Brian, Inatic, Twyla--help re: weights

[Burning Bacon]

I was reading your responses last night to a post by Hannahrose where the suggestion was made that if one wants to build up muscle, they must eat. My problem is that I am about 30 lbs overweight and I want to start weight lifting to keep things firm and shapely and also to help with bone loss as I am post-meno. I have read so many conflicting things, some say low fat, high carbs, others low carb, high fat, I'm confused and at a loss which way to go. When I am on track and try to follow low carb, I eat around 1500 calories, up to 50 carbs, and do a half hour of weights using 8-10 lb free weights x 3 sets on a variety of exercises. It seems when I do this, I neither lose weight or build up. I was wondering if perhaps I am not lifting heavy enough as I have read where heavier weights promote faster gain or am I maybe not eating enough. Any recommendations or books I might read to help me understand this better so that 2009 will get some results? Thank you.

[inatic]

i love new rules of lifting and the info on ExRx (Exercise Prescription) on the Net is also very informative on wt training.

You can prolly gain some muscle if you are new to training.. Most often referred to as the newbie effect. When you are dieting down, you want to preserve muscle.. heavier training does that. When you are already very lean, the only way to gain muscle is to EAT. That was why it was recommended to hannah because she is too lean to support growth on diet cals.

My coach wrote this article and he can explain it much better than I.

Optimal Weight Training While Dieting

You are going to have to invest in some more wt for sure or possibly join a gym.

[BrianSCohen]

What Ileen says is true. When you start weightlifting you can reasonably expect to gain muscle at the same you lose fat. When you do things right this sideways effect can dissappoint you, but don't mistake this for what it really is, namely "progress." However, from what you describe, I rather suspect that your weight training up to this point has been fairly modest weights with isolation movememnts with no real progression. This is often what you are taught on a "womans" exercise program. I think that is just wrong. I would encourage you to consider a more basic and agressive weight regime.

What I did, and it does work for both men and women is to work out 3 times a week with a full body routine. Do 3-5 compound movements on each day. Good movements include the squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, row and pull-up (you can do these assisted). Do 3 sets with 8-10 repetitions with form that is as close to perfect as possible. When you can do all three sets with good form, then you increase the weight. Over time, your stength and muscle mass will dramatically improve. Remember tho, while you can somewhat work individual muscles, you really build muscle over your entire body.

If you undertake this sort of weight training you can see improvements while you diet for a period of 3-6 months as a beginner. However as Ileen mentioned (and do read that article, it is good), you will need to eat to make progress. Take heart, when you get to that point, you won't feel that you have 30 pounds to lose, you will be leaner and stronger than you could imagine.

In general, when lean, to get stronger and to build muscle mass you must eat a surplus. The best that you can do when dieting is to maintain muscle mass.

Good luck.

ps. The "New Rules of Lifting for Women" that Ileen mentioned is great. If you are serious, it is one of those books you really need in your library.

[Burning Bacon]

These links and information were very helpful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me. It definitely sounds like I need to progress on my weights and yes, was doing pretty much the girly weights with high reps. and getting nowhere. Thank you again, I am feeling encouraged once again!!!!

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

BB,

You've been given good advice.

The only thing I would add to it is in regards to your fuel.

Based on your stats and workout schedule, you should stagger your calories, never going below 1500. Try going up to 1900-2000 calories every 3 days, then go back to a 15-20% deficit, then back to 2000. Don't allow your body to get used to a deficit. It will promote a stall and/or lack of progress.

Some people require more cardio than others, and that usually depends on body type. The more extreme endomorphs require more cardio than others (that would be me), so it's a good idea to find a good balance of both strength training and sufficient cardio to maximize the fat burning process as well.

Make sure you're eating sufficient protein to maintain your muscle. I would not eat less than 150 gr per day. Shoot for 1 to 1.5 gr of protein per pound of body weight per day.

Just some thots to ponder.

[JuliaL]

Hi - I'm also post-meno, and I find that I have to do cardio as well as weight training to see good results. You shouldn't over-do the cardio - are you doing that as well? If your goal is to lose fat, both are important.

[Burning Bacon]

I am feeling much more motivated today as I have read halfway through "The New Rules of Lifting for Women" and do feel that I wasn't challenging my body enough and the suggestion to keep my body guessing and adjusting my calories is a good suggestion Twyla....you have always been an inspiration to me on this board and Julia, reading about your weight loss and weight training is also very inspiring.......I realize if I didn't keep trying things would be worse than they are, so will keep thinking positive only with a twist to my approach. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it....Lana