Weight Lifting = Gain Weight?

jones137 · June 2012

First, a little about myself. I'm 6'3", 215lbs (Down from 231) with a goal weight of 195. I've been averaging around 1600 calories a day and am at a 40/30/30 ratio. In the last week I've slowly added walking/jogging and I'm already starting to feel better. I'm ready to hit the gym and starting some strength training but I'm not sure if I should hold off until I get a little leaner.......am I wrong in this thinking? If so, what strength training exercises would you recommend to lean and tone......I don't want to bulk, I'm already a pretty big guy. I'm looking for the swimmer type body.

NocturnalGirl · June 2012

Definitely start now, you'll see better results in the mirror. And you won't look bulky like you think you'll look at a calorie deficit. Just lift and lift heavy. Good luck

tigerdactyl · June 2012

You won't gain any weight from strength training unless you up your calories, but you also won't gain as much strength from it. Lifting while eating at a caloric deficit will keep your current muscles intact though, instead of breaking them down along with fat. So it's a good idea, and when you get down to your goal weight you can start eating a bit more if you want to pack on some muscle.

dlwyatt82 · June 2012

Your weight will definitely go up a little bit, but it's mainly because your body retains more water after strength training to repair muscle tissue. It's one of those times that the number on the scale doesn't matter so much; it can't tell you how much of that weight comes from fat versus everything else.

While it's true that you won't gain much lean muscle tissue from lifting while on a calorie deficit, you absolutely will get stronger. Strength isn't just about muscles; bone density, connective tissue strength and the central nervous system all come in to play, and they all improve as you gradually increase the weight you're lifting.

I wouldn't sweat the "goal weight" number now that you're so close to it. Now's when you can start relying purely on measurements and how you look in the mirror; when you've lost enough fat to get the physique you want, you'll know it.

kalynn06 · June 2012

You won't gain any weight from strength training unless you up your calories, but you also won't gain as much strength from it. Lifting while eating at a caloric deficit will keep your current muscles intact though, instead of breaking them down along with fat. So it's a good idea, and when you get down to your goal weight you can start eating a bit more if you want to pack on some muscle.

This.

As a side point, I'm a 5'5 female who weighed 129 lbs this morning. I have also been eating an average of about 1600 calories per day and lifting weights and I've been shedding weight faster than predicted even though I stopped doing any intense cardio. Your food intake is what mainly determines if you lose or gain weight. Exercise can let you eat more and still lose weight and can help with your body composition and retention of more lean mass (strength training).

jones137 · June 2012

Great info.....I had a feeling my logic was wrong just needed it confirmed.

So heavy lifting is the best for toning/leaning? Or lighter weights and more reps/sets?

DixiedoesMFP · June 2012

Heavy lifting now, rather than later, will give you a better end result. Though the scale may not move much, your size should decrease quite a bit. I'm down two pants sizes (almost three) with losing only ten pounds because my waist is much trimmer and everything is tightening up. As already "being a pretty big boy" you probably already have some fairly nice muscles underneath your fat....you want to keep them

.

As a side note, how did you arrive at a goal of 1600 calories per day?

PrezBigGirl · June 2012

Yoga and pilates and swimming create long lean muscle instead of bulky ones. Therefore, you shoud try to incorporate these excercises into your routine. They are also good to purge toxins from your body.

bigd65 · June 2012

I was in the same boat as you, I am only 6 ft tall though. Start weight 230 end weight was going to be 195 but went down to 190. Start lifting now to help keep your lean body mass and go heavy, it takes a long time to get big and you would have to eat more. I always try to lift as heavy as I can, to keep the muscles challenged. Lift like an animal you will thank yourself later

DavPul · June 2012

Start now. People WAAAAY underestimate how difficult it is to "bulk up". If you're not eating a ton of calories, the mere touching of weights doesn't instantly balloon anyone to Lou Ferrigno status. I'm working out with a guy right now where we are pushing every plate in the gym and damn near force feeding him and still are lucky if he gains a pound a month in muscle mass. What I'm saying doesn't sneak up on you. Nobody wakes up surprised one morning at how massive their pecs got overnight.

Also, I find that lifting heavy actually helps me lose weight. It seems to put my body into a state where a large portion of the calories I eat are used primarily to repair the muscles that the lifting breaks down. When I'm lifting, I tend to not have the bodyweight fluctuations that I would normally have after a day or two (or week) of bad eating.

jones137 · June 2012

Heavy lifting now, rather than later, will give you a better end result. Though the scale may not move much, your size should decrease quite a bit. I'm down two pants sizes (almost three) with losing only ten pounds because my waist is much trimmer and everything is tightening up. As already "being a pretty big boy" you probably already have some fairly nice muscles underneath your fat....you want to keep them .

As a side note, how did you arrive at a goal of 1600 calories per day?

My BMR is 2008 and with my activity level I'm burning in the 2400-2700 calorie range. My goal was to have a 1000 cal a day deficit which causes about a 2 lb a week weight loss.

