5k training

[Card29]

I have begun weight training on the sly. I just had my first session with a personal trainer, unbeknownst to my WAW. I am not sure what I would tell her if/when she finds out. suggestions?

Don't bring it up. Do it for yourself. But if she asks about it, just keep it brief but positive. Just say you're feeling really good. Definitely don't hint at a question like "do you like that I'm doing this?" If you want it to have an impact on her, she would find out by noticing a change in your body, not you tipping her off that you're training.

I am so sore. But already I see a difference - after 1 session. crazy! The trainer said that running burns muscle and I should avoid it. I am also eating way way more protein. Kind of getting sick of chicken and it's only been two days. Does anyone know if the morningstar veggie burgers are considered a good protein for muscle building?

Don't get too worked up after 1 training session. Any size change you notice immediately after the workout is due to increased blood flow in the muscles. That's why body builders lift weights right before going on stage. Just don't get discouraged if you notice they've went back to "normal" in a day or two. It takes time (weeks-months) to start to have long term change. You can burn fat 10x's faster than you can gain muscle.

Regarding running while weight lifting...for one thing, "running burns muscle" is flat wrong, unless you are eating at a deficit. If you only run and train for distance, yes, your muscles will tend to look like that of a distance runner. But distance runners don't typically perform heavy weight lifting programs. And body builders, power lifters and strongmen are huge, and no, they don't run very much, but that's because they don't need to in order to reach their goals. Running would just be extra, unnecessary work, and it would require them to eat even MORE food just to maintain their weight and strength.

They key is your diet. To gain muscle, you have to eat at a calorie surplus of 300-500 calories per day, and you should eat about 1 g of protein for every pound of lean body weight (use a lean body weight calculator). If you run, you burn extra calories, so you need to eat even more food. If you don't consider that extra calorie usage, and you eat the same # of calories (or less) than you burn, you will not gain muscle. Find a TDEE calculator online and figure out your base caloric need for 24 hours (be sure to include your exercises- lifting and running). Then use something like My Fitness Pal to track all of your calories and make sure you're eating at a surplus.

The jury is still out on "running negates lifting". I think if your goal is to be as huge as possible, you might not want to run. But you CAN gain muscle while running. I was a cross country runner in high school. We lifted, but not heavily, especially with upper body lifts. We did do very heavy squats and leg presses, though. Even though I was running 60+ miles a week, my legs were ripped by my senior year. I say, if you enjoy running, keep doing it. You can still gain muscle, and if you aren't running crazy distances, I don't think it has much of an effect at all. JMO. And I don't know if anyone in the world can say for sure regarding this issue, one way or the other, as research is still being conducted.

If you're interested in a flood of information, check out reddit.com/r/fitness. There is lots of good information there. There is also plenty of "bro-science" ("running burns muscle", "you have to intake protein before, during and after workout in order for the workout to count", etc. ...a.k.a. misinformation). And there is sometimes a little too much vanity for me, too, with people posting before and after pics. Some before and afters are really cool and motivational. Others are obviously just posted so people can praise them for their 6-packs.

The bottom line, though, is make sure you are doing these things for YOU. I get the impression from this thread that you are doing it to impress your W, although you did mention that you feel good doing it. Just make sure you have your head aimed in the right direction. If she finds out you're working out and is indifferent to it, it might crush you if you're hoping it will help your M (and it might, even if she doesn't acknowledge it right now). The flip side is that she could have a positive reaction, you mind read, and then you have a backslide when she remains on track to end your M. Making it about her is just setting yourself up for failure, so just be healthy-minded with your motivation.