Why would you not weight lift while losing weight?

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  • catsdogsh
    catsdogsh Posts: 130 Member
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    snowflake954 wrote: »
    I swim alot because I have OA and avoided weights because I have wrist problems. Last year I started going to the gym because I couldn't swim for a month--minor surgery. It was amazing. My posture got better after 2 weeks, plus my body looked better and people I knew from swimming said so. Here I had been resisting all these years going to the gym--I had zero interest. I did follow usmrcp's thread on recomp and thanks to her decided to try. I now fit it in along with swimming. I'm 61, and the results are astounding.

  • catsdogsh
    catsdogsh Posts: 130 Member
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    Great, thanks for sharing your story!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,906 Member
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    laurenpjokl wrote: »
    Does weight lifting have any advantages over other kind of resistance training? At the moment, I only use my bodyweight, dumbbells, or machines.

    I have to keep the weights light and work my way up slowly because of my disability. I'm seeing some progress, but I feel like there's no point in me taking up space in the free weights section when I still can't even pick up anything heavier than a 10kg barbell.

    I do primarily dumbbells. I go to my gym the hour before close - I'm usually the only woman in the free weights section and get the lower weights all to myself.

  • Jcl81
    Jcl81 Posts: 154 Member
    edited April 2016
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    laurenpjokl wrote: »
    Does weight lifting have any advantages over other kind of resistance training? At the moment, I only use my bodyweight, dumbbells, or machines.

    I have to keep the weights light and work my way up slowly because of my disability. I'm seeing some progress, but I feel like there's no point in me taking up space in the free weights section when I still can't even pick up anything heavier than a 10kg barbell.

    Dumbbells and machines are very similar to free weights like a barbell. It's personal preference, you can get a great body with anything as long as there is resistance and it's moderately heavy you'll gain muscle. TUT is very important (time under tension)

    I prefer free weights for range of motion and stabilizing muscles, but if there is disability I would stay with something like a smith machine and lighter weight. Machines are wonderful either way. At least you're are doing something regardless, something is always better than nothing!
  • forwardmoving
    forwardmoving Posts: 96 Member
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    Because I find it boring.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
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    I think as a few others pointed out it is a combination of things.

    First, for weight lifting to be productive it has to be a structured program. For some that may involve reading books and doing it yourself, for others it may mean hiring a trainer. Either way it is involves much more time and energy than getting on a treadmill or something for 40mins.

    Second, for many people it is difficult to find the dedication to lose weight to begin with, but to spread it our further on a weightlifting program, can be quite overwhelming.

    Lastly many people I know could care less about increasing the size of their muscles they merely want to drop some weight. Losing fat and maintaining cardiovascular health by walking and or running is a great way to improve your overall health.
  • eyeshinebright
    eyeshinebright Posts: 51 Member
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    My thing is my knees and ankle. I messed up my right knee and it never fully recovered, and I sprained my left ankle which never fully recovered. I can do day to day walking and jogs even, but one crazy lunge and I'm feeling it in a bad way. Which sucks because I know compound exercises are the best thing for fat loss.
  • eeejer
    eeejer Posts: 339 Member
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    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    Personally, it is because I just plain do not have the time to lift weights. I don't have 2 hour blocks of time, 3 non-consecutive days each week. My schedule is way too tight with work and class. I intend to lift after I graduate with my current degree program, but I also hope to reach my goal weight by then.

    45 mins 3x a week. Everyone has time for that.
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
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    I can understand not lifting weights because you don't like to, but I don't know why anyone would postpone lifting until the weight is off. I'm 260 pounds and lift weights. It takes up 90 minutes of my week, and I'm thrilled with the results. Yes, 100 pounds of extra fat does look better when the muscles below are winning the fight against gravity. When I started lifting the scale number dropped faster on the same calories, and my pant sizes dropped even faster. I fell off the diet and exercise wagon for six months, got up to 275 and didn't even realize it because I was wearing my old fat clothes from when I was 250.
  • PurpleOrchid531
    PurpleOrchid531 Posts: 28 Member
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    I think the "gymtimidation" factor has a lot to do with it. I love weight training and have been incorporating it into my workouts for a long time. But, it was very intimidating when I first started and what helped me was my gym offered a barbell/weight training class. I prefer the classes/group fitness because I like the music (usually - I get sick of the same songs on my playlist) and I am more dedicated when I am in a class format. I'm less likely to cheat or half *kitten* it when I see everyone around me pushing themselves. I think classes are also good because no one is looking at you - everyone is focused on their own workout. I am still recovering from a shoulder injury so I cannot lift as much as I'd like to, but at least I can still do something.

