Lifting in a deficit

donjtomasco
donjtomasco Posts: 789 Member
I had to post here that while I am still in a deficit to lose weight to my goal, I have been lifting 3-4 times a week and doing cardio 5-6 days a week. I continue to increase the weight that I am lifting. I am 54 years old if that matters, and somehow I think it does, since logically it seems like at some point we just get too old to get 'stronger' even though ALL workouts as we get older are always good for us. And I just don't believe the pics of the old geisers who are 60+ or 70+ and totally ripped in those adds for supplements.

So, now 6-7 weeks into my weight loss program, I am lifting weights where I was at my peak 5 years ago (I keep all my records and cards).

So, is it fair to say that I am "BUILDING MUSCLE" or am I simply "Getting stronger but not building any muscle"?

I am asking a serious question here since so many of you are the pro's. It is hard to wrap my head around the idea that I am not building muscle yet am gradually increasing the amount of weight that I am able to lift. It makes me wonder if I should 'take the red pill or the blue pill'.....


[post edited by MFP mod]
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Replies

  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    It's possible to gain strength without gaining muscle. Given your stats (not a newbie lifter, not a 20 something who seems to grow by simply looking at the weights) it's not very likely you're going to gain much, if any, muscle while eating in a deficit.
    The good news is you're getting stronger while cutting body fat, sounds like a success to me.
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    I'm not an expert on the science of weight lifting, but my grandpa and my friend's dad both got into lifting after retiring in their 60's and may not be as ripped as a twenty-something, but look damn good for men in their 70's. Not to mention that I'm sure they are both much more healthy, and alive, than the men their age that retired to the TV room. Any exercise you do is going to put you ahead of the pack in the decades to come.

    As someone who is in a long term deficit I focus more on the idea that I'm not losing as much muscle as someone who just diets. At some point we will both get to a point where we can eat more and build. But for now just be glad you are holding onto what you got and maybe you will get lucky and add some more.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 789 Member
    AWESOME comments. Thank you. I really appreciated your detailed explanation SideSteel! It made perfect sense to me hearing it that way!
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    I finally got "out of jail" so I will be playing very nice from now on. But I had to post here that while I am still in a deficit to lose weight to my goal, I have been lifting 3-4 times a week and doing cardio 5-6 days a week. I continue to increase the weight that I am lifting. I am 54 years old if that matters, and somehow I think it does, since logically it seems like at some point we just get too old to get 'stronger' even though ALL workouts as we get older are always good for us. And I just don't believe the pics of the old geisers who are 60+ or 70+ and totally ripped in those adds for supplements.

    So, now 6-7 weeks into my weight loss program, I am lifting weights where I was at my peak 5 years ago (I keep all my records and cards).

    So, is it fair to say that I am "BUILDING MUSCLE" or am I simply "Getting stronger but not building any muscle"?

    I am asking a serious question here since so many of you are the pro's. It is hard to wrap my head around the idea that I am not building muscle yet am gradually increasing the amount of weight that I am able to lift. It makes me wonder if I should 'take the red pill or the blue pill'.....

    If me, a 61 year old woman with no starting muscle mass, can get stronger, I'm sure that a 54 year old man is not "too old"!

    ^^^^ Another 61 year old woman here,though I'm not eating at a deficit
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 789 Member
    This is about adding muscle in a deficit, not getting stronger. I am clearly seeing strength gains and getting stronger or else I would not be lifting more weight then when I started. But I am glad you are getting stronger too lorrpb.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,454 Member
    edited February 2017
    I finally got "out of jail" so I will be playing very nice from now on. But I had to post here that while I am still in a deficit to lose weight to my goal, I have been lifting 3-4 times a week and doing cardio 5-6 days a week. I continue to increase the weight that I am lifting. I am 54 years old if that matters, and somehow I think it does, since logically it seems like at some point we just get too old to get 'stronger' even though ALL workouts as we get older are always good for us. And I just don't believe the pics of the old geisers who are 60+ or 70+ and totally ripped in those adds for supplements.

    So, now 6-7 weeks into my weight loss program, I am lifting weights where I was at my peak 5 years ago (I keep all my records and cards).

    So, is it fair to say that I am "BUILDING MUSCLE" or am I simply "Getting stronger but not building any muscle"?

    I am asking a serious question here since so many of you are the pro's. It is hard to wrap my head around the idea that I am not building muscle yet am gradually increasing the amount of weight that I am able to lift. It makes me wonder if I should 'take the red pill or the blue pill'.....
    In a deficit, possible but not likely. I'm 53 and have been lifting since I was 19. Unless I "enhance" my hormones, even with the perfect nutrition, rest, training, etc., it would be unlikely that I'd gain any more muscle even in surplus. While it's different from person to person, testosterone levels do reduce as you age. And it's needed for anabolic process for muscle building. Hence that's why many older males consider it (HRT) to sustain gains they've gotten for years. I haven't gone that route (yet?), but a client of mine has and in 6 weeks, he's looking pretty amazing for his age.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png



