Retaining Muscle

LandonsBaby

LandonsBaby

New member
I asked this over on the other board but was told I could ask here as well...

For the next 6 months or so I want to really focus on losing fat but I don't want to lose muscle. I currently do strength training 3 times per week and I plan to continue through this fat loss stage. Is there anything I need to know about maintaining muscle? Should I still progressively increase the amount of weight I am doing?
 
I don't know how serious you are about this project, LB, but to maximize your results - the most gains in the shortest period of time - you're going to need to add supplements to your diet.

How dedicated you are, I have no idea. Only you know that.

But as a starting point to get an idea what's involved - losing fat and maintaining LBM is no easy task - you might like to read Chris Shugart's Velocity Diet.

You likely won't follow it to the letter, but it will certainly give you a good base line to set up your diet and training.
 
What other board?

You don't want to lose muscle while dieting. Easy enough......

Eat adequate amounts of protein and lift weights heavily enough relative to your strength.

What's adequate and enough, respectively?

Adequate = 1 - 1.5 grams of protein per either pound of total body weight or pound of lean body mass.... depending on leanness.

Enough = a weight that keeps you in the 4-8 rep range. The less experienced you are, the higher on that range you should be. The more experienced you are, the lower on that range you can go. Two, maybe three total body workouts each week would suffice.

Basically you're giving your body a reason to maintain the muscle it currently has while also providing a pool of aminos (proteins) in your bloodstream for your body to pull from opposed to your existing stores (muscle).
 
Doc Bunkum said:
I don't know how serious you are about this project, LB, but to maximize your results - the most gains in the shortest period of time - you're going to need to add supplements to your diet.

How dedicated you are, I have no idea. Only you know that.

But as a starting point to get an idea what's involved - losing fat and maintaining LBM is no easy task - you might like to read Chris Shugart's Velocity Diet.

You likely won't follow it to the letter, but it will certainly give you a good base line to set up your diet and training.
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Not so sure supplements are necessary. There are plenty of dietary sources you can get most of the required proteins and aminos you require to maintain muscle mass while lossing fat.

This might be also the kettle calling the pot black, but I take things like CLA's (which are debated often) that claim to help promote lean muscle mass in the body. Take it with a grain of salt, do I think they are working, I guess?!, but would I still keep this muscle on my frame if I didn't I won't ever really know because I actually take them everyday. Catch 22 issue there.
 
Steve said:
Eat adequate amounts of protein and lift weights heavily enough relative to your strength.

What's adequate and enough, respectively?

Adequate = 1 - 1.5 grams of protein per either pound of total body weight or pound of lean body mass.... depending on leanness.
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Yes but make sure your getting your proteins from the right sources. Your body needs certain amino acids to build and maintain muscle mass. You can get them by researching what has what and combining vegetables/non meats to get them all, or to keep it simple just make sure you eat some meat and/or soybeans. Every single amino acid your body needs can be found in any meat, or in lesser amounts in soybeans.
 
JMike said:
Yes but make sure your getting your proteins from the right sources. Your body needs certain amino acids to build and maintain muscle mass. You can get them by researching what has what and combining vegetables/non meats to get them all, or to keep it simple just make sure you eat some meat and/or soybeans. Every single amino acid your body needs can be found in any meat, or in lesser amounts in soybeans.
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Didn't really think that needed further clarification.

Most who don't eat meat will clarify in their original post that they're vegetarian.
 
Sorry as a rule I assume everyone needs to know everything, I didint mean to imply that you left something out, or didint you yourself know. I was just making sure he had all the info.
 
JMike said:
Sorry as a rule I assume everyone needs to know everything, I didint mean to imply that you left something out, or didint you yourself know. I was just making sure he had all the info.
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While I agree that knowledge is extremely critical, I think some implications need to be made in order to give efficient/effective advice. Without it, a drowning out of what is most critical to the situation at hand tends to occur.
 
Steve said:
Enough = a weight that keeps you in the 4-8 rep range. The less experienced you are, the higher on that range you should be. The more experienced you are, the lower on that range you can go. Two, maybe three total body workouts each week would suffice.
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Steve, If i am asking a question you have already answered elsewhere forgive me and send my repetitive butt packing :)

What is the benefit of lower reps vs higher reps? If you are doing lower reps are you close to maxing out the load? Higher reps less weight? I just want to be sure I am doing everything I can to succeed...as you can see from my tracker, I am still in the weight loss phase of things...

as always, thanks!
 
ali.smedley said:
What is the benefit of lower reps vs higher reps?
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Sends the strongest stimulus systemically to maintain muscle in the face of a caloric deficit.

