losing weight and gaining muscle at the same time?

Army

Army

New member
ive heard a few people tell me its impossible to gain muscle while you loose weight, ive been working out lifting weights for like 40 min every other day and the days i wasent lifting i would run 3 miles, but should i just stop lifting and just run 3 miles every day? i dont want to waste time if i cant actually even gain muscle, right now im 17 5'9 210 lbs eating 1500 calories a day mostly chicken no red meat. would it be better if i just stoped lifting untill i get to my goal of 180?
 
If you google "Adding Muscle While Losing Fat – Q&A", there's an article that Lyle McDonald just posted on this subject. Not sure if I can post a link or not...
 
No don't stop lifting. Doing weight training while on a diet will help you retain more of your muscle, because when you go into a deficit your body is not just burning your fat, but your muscle too, and lifting weights will help that proportion lean more towards fat. It's telling your body you still need those muscles, and plus it's usually a good workout too. Plus a lot of people who only do cardio to hit their target goal aren't usually happy with how they look, because they don't want to just look skinny, but lean too..and retaining your muscle while shedding your fat can help with that. I'd also say it's a lot harder to gain muscle than lose it..so don't wait until you hit your goal to do it (a mistake I made).
 
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Tamago said:
No don't stop lifting. Doing weight training while on a diet will help you retain more of your muscle, because when you go into a deficit your body is not just burning your fat, but your muscle too, and lifting weights will help that proportion lean more towards fat. It's telling your body you still need those muscles, and plus it's usually a good workout too. Plus a lot of people who only do cardio to hit their target goal aren't usually happy with how they look, because they don't want to just look skinny, but lean too..and retaining your muscle while shedding your fat can help with that. I'd also say it's a lot harder to gain muscle than lose it..so don't wait until you hit your goal to do it (a mistake I made).
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thanks thats some good advice.
 
Yup. What Tamago said.

It's virtually impossible to gain muscle when eating lower calories - after all where will the muscle come from if you're not eating enough food to build them. Muscles don't just build themselves out of thin air.

BUT .. that doesn't mean you shouldn't lift weights while losing. Lifting weights will help you to maintain lean muscle and boost fat loss. So ... keep lifting. It's a good thing overall.
 
KaraCooks said:
Yup. What Tamago said.

It's virtually impossible to gain muscle when eating lower calories - after all where will the muscle come from if you're not eating enough food to build them. Muscles don't just build themselves out of thin air.

BUT .. that doesn't mean you shouldn't lift weights while losing. Lifting weights will help you to maintain lean muscle and boost fat loss. So ... keep lifting. It's a good thing overall.
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allright thanks, no wonder i dont feel like im getting stronger :( after im at my goal then i should bump up my calorie intake and lift alot and ill build muscle right?
 
You can still get stronger w/out building muscle. Muscle strength is not a function of muscle volume.

If you're not gaining strength, then you're not lifting properly. I worked through the StrongLifts 5x5 beginner program and gained strength with every session, even though I was eating in a calorie deficit.

What kind of strength workout are you doing? You said you lift for 40 mins a day, which sounds like a lot to me. What exercises are you doing and what weights are you doing them with?
 
KaraCooks said:
You can still get stronger w/out building muscle. Muscle strength is not a function of muscle volume.

If you're not gaining strength, then you're not lifting properly. I worked through the StrongLifts 5x5 beginner program and gained strength with every session, even though I was eating in a calorie deficit.

What kind of strength workout are you doing? You said you lift for 40 mins a day, which sounds like a lot to me. What exercises are you doing and what weights are you doing them with?
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im not really following any kind of program, should i look at StrongLifts 5x5? do you know any ones better than that one or should i read up on that?
 
The first thing you need to do is read the sticky posts in the exercise part of this board. Particularly pay attention to the one titled "The Conceptual Side of Weight Lifting". There are several good posts there ... so read down into the thread.

There's a lot of information on both the wrong way and the right way to lift weights.
 
Hi

I actually admire you for doing weight lifting, most girls are scared when it comes to weights. 40 mins is fine but make it intense with plenty of weight and never over an hour. With all the protein you are eating in you diet you should tone out nicely.

Weight train on your cardio off days..

If you want to look good and not just a bag of bones carry on!
 
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