift heavy! I don't know what all this piyo 30double d business is.
30DS = Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Can be very hard on knees: http://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred/product-reviews/B00127RAJY/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&showViewpoints=0
Oh that stuff. No.0 -
MommyMeggo wrote: »I would not focus on weight so much. Instead focus on reducing percentage of body fat. If you gain muscle, your percentage body fat will be reduced (assuming your diet does not change). You will gain weight. If you maintain your lean mass and lose body fat - your will lose weight. A big advantage to gaining muscle is that your BMR (your metabolic rate at rest) will go up. That means you will be burning more calories 24X7. Your strength will increase and you will feel great. You can get a rough estimate using a tool like this; http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat
or a more direct measure with calipers, or InBody, BodPod or DEXA. Here is another article: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/your-body-fat-percentage-how-its-measured-and-why-its-useful.html
David
This is conflicting. You tell her not to focus on weight- but then list the advantages to lifting.
Also she will most likely NOT gain weight from adding new / bigger muscle while in a deficit. A calorie surplus is required for building muscle.
He said don't focus on weight (as in stepping on the scale and looking at your weight), not don't focus on weights, you read into that.0 -
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I've done 30DS 2x...it is not a muscle building workout.
If you want to build muscle (unless obese, new to lifting or a teenage boy) you need to eat in a caloric surplus and do a progressive load lifting program...
Yes you can recomp but people typically choose that after they have lost the weight and been heavy lifting for a while...
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MommyMeggo wrote: »I would not focus on weight so much. Instead focus on reducing percentage of body fat. If you gain muscle, your percentage body fat will be reduced (assuming your diet does not change). You will gain weight. If you maintain your lean mass and lose body fat - your will lose weight. A big advantage to gaining muscle is that your BMR (your metabolic rate at rest) will go up. That means you will be burning more calories 24X7. Your strength will increase and you will feel great. You can get a rough estimate using a tool like this; http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat
or a more direct measure with calipers, or InBody, BodPod or DEXA. Here is another article: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/your-body-fat-percentage-how-its-measured-and-why-its-useful.html
David
This is conflicting. You tell her not to focus on weight- but then list the advantages to lifting.
Also she will most likely NOT gain weight from adding new / bigger muscle while in a deficit. A calorie surplus is required for building muscle.
It is not conflicting if you read what I said. I said it is better to focus on reducing percentage of body fat. I also said there were advantages to gaining muscle. As an example of why you should not focus on weight was the fact that if you gain muscle - you would gain weight - but the percent body fat would be reduced. ( A good thing ) It was to explain why the focus should not be on absolute weight. Hope that clarifies my statements.
David0 -
You will gain more muscle, AND lose more fat, by building muscle FIRST.
Muscle-building exercises are powered by sugar, but muscles use fat as their 'off-duty' fuel. Stronger muscles burn more fat, all the time when you're not in the gym.
By gaining strength and power before you lose weight, you will also find out that you don't have as much bodyfat as you think. Untrained muscle (especially waist muscles) can feel just like bodyfat. When you start training, muscles that you thought were fat will gain tone and start to shape up.
Losing weight first means getting rid of some of this hidden muscle mass, which makes it harder to lose bodyfat.0 -
Opinions please...
I've been on my weight loss journey for a few weeks now. I've been counting calories, weighing my food, walking 2.5 miles pretty much daily, and working out with PiYo. I've seen good results in just a few weeks.
I was thinking about adding in some more interval/weight training. A few years ago, I completed the 30 Day Shred with awesome success. I lost inches, but not weight.
I'm heavier now than when I started 30DS last time. I guess my question is...should I focus on losing the fat/weight first or is it a good idea to try to add muscle in there at the same time?
I'm one of those people who puts TOO much focus on the number on the scale (and I'm fully aware). I'm thinking about having my husband hide it from me and only bringing it out on weigh in days. lol
Thanks for any advice!
Just looked at your pictures. Make friends with the barbell girl. Don't waste anymore time! Go for it.0 -
Opinions please...
I've been on my weight loss journey for a few weeks now. I've been counting calories, weighing my food, walking 2.5 miles pretty much daily, and working out with PiYo. I've seen good results in just a few weeks.
I was thinking about adding in some more interval/weight training. A few years ago, I completed the 30 Day Shred with awesome success. I lost inches, but not weight.
I'm heavier now than when I started 30DS last time. I guess my question is...should I focus on losing the fat/weight first or is it a good idea to try to add muscle in there at the same time?
