Experts and serious fitness friends-question

Sheisinlove109
Sheisinlove109 Posts: 516 Member
edited November 18 in Fitness and Exercise
For the last four months I've been doing the elliptical everyday for 65 min on random and going hard for a few minutes then lighter averaging machine calorie burn of 790-800ish calories. I started at 312 and now am 272, female. I average 6.5-6.75 miles in that time. I also do a 20-30 min weight lift session about three times a week. The weight has come of, the diet has been pretty good, feel great.
Last night the trainers at the gym told me I'm doing it all wrong.

They said I should do 3x's a week cybex hiit for 20-30 min and weight lift an hour same day. That's it. They said it was way better and the elliptical time was basically useless. Is this all true? What should I be doing and why? I'm so confused.

I'm 39, never worked out until this year. Original start weight 1/16 was 354. Lost 40 over 2016 just from cutting back. 1/20/17 to now lost another 40ish through diet and exercise. Saggy, crepey skin. Yuck! Thoughts? Suggestions? Help please :)

Replies

  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    The way you were doing it was working, right?

    The one-size-fits-all recommendation of the trainer would also work. That's all.

    Now, the best you can do to avoid loose skin is to slow down your rate of weight loss and focus your efforts on weightlifting. That means that all your cardio work needs to be eaten back.

    A well-executing lifting plan doesn't take an hour.

    Keep doing and learning. You'll get the weight off and look fabulous anyway.

  • FatWithFatness
    FatWithFatness Posts: 315 Member
    The school of thought behind this is that muscle is more metabolically expensive than fat, the more muscle you build, the more calories it takes to maintain it. Doing this much cardio is catabolic, meaning that your body is going to get rid of the muscle over fat because as I said, it's more metabolically expensive.

    Also, the period in time in which your metabolism remains elevated (especially for a newbie who is untrained) is greater when strength training vs cardio vascular exercise. You may burn calories at a higher rate from 36-48 hours after a heavy lifting session because of the process in which muscle is repaired vs just the 65 minutes you're on the elliptical.

    The trainers probably would like you to do something along the lines of High Impact Interval Training for 20-30 minutes and then the strength training. I would recommend the same.
  • FatWithFatness
    FatWithFatness Posts: 315 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

    A well-executing lifting plan doesn't take an hour.

    Not necessarily true. Depends on the type of lifting you're doing, powerlifting requires longer rest to recover between sets vs a bodybuilding style routine which typically has rest of 30-90 seconds.
  • Sheisinlove109
    Sheisinlove109 Posts: 516 Member
    @JeromeBarry1

    Thank you for responding.

    So how often should I be doing cardio and how long?

    Lifting...I'm a big girl...is there somewhere online that you know of that shows a routine that I could follow for a bit?

    I want to do this right. I feel like a different person and my confidence is beaming. Can't believe I let myself get so unhealthy...

  • Sheisinlove109
    Sheisinlove109 Posts: 516 Member
    Pretty please will someone lay out a plan for me? Cherry on top :)
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    If you really want to lift, check out Stronglifts.com. It's a good beginner program. You can download the app that will track your progress and weights for you, too, which makes it even easier.

    If you really DON'T want to lift, you don't have to. But you will probably like your "goal body" better at the end if you do lift.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Congrats with your weight loss so far!! Considering you are losing weight I would ask them what are you doing wrong? The elliptical is a good cardio machine so if you like it then use it. Weight training is great and I highly recommend it over cardio alone, but since you are doing a combo of both maybe what they are trying to say is to increase the weight training over the cardio since as @FatWithFatness said muscle will increase metabolism.
  • FatWithFatness
    FatWithFatness Posts: 315 Member
    sunsweet77 wrote: »
    Pretty please will someone lay out a plan for me? Cherry on top :)

    I'd recommend starting strength.

    https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Mark-Rippetoe-ebook/dp/B006XJR5ZA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494251389&sr=8-1&keywords=starting+strength

    They have a great YouTube channel with instructional videos.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,028 Member
    Not everyone can do HIIT well. Some people detest it. The key is working out on a plan that you'll continue. That's not to say that you may find something you like when you're more fit, but the REALITY is that weight loss comes down to how much you consume even if you are exercising.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    If you plan on doing HIIT then would agree with same day (after) lifting rather than on another day.
    But the benefits of HIIT are massively over-blown and exaggerated, just the current fashion and it has the "if it feels really hard it must be doing me more good" factor. Which is nonsense actually. A bit like bad tasting medicine much be better for you. :)
    I got to an elite level of fitness without ever doing HIIT (I do interval training though - as part of my overall regime).

