EXPLAIN WHY WEIGHTS??? Please!!!

Hey guys I know I've read multiple things on why lifting is great for women... I've seen many AWESOME results that have swayed me to incorporate weights in my routine.

So far for myself I used to do 5-8 hours of cardio a week usually zumba or insanity along with jogging... Since January I've dropped about 19 lbs and have come to a SLOW hault like 1-3 lbs loss a month... very painful to step on the scale. After re focusing and research I found out I wasn't eating enough and now needed to add weight training for my desired results...

MY QUESTION:

I would like to hear some of your explanations as to why and what is going on in the body as I eat still at a deficit and now lift heavy weights along with less cardio than I was previously doing... now its 3x a week with weights and 4-5 hours of cardio a week. Do weights help burn fat faster? From my understanding I wont be gaining muscle but just maintaing muscle? How do I then get stronger and able to lift more as the weeks go on? Does lifting increase your metabolism? if so WHY? I just want to understand what exactly the weight traing is doing in the body. I get that it is needed and really am hoping that it will be what my body needs to get rid of this FAT!!!!

Thanks guys in advance for your thoughts and tips...

Replies

erinsueburns

In a nutshell, strength training is still exercising, so it does burn some additional calories over being sedentary, thus helping to maintain a deficit while still actually eating food. But what it can also do is help you maintain and keep more of the muscles you already have while losing weight. This means that as you lose weight, a larger percentage of it will be fat. And that is what people typically, actually, mean when they say they want to lose weight-they want to lose fat. And long term, muscle in a pound for pound comparison with fat does burn slightly more calories. Now the reason you are getting stronger despite the fact you can't build any appreciable muscle on a deficit, is due to neural adaptation.

manique45

Thanks for your explanation... I sweat like a beast when lifting so I know something is burning... Any other explanations? or $.02?

I love this topic and just find it interesting how the body reacts to weights... I am still terrified that the scale is going to say something higher.. I am taking about a month break from any weigh ins hoping this will allow time for my body to rid excess water retention from the new intro of weights...

Another Quesiton: Will my body always retain water after a weight training session?

erinsueburns

Yes your body will pretty much always retain water, and that is a good thing as you need it. And honestly, for me I have pretty much abandoned weighing myself (except for when I go in for new allergy shot vials-so like every three months) and stick with measuring and the way my clothes fit. My thought, since I don't have my weight tattooed on my forehead, it is largely irrelevant what I weigh and vastly more relevant how I look and how my clothes fit.

gfroniewski

Subbed

Can more people chime in on this, especially ladies? I am trying to convince my girlfriend she needs to start lifting weights!

IronPlayground

You'll increase strength through neural adaptations as long as you continue to increase the resistance. Also, through better recruitment of muscle fibers. You will be able to maintain LBM while lifting at a deficit. You will also have increased bone density which is beneficial since, as we age, bones become weaker.

etoiles_argentees

The 50 Calorie Per Pound of Muscle Myth

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the saying, “You increase your metabolism by 50 calories for every pound of muscle you add to your body.”

50 calories per pound???? Really????

Let’s take a look at this. I’m about 180 pounds. When I first started weight lifting, I weighed about 135 pounds. I’ve added a little bit of body fat since then, so let’s be conservative and say I’ve gained 30 pounds of muscle since I started weight training.

If I’ve gained 30 pounds of muscle, that means that my metabolism should have increased by 50 x 30 = 1,500 calories.

I’ve had my resting metabolic rate (RMR) officially tested. The last time it was measured, it was 1,671 calories per day.

Now, if my RMR increased by 1,500 calories since I first started weight training, then that would mean my RMR started out at only 171 calories per day.

That is completely impossible. Nobody has a resting metabolic rate that low, unless you’re dead.

Building muscle does not increase your metabolism by 50 calories per day. The real number is only 6 calories per pound on average.

So my 30 pounds of extra muscle has increased my metabolism by about 180 calories…not 1,500.

Adding muscle doesn’t boost your metabolism all that much. Yes, it does a little bit, but you’ll get more bang for your buck by simply being more active throughout the day.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying building muscle and strength training is not important. It’s extremely important. It improves strength, it improves appearance, it improves function in activities of daily living, and it increases bone density. You also get a nice elevation of your metabolism of about 50-100 calories for 24 hours after your workout. My point is that building muscle is over-rated for permanently increasing your metabolism and energy expenditure.

