Weight lifting experts of MFP, I could use your help!

PixelTreason
PixelTreason Posts: 226 Member
edited October 5 in Fitness and Exercise
To start: I'm 35, female and I've lost 40+ pounds in the last 6 months.

My starting weight was 167 and as of this morning, I am at 123.

My exercise routine is the following:

Sunday: No exercise, rest day.
Monday: 30 Day Shred in the AM - 30 minutes of elliptical in the PM (burning 300 calories at an average pace of 6.7mph with sprints up to 7.8 mph)
Tuesday: 30DS in AM - 30 minutes elliptical PM
Wednesday: 30DS in AM - 30 minutes elliptical PM
Thursday: 30DS in AM - 30 minutes elliptical PM
Friday: 30DS in AM - another 30DS in the PM
Saturday: 30DS and 30 minutes of elliptical both in the AM
("cheat" eating day)

My food diary is open if you care to see my regular meals.
I have it set to 1450 calories and usually don't hit my goals (what, with all the exercise and such)


I really want to start weight training and cutting the elliptical back to 3 days a week.
I'm not sure where to start! I'd like to join a gym after the holidays.


I KNOW I have to eat more to gain muscle but... I'm afraid.
I lost so much weight and I am TERRIFIED of putting fat back on. I understand the scale numbers will go up and I suppose I can handle that but I am afraid it will be fat instead of muscle I put on if I eat more.


I'm not sure how many calories I should be taking in to gain muscle or what type of workout I should be doing.
I've googled and I have some starting places, I guess, but it's all so confusing!
This one is about nutrition for men, but I think is a start, at least: http://mensworkoutguide.com/supportive_eating.html
And here is a workout for women I found: http://www.bodybuilding.com/guides/female-20to39-fat-loss/training

Look good? Any advice for me?


Edit: Typo Queen

Replies

  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    If you want to put on muscle, you need to eat in a calorie surplus. And yes you will gain some fat along with the muscle. Fat loss is a much easier process then gaining muscle. 500 calories over maintenance is a good place to start

    I would pick up The New Rules of Lifting :] Great read
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    Firstly, awesome job on what you have acheived so far!

    Putting on some muscle needn't be scary, though I do understand your concern and it seems to be a very common one! A good place to start (IMO) would be to keep you calories at a slight defecit, or at maintenance level. Just pay attention to your macros and make sure you are getting plenty of protein to support that muscle development!

    People here could give you a heap of exercises to help in your quest, but if you haven't worked out before I'd suggest going to a gym and investing in a couple of sessions with a personal trainer to see what will work for you. Dont worry about lifting small weights, focus on developing a rock solid technique for your exercises in the beginning. A lot of people recommend the New Rules of Lifting for Women too, I can't vouch for that personally but I'm told it's a very good beginners guide.

    Lastly, I'm sure if you are even a fraction as good at exercising and lifting as you are at chopping.... you'll be buff in no time at all!! :wink:
  • PixelTreason
    PixelTreason Posts: 226 Member
    Firstly, awesome job on what you have acheived so far!

    Putting on some muscle needn't be scary, though I do understand your concern and it seems to be a very common one! A good place to start (IMO) would be to keep you calories at a slight defecit, or at maintenance level. Just pay attention to your macros and make sure you are getting plenty of protein to support that muscle development!

    People here could give you a heap of exercises to help in your quest, but if you haven't worked out before I'd suggest going to a gym and investing in a couple of sessions with a personal trainer to see what will work for you. Dont worry about lifting small weights, focus on developing a rock solid technique for your exercises in the beginning. A lot of people recommend the New Rules of Lifting for Women too, I can't vouch for that personally but I'm told it's a very good beginners guide.

    Lastly, I'm sure if you are even a fraction as good at exercising and lifting as you are at chopping.... you'll be buff in no time at all!! :wink:

    :D

    Hi! Good to see you!

    I've been VERY lax on the chopping, lately. Sooo bad.
    But I mean to start again soon and I'll be at Worth when I do!

    And thanks a lot for the advice (everyone!)
  • PixelTreason
    PixelTreason Posts: 226 Member
    *bump* for more opinions!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    http://jcdfitness.com/2009/10/the-former-fat-boy-syndrome/
  • PixelTreason
    PixelTreason Posts: 226 Member
    http://jcdfitness.com/2009/10/the-former-fat-boy-syndrome/

    Oh, this is it exactly! Thank you. I thought it was just me and I was crazy.

    I love you, now. :P You've made me feel normal. Whatever that is. :)



    EDIT: Forgot to add in the first post, I'm 5'9" if that matters.
  • hlynn1986
    hlynn1986 Posts: 8 Member
    Have you looked at the r/fitness FAQ (http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/Fitness)? Some great information in there. I would also do a search for gaining muscle while losing fat on the fitness subreddit since there have been a lot of people asking the same question. The basics I got is that losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time is pretty difficult, because one requires a calorie deficit and the other requires a surplus. There are programs like leangains (intermittent fasting) that are designed to help especially with people trying to accomplish this. I've seen some AWESOME before and afters. It is possible to drop body fat and gain muscle mass. From what I've read you will want to eat at a slight calorie surplus, keep your diet extremely clean, and make sure you are getting enough protein to retain muscle.

    I would suggest picking up the book Starting Strength and then get familiar with compound lifts (squat, deadlift, overhead press, bench press, rows, dips), then do the strong lifts or starting strength routine. If you find using barbells right now too intimidating you can start with dumbbells (because even though I've read the book I'm really nervous about going in the guys section at the gym and squatting a barbell). Once I gain some strength I will progress into that but the main thing is to stay away from machines. They restrict movement, do some of the lifting for you and cause you to not use all those stabilizer muscles. I used to lift heavy while doing weight machines but when I switched to dumbbells I started getting sore in places like never before. That is definitely the way to go.
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