Do you think I'm going too low? I've been averaging about 2 lbs a week which means my numbers are pretty close.

Roadie2000 · June 2012

I agree with all of this. I just cut out most of my cardio and started lifting seriously again just a couple weeks ago, and I'm already amazed by how much stronger I've become. I haven't lost "weight" because I'm not in much of a calorie deficit, but I think I look better than I did when I was 10 lbs thinner.

Find a good program to go by. Stronglifts 5x5 is a pretty good one.

erickirb · June 2012

Heavy lifting now, rather than later, will give you a better end result. Though the scale may not move much, your size should decrease quite a bit. I'm down two pants sizes (almost three) with losing only ten pounds because my waist is much trimmer and everything is tightening up. As already "being a pretty big boy" you probably already have some fairly nice muscles underneath your fat....you want to keep them .

As a side note, how did you arrive at a goal of 1600 calories per day?

My BMR is 2008 and with my activity level I'm burning in the 2400-2700 calorie range. My goal was to have a 1000 cal a day deficit which causes about a 2 lb a week weight loss.

Do you think I'm going too low? I've been averaging about 2 lbs a week which means my numbers are pretty close.

that is too large of a deficit with the amount you have to lose. since you don't have a ton of fat stores with a deficit like that a lot of your loss will be lean muscle mass. I would suggest changing your goal to lose 1 lb/week and when you get to the last 10-15 lbs, change that to 0.5lbs/week.

You may gain some initial weight due to the muscles retaining water to protect them and aid in recovery, but when you get use to the workouts your muscles will shed most of said water.

savageman69 · June 2012

Long as you keep your protein levels up to 1gram per pound of lean body weight you have you wont loose any muscle working out...if you keep your protein up and above that you will gain muscle but you wont notice it on the scale because you will be buring fat as well....Like was stated building muscle is a long process naturally and they say the average person is lucky to build 5lbs of muscle in one year so keep that in mind

DixiedoesMFP · June 2012

Heavy lifting now, rather than later, will give you a better end result. Though the scale may not move much, your size should decrease quite a bit. I'm down two pants sizes (almost three) with losing only ten pounds because my waist is much trimmer and everything is tightening up. As already "being a pretty big boy" you probably already have some fairly nice muscles underneath your fat....you want to keep them .

As a side note, how did you arrive at a goal of 1600 calories per day?

My BMR is 2008 and with my activity level I'm burning in the 2400-2700 calorie range. My goal was to have a 1000 cal a day deficit which causes about a 2 lb a week weight loss.

Do you think I'm going too low? I've been averaging about 2 lbs a week which means my numbers are pretty close.

I'm by no means an expert, but a 1,000 calorie deficit is huge and will probably result in you losing said muscle mass along with fat. If you want to preserve the muscle that you have now for a fit, cut look, I would probably aim for a smaller daily deficit (TDEE - 15% or so) and eat lots of protein, lift heavy. Remember, it's not a race....you want to be able to do this for the rest of your life.

Also, rather than a "goal weight", you might want to refocus to a goal pants size and/or body fat percentage. True scale weight is a bit useless, in my opinion (though I have to remind myself of that pretty frequently).

I eat 1800 - 2200 calories a day. My TDEE is around 2500 most day. I'm losing slowly, but gaining a lot of strength and definition.

bizco · June 2012

The other posters have covered most of your inquiry. I think full body workouts 3x per week are ideal for beginners. Focus on compound movements like squats, deadlifts, push-ups, rows, lunges, shoulder press, and bench press. Add in different core exercises each time you lift. Free weights are best, skip most of the machines. Learn ideal form by watching videos on bodybuilding.com. Click on "Exercises" and type in the name of the exercise or choose a body part for a list of exercises to choose from. Good luck and start lifting HEAVY now.

waldo56 · June 2012

Start now. People WAAAAY underestimate how difficult it is to "bulk up". If you're not eating a ton of calories, the mere touching of weights doesn't instantly balloon anyone to Lou Ferrigno status. I'm working out with a guy right now where we are pushing every plate in the gym and damn near force feeding him and still are lucky if he gains a pound a month in muscle mass. What I'm saying doesn't sneak up on you. Nobody wakes up surprised one morning at how massive their pecs got overnight.

This, it is really, really, really hard to bulk up.

Look at my diary for details, in 2 weeks I'm going to bump my daily NET target to 3400/day, hopefully I'll start gaining muscle (first I want to verify that I'm not losing anymore here at 3050, plus I need to take a break and am going to reset my programming). Right now I'm not eating enough to make any appreciable gains. I'm 6'1" 190 lb.