The “50 calories per pound” number appears to be a case of communal reinforcement. This is the process by which a claim becomes a strong belief through repeated assertion by members of a community. Someone, somewhere, at one time proclaimed this 50 calorie per pound number. Other people heard it, believed it, and started telling their friends. It has now been repeated so often by so many people everywhere that people have accepted the number without question. Then you get doctors and other respected health professionals quoting the number, and it becomes permanently entrenched in our beliefs.

The fact is, muscle does not boost your metabolism all that much. Building muscle is important….just don’t expect it to make you a calorie burning machine.

http://weightology.net/?p=192

Let me say right up front that I'm a big fan of strength training. Muscle is sleek and sexy, and I wish I had more. Muscle is also functional; it helps you do stuff. More muscle can help you run faster, for example, or slow down the nasty effects of aging, or get you an invite every time one of your friends needs to move heavy furniture.

http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/can-you-really-boost-your-metabolism?page=single

shirleygirl910

Read "New rules of weight lifting for women"

erickirb

erinsueburns said it well, no real reason for others to chime in.

I will just add that along with the strength training, in order to retain as much muscle as possible you should also have a small caloric deficit (depending on how much you have to lose this could be a goal of 0.5 - 1 lb/week), and to get adequate protein intake (much more than MFP defaults to)

mreeves261

Totally not one of your questions but I have found, for me anyway, I get a much larger endorphin rush from 20 minutes of heavy lifting than from 60 minutes of cardio. In fact I still haven't experienced that whole "runner's high" I've heard about. BUT, after lifting I feel like I could run a marathon I have so much energy!

Sarauk2sf

In a nutshell, strength training is still exercising, so it does burn some additional calories over being sedentary, thus helping to maintain a deficit while still actually eating food. But what it can also do is help you maintain and keep more of the muscles you already have while losing weight. This means that as you lose weight, a larger percentage of it will be fat. And that is what people typically, actually, mean when they say they want to lose weight-they want to lose fat. And long term, muscle in a pound for pound comparison with fat does burn slightly more calories. Now the reason you are getting stronger despite the fact you can't build any appreciable muscle on a deficit, is due to neural adaptation.

Basically ^^this.

Resistance training does have other benefits however, including improved bone density, something that is importance, particularly for women.

Marll

There seems to be many reasons that weight lifting is great for everyone, including women:

1. It appears to increase insulin sensitivity, which in turn better regulates insulin and blood sugar. Stable blood sugar leads to less fat storage when not necessary, and in fact the release of stored energy. Combining weights with a lower carb diet seems to do wonders for most people that try it.

2. More muscle means more calories burned to maintain said muscle, even when resting.

3. Lifting heavy weights has been shown to improve bone density. People that have been overweight for long periods, as well as those that lift heavy objects/weights are much less likely to develop osteoporosis (calcium really doesn't have that much to do with it) which seems to effect women more than men (likely due to the aversion to lifting weights!)

4. Strength. Who wants to be weak?

5. Tone. Nobody ever got toned arms, legs and core from doing just cardio...

6. Appears to balance the right amount of hormones for both sexes. Men especially will see a decrease in estrogen and increase in testosterone when lifting. Women will also see an increase in testosterone (not enough to become mannish, ladies) which helps increase bone density in some studies as well as increasing sexual desire and function (usually leading to more frequent arousal and orgasms) and helps to alleviate minor depression.

I'm sure there are a host of other benefits as well, but I know for me personally I always feel better physically and mentally when I'm lifting rather than doing cardio all the time (which depresses me honestly).

Sarauk2sf

erinsueburns said it well, no real reason for others to chime in.

I will just add that along with the strength training, in order to retain as much muscle as possible you should also have a small caloric deficit (depending on how much you have to lose this could be a goal of 0.5 - 1 lb/week), and to get adequate protein intake (much more than MFP defaults to)

^^and this

RunnerInVT

Look at the body of a marathoner v /s a weight lifter.
I do both.
I crashed my motorcycle at the age of 51 after being diagnosed with thin bones..(osteopenia.) I broke no bones and got minimally hurt because I had muscle to support the bones and cardio helped speed healing.

All young women will age. But how you age is totally up to you.

I jump out of bed ready to go each day and play tennis, basketball, hike, swim and rollerblade and more with my 12 year old daughter. My mom took naps when I was 12 and did nothing with me.

Weight training makes your skin tight and youthful you look strong sexy and healthy. Cardio is good for the inside.

RivenV

In to read Sarauk2sf's and other's responses later.

leannerae40

Hey there...I have a ton of weight to lose and recently hired a personal trainer who is all about weights. She told me to get rid of my scale, and focus on pictures...you can literally change your body to what you want it to be with weights, kind of like shaping clay. So for me, the WHY WEIGHTS? question is answered:

"The harder I work, the hotter I'll look."

