Weight lifting - Is this right for my goals?

natajane

Or is there other suggested ways?

I'm on Operation Shrink! I want to lose 3 dress sizes over the next 6 months. I'm going away on a girls weekend so I have good motivation.

I'm going to eat TDEE less 20%, and I'm doing a behavioural 12 week plan to get my mind sorted.

Exercise though - what is the best thing to do for inch loss? I'm reading the success stories here and I'm thinking lifting heavy?

I like the look of strong lifts 5x5, it's so simple. I haven't read into other plans though.

Any tips welcome!

P.S - I hate Cardio. I'm quite heavy and have 80+ lbs to go so find it difficult. I accept I need to do some though as it helps my body processes. I'm just planning on walking 30 mins a day on a treadmill, don't want to go over board to begin with and so put myself off.

cookielover_96

I would only recommend 5x5 if you're content with your goals and would like to proceed to take it further but not if you're an amateur. Try 3x10 or 3x15. It's better to do high intensity cardio for a short amount of time than low intensity for a long time...get that heart rate up!

Sued0nim

You're thinking along the right lines and that certainly is a good programme but you may wish to start bodyweight, drop some weight and then start with the lifting

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

You should be careful about putting undue strain on joints and ligaments perhaps get medical clearance first

middlehaitch

Doh @rabbitjb you beat me to it.

@natajane nerd fitness would be a great programme. You can do it at home, or at the gym even though you don't need any equipment.
Look up how to do the various moves on you tube so you get the form correct.
If you find any difficult there are workarounds.
Squat- just lower yourself to a chair, but stand back up before you sit.
Push up- stand and push off a wall, then table, then on floor on knees, then the full push up.
All the others can be made easier or harder. Once you can do all 3 sets with good form, it wont take too long, move on to a 5x5. Your body will be much better prepared.

You should get the benefit off a little bit of a body re-sculpt if you are consistent.

Walking is always a great exercise. But if you are doing it at the gym, try out the rowing machine. It is less used, gives a good work out, and activates just about all your muscles. Great as a 15 min warm up before resistance work.

Cheers, h.

LKArgh

natajane wrote: »

Or is there other suggested ways?

I'm on Operation Shrink! I want to lose 3 dress sizes over the next 6 months. I'm going away on a girls weekend so I have good motivation.

I'm going to eat TDEE less 20%, and I'm doing a behavioural 12 week plan to get my mind sorted.

Exercise though - what is the best thing to do for inch loss? I'm reading the success stories here and I'm thinking lifting heavy?

I like the look of strong lifts 5x5, it's so simple. I haven't read into other plans though.

Any tips welcome!

P.S - I hate Cardio. I'm quite heavy and have 80+ lbs to go so find it difficult. I accept I need to do some though as it helps my body processes. I'm just planning on walking 30 mins a day on a treadmill, don't want to go over board to begin with and so put myself off.

Realistically with 80 lbs to lose, most of the results regarding inch loss, will come from diet. Strength training will help with overall health, obviously strength and will help you maintain muscle and look better as you lose weight.

Yi5hedr3

Yes, lift heavy!

Aetheldreda

rabbitjb wrote: »

You're thinking along the right lines and that certainly is a good programme but you may wish to start bodyweight, drop some weight and then start with the lifting

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

You should be careful about putting undue strain on joints and ligaments perhaps get medical clearance first

This is exactly what I needed to see at the moment. I want to start lifting but had no idea how to start properly and safely. I don't have a gym membership or any 'proper' home equipment. Nerd Fitness sounds just right for me - thank you for posting the link.
OP I hope you enjoy the programme

Sued0nim

ach_75 wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

You're thinking along the right lines and that certainly is a good programme but you may wish to start bodyweight, drop some weight and then start with the lifting

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

You should be careful about putting undue strain on joints and ligaments perhaps get medical clearance first

This is exactly what I needed to see at the moment. I want to start lifting but had no idea how to start properly and safely. I don't have a gym membership or any 'proper' home equipment. Nerd Fitness sounds just right for me - thank you for posting the link.
OP I hope you enjoy the programme

@ach_75

You may also want to look at

you are your gym ...I believe they have an app
Or
Convict conditioning

They are both bodyweight programmes

Aetheldreda

rabbitjb wrote: »

ach_75 wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

You're thinking along the right lines and that certainly is a good programme but you may wish to start bodyweight, drop some weight and then start with the lifting

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

You should be careful about putting undue strain on joints and ligaments perhaps get medical clearance first

This is exactly what I needed to see at the moment. I want to start lifting but had no idea how to start properly and safely. I don't have a gym membership or any 'proper' home equipment. Nerd Fitness sounds just right for me - thank you for posting the link.
OP I hope you enjoy the programme

@ach_75

You may also want to look at

you are your gym ...I believe they have an app
Or
Convict conditioning

They are both bodyweight programmes

@rabbitjb thank you for the information, it's very helpful.

natajane

Thanks for your replies, they are so helpful!

That body weight routine is great, it's so simple. My memory is shocking so any routine with more than 5 moves or that's complex just scares me off. That's why 5x5 is my end goal. I agree some conditioning would be best what with me not having done anything for a few years.

I own a 2nd hand treadmill, I bought it because I have a Fitbit and the days where I work I barely move. So it was to get my steps up easily, no matter the weather or time. Are you saying HIIT would be better than walking though?

