Questioning Recent Advice

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chopinfan88
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Questioning Recent Advice

Post by chopinfan88 »

Hello everyone!

I was recently given some advice regarding strength training that I am questioning. I am currently 325 pounds, and have been swimming regularly for exercise. I have also been eating healthy and properly. I am seeing the results of hard work, and added strength training to routine a few weeks ago.

I was told by that family member, who lost a ton of weight, that strength training will not be beneficial to me right now. He said that I should concentrate on losing the weight first, then do strength training later. This goes against all advice so far, and has me questioning whether or not he is right.

Does this sound right to anyone?

Thanks,
Jonathan
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Re: Questioning Recent Advice

Post by Boss Man »

No it's wrong.

Strength training is perfect for losing weight as every lb of muscle you gain can help to burn an extra 45-50 calories per day, so there is no need to exclude it from your workout regimen whatsoever.
dustin807
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Re: Questioning Recent Advice

Post by dustin807 »

I agree with Boss Man. I think that relatively speaking, it is your muscles that are most responsible for burning calories. Therefore if you have more muscle mass you will burn more calories when you exercise, burn more calories at rest, and any other time. Muscle mass is a key factor in weight loss as muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, and the bodies of people who are larger or have more muscle mass burn more calories, even at rest.

A good way to make whatever exercise you do to lose weight more effective is to put on more muscle mass. Please excuse the oversimplified hypothetical, but everything else being equal, if you were to jog a mile at your current level of muscle mass, then put on 10 pounds of muscle and jog that same mile, your +15 pounds of muscle jog is going to require the expenditure of more calories than the same body with 15 pounds less muscle. More muscle burns more calories.

However, that same hypothetical is also true if you put on 15 pounds of fat, as more fat equals more calories burned as well. Both muscle and fat require the expenditure of calories for your body to support it.

I've seen Boss Man's statistic of 45-50 extra calories burned per day for each pound of muscle gained. That means if you put on 5 pounds of muscle (not hard to do if you are a beginner) then you will burn a whopping 250 extra calories per day, which is less than the caloric content of 2 cans of Sprite.

On the other hand, I've also seen that same statistic quoted as only being 1 pound of muscle burns 5-6 calories/day at rest. I don't know what that same statistic would be for during exercise, but I suspect that an exercising muscle burns significantly more calories than a resting muscle. Now if you take that 5-6 statistic, then gaining 5 pounds of muscle would result in an increase of 30 calories burned per day. Not anything to get excited about there.

This is why every time I try to say that one of the best ways to lose unwanted body fat is to build muscle, people berate me and shame me off the forums. But strength training is the only thing I do to stay fit and trim (no cardio, no real diet plan, just me, garage, a barbell and a power rack), and I generally walk around with a semi-flabby six pack abs all year round.

OK now I'm babbling. But I think everybody is generally in agreement that 1 pound of fat burns about 2 calories per day and 1 pound of muscle burns anywhere from 6-50 calories per day at rest.

However, whenever the cardio/strength training for fat loss debate comes up, people generally talk about the "after-burn" effect. There is a more scientific name for it which I am unable to recall at this point (I believe it is called Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption or EPOC, you'll have to google that), but basically there is a sort of high intensity explosive sort of exercise (generally associated with strength training) which raises your metabolism for several hours after your workout is finished. This same effect is not seen in low intensity aerobics like jogging and yoga.

I am unfamiliar with the link posting policy here, but I always point people to an article called The Hierarchy of Fat Loss, by Alwyn Cosgrove (you can google that if you want). I think he does an excellent job of explaining why strength training is much more beneficial for weight loss than other forms of exercise.

Of course, you have chosen to swim, which in mind can be a form of strength training, depending on whether you are "sprint" swimming or just "jogging" swimming.

I hope this helps and that I didn't bore you before you got to the end of this message.

In opinion, this is the major benefit of strength training for fat loss (EPOC).

Of course, I don't have a PhD
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Re: Questioning Recent Advice

Post by Boss Man »

EPOC as you pointed out Dustin refers to the oxygen intake the body tries to get after exercising to replenish stores.

Though I admit to not knowing a massive amount about it.
GarthWood
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Re: Questioning Recent Advice

Post by GarthWood »

When you say strength training, do you mean resistance training for hypertrophy or actual strength and power training?

If it is the latter, you won't see big muscle gains to aid in fat burning due to the fact that your nutrition will be designed for fat loss and not muscle gain, but you will still generate an EPOC response.

But some more advice.. unless you have joint problems rather get involved in HIIT training rather than swimming. Your body is being supported 50% of the time so you are achieving half of what you could be. You don't have to stop swimming, just make less of a priority.

And remember.. exercise to raise your metabolism, don't exercise to burn calories.
BeauBody38
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Re: Questioning Recent Advice

Post by BeauBody38 »

You can lose weight/fat and gain muscles at the same time.
toddhicks209
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Re: Questioning Recent Advice

Post by toddhicks209 »

This doesn't sound right. In fact, strength training will help you lose weight because it builds muscle, thus boosting your metabolism.
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