To burn or not to burn....workout advice please

mtbusse73

OK...I'm new to the GYM Life. I got a membership to the local PlanetFitness. My main goal is WEIGHT LOSS. Here's my routine and have been doing this for about 3 months. I'm a big guy - 5'9" 273.8# (I just weighed).

1. Either stationary bike for 20-30 minutes at a high enough rate that I'm out of breath or Elliptical for 15 minutes (which to me is definitely harder).

2. Weight machines for 20-40 minutes at a high enough pace where it keeps me slightly winded as well but not like where I can't talk (does that make sense?). Normally one day I will work on my legs and the next day arms and abs.

My question is more about the weights. Whatever machine I'm on - I do 3 sets of 12 reps. I set the weight high enough that around the 7th or 8th rep my muscles really start to fatigue/burn and sometimes it's all I can do to make it to 12 (but I never quit). Is this what I should be doing? Or should I set the weight lower where I don't have that issue?

Thanks in Advance for all the insight...

TavistockToad

use a set lifting programme.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

JeromeBarry1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300310/most-helpful-posts-fitness-and-exercise-must-reads#latest

Sunna_W

Check out Covert Bailey's "Fit of Fat", it's available used on Amazon for pretty cheap. He speaks to Frequency + Intensity + Time in terms of how to effectively burn those calories without hurting yourself.

BTW - one of the most overlooked pieces of exercise equipment is a rower - it's a high fat burner, low impact and very easy on the joints, especially the knees. You want to have a high (in the zone) heart rate for the duration of the exercise.

He also explains the difference between "aerobic" and "anaerobic" exercise (and has an opinion on which is better) for fat burning / weight loss.

Most of our cells prefer to get their energy by using oxygen to fuel metabolism. During exercise with adequate fuel and oxygen (i.e., aerobic), muscle cells can contract repeatedly without fatigue.

Aerobic exercise conditions enable you to exercise for long periods of time, potentially benefiting from the sustained energy expenditure (i.e., calories burned). Aerobic exercise tends to be less stressful to muscles, joints, and your heart, which may be important for individuals with arthritis, heart disease, or high blood pressure. However, to more rapidly improve your exercise capacities, tolerance, and performance, some anaerobic exercise training is a necessity.

During anaerobic or non-oxygen conditions (i.e., higher intensity exercise), muscle cells must rely on other reactions that do not require oxygen to fuel muscle contraction. This anaerobic metabolism in the cells produces waste molecules that can impair muscle contractions. We call this deterioration in performance fatigue.

Fatigue causes you to experience added discomfort and weakening muscles. Eventually you will need to slow down and lower your exercise intensity. Slowing down allows the muscles to once again rely solely on aerobic metabolism and support the removal or chemical conversion of waste molecules.

The more intensely you exercise, the greater the need for anaerobic energy production. When this happens, we refer to this change in metabolism as a metabolic threshold. This metabolic threshold represents the exercise intensity where we start to produce those waste products of anaerobic metabolism that can eventually lead to fatigue.

Lifting weights is anaerobic. That is why muscles fatigue so rapidly with this type of training. The danger is in doing reps / weight beyond your level of performance due to fatigue - 1. It tweaks your adrenals and raises your cortisol levels and actually works against weight loss and 2. It puts you at risk for serious injury.

jjpptt2

Sounds like you're off to a good start. What you're doing with the weight machines is a little arbitrary, but probably not to the point it becomes problematic. Consider a little more structure to your lifting in terms of weight, reps, and when to progress/increase if you want to bit more optimal with your time/effort.

sijomial

Don't try to turn weights into cardio - you already have the cardio base covered.

Agree with more structure - either get a good PT to design a program for your needs or pick an existing one rather than blunder through making one up yourself.
That way you will use your time far more efficiently, progress faster and get better results.

ninerbuff

Are you doing this everyday? You'd be much better off with a structured program that advocates strength. Cardio is just cardio for many...............you try to burn as much as you can possibly do in the duration of time you're given doing something you'll be consistent with.

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

leggup

Someone more in the know than me can chime in, but 12 reps sounds like cardio range. I have done starting strength/stronglifts in the past and found it much more efficient. They are structured programs using free weights/bar and have higher weight, lower rep.

You said your main goal is weight loss. That will come from eating at a calorie deficit. The cardio will give you more calories to play with each day. The strength training will help retain your muscles so that a larger percentage of fat is lost. In weight loss, you'll lose fat, muscle, tissue, etc.

Scubdup

Well done. That sounds like a great start.

As someone who's tried exercise for weight-loss before, can I suggest changing your mindset. I never found exercise lost me much weight - it definitely gave a LOT of other benefits and I go to the gym most week days, so I'm not saying stop exercising.

It's just, for me, (and a lot of other people on here it seems) diet is what really gets the weight off. I got lucky and found a way to keep under my calorie target most days, and this has made such a big difference to my weight.

Best of luck!

mtbusse73

ninerbuff wrote: »

Are you doing this everyday? You'd be much better off with a structured program that advocates strength. Cardio is just cardio for many...............you try to burn as much as you can possibly do in the duration of time you're given doing something you'll be consistent with.

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

I do the same thing every day (usually take off on Sunday). I go to a PlanetFitness in a little town in Southern Oklahoma. Like I said - normally do 15-30 mins cardio. I like the bike b/c I can do it longer but I feel like the elliptical is better for me (I sweat my *kitten* off on it lol).

mtbusse73

Scubdup wrote: »

Well done. That sounds like a great start.

As someone who's tried exercise for weight-loss before, can I suggest changing your mindset. I never found exercise lost me much weight - it definitely gave a LOT of other benefits and I go to the gym most week days, so I'm not saying stop exercising.

It's just, for me, (and a lot of other people on here it seems) diet is what really gets the weight off. I got lucky and found a way to keep under my calorie target most days, and this has made such a big difference to my weight.

Best of luck!

Most definitely eating less calories is helping me lose weight. Absolutely for sure. However - I enjoy going to the GYM. I even kinda like the way my arms feel when I leave...some days stronger...some days Jelloish...lol

natruallycurious

I know you were asking about reps for weights, but really look at what @Sunna_W said. If you have anywhere around you where you can get an AMA (active metabolic assessment) done, I highly recommend doing so. In that assessment, they will measure how effectively your body is using oxygen, and will break down your different heart rate zones. They will also tell you what your personal metabolic threshold is.

When we burn calories, we burn both fat and carbohydrates. When you start to exercise in the anerobic zones, while you are technically burning more calories, you are burning little to no fat. It's around zone two where our bodies are burning the greatest percentage of our calories from fat. Knowing your zones allows you to set target heart rates for your workouts based on the goals you want to achieve.

Good luck!

colors_fade

leggup wrote: »

Someone more in the know than me can chime in, but 12 reps sounds like cardio range.

8-12 gets you into the hypertrophy range, which, if you're cutting (and he effectively is) that's where you want to be.

So @mtbusse73, you like going to the gym (same here, it's how I got started as well). You want to lose fat and not muscle. As you eat at a deficit you're going to lose both fat and muscle UNLESS you live heavy to attempt to retain the muscle. Then you will end up burning mostly fat over time.

Look up a good, organized strength training program like Starting Strength or Stronglifts or anything like that. Start there. Eat at a deficit and lift according to one of those programs. You'll do fine. Don't overcomplicate it...

colors_fade

mtbusse73 wrote: »

OK...I'm new to the GYM Life. I got a membership to the local PlanetFitness. My main goal is WEIGHT LOSS. Here's my routine and have been doing this for about 3 months. I'm a big guy - 5'9" 273.8# (I just weighed).

1. Either stationary bike for 20-30 minutes at a high enough rate that I'm out of breath or Elliptical for 15 minutes (which to me is definitely harder).

2. Weight machines for 20-40 minutes at a high enough pace where it keeps me slightly winded as well but not like where I can't talk (does that make sense?). Normally one day I will work on my legs and the next day arms and abs.

One other point: I don't know what order you're doing this in, but I'm going to guess you're on the cardio first since you wrote it first.

If you're going to lift, lift first, then cardio. Reason being you want the glycogen in your muscles as energy to fuel your lifting. As you lift you will reduce these glycogen stores. In order to get the best strength training in on your muscle groups, lift while you have a full supply of glycogen.

mtbusse73

colors_fade wrote: »

mtbusse73 wrote: »

OK...I'm new to the GYM Life. I got a membership to the local PlanetFitness. My main goal is WEIGHT LOSS. Here's my routine and have been doing this for about 3 months. I'm a big guy - 5'9" 273.8# (I just weighed).

1. Either stationary bike for 20-30 minutes at a high enough rate that I'm out of breath or Elliptical for 15 minutes (which to me is definitely harder).

2. Weight machines for 20-40 minutes at a high enough pace where it keeps me slightly winded as well but not like where I can't talk (does that make sense?). Normally one day I will work on my legs and the next day arms and abs.

One other point: I don't know what order you're doing this in, but I'm going to guess you're on the cardio first since you wrote it first.

If you're going to lift, lift first, then cardio. Reason being you want the glycogen in your muscles as energy to fuel your lifting. As you lift you will reduce these glycogen stores. In order to get the best strength training in on your muscle groups, lift while you have a full supply of glycogen.

You are RIGHT. I have been doing the cardio first. Do you think regarding the 8-12 reps should I be trying to lift the MOST that I can in those 8-12 reps or a more comfortable weight? I have noticed that the more "fit" individuals at the gym lift first - then run, or walk, or bike, etc. I will start doing it that way in the morning. My main goal for sure is to lose FAT. I got a lot of it to lose. It's hard to imagine that I've let myself get to this point but no matter I'm done with it. Thanks again for all the pointers!

colors_fade

mtbusse73 wrote: »

Do you think regarding the 8-12 reps should I be trying to lift the MOST that I can in those 8-12 reps or a more comfortable weight?

The real question is: how many sets are you doing, total? How long is your workout? How much volume are you doing? What types of exercises are you doing? Beginners often make the mistake of doing a bunch of isolation lifts when what they really need to work on is the compound lifts to build strength and muscle.

Typically, if I'm lifting in the 8-12 rep range, I'm doing 3-4 sets on a particular lift. I'm trying to get a certain amount of volume on each muscle group that I'm working that day. James Fell wrote a great article about hypertrophy a little while ago: http://www.bodyforwife.com/gaining-muscle-mass-the-hierarchy-of-hypertrophy/

So, for example, bench press (compound lift, works multiple muscle groups), if I'm doing 8 reps then I'm doing four sets because it's a bigger lift that works a lot of muscles at the same time. If I'm doing tricep cable pulldowns, an isolation exercise, I may lift 12 reps and do three sets.

So to answer your question: what I want for those three or four sets is to be able to complete them, but on the last reps of the last set they should be really, really hard for me to complete and I may fail.

One last thing: this is why people recommend programs like Strong Lifts and Starting Strength, because they really focus on the compound lifts. Things like bench press, deadlift, squats, overhead press, barbell rows. These lifts work multiple muscle groups at the same time. So instead of having to do a whole bunch of different lifts and spend a ton of time in the gym, you can do a few lifts, in a short amount of time, and target all the major muscle groups. It's a great way to start out and build strength and muscle.

Cherimoose

natruallycurious wrote: »

If you have anywhere around you where you can get an AMA (active metabolic assessment) done, I highly recommend doing so. In that assessment, they will measure how effectively your body is using oxygen, and will break down your different heart rate zones. They will also tell you what your personal metabolic threshold is.

When we burn calories, we burn both fat and carbohydrates. When you start to exercise in the anerobic zones, while you are technically burning more calories, you are burning little to no fat. It's around zone two where our bodies are burning the greatest percentage of our calories from fat. Knowing your zones allows you to set target heart rates for your workouts based on the goals you want to achieve.

The type of fuel used during exercise isn't relevant to overall fat loss. If you're in a calorie deficit over time, you'll lose fat, regardless of whether you exercise or how it's done. I suggest choosing exercises based on fitness goals (strength, speed, stamina, agility, etc), and let the fat loss come from consuming the right number of calories. For overall fitness, it's good train in a variety of cardio zones.

OP - good strength programs answer your question about reps. As others said, it's best to follow a proven program. A good one that wasn't mentioned is New Rules of Lifting for Life.