lift weights?or cardio?

rainbowbow

cqbkaju wrote: »

Lift weights / weight training within your capacity and with good form by following a good progressive overload training program.
I'm not talking about some "fitness" workout with pink dumbbells.
Lifting heavy-for-you weights in a progressive manner will improve your knee problem in almost every case.
The exception is if a orthopedist says specifically not to do certain exercises.

I bet my surgeon would say my knees and ankle are far worse than yours and I do squats and deadlifts every week.
The stronger my legs are, the better my knees and ankle feels.
Same with dips and overhead presses for my shoulders, by the way.

The impact and wear from running, cardio etc. is usually far worse for your knees than lifting.
Again, this is according to my orthopedic surgeon and corroborated by every athlete I work with.

If you have any gas in the tank after lifting (or on off-days) then you could consider HIIT for cardio.

According to a PT in the family, being too weak to get out of a chair or off the toilet is why many people end up in nursing homes.
Their "cardio fitness" has nothing to do with it.

I just want to point out that this is not a good recommendation for someone who is so overweight.

Resistance training that is tailored to your individual needs is important. There are many different ways to perform resistance training and many different acute variables (training for hypertrophy, strength, endurance, power, and more).

The OP doesn't need to lift weights, no one does unless this is something they enjoy. resistance training can be performed WITHOUT weight lifting. And in her case and current size, starting with bodyweight training, increasing balance and stability, etc. are going to be vital if she chooses to "lift heavy" in the future.

p.s. it's my pet peeve when people are told they have to "lift heavy" and "women should lift heavy, no pink barbie weights". Like... i'm sorry, but everyone starts somewhere and everyone has individual goals and needs.

firef1y72

ardysedwardsmcgrath wrote: »

is it best to lift weights when im 248lbs? or jus do cardio? i need to strengthen my knees.. ive got that problem.. im gonna buy a elliptical.. i wanna do in am & pm.. i was wondering if i should join a gym for the lifting but im afraid the scale wont move.. any suggestions?

I started at 289lb, could barely walk thanks to my weight combined with hypermobility (a condition where the joints are unstable, at risk of dislocation and can be pretty painful). As I said I could barely walk across the room without crutches, certainly couldn't get up and down off the floor and struggled with just about any activity. Now I can jog (slow but it's still a jog) 5km, spend 20 minutes on elliptical, row for what feels like for ever, squat bum to floor without the bar and before hernia surgery put me back to the bar was deadlifting 70kg and squatting 60kg (which was a lot for me). Oh and I do use some modifications but I hold my own in Insanity, Boxercise and Zumba classes too.

But I didn't get to this point overnight, it's taken a year full of little steps to get this far. To start with I simply tried adding an extra 500 daily steps each week. Then after a few months I joined a small local gym and worked out a program with a few weight machines (as I had no mobility to speak off) and simply 5 minutes on the stationary bike. I tried to improve each session, by the tiniest amount, another 30 seconds on the bike, one more rep on the triceps pull down, etc. And those small improvements turned in to bigger improvements, 5 minutes on the bike became 10 minutes and I added in the rower and then the elliptical and then the step. Swiss ball squats became very shallow unassisted squats, which became full squats, which became dumbell weighted squats which then became squats in the squat rack with the bar and weights on my back. It's all about making tiny but consistent improvements. But I will say that I consulted with my physiotherapist, who not only okayed the activity but has been very pleased with the results.

As for food, I don't ban anything, I love my food too much, but with my current activity level (that a year ago I would have thought was impossible), I can eat a lot (2000-2500Calories). I just try and make sure I get plenty of protein and it doesn't take too long to decide whether a treat is worth the calories, especially if you invest in a tracker and discover just how many steps it takes to burn that chocolate bar off.

firef1y72

Traveler120 wrote: »

WHY in the world would you want to lift weights when you have a bad knee and struggle to even get up from a bed or chair? Plus, assuming you're currently very unfit, this is a great recipe for getting injuries. All you need to do is low impact cardio like an elliptical. Keep the resistance up (if you can, without causing knee pain) so that you're burning lots of calories but protecting your knees. Safety first! Fat loss is based on calorie deficit and cardio increases your deficit, it's not just for heart health.

Because depending on the reason for the "bad knee" strengthening the muscles can help, the op mentioned the knee popping, I'm guessing this means some form of dislocation/subluxation. I have a condition (hypermobility) where that type of injury is very common (in my case my ankle and shoulders), but since adding resistance training and more specifically heavier compound lifting I've had huge improvements in stability, pain levels and even mobility. Yes I have to ensure I take care and build up slowly, but there's no reason that the op should lift weights as long as appropriate advice from a physio is sought.