T Nation

Is What My Trainer's Telling Me BS?

Beginners
#1

I was on the leg extension about almost reaching rep 10 when i mentioned that BIA machine which told me i lost .3 kilo muscle mass. He said that it is probably support muscle used for keeping fat and is basiclly useless.

He also mentioned that gaining muscle is on the opposite spectrum of weight loss and that when i lose fat i might lose a little muscle. I asked him if it was a necessary evil…he said yes.

Is my trained a dumbshit or is weight loss another spectrum from muscle gain.
Anyway i gotta ramp up the cutting, i only lost .2 lbs this week probably because i need to eat less.

According to tape measurement ( my neck suddenly grew 1.5 cm this week) i lost .4 kilos and maintained muscle mass.

#2

[quote]Kungfushish wrote:
I was on the leg extension about almost reaching rep 10 when i mentioned that BIA machine which told me i lost .3 kilo muscle mass. He said that it is probably support muscle used for keeping fat and is basiclly useless.

He also mentioned that gaining muscle is on the opposite spectrum of weight loss and that when i lose fat i might lose a little muscle. I asked him if it was a necessary evil…he said yes.

Is my trained a dumbshit or is weight loss another spectrum from muscle gain.
Anyway i gotta ramp up the cutting, i only lost .2 lbs this week probably because i need to eat less.

According to tape measurement ( my neck suddenly grew 1.5 cm this week) i lost .4 kilos and maintained muscle mass.[/quote]

All the above…

The machine (IMHO) is crap and I question the logic in such a device…

Your trainer is also feeding you more crap…

My question is why do you care?

Throw out your scale and look in the mirror… Thta’s the best indicator of how you’re doing and improving…

#3

[quote]
Aside from that, forget that damn machine.[/quote]

^^You guys must be talking about this.

I was referring to the bio-impedance machine he’s using, not leg extensions. Context, people!! WTF is wrong with you?!

#4

[quote]JayPierce wrote:

[quote]Kungfushish wrote:
I was on the leg extension about almost reaching rep 10 when i mentioned…[/quote]
You need more intensity. By rep 8, the only thing you should be able to ‘mention’ is RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!

Aside from that, forget that damn machine. Work hard (see above) and keep that diet in check, and you’ll see results. Guaranteed.

BTW… I hope the leg extensions were the third exercise of the day (or later), following a heavy compound and a unilateral movement (for legs)… if not, fire your trainer.[/quote]

I mean’t i was past rep 10 and finally asked, and it was the third exercise following heavy compound and a unilateral movement. My trainer isn’t a planet fitness geek, he loves muscle mass.

#5

[quote]JayPierce wrote:

[quote]Kungfushish wrote:
I was on the leg extension about almost reaching rep 10 when i mentioned…[/quote]
You need more intensity. By rep 8, the only thing you should be able to ‘mention’ is RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!

Aside from that, forget that damn machine. Work hard (see above) and keep that diet in check, and you’ll see results. Guaranteed.

BTW… I hope the leg extensions were the third exercise of the day (or later), following a heavy compound and a unilateral movement (for legs)… if not, fire your trainer.[/quote]

Also what is the basic idea for when you need to measure even the smallest ounce of muscle.

#6

More lifting, less worrying. Like JayPierce said, rep 8 and beyond should be “RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!”

#7

Dont think you’re hardcore cause you say that leg extension suck, it can do great things. It might not be a very pertinent exercise for a beginner but when getting strong and/or not being an efficient squater the leg extension becomes interesting for bodybuilding purposes. Taller guy will benefit a lot from it and also leg curl. That’s why tall fucker like me who sucks at squat can destroy someone squatting 100 pounds more than him on leg press or leg extension.

#8

[quote]CNSgenius wrote:
Dont think you’re hardcore cause you say that leg extension suck, it can do great things. It might not be a very pertinent exercise for a beginner but when getting strong and/or not being an efficient squater the leg extension becomes interesting for bodybuilding purposes. Taller guy will benefit a lot from it and also leg curl. That’s why tall fucker like me who sucks at squat can destroy someone squatting 100 pounds more than him on leg press or leg extension.[/quote]

Whuh, i never said i hated leg extensions, i must of mistyped

#9

[quote]Kungfushish wrote:
My trainer isn’t a planet fitness geek, he loves muscle mass.[/quote]

Righteous! Carry on then…

#10

[quote]Kungfushish wrote:
Also what is the basic idea for when you need to measure even the smallest ounce of muscle.[/quote]

There are too many variables that will throw your measurements off, no matter which method you use. The biggest ones being food and water. I mean, one of those little .5L bottles of water weighs over a pound. So if you just had to measure the most minute amount of muscle mass, you’d first have to have some sort of protocol for controlling intake and excretion amounts and hydration levels.

You really don’t wanna weigh your poo, do ya?

It really doesn’t matter, anyway. If you’re a bodybuilder, it’s all about how you look, and for powerlifters, it’s all about how you lift. Ounces of muscle mass are insignificant in the grand scheme.

#11

[quote]Kungfushish wrote:
I was on the leg extension about almost reaching rep 10 when i mentioned that BIA machine which told me i lost .3 kilo muscle mass. He said that it is probably support muscle used for keeping fat and is basiclly useless.

He also mentioned that gaining muscle is on the opposite spectrum of weight loss and that when i lose fat i might lose a little muscle. I asked him if it was a necessary evil…he said yes.

Is my trained a dumbshit or is weight loss another spectrum from muscle gain.
Anyway i gotta ramp up the cutting, i only lost .2 lbs this week probably because i need to eat less.

According to tape measurement ( my neck suddenly grew 1.5 cm this week) i lost .4 kilos and maintained muscle mass.[/quote]

Bio-electrical impedance isn’t accurate enough to detect a .3 kilo loss of muscle.

#12

The machine is crap, but the concept of Muscle Loss and Fat loss is not.

#13

[quote]Kungfushish wrote:
I was on the leg extension about almost reaching rep 10 when i mentioned that BIA machine which told me i lost .3 kilo muscle mass. He said that it is probably support muscle used for keeping fat and is basiclly useless.

[/quote]

Upon further inspection, what the hell is support muscle used for keeping fat?

#14

Yeah, that part is bullshit. The fat actually helps support the extra muscle mass, in a sense. Your muscle and fat cells sort of compete for energy. The main factors that determine what cells get what proportion of the energy you consume are insulin response (pertaining to both cells) and non-insulin uptake (pertaining to the muscle cells).

When there’s not enough energy to go around, you’re gonna lose some muscle glycogen just because of the way things balance out. You can minimize the muscle loss while maximizing fat loss by obeying the ‘Third Law of Muscle’.