Weight loss v Strength?

Kent Brockman

It appears to me that heavier people are stronger in general. Is this normally true?
I lost a lot of weight in the last few months , does this mean thet I am not as strong now?(I was not overweight)

I would be interested in hearing educated/experienced views on this subject e.g how much weight can you cut before you become weaker? or maybe it has no bearing?

Dragan

Muscular or neural strenght is very complicated and can't really be boiled down to just being a size issue.

Muscular endurance strenght can have a lot to do with the size of a muscle, but there is a difference between training a muscle for size and training it for strenght.

Neural or CNS based strenght ( think powerlifting, Olympic Lifting especially) has far more to do with the action of the central nervous system than the muscles. An argument could be made that in lifters like this, this having some very advanced hypertrothpy, this is the bodies respones to neuro muscular load, rather than training for muscular size in and of itself.

Also, even when it comes to training for size, strenght etc it can vary from subject to subject due to difference in muscle type distribution.

The only way to gauge the strenght of a subject over time is to have them perform certain lifts with 1RM or 10RM ( as an example ) loads under the same conditions. As such, i cannot really tell you if you got weaker because you lost size....it is likely you did, unless you do some very specific training.

Basically what i am saying is it is very complicated, but if you would like to give more information ( as much as you can ) then i will be able to help you more.

Kent Brockman

Dragan wrote:

Basically what i am saying is it is very complicated, but if you would like to give more information ( as much as you can ) then i will be able to help you more.

Thanks Dragan and sorry to bore the rest of you:rolleyes:

Im 35 was very active in soccer /gaa until the age of 20 and due to ankle injury and Girls/beer /college/job/wife/child in that order:) did very little sports/exercise for 14 years! Do alot of physical work carrying tools/ladders pulling cable and climbing towers and due to my metabolism have at least looked fit and strong!

Started Bjj with SBG on 34th birthday (mid-life crisis i'm told) and have a lot of difficulty with flexibility but seem reasonably strong. Always weighed 72kg

Anyway after 8 months training I had to get my appendix out by keyhole and got an infection in wound.Then had a very large post -op hernia operation where a large mesh was inserted to hold the muscles together. At the end of all this I weighed under 60 kg!
The mesh takes 3 months to bind fully and during this time I cannot stretch or lift anything heavier than a Pint(Doctors words:) ) and any time I've had to i.e. when 3yr old fell off bike, Ive had serious pain in side (apparently normal).

In one month I can start gentle lifting and exercising but having been static for 4 months now am worried about the effect it will have on my strength and already limited fitness. Im back up to 68kg at the moment basically from pigging out!

Hope this isnt too much info
Thanks for any advice.

Dragan

Hey dude,

from having a physically demanding job and (I assume) a good Irish appetite and in part a degree of genetic advantage also, i imagine that you were able to hold a decent ammount of muscle, be quite strong and in good nick.

The bad news is that nothing will strip you of muscle and strenght quicker than a convalesence.....and the lenght of time you have been out is enough time to add a lot of muscle! :eek:

The good news however, is a genetic phenomenon refferred to as "muscle memory"....basically once you build a degree of muscle/strenght , should you ever lose it you will find it a lot easier to regain....so when you can start back on a program of excercise you should find yourself coming back to strenght very quickly!

I can think of no reason as to why you would NOT have lost strength....that would be impossible when looking at human physiology, and i could go into all the reasons why if you want?

Needless to say you will be weaker and less conditioned than you were before your surgery, however, with the right work, diet and attitude this will come back pretty quickly.

My advice would be not to disheartened put in the work and you will be amazed what you will acheive in a short time. I suggest sticking to whatever guidelines the doctor lays out for physical activity, and then when he gives the green light to start going some heavier work take it easy and don't rush things.

Read up on the Paleo diet and think about adopting that as an eating strategy. Also, for a man your age i would suggest you incorporate Pumpkin seed oil into your diet instead of Olive Oil/Sun flower, but i am jumping a little bit ahead of myself now.

Roper

Any news on that Pumpkin Seed oil you were thinking about getting in bulk Dragan?

Dragan

Roper wrote:

Any news on that Pumpkin Seed oil you were thinking about getting in bulk Dragan?

Can you believe there is a customs issue with it that i am trying to sort out??? Basically i can buy the oil quite cheaply, and even the transport is not so bad.....but the charge that customs want to apply is STUPID!!!!!

I am currently looking into having it sent to a mate who lives up north, see what that would cost and then work ahead from there.

This is the third time in 3 months that customs have been ****ing with me. :mad: