Misconceptions

[Steve]

But, doesn't that strength have to come from somewhere? The body doesn't "learn" in the same way the mind learns. Like storing information. It learns by compensating, so I would think any increase in either endurance or strength you have to have some form of compensation. (added muscle, increased cardiovascular efficiency).

I'm no expert by an stretch, but it just makes sense to me. Is it possible while the muscles my not get bigger, they do get more dense?

OK, here's the physiology 101 for you to help you understand what's going on when someone gets stronger without getting bigger.

The weight you lift is an external stressor. When applied properly, it forces the body to adapt. Most commonly, the body adapts anatomically; increased muscle mass and the like. This is what most are familiar with. However, the body also adapts to this external stress by way of neurological adaptation. And the thing is, both forms of adaptation occur.... it's just the latter is less often talked about.

When you go to lift a weight, you're muscle responds by way of a 'message' sent from the brain. The central nervous system sends electrical impulses through the peripheral nervous system by way of motor neurons until it reaches the motor unit. The motor unit is the point where the motor neuron and muscle meet. The motor unit is classically defined as the alpha motor neuron and all the muscle fibers it innervates.

Sounds fancy, but it's not. Really, it's simply saying:

CNS ----------> Motor Unit -----------> Muscle Fibers

CNS sends impulse, impulse travels through the PNS eventually reaching the end motor neuron where said neuron links itself to the fibers comprising the muscle stimulating a muscular response (contraction).

There are a number of ways the nervous system adapts translating into increased strength. Most commonly discussed are factors such as rate coding, recruitment, and synchronisation.

We call the frequency of electrical stimulation from the CNS to the muscle rate coding. As one of the adaptations to strength training, rate coding can increase, which simply means the brain is sending more signals to the muscle per unit of time activating a response. As rate coding is increased so is muscular tension or STRENGTH.

Recruitment is similar in that each impulse will recruit more MUs as it positively adapts leading to more fibers contracting per impulse; this means more strength. A prime example is when you bring someone untrained into the gym and put them on a balanced strength training program. Strength increases drastically over the first month, but muscle mass usually doesn't change much. Untrained individuals have a hard time activating all of their muscle fibers. As they train consistently for the first few weeks, the rate of strength gain can be huge most likely due to the improved coordination of just learning how to recruit more fibers.

The list goes on and on.... but in reality, strength is a complex phenomenon. It's not just about bigger muscles moving bigger weights.

 

[fatboy]

Losing fat and building muscle at the same time is a misconception??

 

[Steve]

Losing fat and building muscle at the same time is a misconception??

It depends, as does most things fitness.

If you're very un/detrained and/or you're carrying a lot of excess body fat, you can see concurrent fat loss and muscle gain. But it won't last long and it won't be very substantial.

In very general terms, building muscle, otherwise known as hypertrophy, is a very intensive process, energetically speaking. Calories are a unit of energy. If you're not eating enough calories to sustain the tissues your currently have, which is the case, by definition, when you're dieting... then you don't have enough calories coming in the door to facilitate a lot of muscular growth.

Getting very muscular in the face of energy shortages simply isn't something that's hardwired into us evolutionarily speaking. It wouldn't have done us, as a species, very good during times of famine given that:

i) you don't need a huge base of muscle to walk around and gather berries or to bludgeon a saber-tooth with a stone or stab him with a spear.

ii) given the metabolic costliness of muscle tissue, we wouldn't want to be ramping up how "expensive" our bodies are in terms of calories by adding lots of muscle when there's a good change we'll need to be in preservation mode during the colder months when most food dies or runs for the equator.

 

[Garie4Wellness]

I think I also read some blog in the internet with almost the same say about this misconceptions. I actually thought before when you stop lifting weights it makes you fat. I heard that with exercising too, when you stop it, it will only result in gaining weight than loosing it. Is this true?

 

[NathalieAndrews]

-"You can build muscle and lose fat at the same time"

I am confused on this one. I read the previous conversation between Steve and Lola, it just didn't quite clear it up for me. I remember once a personal trainer said that I needed to train strength to lose weight, as gaining muscle would increase the fat burn. The thing being that muscle-mass helps burning fat. If being at an energy deficit makes it impossible to gain muscle, what's the point of strength training instead of cardio? If one cannot do cardio, will strength training still help burn fat? How does this work, and what should one do the most of if one is at a constant calorie deficit?

 

[Trusylver]

-"You can build muscle and lose fat at the same time"

I am confused on this one. I read the previous conversation between Steve and Lola, it just didn't quite clear it up for me. I remember once a personal trainer said that I needed to train strength to lose weight, as gaining muscle would increase the fat burn. The thing being that muscle-mass helps burning fat. If being at an energy deficit makes it impossible to gain muscle, what's the point of strength training instead of cardio? If one cannot do cardio, will strength training still help burn fat? How does this work, and what should one do the most of if one is at a constant calorie deficit?

The primary reason to lift weight in deficit is to maintain the muscle you already have, cardio and deficit will lead to more muscle loss than there needs to be if you do not lift. While it is possible to gain in a deficit it only happens in specific circumstances which most people do not achieve.