Am i wasting my time in the gym doing weights?

smantha32

Think i'm screwed then fella was hoping a few machines around my running would at least give a bit of definition, was always a long shot i guess

I believe it will.
I started out doing mostly cardio and adding in some weight just like you, and I saw changes in definition. Don't give up on the weight.
They're just telling you how to do it better.

I would add in some weight exercises for your legs though.

smantha32

I did machine weights for the last year while cutting.

I got stronger, not weaker. My muscles got better defined due to a combination of cutting the fat off them and the 'pump'. My body fat dropped at almost the same rate as my overall mass - meaning I lost very little lean mass (some loss is almost inevitable when cutting, however).

***Stop reading now if you absolutely closed your mind to the possibility of free weights.***

I've just started free weights. My goal also is not to build excess bulk, but to get stronger. I work in the 5 rep range for precisely that reason. I, too, do a lot of running and it's becoming increasingly important to me.

What am I getting that I didn't get before? First my workouts are a lot faster. By using compound lifts I don't need to do dozens upon dozens of reps of various exercise. Second I am working my stabilizer muscles now, which I wasn't before. I can lift much less with free weights than with machines. What does this tell me? It tells me that by lifting free weights I am going to get more stable on my feet, which will help my running, and will reduce the chance of injury.

By the way, people will be much more likely to help you if you can that stinky attitude you are taking with people trying to give you genuine advice.

I have this thing where i prefer people to actually read my posts and reply to what i am asking, i do the same to others it just stops people wasting their time

for the umpteenth time i asked if the weight machines i was using would be beneficial to what i wanted to achieve which wasnt a great deal

simple really but some seen determined to give me advice that i didnt ask for like you have just done, your first part was helpful, if you asked me how to change a car tyre and i told you how to change a headlight bulb that would be a waste of time, but thanks for mentioning the free weights again just in case i missed it the other times

You came to the thread expecting a certain answer and were upset when you didn't get that answer.

You say you have a certain amount of time to spend in the gym every week, and no more. The reality is that how you are currently choosing to spend that time is far, far less effective than how you could be spending that time.

If you open your mind to the possibility of actually changing something you're doing, instead of getting angry with the people who suggest that what you are doing is not ideal, you may hear what these people are saying.

Seriously Jon, he wasn't asking how to be a better lifter. He just wanted to know if his definition would improve using the machines he was using or if he was wasting his time.

Everyone jumped in to tell him how he could be doing it better, and getting upset because he's trying to tell them that's not what he was asking.