I wanna get some of these gym myths straight in my head and sort through which ones are true.

Firstly I am wondering if I someday get sick or pregnant or whatever and can't train; will I gain weight as all my muscle turns to fat? This is what I have been told. I'm sure it's bull but need to ask.....

I am also wondering how long this process would take if it is true. I haven't been able to train for a week and a half and am waiting another week for the all clear from my doctor re: a recent health prob that has prevented me from training. Will I have lost some of my muscle during this time?

I am doing weightlifting to help me lose fat weight and it has worked for me; even broken a stall. However I don't want to get built; I just wanna look toned if you will. I know there is no such thing as 'toned' but I want to look like this rather than this.

So how do I workout to ensure I get the 'toned' look rather than the 'female bodybuilder' look?

1. Muscle does not turn to fat, they are different types of cells. Muscle will however lose its tone & you might look a bit different.

2. You have to do a LOT of lifting to get the bodybuilder look, and most women don't have the genes (or whatever) for it anyway (the ones that get scary looking are doing different things nutrition-wise, too). Doing weights a few times a week for a half hour or so will do very nice things for your body, and you should indeed look "toned". Plus, it'll rev up your metabolism. (that said, if you are carrying a lot of extra weight you won't see the toning so much - anyone can get a six-pack but in order to SEE the six-pack it needs to not be covered with a layer of fat!)

Sue

The only way you'll look like a body builder is if you eat about twice your maintenance calories and TRAIN *until* you look like that (i.e., MANY MONTHS OF TRAINING AND EATING).

You will NEVER look like that while eating at a deficit.

You will look like Jillian if you continue to weight train, keeping your muscle and losing fat by creating a deficit in calories.

Your muscle will only be *replaced* by fat if you don't eat enough protein to sustain it and WEIGHT TRAIN to REMIND the muscles to KEEP IT.

2 weeks will affect you different ways at different stages.

I dont think 2 weeks off is very noticable at the beginning, your body is too willing and ready to adapt and gain faster than it loses.

After you are past the early gain stage (I figure 3 months or so) then 2 weeks just pushes you back 2 weeks in progress.

In the latter stages, when every workout counts, 2 weeks is (at least to me) a killer. I feel like I lose a month of progress. The up side is that you can do a lot of healing in 2 weeks, so aches and pains can dissappear.

So....I guess I am saying dont sweat it. Its just two weeks and you will make it up in no time.

So what happens to my muscles if I have to stop weight training during travelling or late pregnancy then?

Basically, they just get out of shape. They're still there, more or less. When you start working out again they will firm up.

Not being able to train during sickness I can understand, but not the pregnancy thing - there are still things you can do. The yoga studio I go to offers prenatal hatha yoga - slow, long poses will help keep those muscles "toned".

cheers,
Sue

You must train your muscles to a point they are not use to being trained to get them to get any bigger than they are now. That's why loads of reps won't encourage your muscles to get bigger.

If you want your muscles to grow they have to see a reason to do it. If you start lifting really heavy, and continue increasing your weights, they'll see a reason. They will get bigger.

If you continue to lift in a high rep range, they're already able to handle that and will just maintain. As you lose fat you'll see what you've got, but unless you lift in the low rep range/heavier and heavier, they won't be very big.

So, when your muscles are the size you want them to be...just stay doing what you're doing, don't increase the weights, don't decrease either, or they will back off back to the strength/size they are being called on to be.

As is what happens when you stop weight training....your muscles will return to the size they need to be to handle your ever day life.

As was stated before~ muscle and fat are 2 different things and one doesn't morph into the other. That's why doing ab work isn't going to tighten up fat. It'll tighten up muscles, but until the fat is gone, you're not going to see the muscles.

However, if you're eating to make muscles grow, and stop training them but continue to eat like you are training them....you will get fat. Because....

You lose or gain body fat by the amount of calories you consume. Eat what you need and will burn. More than that will get stored as fat.

I don't think there is any element of pregnancy that doesn't come out better if the mother starts out stronger rather than weaker. The fact that you may lose a little strength at the end isn't enough reason to not get stronger in the first place.

I have more muscle after this 3rd (and final, ha!) pregnancy then ever before--mostly due to heavy training after delivery.

Muscle either gets bigger or gets smaller. If you stop training for long periods of time (longer than a few weeks), then as Galatia said, the muscles will just slowly revert back to whatever your previous size. If you start training again (and eating sufficient protein), they will grow again.

The "muscle into fat" myth came around because usually when people stop training, they also stop eating right, and gain fat. Fat forms within the muscle, too (think prime cut of steak vs a select cut), making the muscle flabbier....so some think it's changing to fat. It's not--just adding fat to it. As well as fat everywhere else,

It's smart to take a week or 2 off training every now and then--all bodybuilders/strength athletes do--allowing the body/joints a break. You won't lose much (if any) muscle, esp. if you're continuing to eat adequate protein. Also, the fatter you are, the less you have to worry about losing actual muscle. It's not until you hit the lower bodyfat levels (like Jillian's and beyond) that it becomes a significant concern.

As for the 2 pix you posted--Jillian is at a low bodyfat there, but not as low a bodyfat as the 2nd pic. You can't really compare the 2--that bodybuilder is going to look really different in her "fatter" off-season look than she is in that competition phase pic.

Not to mention, IMO that BB pic has the classic signs of steroid supplementation. Using AAS (anabolic steroids) enables women to really "bulk up", above and beyond what they could do naturally.

I didn't actually look at the pictures the first time through. Now that I have, there's another suggestion. Next time you're in the grocery store, pick up one of the women's bodybuilder magazines--the ones with the "not like this" body on the cover. (I'm not talking about women's fitness, but rather the real gym rat mags that advertise mostly protein powders and fat-loss supplements for pre-show cutting.) Take it home and read what they say about workouts and diet and prepping for a contest. Decide if your planned workouts are anything like what the women who compete in bodybuilding shows are doing.

If not, you have nothing to worry about.

You might also look for pictures of women who compete in "Natural" shows. Certainly, for the men, the outcomes are very very different. The guys who win Mr. Natural Universe wouldn't even be able to step on stage with the guys competing in Mr. World, and the same difference applies to the women.

Where could I find pics from the natural Ms. Universe?

Also just to get this straight if I weigh 140lbs at goal and then God Forbid get sick and have to stop training for a few months I will just look flabby; I won't suddendly zoom up to 160 or something???? As long as I keep on eating adequate protein, my CCL and don't overeat.

Sorry if my questions seem repetitive. I'm just trying to get these straight in my head as weight lifting is the FIRST exercise I really love and I wanna keep at it.

Thanks!

You can't get fat on air, If you were doing a lot of calorie burning exercise and suddenly stop for long periods of time BUT continue to eat as if you were still doing all that exercise, then yes, you will probably begin to gain weight. But that wouldn't happen all of a sudden either... that's why, IMO it's wise to weigh yourself on a regular basis even during maintenance, so you will always know what your body is doing.

So to answer your question...you have to tailor your eating to your lifestyle. Food is energy. If you're expending a lot of energy, you can eat more food. If you're not, you can't.

***********delete

Several of us have started using Russian kettlebells as part of our training. I find the combination of weight and cardio more effective than free-weights or machines for building total body strength and burning fat.

Where would I get a kettleball? What do you do with them?