  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 789 Member
    I would enjoy knowing if he has suffered any of the minor or major side effects that I have read about HRT. I am not sure that many men would discuss this though. I will stick to the working out and accept natural aging until there are some pretty concrete studies that tell us more. This was very interesting though. Thank you.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,454 Member
    I would enjoy knowing if he has suffered any of the minor or major side effects that I have read about HRT. I am not sure that many men would discuss this though. I will stick to the working out and accept natural aging until there are some pretty concrete studies that tell us more. This was very interesting though. Thank you.
    His dosage is quite low, so so far he hasn't had any side effects he's read about. But his bench, squat, and OHP have all increased as well as muscle mass. He is in a slight surplus though. He's gained 10lbs, but looks like he gained 20lbs.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 789 Member
    Some of the side effects (my limited reading about it) seems to have some of the same side effects as taking steroids. Maybe they are similar. This is interesting to hear about your client though and that it seems to be working for him.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,454 Member
    Some of the side effects (my limited reading about it) seems to have some of the same side effects as taking steroids. Maybe they are similar. This is interesting to hear about your client though and that it seems to be working for him.
    Well it is testosterone. Most bad side effects happen with high dosages over a long period of time with continual use. He chose only low dose because he didn't want to get really big. He just wanted to add a little more muscle.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Some of the side effects (my limited reading about it) seems to have some of the same side effects as taking steroids. Maybe they are similar. This is interesting to hear about your client though and that it seems to be working for him.

    The side effects of testosterone especially at HRT levels are massively exaggerated............ apparently.


    If your natural levels are lacking then even an extremely low dose <100mg/week will boost your levels to higher than is naturally possible.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 789 Member
    I actually had my testosterone checked last year when I was consistently tired and I was fine. Pretty sure was just 'life' and the hip wearing me out pre surgery.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    I actually had my testosterone checked last year when I was consistently tired and I was fine. Pretty sure was just 'life' and the hip wearing me out pre surgery.

    Did you check any other vitamin/mineral deficiencies?
  • dvannetzel
    dvannetzel Posts: 6 Member
    And be aware side effects of HRT. But also effects of a low testosterone. I think too much of anything is bad. But in moderation could and should be ideal for you. Also, if you overdue cardio, it will be hard to add any chances of additional muscle mass. That's my 2 cents.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    SideSteel wrote: »
    I have two main points in response to your post:

    1) I don't think anyone can conclude with absolute certainty whether or not you are gaining muscle tissue. That being said, I DO think it's possible to build muscle in a deficit depending on the deficit size, the distance you are from your genetic limits, whether or not you previously were in fantastic shape (possibly due to satellite cells from previous training experiences), your training program, how well you partition nutrients (genetic), how well you respond to exercise (genetic), how lean you are during the diet, etc.

    And so it's incredibly complex which is why a simple yes or no answer isn't typically correct.

    (EDIT: A MAJOR portion of strength is rate coding which is basically a neurological process involving how efficiently you send signals to cause muscles to fire)

    2) It doesn't really matter for you or anyone else under most circumstances.

    Here's why I say this. Lifting weights will give you more muscle mass than you would have had were you to not lift weights. This is true regardless of whether or not you gain additional muscle mass over the course of a dieting phase.

    For example, if someone goes on a diet and loses 100lbs in a year without lifting weights, they might lose a mix of fat mass and fluids and other non fat tissues some of which would be skeletal muscle. They may end up with 20lbs less muscle than they started with.

    If that same person were to have dieted down 100lbs with a well designed lifting program, even if they didn't gain any muscle at all, they might fully maintain muscle mass which means a greater portion of their losses came from non muscle tissue. And so they could end up with 20lbs additional muscle mass compared to the previous scenario with no lifting.

    And so you still end up with more muscle at the end of the diet if you choose to lift weights.

    I know you probably know this already, but not everybody does which is why I'm typing it out this way.

    Lifting weights will give you more muscle than you would have had without lifting weights, and this is true regardless of what state of energy balance you are in (deficit/mainitenance/surplus).

    Well said.

    Also, to OP, I don't believe anyone is ever too old to get stronger. Maybe someone who's already peaked is too strong to get stronger but not too old.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 789 Member
    Why does overdoing cardio reduce the chance of gaining muscle dvann? Isn't cardio simply burning more calories? I eat back most of my added calories burned to get back to my MFP goal to lose x-amount a week. So, in theory if I cardio more (say treadmill or tennis), and burn more calories, but eat back those calories, how is this any different from burning fewer calories by piddling around the house, and not eating more, but my net caloric intake is the same?

    This just does not make logical sense to me, but I am seriously asking what you mean when you said this? Is there some science to actual additional cardio reducing adding muscle just due to the act of actually performing actual cardio?

    Did what I said even make sense? Either way, my "net" calories in are the same, at a pre-set deficit to lose fat to a level that I can then maintain, or maybe (hopefully) add some weight back in the form of muscle mass and not fat if I ever reach that point.
  • dvannetzel
    dvannetzel Posts: 6 Member
    You are burning muscle mass with the cardio and caloric reduction. You can do cardio, just in moderation. You may lean out, but you will not pack on muscle mass. You should look into the ketogenic diet, along with strength training, and lighter cardio. Cut your carbs out, and the weight and fat will come off. Look at your marathon runners. How do they look? Like twigs. You can do strength training which incorporates cardio at the same time with drop sets, supersets, and timed exercises.