losing weight and gaining strength - attention Ironfist and Ford

[dwid]

I realize that it's been discussed many times on this board that you can't build muscle mass while losing weight. What about increasing strength without increasing mass though? Is it possible to increase strength while dropping weight? The reason why I ask is because on the "gaining muscle without it showing" thread, it was said that most people's diets won't allow them to gain muscle mass, so they're pretty much limited to the gains they can make with existing muscle. So, is this the median between weight loss and strength gain, or do you still need to be at least maintaining body weight to gain strength in this way?

[IronFist]

It is possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, but only under two conditions:

1. If you're new to working out. Because the change from being sedentary to working out is so drastic, losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time becomes possible. In this case, the effects only last for a short while before your body adapts.

2. If you've got a good drug program.

I'm pretty sure it's possible to increase strength (but not size) while dropping weight coming from fat. Your strength increases probably won't be as great as if you weren't trying to diet off fat, but I am 99% sure it's possible none the less.

People on Pavel's forum report this happening all the time with kettlebells. I'm sure just a regular PTP program plus a good diet and some cardio would work, too.

Maybe Ford has some more information.

IronFist

[dwid]

Thanks, Ironfist