X

HIITMe

I started 5x5 at 280 pounds. I credit it and other accessory weight lifting with getting me down to current size 4.
Muscle building burns off fat more efficiently than cardio. It's less impact as well. My knees and back are much stronger.
In past year I've gained 20 back... I blame that on me stopping weight lifting.
Started back Jan 1... Down 6 pounds already and my jeans are happy

Carlos_421

I just want to stop in and point out that whatever exercise program you go with, it will neither speed nor slow your weight loss.
If your eating TDEE-20%, you'll be eating 20% fewer calories than you burn and will lose that amount of weight regardless of what exercises you do.
If you start exercising, that raises your TDEE so you'll be eating more to accommodate your workouts (which is why I say that the exercise won't speed weight loss, it will mean eating more to fuel those workouts).

That said, resistance training in any of the programs suggested here will help to preserve muscle mass during weight loss, meaning more of the weight you lose will come from fat (good thing!) and that once you reach your goal weight, you'll have a better body composition (also a good thing!).

Good luck!!!

natajane

HIITMe wrote: »

I started 5x5 at 280 pounds. I credit it and other accessory weight lifting with getting me down to current size 4.
Muscle building burns off fat more efficiently than cardio. It's less impact as well. My knees and back are much stronger.
In past year I've gained 20 back... I blame that on me stopping weight lifting.
Started back Jan 1... Down 6 pounds already and my jeans are happy

Hello,

Wow that's progress! Did you eat at TDEE -20%? Mine is working out at 1680 cals and then I see people say to eat calories back. I probably would save half of them for the odd treat at the weekend.

And did you start right off with the 5x5 programme? My original plan was to get straight to it with an empty bar for a few weeks. (which I guess wouldn't be far off what people describe as body weight exercises) as I've read a few success stories where people say they wished they'd done it from the start.

natajane

Thanks Carlos. That's exactly what I want to do, try to make sure I'm burning fat up and maintaining any muscle. If I do that I think I'll "shrink" sizes a bit quicker for my June goal?

Sued0nim

I did do it from the start and regret nothing

I think you're on the right path OP

Good luck

You may be surprised how much you grow to love it

middlehaitch

@natajane if you are using an online calculator to establish your TDEE and have your exercise included you don't eat back exercise calories.
You're fine.

MFP works off the NEAT method where you enter and account for your exercise separately. That is when you see posts for people to eat back calories.

MFP expects exercise calories to be eaten but a number of people don't.
Eating only enough to fuel your everyday activities only, then exercising on top, can lead to various health and wellness problems.

Cheers, h.

Mistraal1981

I started with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. Each of the 3 stages are available free on YouTube. Good luck!

natajane

Thanks guys! I'm glad you pointed out about exercise calories! I thought 1600+exercise seemed like too many calories to be true ha. Does weight lifting burn many calories?

I have a Fitbit flex and I've been wearing it for a week without exercising to see how much I "naturally" move. On a normal day with no exercise it tells me I burn around 2040 calories. I think that's my TDEE? So I take 20% off that?

What do I do when I start exercise calorie wise? Im not sure my flex will realise I'm lifting weights, as it goes off of arm movements, but I think it will pick up any cardio ok.

PAV8888

Your Fitbit works off TDEE.

Connect Fitbit to MFP. Enable negative adjustments.

Based on your Fitbit TDEE of about 2040 calories I would select an MFP goal to lose either 1lb or 0.5 lbs a week (500 to 250 cal deficit).

Log exercise in either Fitbit or MFP (they will exchange data: any exercise you record in MFP will over-write the same time frame on Fitbit).

I actually prefer to log exercise in Fitbit even though this means that you don't get the cute MFP Status announcement.

When you've enabled negative adjustments all your calorie out information comes from Fitbit and your MFP activity settings basically become irrelevant.

The "exercise adjustment" you get is not an exercise adjustment, it is a daily TDEE adjustment.

It should be eaten back at 100% unless you have some reason to suspect that your Fitbit is overestimating your burn.

It usually doesn't...

natajane

Eee Pav you're a total star! Thanks for your note, I finally understand how my Fitbit will work with MFP! Yey!

Now I just need to put it all together and see what happens.

kshama2001

rabbitjb wrote: »

You're thinking along the right lines and that certainly is a good programme but you may wish to start bodyweight, drop some weight and then start with the lifting

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

You should be careful about putting undue strain on joints and ligaments perhaps get medical clearance first

I'm curious how women new to weight lifting do with pushups. I had a hard time doing two sets of eight against a counter, and I dumbbell bench press regularly. I can do 10 knee down (aka "girl pushups").

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

20 body weight squats
10 push ups
20 walking lunges
10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug)
15 second plank
30 Jumping Jacks

Sued0nim

You do what you can ...start against a wall, knees etc

I did my first push up ever in September 2014 at the age of 47 ..it is possible to build enough strength at any stage of life

Progressed from knee push ups, then leaning over then leaning over more ...then finally had enough strength (probably due to a range of other weights) to manage one, then more, then adapted

ew_david

kshama2001 wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

You're thinking along the right lines and that certainly is a good programme but you may wish to start bodyweight, drop some weight and then start with the lifting

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

You should be careful about putting undue strain on joints and ligaments perhaps get medical clearance first

I'm curious how women new to weight lifting do with pushups. I had a hard time doing two sets of eight against a counter, and I dumbbell bench press regularly. I can do 10 knee down (aka "girl pushups").

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

20 body weight squats
10 push ups
20 walking lunges
10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug)
15 second plank
30 Jumping Jacks

I was able to do push-ups after a lot of time bench pressing. I started with as many as I could do the normal (read: not on knees or inclined) way; I could do maybe one. I just built off that. Two years later, it's still hard because I don't do them regularly and I don't like them enough to do them regularly. I tried the Spartan 30 (30 push-ups every day for 30 days) challenge a while back and had to give up on day 15 because my shoulder hurt. Probably because my form sucked. Right now, I can do 3-5 sets of 10.