It's mostly about looks for me, and feeling great and being strong and healthy. My short term goal is 1 chin up and my long term goal is 25 chin ups.

Good luck to you, and sorry I'm not more scientific. I would recommend checking out some books on Amazon though, there's a ton of useful information on weight training on there if that's what you're interested in. I just thought I'd give my HONEST answer.

CoderGal

Nice thread and answers

Look at the body of a marathoner v /s a weight lifter.
I do both.
I crashed my motorcycle at the age of 51 after being diagnosed with thin bones..(osteopenia.) I broke no bones and got minimally hurt because I had muscle to support the bones and cardio helped speed healing.

All young women will age. But how you age is totally up to you.

I jump out of bed ready to go each day and play tennis, basketball, hike, swim and rollerblade and more with my 12 year old daughter. My mom took naps when I was 12 and did nothing with me.

Weight training makes your skin tight and youthful you look strong sexy and healthy. Cardio is good for the inside.

In with another motorcycle story. I f-ed my back in a motorcycle accident. Hikes/cardio killed me. I picked up weight lifting and my back problems went away and my arthritis (which I've had since I was ~5) is mia as well.

I've also been a dancer since I was 8, it was great exercise and required some strength but nothing compared to where weight lifting can bring you. My biggest problem is the ignorance that assumes you will get bigger by lifting.

It helps maintain your muscle at a deficit, and helps grow it at a surplus. That basically boils down to being able to be much thinner and firmer at heavier weights.

ChanceyRose

Strictly a personal reason, but I opted to include weights in my fitness routine because I dislike asking for help. Putting a heavy suitcase into an overhead bin on an airplane. DONE! Lifting and carrying the 40lb bag of dog food. No problem. <--- At least, that's my goal.

smwooley

There seems to be many reasons that weight lifting is great for everyone, including women:

1. It appears to increase insulin sensitivity, which in turn better regulates insulin and blood sugar. Stable blood sugar leads to less fat storage when not necessary, and in fact the release of stored energy. Combining weights with a lower carb diet seems to do wonders for most people that try it.

2. More muscle means more calories burned to maintain said muscle, even when resting.

3. Lifting heavy weights has been shown to improve bone density. People that have been overweight for long periods, as well as those that lift heavy objects/weights are much less likely to develop osteoporosis (calcium really doesn't have that much to do with it) which seems to effect women more than men (likely due to the aversion to lifting weights!)

4. Strength. Who wants to be weak?

5. Tone. Nobody ever got toned arms, legs and core from doing just cardio...

6. Appears to balance the right amount of hormones for both sexes. Men especially will see a decrease in estrogen and increase in testosterone when lifting. Women will also see an increase in testosterone (not enough to become mannish, ladies) which helps increase bone density in some studies as well as increasing sexual desire and function (usually leading to more frequent arousal and orgasms) and helps to alleviate minor depression.

I'm sure there are a host of other benefits as well, but I know for me personally I always feel better physically and mentally when I'm lifting rather than doing cardio all the time (which depresses me honestly).

^^This. Plus I agree with the poster who said you'll look hotter - who wants to be skinny-fat? Wouldn't you rather have some definition? I feel 1000x better when I lift weights than when I do any kind of cardio. Finally, I also agree - check out the New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. Explains a lot!

histomom

I have been doing cardio and weight lifting seriously since the beginning of the year. I have only lost 22 lbs. I have been getting lots of comments asking if I have lost weight. I have stalled out in the weight loss for about a month. Lifting weight will change your figure and make you look sleeker. Not to mention it burns more calories longer after your work out. Go I personally like the heavier weights. Good Luck!

ShellyBell999

Tagging for reference

ami5000psu

My own personal experience has been that when I lost weight through a deficit and cardio alone I was still very jiggly and didn't like how my body was looking. Sure I lost weight but I didn't look like I lost weight. Lifting heavy things has made me look so much better than the cardio alone ever did. Plus the future benefits down the road of increased strength and stronger bones aren't too shabby either.

manique45

Awesome Thank you MFPer's I am so happy in just 3 wks I am noticing changes in my body... Nothing that is like OMG is that you lol but energy levels are great, I feel stronger and I am loving how weight lifting is making me feel... I took a month off the scale and Happy to report a loss -1.4 lbs. So heavy weight lifting does not make you gain lol

)

Can't wait to see how I change in a few more months!