Questions on strength, muscle mass and calorie deficits

Hey, I'm currently on a diet and I'm wondering if there's much point doing a lot of strength training at this point. Should I just focus on cardio right now with some strength training or just not expect much gain (important for me to know since I don't want to just give up hope)? I know muscle helps weight loss but I've heard that you can't really put on much muscle while being in a calorie defecit.

Also, I'm sure increasing muscle will increase strength, but are they separate goals that are attained in different ways? I'd like to increase muscle but I'd like to be physically strong the most - I've never been strong.

So if these questions sound heaps naieve. I don't know anyone else into fitness and while I've been reading up to find these answers, I still seem a bit confused.
 
Expect a rather large post forthcoming. I help ya....No problemo..........

Got to keep ya Rocken along..............:)
 
You CAN lose weight with strength training - in fact, I believe it's the case that while cardio burns more calories during the activity itself, strength training burns more total calories as it really burns energy AFTER you've done the workout (as the body needs to repair itself). I believe it's the case that you can get stronger not only by increasing muscle size but also in gaining more effective and efficient use of the muscle already present. Strength training while in a calorie deficit will help prevent the body using the muscle as energy. Strength training while in a calorie surplus will help the body build more muscle. A win-win situation in my book. I'd suggest getting a copy of The New Rules of Lifting, by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove - I'm working out from it now and have been pleased with my results.
 
Hey, I'm currently on a diet and I'm wondering if there's much point doing a lot of strength training at this point. Should I just focus on cardio right now with some strength training or just not expect much gain (important for me to know since I don't want to just give up hope)? I know muscle helps weight loss but I've heard that you can't really put on much muscle while being in a calorie defecit.

Also, I'm sure increasing muscle will increase strength, but are they separate goals that are attained in different ways? I'd like to increase muscle but I'd like to be physically strong the most - I've never been strong.

So if these questions sound heaps naieve. I don't know anyone else into fitness and while I've been reading up to find these answers, I still seem a bit confused.

Did you read through this yet to try and find answers to your questions ?....


http://training.fitness.com/new-member-intro/where-begin-all-info-links-18741.html


It has links that focus on the following topics......


- Muscle Building Meals
Here you will find many recipes that will help you when trying to figure out what to eat.

- Weight Loss FAQ
Get answers to many weight loss questions here.

- Weight Loss Intricate
This deals with the mental game of reaching your goals.

- Fat Loss Troubleshooting
Not seeing the fat loss you want? Read here to find out the problem and eliminate it.

- How to Get Abs
Who doesn't want to see the washboard stomach. Read here to find out the myths and what you should be doing.

- Body Building FAQ
Questions on what works and what doesn't in the Body Building world?

- Weight Training 101
Weight training is for either gender and here is a quick guide to give you the basic principles to help you in getting started moving iron.

- Technique Articles
Articles that will help improve your lifts.

- Supplements FAQ
Basic answers to questions on supplementing your diet.

Creatine and You
Please check here if you are considering taking creatine (or asking about it).

- Smart Supplementation
The five supplements that you should be taking!

- Nutritional Info
Questions and the right diet approach can be answered here.

- Grocery List
Not sure which foods to buy, check out this grocery list. Print it and get to the supermarket.

- High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
You've probably heard the buzz, but what exactly is it?

- How to get your Body Fat %
Learn how to get a nice accurate body fat reading.​
 
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Wow, thanks for the responses. That does put my mind at ease. I just automatically assume that even strength (second only to dexterity) is an impossible goal for me. It's a pretty big hurdle to leap and I don't want to ruin my motivation to do weight training by doing it a useless times.

However, it's good I've got strength training as an option so I can build my upper body when my calves are in pain from earlier exercises (doesn't take much to set my calves off - I can tense them in a particular way and get leg cramps even from doing nothing - any clue as to what that's about?).
 
Okay, so weight lifting should be completed in a half hour. Muscles shouldn't be isolated into lower and upper body groups and then alternated over a few days. Nor should the weaker muscles that don't get a lot of attention be skimped over. Nor should a person do cardio the same day as weights, and at least not before it.

So how does a person fit in all those muscle groups in the same half hour session? How short a space are we expected to have between muscle groups? Is it acceptable to not take a breather between weight lifting and just skip to a different muscle group and then back again? For example, if I work my abs/chest, can I split up the reps by going to do arm or leg weight exercises? And then head back for another rep?

And how does a person fit cardio in with weight lifting?
 
I'd say plan on taking an hour to at the very, very most an hour and a half for strength training. The programs I've done and seen take about an hour to do from start to finish. You can split your routine into upper and lower body, just that you have to be sure you're doing one routine or the other more than once a week (either upper-lower-upper, or lower-upper-lower). Compound exercises are preferred over isolation exercises because they work more muscles at once e.g., pulldowns work not only your back but your arms as well, as opposed to doing bicep curls.

I think what you're describing is a superset - say you were going to do 3 sets each of squats and seated cable rows. You'd do the 1st set of squats, then do one set of rows, REST, then 1 set of squats, 1 set of rows, etc.

I do my cardio training via spinning on day when I don't lift, or doing interval training on days when I do. For interval training you warmup for 5 minutes, then go as fast and hard as you can for 1 minute, then back off to a moderate pace for 2 minutes, repeating the cycle (1 minute/2 minute) for as many times as your workout calls for.

Hope this helps.
 
I had found a really awesome site for women weight training through a link on this site. The page on the strength exercises was split into various body parts - abs, chest, etc. But my computer decided to crash and lose it. Don't suppose anyone else has a really good one?

Also, are these exercise supersets any good? Or would I be better off doing something else?
 
There was a choice of exercises under each category, though. Very well set out and it would allow me to pick and choose and see what's nice. One from each category!

The Drop a Jeans workout kinda made me feel like a fool at a few times so I'd prefer being able to choose outta a group then.
 
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