    I know a lot of women think they're going to bulk up when they start using weights, when we all know that's not going to be the case. I too think you see a quicker weight loss (numbers on the scale) when you're just eating at a calorie deficit and a lot of people don't have the patience to wait to see results. I have to remind myself that because I do weights, I'm not going to see the numbers reflected on the scale as quickly as someone that is just eating at a deficit. I go more by how my clothes fit and now I'm finally taking my measurements and keeping track of that.
  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
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    eeejer wrote: »
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    Personally, it is because I just plain do not have the time to lift weights. I don't have 2 hour blocks of time, 3 non-consecutive days each week. My schedule is way too tight with work and class. I intend to lift after I graduate with my current degree program, but I also hope to reach my goal weight by then.

    45 mins 3x a week. Everyone has time for that.

    Nope. I work a minimum of 50 hours a week - 10 hour days, 5 days a week, plus one or two Saturdays a month, as well. I see my children for about half an hour in the morning before I go to work; when I get home, I see my younger one for half an hour to an hour before he goes to bed; I get about two hours with my older ones before they go to bed. As soon as they're in bed, I work on my dissertation until I go to bed. Sundays I have church, some time with my kids, a nap if I'm lucky.... and my dissertation. On a good night, I get six hours of sleep; more often than not, I get five or less. Not only do I not have a spare 45 minutes, I do not have the half hour travel time to and from the gym; I have neither the space nor the resources to have weights at home; and again, no time. Waking up earlier than I do now would mean even less sleep, and I am at the point now where exhaustion is beginning to affect me physically - I cannot afford to lose more sleep; by the end of the day, not only do I not have the energy, but I also have my dissertation.

    And that is why I don't lift weights.
  • kuranda10
    kuranda10 Posts: 593 Member
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    And then, there's the cost. I don't know about you, but around me a gym membership is expensive.

    This. I am way too cheap to pay for a gym membership and then a PT on top of that to teach me the proper form.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,906 Member
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    eyeshinebright wrote: »
    My thing is my knees and ankle. I messed up my right knee and it never fully recovered, and I sprained my left ankle which never fully recovered. I can do day to day walking and jogs even, but one crazy lunge and I'm feeling it in a bad way. Which sucks because I know compound exercises are the best thing for fat loss.

    I have knee issues and so focus my weight lifting time on my upper body.
  • myheartsabattleground
    myheartsabattleground Posts: 2,040 Member
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    Because I don't wanna go into sensory overload.
  • Shana67
    Shana67 Posts: 680 Member
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    Oh my goodness I love weight training and I LOVE the way that it makes my body look. I still have 29lbs to lose, but my arms are really starting to look CUT, and weight training has not affected my weight loss AT ALL. Down 25lb in 3m :)
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    edited April 2016
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    eeejer wrote: »
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    Personally, it is because I just plain do not have the time to lift weights. I don't have 2 hour blocks of time, 3 non-consecutive days each week. My schedule is way too tight with work and class. I intend to lift after I graduate with my current degree program, but I also hope to reach my goal weight by then.

    45 mins 3x a week. Everyone has time for that.

    Nope, because I also must drive 1 hr. round trip to get to the gym and back. I live in a rural area. If you knew my schedule, you might understand. I'm not going to argue with you, just adding my reason.

    ETA: I work FT (and it is a busy time of year right now), I'm a FT grad student, and I am politically active (I am a party official). I intend to start lifting after graduating (Oct.) and after the election (Nov.).
  • lauraesh0384
    lauraesh0384 Posts: 463 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I recently (in the past two weeks) have started incorporating strength training back into my routine 3x/week. I can definitely tell a difference in how I look at this weight vs how I looked 20 lbs lighter previously. My thighs don't look as flabby now as they did even when I was smaller. I don't lift heavy by any means. I stick to using free weights and doing squats, lunges, etc.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I feel jealous of the larger ladies/men who weightlift while losing weight. It's a great time to start weightlifting in my opinion as you start with your bodyweight working against you. You build strength while losing weight so as your bodyweight goes down the weights on the bar can go higher and the overall weight doesn't change but looks far more impressive.

    I feel far more judged at my weight going into the gym and struggling with the weight than the larger person doing the same weight (Despite having more body weight to work against).
  • richfisher0821
    richfisher0821 Posts: 3 Member
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    Just do light weight high reps don't worry about lifting heavy. Every one has different genetics.
  • richfisher0821
    richfisher0821 Posts: 3 Member
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    lauraesh0384 wrote: »
    I recently (in the past two weeks) have started incorporating strength training back into my routine 3x/week. I can definitely tell a difference in how I look at this weight vs how I looked 20 lbs lighter previously. My thighs don't look as flabby now as they did even when I was smaller. I don't lift heavy by any means. I stick to using free weights and doing squats, lunges, etc.
    lauraesh0384 wrote: »
    I recently (in the past two weeks) have started incorporating strength training back into my routine 3x/week. I can definitely tell a difference in how I look at this weight vs how I looked 20 lbs lighter previously. My thighs don't look as flabby now as they did even when I was smaller. I don't lift heavy by any means. I stick to using free weights and doing squats, lunges, etc.

    YOU should look alot more toned and more energetic

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