Weight training to lose weight?
M3lma3
Posts: 23 Member
What are your thoughts on lifting weights to lose the weight versus doing cardio and lifting weights?
I'm planning on primarily focusing on strength training at the gym and doing cardio there about 2 days. I'm a vet tech so a big part of my daily routine is walking around a lot, restraining animals, lifting animals etc and so the days I work I'd focus on strength training and on my days off I would do both.
I'm planning on primarily focusing on strength training at the gym and doing cardio there about 2 days. I'm a vet tech so a big part of my daily routine is walking around a lot, restraining animals, lifting animals etc and so the days I work I'd focus on strength training and on my days off I would do both.
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Replies
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Strength training is great for you in so many ways. But it's not going to help much for weight loss, it doesn't burn many calories and despite what people say muscle only burns a little more at rest. But it'll preserve what you have while you lose weight, maybe you'll grow some more. Which makes life easier, makes you look better, it can be very satisfying, etc.
Just found out my kitty has asthma. 😕10 -
Weight loss will come from your calorie deficit, so taking in less calories than you burn overall. Weight training is fantastic for health, muscle preservation, body composition. It typically doesn't burn as many calories as cardio, and cardio is great for heart health so it is usually a good idea not to neglect it.
I have lost weight doing only cardio, only weight lifting, mainly lifting and some cardio (best results for me).8 -
Thank you so much, I think I'm gonna do mainly lifting with some cardio for a bit. I'm definitely counting my calories but I want to gain muscle too!Weight loss will come from your calorie deficit, so taking in less calories than you burn overall. Weight training is fantastic for health, muscle preservation, body composition. It typically doesn't burn as many calories as cardio, and cardio is great for heart health so it is usually a good idea not to neglect it.
I have lost weight doing only cardio, only weight lifting, mainly lifting and some cardio (best results for me).1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »Strength training is great for you in so many ways. But it's not going to help much for weight loss, it doesn't burn many calories and despite what people say muscle only burns a little more at rest. But it'll preserve what you have while you lose weight, maybe you'll grow some more. Which makes life easier, makes you look better, it can be very satisfying, etc.
Just found out my kitty has asthma. 😕
Thanks! I'm so sorry about your kitty, poor baby!1 -
Strength training is a great thing to do while losing weight - it's also great while maintaining or gaining weight.
Cardio is also a great thing to do while losing, maintaining or gaining weight.
Think of your long term health, fitness and exercise enjoyment rather than exercise just for burning calories.
BTW - this site also encourages you to eat back exercise calories to reinforce that very important life lesson that the more you move and exercise the more you get to eat. Conversely the obverse is also true, when you do less you need to eat less.
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Simple truths:
You lift to increase/maintain strength and muscle mass.
Gaining strength for newbies is pretty easy; diminishing rate of return for advanced lifters.
Gaining significant muscle mass is hard for everyoneand is largely dependent on your diet, lifting routine and genetics.
You eat less to lose weight.
Doing cardio can burn a few extra cals but its benefit is mainly in improving cardiovascular fitness.12 -
all you need to lose weight is a calorie deficit. weight training is nice to maintain muscle mass. i don't lift, i do body weight work
i do cardio because i like to eat and my weekend runs give me lots of calories to eat back1 -
Yes calorie deficit = weight loss. BUT for me exercise of any sort keeps me feeling good about my health and when I feel good about it, I am encouraged to eat healthier (so cardio or weights = feeling healthy= eating healthier=calorie deficit = weight loss).
All the best in whatever you enjoy and can fit into your schedule for long term success
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I often think people seriously underestimate how many calories you burn weight training. Maybe because there's not an easy way to calculate it. I went from being a runner, running 6 days a week, training for marathons, to resistance training and I didn't have to adjust my caloric intake all that much. Oh, I definitely had to take my calories down some, but I could easily eat 3000 calories a day, as a 6'2", 180lb old-guy male, while lifting with only a slight weight gain, 0.5-0.75lbs/week. At 2300 calories a day now I'm losing 1.5lbs/week. All while lifting 1-2 hours a day, 5 days a week with a couple of HIIT classes thrown in for cardio. If I didn't lift, 2300 would be my maintenance (I get almost no activity from what I do for a living).
Anyway, just keep that in mind when you're trying to figure it all out. Resistance training doesn't burn as many calories as most cardio, but it does burn a good amount. In the end I think a mix of the two is your best bet for optimal health.8 -
Thanks all! I love how helpful this community is
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Combo of weight lifting and cardio is probably best, but even just weight lifting increases your resting metabolic rate, which increases your daily calorie burn. Plus you burn calories for hours after weight lifting during repair. Of course calorie deficit is most important for weight loss.0
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I often think people seriously underestimate how many calories you burn weight training. Maybe because there's not an easy way to calculate it. I went from being a runner, running 6 days a week, training for marathons, to resistance training and I didn't have to adjust my caloric intake all that much. Oh, I definitely had to take my calories down some, but I could easily eat 3000 calories a day, as a 6'2", 180lb old-guy male, while lifting with only a slight weight gain, 0.5-0.75lbs/week. At 2300 calories a day now I'm losing 1.5lbs/week. All while lifting 1-2 hours a day, 5 days a week with a couple of HIIT classes thrown in for cardio. If I didn't lift, 2300 would be my maintenance (I get almost no activity from what I do for a living).
Anyway, just keep that in mind when you're trying to figure it all out. Resistance training doesn't burn as many calories as most cardio, but it does burn a good amount. In the end I think a mix of the two is your best bet for optimal health.
1-2 hours a day, 5 days a week is a fairly high volume of activity. The burn rate for standard weight lifting is about 5-6 Cals per minute. Do enough minutes and you accumulate a decent burn right there.
Throw in the “afterburn”, which is often over hyped but does exist, and the increased BMR from any muscle gain, and it all adds up.
In terms of rate of calorie burn per minute, lifting weights does not come close to that of running. However, in real life there is more to it -as your example shows.1 -
What are your thoughts on lifting weights to lose the weight versus doing cardio and lifting weights?
I'm planning on primarily focusing on strength training at the gym and doing cardio there about 2 days. I'm a vet tech so a big part of my daily routine is walking around a lot, restraining animals, lifting animals etc and so the days I work I'd focus on strength training and on my days off I would do both.
Neither cardio nor weight lifting is going to help you lose weight. A calorie deficit does that. Lifting while in a deficit helps your body resist its impulse to eat its own muscle instead of fat, however.1 -
Combo of weight lifting and cardio is probably best, but even just weight lifting increases your resting metabolic rate, which increases your daily calorie burn. Plus you burn calories for hours after weight lifting during repair]/b]. Of course calorie deficit is most important for weight loss.
There are many benefits to weight lifting, strength, fitness, overall health, functionality and looking better, to name a few. But benefits of increasing BMR and "afterburn" (EPOC) are both typically vastly overstated as to be in the myth catagory.
Building 1 lb of muscle burns about 6 to 8 more calories per hour (and building 1 lbs of muscle is not easy, especially for a woman). Fat is also metabolically active and burns about 4 calories per hour. If you lose 1 lb of fat and gain 1 lb of muscle, the net is an increase of 3 to 4 calories per hour. Not exactly a game changer.
EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) or the "afterburn" effect is estimated at about 7% for weight training. Weight training is not a big calorie burner to begin with. So, if you burned 200 calories during your session, you get a whopping 14 extra calories from the afterburn. Not exactly compelling.
This is why, as many have already stated, don't exercise for weight loss. Exercise for fitness. Control your calories for weight loss no matter what exercise you do.6 -
I think most have covered the benefits of both and why to do both. Personally, I'm not a fan of cardio (I hate nearly all cardio, the more intense it is, the stronger my dislike lol), but I enjoy lifting, so a big part of my weekly workouts is lifting (it's also important for my sport, especially as a female).
Right now I'm doing a little cardio all 5 days (15-30 min), two of those days are longer and more intense, the others are more of a warm up than anything. Then I lift for ~60 min (with rests between sets). This is a fairly sustainable routine for me, since I can shorten my workout if needed by cutting back on the "cardio" activity. I find this gives me what I need for my goals, and is enough cardio to see noticeable differences at this point in time (length and intensity on the 2 days a week will increase as my fitness does).
I have a more intense training plan I can use when I need to/am ready for it, but find it's not a long-term sustainable program, more of a final prep for the competition season - so I do it for a period of about 6 weeks, then back to something along the lines of what I'm doing right now, otherwise I just mentally burn out.
My current routine bumps up my daily calorie allotment a fair bit, and I am steadily losing about .5-.75 lb/week right now, so that's about perfect for me.1 -
Combo of weight lifting and cardio is probably best, but even just weight lifting increases your resting metabolic rate, which increases your daily calorie burn. Plus you burn calories for hours after weight lifting during repair]/b]. Of course calorie deficit is most important for weight loss.
There are many benefits to weight lifting, strength, fitness, overall health, functionality and looking better, to name a few. But benefits of increasing BMR and "afterburn" (EPOC) are both typically vastly overstated as to be in the myth catagory.
Building 1 lb of muscle burns about 6 to 8 more calories per hour (and building 1 lbs of muscle is not easy, especially for a woman). Fat is also metabolically active and burns about 4 calories per hour. If you lose 1 lb of fat and gain 1 lb of muscle, the net is an increase of 3 to 4 calories per hour. Not exactly a game changer.
EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) or the "afterburn" effect is estimated at about 7% for weight training. Weight training is not a big calorie burner to begin with. So, if you burned 200 calories during your session, you get a whopping 14 extra calories from the afterburn. Not exactly compelling.
This is why, as many have already stated, don't exercise for weight loss. Exercise for fitness. Control your calories for weight loss no matter what exercise you do.
@mmapags
Ref the bolded. Not per hour - per day!!
Below is from Lyle McDonald....
5 -
Combo of weight lifting and cardio is probably best, but even just weight lifting increases your resting metabolic rate, which increases your daily calorie burn. Plus you burn calories for hours after weight lifting during repair]/b]. Of course calorie deficit is most important for weight loss.
There are many benefits to weight lifting, strength, fitness, overall health, functionality and looking better, to name a few. But benefits of increasing BMR and "afterburn" (EPOC) are both typically vastly overstated as to be in the myth catagory.
Building 1 lb of muscle burns about 6 to 8 more calories per hour (and building 1 lbs of muscle is not easy, especially for a woman). Fat is also metabolically active and burns about 4 calories per hour. If you lose 1 lb of fat and gain 1 lb of muscle, the net is an increase of 3 to 4 calories per hour. Not exactly a game changer.
EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) or the "afterburn" effect is estimated at about 7% for weight training. Weight training is not a big calorie burner to begin with. So, if you burned 200 calories during your session, you get a whopping 14 extra calories from the afterburn. Not exactly compelling.
This is why, as many have already stated, don't exercise for weight loss. Exercise for fitness. Control your calories for weight loss no matter what exercise you do.
@mmapags
Ref the bolded. Not per hour - per day!!
Below is from Lyle McDonald....
Yes, thanks for correcting that!4 -
I often think people seriously underestimate how many calories you burn weight training. Maybe because there's not an easy way to calculate it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30768553
KEY POINTS:
1. A mixed-sex cohort completed a workout consisting of seven exercises for 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps with 70% of predicted 1RMs.
2. During the workout, researchers measured gas exchange, which allowed them to estimate caloric expenditure.
3. Lifting may burn anywhere from 75-300+ calories per workout, based primarily on work performed; volume load is our best proxy for work.
-Greg Nuckols, MASS
1 -
I often think people seriously underestimate how many calories you burn weight training. Maybe because there's not an easy way to calculate it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30768553
KEY POINTS:
1. A mixed-sex cohort completed a workout consisting of seven exercises for 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps with 70% of predicted 1RMs.
2. During the workout, researchers measured gas exchange, which allowed them to estimate caloric expenditure.
3. Lifting may burn anywhere from 75-300+ calories per workout, based primarily on work performed; volume load is our best proxy for work.
-Greg Nuckols, MASS
Side question: @JBanx256 - Do you subscribe to MASS? I assume you do, based on your feed. Worth it?0 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »I often think people seriously underestimate how many calories you burn weight training. Maybe because there's not an easy way to calculate it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30768553
KEY POINTS:
1. A mixed-sex cohort completed a workout consisting of seven exercises for 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps with 70% of predicted 1RMs.
2. During the workout, researchers measured gas exchange, which allowed them to estimate caloric expenditure.
3. Lifting may burn anywhere from 75-300+ calories per workout, based primarily on work performed; volume load is our best proxy for work.
-Greg Nuckols, MASS
Side question: @JBanx256 - Do you subscribe to MASS? I assume you do, based on your feed. Worth it?
@quiksylver296 yes ma'am, I subscribe to MASS as well as weightology1 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »I often think people seriously underestimate how many calories you burn weight training. Maybe because there's not an easy way to calculate it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30768553
KEY POINTS:
1. A mixed-sex cohort completed a workout consisting of seven exercises for 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps with 70% of predicted 1RMs.
2. During the workout, researchers measured gas exchange, which allowed them to estimate caloric expenditure.
3. Lifting may burn anywhere from 75-300+ calories per workout, based primarily on work performed; volume load is our best proxy for work.
-Greg Nuckols, MASS
Side question: @JBanx256 - Do you subscribe to MASS? I assume you do, based on your feed. Worth it?
@quiksylver296 yes ma'am, I subscribe to MASS as well as weightology
Is it worth it? Are you learning more than I can just pick up in their IG feeds?
I'm not familiar with weightology.0 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »I often think people seriously underestimate how many calories you burn weight training. Maybe because there's not an easy way to calculate it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30768553
KEY POINTS:
1. A mixed-sex cohort completed a workout consisting of seven exercises for 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps with 70% of predicted 1RMs.
2. During the workout, researchers measured gas exchange, which allowed them to estimate caloric expenditure.
3. Lifting may burn anywhere from 75-300+ calories per workout, based primarily on work performed; volume load is our best proxy for work.
-Greg Nuckols, MASS
Side question: @JBanx256 - Do you subscribe to MASS? I assume you do, based on your feed. Worth it?
@quiksylver296 yes ma'am, I subscribe to MASS as well as weightology
Is it worth it? Are you learning more than I can just pick up in their IG feeds?
I'm not familiar with weightology.
@quiksylver296 if you go to their website you can actually get a freebie issue to check out, give it a try and see what you think! But I enjoy it. Weightology is another research review (James Kreiger).2 -
Thank you so much, I think I'm gonna do mainly lifting with some cardio for a bit. I'm definitely counting my calories but I want to gain muscle too!Weight loss will come from your calorie deficit, so taking in less calories than you burn overall. Weight training is fantastic for health, muscle preservation, body composition. It typically doesn't burn as many calories as cardio, and cardio is great for heart health so it is usually a good idea not to neglect it.
I have lost weight doing only cardio, only weight lifting, mainly lifting and some cardio (best results for me).
If you're lifting and eating a caloric deficit it's unlikely that you'll gain an appreciable amount of muscle but if you follow a progressive program such as Stronglifts 5 x 5 you will get stronger (I've always marveled at some vet techs being able to - apparently effortlessly - lift my 125lb dog up on to the examination table).0
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