I gained some muscle as I lost for sure, upwards of 5 lbs, but that was mostly energy systems gaining capacity and noob gains, something that will not continue.

meshashesha2012 · June 2012

start now. your scale weight loss might not be as noticeable as you want but you will lose lots of inches of fat which is what you want anyway.

you definitely need to eat more calories, aim for 20% less than your TDEE.

the heavier you lift the better and faster results you will get but in order to make sure you recover properly you'll need to find the correct amount where you can recover and still be on a deficit to lose. that's been working for me, i eat anywhere from 1600-2000 calories a day and lose an average of 1-1.25 pounds per week.

monty619 · June 2012

if you want a swimmer type body... you should swim more.

blonde71 · June 2012

I agree with all of this. I just cut out most of my cardio and started lifting seriously again just a couple weeks ago, and I'm already amazed by how much stronger I've become. I haven't lost "weight" because I'm not in much of a calorie deficit, but I think I look better than I did when I was 10 lbs thinner.

Same here. When all I did was primarily cardio, I was weak and lacked muscle definition. So, I started lifting some heavy weights. Body fat decreased, muscle definition showed and strength increased. Everyone in my RL tells me I look better than before too when I was thinner. And yeah, I didn't get "bulky" - hardly.

chrisb75 · June 2012

I have been lifitng heavy (stronglifts 5x5) for four weeks. I eat at about 300 calorie deficit per day. In 4 weeks I have lost 3 lbs and dropped almost 3% body fat. My week 1 and week 4 pictures are amazing. Start now, you won't be sorry.

I didn't start heavy. I started with bare bar for squats, bench, overhead press, and i started with 80lb dead lift, and 65lb row. In four weeks I am up to 100lb squat, 75lb bench, 70lb overhead, 95lb row, and...140lb dead lift.

jones137 · June 2012

Thanks everyone. Sounds like I need to eat more......that actually sounds pretty good. I guess I'm just afraid to eat more and stop my momentum but I guess it is a journey and not a race.

jones137 · June 2012

if you want a swimmer type body... you should swim more.

I tried......I just sink.

1holegrouper · June 2012

Another vote for compound movements that involve as much total body effort as possible. Not only is this the most efficient it also is best to trigger the right fat burning responses in your body. If working out at home; pushups, pullups, squats, crunches. At the gym; squat, bench press, pullups, crunches, deadlift (done correctly!) The number of sets and reps depends upon the weight you are using. For bodyweight you can start with 3 sets and the reps need to be done where the last set is extremely hard to finish but possible to finish. Like; 20, 20, 20. As you progress you might pyramid down like; 30, 25, 20 and so on. For max weights at the gym I would do 3 sets of 5 on squats, bench and deadlift. What you adjust here would be the weights used. Pullups are a whole different animal. I usually do 3-4 sets. The great thing is that as your weight goes down your pullups are easier. For variation sandbag work is a lot of fun and can burn fat fast. It really helps to have a workout buddy for any of this. You will do more with a workout partner than by yourself. It is also good to have your form observed and critiqued. My experience has been that sticking to bodyweight exercises, though not popular to the gym business, per se, has allowed me to sculpt towards a "swimmer's" type of body and has allowed me to burn fat much better than when I was doing 5x5 heavy squats, deadlifts, etc... But, that's just me. I know plenty of friends who burned fat blazingly fast by doing heavy work at the gym. So, some of it is a matter of finding out what works best for you.

monty619 · June 2012

if you want a swimmer type body... you should swim more.

I tried......I just sink.

then maybe you should strive for a different body type... if u want to look like a swimmer u have to swim, if you want to look like a bodybuilder you have to bodybuild, if u want to look like a gymnast you have to do gymnast calisthenic exercises, if you want to look like a sprinter you have to do sprints... its just how it works for the most part.

jones137 · June 2012

Sorry, forget about how sarcasm works on the internet..........it doesn't.

I plan on doing some swimming.....use to swim 3-4 days a week.

DavPul · June 2012

if you want a swimmer type body... you should swim more.

I tried......I just sink.

LMAO!! You and I are in the same (leaking) boat!. I figure it makes swimming more effective for me, because I have MOVE if I'm not going to sink. I watch some of the older people in the other lanes and they are gracefully gliding back and forth and very slow speeds, meanwhile I'm splashing around like a crazy man and moving at sprint speed just so I can stay on top of the water. My swims basically turn into HIIT whether I want them to or not.

But the guy makes a solid point. If you want a swimmer's physique then do lots of swimming. If I someone wanted a ballerina's body we wouldn't tell her to start deadlifting just like someone that wants to look like a Olympic sprinter shouldn't be doing marathons.

monty619 · June 2012

Sorry, forget about how sarcasm works on the internet..........it doesn't.

I plan on doing some swimming.....use to swim 3-4 days a week.

by you saying you just sink... i knew you were being sarcastic about sinking, yet still literally implying that you dont like to swim hence my comment.

jones137 · June 2012

Thanks for al the suggestions. Joined the gym last night night and did my first 45 minutes of strength training in a longggg time......crazy sore today but drinking a bunch of water and getting plenty of protein. Back tonight for lower body and a personal fitness assessment from a personal trainer.......that should be interesting.

Weight Lifting = Gain Weight?

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