    Elliptical isn't my choice but it's an effective tool for a cardio workout and will help your fitness and allow you to get far higher calorie burns than HIIT - which by its short duration can only burn a small amount of calories.
    By the way isn't the Cybex a form of elliptical? (ARC trainer?)

    Afterburn (or EPOC) is pretty much insignificant in the great scheme of things.

    Cardio isn't automatically catabolic, that would indicate an inadequate diet rather than the exercise causing a problem. Otherwise the strongest athletes would be the ones that do the least amount of training!
  • FatWithFatness
    FatWithFatness Posts: 315 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Cardio isn't automatically catabolic, that would indicate an inadequate diet rather than the exercise causing a problem. Otherwise the strongest athletes would be the ones that do the least amount of training!

    The strongest athletes are not at a caloric deficit like someone who's goal is weight loss.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    FatWithFatness wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    Cardio isn't automatically catabolic, that would indicate an inadequate diet rather than the exercise causing a problem. Otherwise the strongest athletes would be the ones that do the least amount of training!

    The strongest athletes are not at a caloric deficit like someone who's goal is weight loss.

    Comment still stands. Muscle is not a preferred fuel source.
    Muscle is burned for fuel as a last resort - inadequate diet/excessive and prolonged deficit.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited May 2017
    FatWithFatness wrote: »
    The school of thought behind this is that muscle is more metabolically expensive than fat, the more muscle you build, the more calories it takes to maintain it. Doing this much cardio is catabolic, meaning that your body is going to get rid of the muscle over fat because as I said, it's more metabolically expensive.
    A pound of muscle burns about 6 calories per day; a pound of fat burns around 2 calories per day. So we're talking a net difference of 4 calories per day for every pound of muscle vs fat. Gaining 20 pounds of muscle would make a difference of 80 calories per day, and that's a huge muscle gain for anybody. And won't be accomplished while in a caloric deficit.

    FatWithFatness wrote: »
    The trainers probably would like you to do something along the lines of High Impact Interval Training for 20-30 minutes and then the strength training. I would recommend the same.
    High Intensity Interval Training. Might sound pedantic, but there's a difference and it matters. HIIT doesn't necessarily have to be high impact, but it does have to be high intensity.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    If you enjoy what you're doing and it's working, why change it so drastically? They are telling you that your workouts are ineffective, yet you've lost tons of weight and feel great.....

    That being said, do you think you can maintain this exercise into maintenance? If not it is something to consider down the line. A good lifting program is a great idea, the above suggestions are solid. This should help with your shape as you lose. I second the suggestion to slow the loss down a bit if you're getting a lot of skin. Losing too fast can add to loose skin, or so I have heard.

    Also, if you start lifting heavy, you may struggle to maintain the amount of cardio you are doing. You will have to find your own balance, but don't be afraid to cut back on the cardio if needed. I personally would hate an hour of elliptical every day, but that's just me. Some people love it.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    sunsweet77 wrote: »
    They said I should do 3x's a week cybex hiit for 20-30 min and weight lift an hour same day. That's it. They said it was way better and the elliptical time was basically useless. Is this all true? What should I be doing and why? I'm so confused.

    Of course they did. HIIT is the latest woo fad. Everyone thinks they'll get rich telling people to do it.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    FatWithFatness wrote: »
    Also, the period in time in which your metabolism remains elevated (especially for a newbie who is untrained) is greater when strength training vs cardio vascular exercise. You may burn calories at a higher rate from 36-48 hours after a heavy lifting session because of the process in which muscle is repaired vs just the 65 minutes you're on the elliptical.

    Notice how people are quick to make these claims, but slow to back them up with context. You'll burn how many extra calories after what type of exercise? 20 more over the next day? 30 more? Just saying "more calories" sounds fantastic but is it enough more to "buy" an oreo? You can't make a wise decision about this without knowing.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Not everyone can do HIIT well. Some people detest it. The key is working out on a plan that you'll continue. That's not to say that you may find something you like when you're more fit, but the REALITY is that weight loss comes down to how much you consume even if you are exercising.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    This, plus real HIIT for a obese new exerciser probably isn't the way to go.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Once again, another *kitten* idiot trainer trying to stuff everyone into the same program he read about in a muscle mag this weekend.