I'm one of those people who puts TOO much focus on the number on the scale (and I'm fully aware). I'm thinking about having my husband hide it from me and only bringing it out on weigh in days. lol
Thanks for any advice!
Lose weight first nooo heavy lifting only cardio workouts maybe a few easy 15×3 any excercise you do do 3 sets 15 times rest every set you don't want your fat to become muscle
Gah. I wish so badly that fat really did turn into muscle.0 -
Add weight lifting! You will build muscle, boost metabolism and more muscle means burning more calories. Cardio is good for burning fat, boosting endurance and cardio health, but building muscle will help with bone strength, boost metabolism and reshape and build, as you gain muscle and burn fat, you will have a better chance of not having loose skin. There is a huge group on here of people who lift only, some started quite heavy and have had miraculous results! Just add some cardio, or even walking moderately. I think the benefits of weight lifting shouldn't be something that waits. Lean muscle is what you need! And studies back this up for losing weight vs just cardio!0
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burtisfamily7 wrote: »Add weight lifting! You will build muscle, boost metabolism and more muscle means burning more calories. Cardio is good for burning fat, boosting endurance and cardio health, but building muscle will help with bone strength, boost metabolism and reshape and build, as you gain muscle and burn fat, you will have a better chance of not having loose skin. There is a huge group on here of people who lift only, some started quite heavy and have had miraculous results! Just add some cardio, or even walking moderately. I think the benefits of weight lifting shouldn't be something that waits. Lean muscle is what you need! And studies back this up for losing weight vs just cardio!
the bolded part is not a guarantee...
I have been lifting since Sept 2013 and I have yet to build any appreciable muscle and I lift heavy and get in my protein.
Why? because I am in a deficit a lot. not always so I may have gained a pound or 2 over the last couple of years but not a lot.0 -
Opinions please...
I've been on my weight loss journey for a few weeks now. I've been counting calories, weighing my food, walking 2.5 miles pretty much daily, and working out with PiYo. I've seen good results in just a few weeks.
I was thinking about adding in some more interval/weight training. A few years ago, I completed the 30 Day Shred with awesome success. I lost inches, but not weight.
I'm heavier now than when I started 30DS last time. I guess my question is...should I focus on losing the fat/weight first or is it a good idea to try to add muscle in there at the same time?
I'm one of those people who puts TOO much focus on the number on the scale (and I'm fully aware). I'm thinking about having my husband hide it from me and only bringing it out on weigh in days. lol
Thanks for any advice!
Lose weight first nooo heavy lifting only cardio workouts maybe a few easy 15×3 any excercise you do do 3 sets 15 times rest every set you don't want your fat to become muscle
Even if it were possible, why wouldn't the OP want a little more muscle? OP, please don't listen to the above.
Lose now, build later really isn't a prescribed approach. When we lose weight we lose water, fat, and muscle. To combat that muscle loss we keep our protein intake up and perform a progressive overload program of some sort. By doing so we combat that muscle loss so we lose mainly water and fat. What that will do is help lower your BF% in a more effective way, stripping the fat away from the muscle you've been retaining giving you better muscle definition (tone). That's really what you want, right? A more efficient way of lowering your BF%.
I'm not saying don't do cardio. I do a lot of it myself, but lifting in some sort of overload capacity is also important. Sure, your weight might not drop as fast as you want, but your BF% will most likely drop faster.0 -
MommyMeggo wrote: »I would not focus on weight so much. Instead focus on reducing percentage of body fat. If you gain muscle, your percentage body fat will be reduced (assuming your diet does not change). You will gain weight. If you maintain your lean mass and lose body fat - your will lose weight. A big advantage to gaining muscle is that your BMR (your metabolic rate at rest) will go up. That means you will be burning more calories 24X7. Your strength will increase and you will feel great. You can get a rough estimate using a tool like this; http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat
or a more direct measure with calipers, or InBody, BodPod or DEXA. Here is another article: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/your-body-fat-percentage-how-its-measured-and-why-its-useful.html
David
This is conflicting. You tell her not to focus on weight- but then list the advantages to lifting.
Also she will most likely NOT gain weight from adding new / bigger muscle while in a deficit. A calorie surplus is required for building muscle.
It is not conflicting if you read what I said. I said it is better to focus on reducing percentage of body fat. I also said there were advantages to gaining muscle. As an example of why you should not focus on weight was the fact that if you gain muscle - you would gain weight - but the percent body fat would be reduced. ( A good thing ) It was to explain why the focus should not be on absolute weight. Hope that clarifies my statements.
David
Yes, my brain was not braining.
I guess when my sleep goes out the window as does my reading comprehension and thinking abilities. LOL.0
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