|
2003/12/12, 10:10 AM
Hi all. My goals are to join the fire dept. in March. I am a 24 year old female with 29% body fat, 175 pounds. How can I increase my muscle strength AND burn body fat at the same time? I do an upper/lower split at the gym on Mondays and Wednesdays, & then on Fridays I do abs & back. Always 2-3 sets of 8-12 to failure. And I mean complete failure, lol. But no cardio to speak of. 10 minutes of warm up tops. Lots of stretching, approximately 125 ounces of water a day. I eat low carbs - only from veggies, brown rice, fruits and whole wheat pasta. On my workout days, I eat 180 grams of protein in both liquid and solid forms, and about 2000 calories. On non workout days, I eat maybe 60 grams of protein and 1500 calories.
I've read that the only way to burn fat is lots & lots of cardio, at least 30-40 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week. However, I've ALSO read that doing cardio will burn muscle. I need my muscle! But I also need to lose 10% of my body fat! How can I get the maximum muscle gains possible, while achieving the maximum fat loss possible, at the same time?
Or is it impossible?
I need to build strength, burn fat, and build endurance. (I need to be able to run 3 miles in 28 minutes. :O
Any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated!
|
|
|
|
2003/12/12, 11:17 AM
This has been a topic of controversy and has been discussed on these boards. My opinion is that unless someone is genetically gifted, it is very difficult to do both. In your case, you want to retain (or increase) your strength (not necessarily muscle mass) and get leaner. I can tell you now that it has to start with your diet. Once you have adopted a sound diet (periodically adjusting for body adaptation), the resistance training and occasional cardio will take care of the rest!
You'll want to increase your metabolism. That, in itself, will take you far.
Hope this helps and good luck in your quest to becoming a fire fighter!
--------------
**_Robert_**
Pain is temporary; glory is forever!
|
|
2003/12/12, 11:25 AM
From personal experience, I found that when I first started lifting weights I did actually manage both to lose weight and gain muscle simultaneously. I did the 'weight loss and definition' programme on this site, and lost half a stone, but was definitely stronger by the end of the eight weeks.
Incidentally, my progress has slowed recently - so perhaps these kind of gains are difficult to maintain.
|
|
2003/12/12, 12:00 PM
So can anyone tell me the best way to increase strength while burning fat?
|
|
2003/12/12, 07:16 PM
KristyRemo - I have been increasing my strength while burning fat for the last 2 months now. I have been doing it with BOTH weights AND cardio. It is not true that the only way to burn fat is lots & lots of cardio. Muscle burns fat faster then cardio will. It is true that doing cardio will burn muscle IF DONE IMPROPERLY!! You should never do both of them together, i.e. lift weights then get on the treadmil. They should be split up. One in the morning and one at night. NONE of this work will do ANY good without a proper diet and that includes eating small meals every 3 or 4 hours, not 3 meals a day. Tweak your diet and do more cardio, I bet you will see results. On Oct 6th I weighed 171 pounds with 35 % body fat (Yes, I am fat) Today I weight 155 with 26% body fat. Diet, weights and cardio hon. Welcome to FT.
--------------
Pauline
Serenity is not freedom from the storm
but peace amidst the storm.
|
|
2003/12/12, 07:53 PM
This is the norm. It is confused when people tell of this that they are newbies, and your body can make some pretty pofound changes at this point. But, after this initial change wears off, and you become an intermediate for instance, the "gains and losses" at the same time stop, even just trying to achieve one or the other becomes difficult.
As an explanation, maybe some sound physics can benefit you. To gain mass(muscle size), you need to increase calories to a point beyond your maintenenance level. A caloric surplus. Now, by the very definition of "surplus", this is more calories than your body needs, so how can you possibly be tapping into your fat stores? To lose bodyfat, you need to tap into your fat stores, and this can only be done by creating a caloric deficit, whether through diet or exercise or both. A word of warning here, get your diet in order, it is the hardest thing for most to accomplish.
Paulinegasey is right on in her assessment. Well said pauline.
============
Quoting from nadia216:
From personal experience, I found that when I first started lifting weights I did actually manage both to lose weight and gain muscle simultaneously. I did the 'weight loss and definition' programme on this site, and lost half a stone, but was definitely stronger by the end of the eight weeks.
Incidentally, my progress has slowed recently - so perhaps these kind of gains are difficult to maintain.
=============
--------------
If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything....
|
|
2003/12/12, 11:38 PM
What's a stone?
|
|
2003/12/13, 06:19 PM
stone - A unit of weight in Great Britain, 14 pounds (6.4 kilograms).
Anyway - I'm going to chime in on the "get your diet in order" bandwagon. That's the most important. Don't think of it as a "diet" - think of it as fueling your body. It's not so much to limit yourself to very little food - but eat healthy, enough to fuel your body, and don't go crazy at it ;-)
As far as working out - the cardio will burn muscle mass if you go overboard on it. Check out the Weight Loss program on FT - it has you doing cardio only 45 minutes 3-5 times a week (which is not "lots and lots") or so - if you do 2 hours of cardio a day - you're going to burn muscle!
I would say keep your weight workouts and throw in more cardio. Definately if you have to be able to run the three miles - have you tried this yet?!?! I would try a beginners running program to build your endurance up. www.nikerunning.com has some on there. Or check out runners world and click on training for a 5K (3.2 miles). You NEED to worry about that as well as losing the weight and building the muscle ;-)
Good luck and keep us updated on the Fire Training!! I plan to become a Reserve Cop myself!!
--------------
~~~~~~~~~ROXIE~~~~~~~~~
http://www.mycoffeegirl.com
|
|
2003/12/13, 06:31 PM
It has helped me to pay less attention to the scale and more to the tape measure. After working out for a while the positive changes will come more slowly. But if you get your diet and exercise right you will overcome your bodys desire to store the fat. Your body does not want to do this but you WILL beat it with perseverance.
--------------
Living well is the best revenge.
Charlie
|
|
2003/12/13, 07:26 PM
Quoting from bb1fit: Paulinegasey is right on in her assessment. Well said pauline.
=============
Oh my, coming from you I'll take that as a compliment bb1fit. Since I am still really new I am always afraid to post because I'm scared you pro's will punish me with squats for saying the wrong thing. hahahaha Thank you for letting me know I am on the right track and not hurting the newcomers with my advice. You could have just agreed and not posted it. Your confirmation means a lot to me.
--------------
Pauline
Serenity is not freedom from the storm
but peace amidst the storm.
|