    Because 300-lb people with 4 months training should be doing HIIT.

    What you are doing is fine so far. You are doing a variety of intensities in your cardio and you are lifting weights. And you are losing pounds. By any criteria, that's a successful program.

    Going forward, if you wanted, I would dial back the minutes on the cardio a couple of days and do more strength training. But you don't have to.

    At some point in the future you will likely benefit from changing things up a little, but that's a ways off. Don't let yourself be sidetracked by someone who doesn't know what he is talking about.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    sunsweet77 wrote: »
    For the last four months I've been doing the elliptical everyday for 65 min on random and going hard for a few minutes then lighter averaging machine calorie burn of 790-800ish calories. I started at 312 and now am 272, female. I average 6.5-6.75 miles in that time. I also do a 20-30 min weight lift session about three times a week. The weight has come of, the diet has been pretty good, feel great.
    Last night the trainers at the gym told me I'm doing it all wrong.

    Your plan of strength training three times a week, plus cardio is a good one. I'd suggest taking a day off once per week - keep the strength training, maybe drop one day of elliptical - just so that you give your body some rest, but otherwise it's good.
    They said I should do 3x's a week cybex hiit for 20-30 min and weight lift an hour same day. That's it. They said it was way better and the elliptical time was basically useless. Is this all true? What should I be doing and why? I'm so confused.

    No, it's not true. It's one way to skin a cat, but not necessary - especially if you like your (good) plan already. And what you're doing is obviously working. About an hour is absolutely fine for cardio.
    I'm 39, never worked out until this year. Original start weight 1/16 was 354. Lost 40 over 2016 just from cutting back. 1/20/17 to now lost another 40ish through diet and exercise. Saggy, crepey skin. Yuck! Thoughts? Suggestions? Help please :)

    Normally, I might suggest a smaller deficit. But, at 272, losing a little over 2 lb per week is probably fine. Honestly, I'm not sure what to say here - maybe try losing only 1 or 1-1/2 lb per week, to see if that helps allow your skin to shrink with the rest of you? That's just a guess on my part, though.


    As far as plans go, Starting Strength, as listed above, is fine place to start - simple enough to understand, yet effective. Or, if you'd prefer machines, Lyle McDonald has a pretty good machine-based program. He normally advises it for beginners, to get them used to strength training.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    Once again, another *kitten* idiot trainer trying to stuff everyone into the same program he read about in a muscle mag this weekend.

    Because 300-lb people with 4 months training should be doing HIIT.

    What you are doing is fine so far. You are doing a variety of intensities in your cardio and you are lifting weights. And you are losing pounds. By any criteria, that's a successful program.

    Going forward, if you wanted, I would dial back the minutes on the cardio a couple of days and do more strength training. But you don't have to.

    At some point in the future you will likely benefit from changing things up a little, but that's a ways off. Don't let yourself be sidetracked by someone who doesn't know what he is talking about.

    This. With an urging of shifting towards more strength training. Doesn't have to be drastic tho
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    Azdak wrote: »
    Once again, another *kitten* idiot trainer trying to stuff everyone into the same program he read about in a muscle mag this weekend.

    Because 300-lb people with 4 months training should be doing HIIT.

    What you are doing is fine so far. You are doing a variety of intensities in your cardio and you are lifting weights. And you are losing pounds. By any criteria, that's a successful program.

    Going forward, if you wanted, I would dial back the minutes on the cardio a couple of days and do more strength training. But you don't have to.

    At some point in the future you will likely benefit from changing things up a little, but that's a ways off. Don't let yourself be sidetracked by someone who doesn't know what he is talking about.

    This. With an urging of shifting towards more strength training. Doesn't have to be drastic tho

    Absolutely... Also, there's no reason to get off the elliptical if you wanted to try HIIT.

  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    I think their suggestion would just be more efficient, but not necessarily better. If you like what you're doing and see results I'd say stick to it!!! Sounds like you're doing amazing!!! :smile:
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