To break it down sensibly, why would light weight give your body a reason to maintain muscle. Our bodies are adaptive. Provide a strong enough stimulus/stress and create a positive adaptation. In this case, you're letting your body know that it better keep the muscle even though you're losing weight.

If you are doing lower reps are you close to maxing out the load? Higher reps less weight?
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Rep range is dictated by weight and vice versa.

The lower the rep range, the higher the weight that can be handled. The higher the rep range, the less weight that can be handled. Make sense?

I just want to be sure I am doing everything I can to succeed...as you can see from my tracker, I am still in the weight loss phase of things...
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Understand....

Not lifting sufficiently heavy loads is one of the biggest mistakes many women make. It's not as critical the more weight that needs to be lost, but as you get closer to ideal weight ranges, muscle loss becomes more of a probability without the above factors.

The more weight that needs to be lost, the more important caloric expenditure is and the less of a concern losing muscle is.
 
Not so sure supplements are necessary. There are plenty of dietary sources you can get most of the required proteins and aminos you require to maintain muscle mass while lossing fat.
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To be clear, I never said supplements were necessary.

What I said was, to maximize your results - the most gains in the shortest period of time - you're going to need to add supplements to your diet.

If you're a college student, then likely you're going to have to stick to a "clean" diet (no white flour) and a good whey protein and possibly a fish oil tablet or two.

On the other hand, if cost isn't as much an issue, then it certainly wouldn't hurt to throw in a few BCAA's, a thermogenic (fat burner), and some omega 3 (fish oil) along with a decent protein.

I'd bet if a study was done that compared a group using supplements to a group not using them, all other factors being equal, the group using supps would show far greater progress.

Myself, if I'm going to bust my ass training, I want to maximize my results for the investment in time and effort.

Sure, I might be making expensive urine, and all the advertising about these products might be hokum, but it's funny how the body responds when you have a belief that what you're doing really works.
 
Steve,

Excellent advice, thank you. I have been progressively increasing my load as things appear to get easier and have added some bench presses and squats to my routine. I have been doing 2 x 10 on all of the exercises I do so maybe I will play around with increasing the weights more and reducing the reps and see what that does.

It is facinating how the better I get, the more I want to try/do.

:)
 
It is facinating how the better I get, the more I want to try/do.
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I think it was Samuel Goldwyn who is credited with saying, "The harder I work, the luckier I get".

Sort of the same thing with the weight loss game.

I think you paraphrased old Sam quite nicely. :)
 
ali.smedley said:
Steve,

Excellent advice, thank you. I have been progressively increasing my load as things appear to get easier and have added some bench presses and squats to my routine. I have been doing 2 x 10 on all of the exercises I do so maybe I will play around with increasing the weights more and reducing the reps and see what that does.

It is facinating how the better I get, the more I want to try/do.

:)
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Glad to hear Ali!

In reality, I'm okay with sets of 10.

The thing is, you don't have to pick one rep range for all the exercises you do. For instance, when I'm dieting, each day that I weight trian I have a core set of compound exercises that I lift heavily (think reps of 4-6 per set). Then I have secondary exercises that I lift with moderate loads (think 8-12 reps).

Don't fall into the trap most do by thinking there's one right way to lift weights.
 
thank you for the replies. i seem to be basically on the right track. i don't think i really need supplements. my goal is not to do this as fast as i can. my goal is to get where i would like to be and stay there. i defiantely would never take a "fat burner". fish oil however, i agree with. i used to take it but i need to get a new bottle. i don't have a problem with whey protein either, except that i think it taste bad. i'll ocassionally but a bit of protein powder in milk but i don't do on a regular basis. i really should be able to get my protein with my food. i'm the one who does the grocery shopping and cooking around here and my husband sure doesn't complain about having protein around the house.
 
Now isn't that just too funny! :rofl:

In the FAQ's regarding those pills you're peddling, it states (as it does with most "diet" pills):

Depending on how much weight you have to lose, your diet, and your exercise routine you can expect to lose 7-21 pounds in 7 days. But the average weight loss is 8.75 lbs.

Sweet!

Do you think just maybe if you followed that advice, exercised and cleaned up your diet, that you wouldn't need these pills?

BTW, Lose 7lbs of what in 7 Days?

You don't specify and neither does the web site. :confused:

Oh, and further, you have a muscle builder?

Like I can take some pills and I'll grow muscles?

I won't have to go to the gym? :confused:
 
Yeah, that does suck, doesn't it?

In my book, anyone that jumps into a thread that doesn't have anything intelligent to offer, just trying to sell some worthless junk, is fair game for ridicule.
 
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