Why are so many people waiting to add lifting?

Saucy_lil_Minx

Why does it seem like there are a ton of people on MFP who are waiting until they are "almost" to their weight goal before they start lifting weights? I thought the more muscle you have the better you drop the fat? I personally don't care the # on my scale as long as I become leaner, and healthier.
Am I viewing something wrong?

Hornsby

No, you aren't viewing anything wrong. However, how you view it is just your opinion. Others have different opinions.

KANGOOJUMPS

nope, they are kooks

FrnkLft

Because they think they can burn more with cardio, and they don't want to do cardio along with lifting.

Otherwise, it's because they know that they will have to eat a surplus of calories to gain muscle, and with it some fat, so they want to "cut" down before they "bulk" up again.

jimmmer

The technical explanation is: "that they don't know their *kitten* from their elbow".

tasharock

I'm gonna get told I'm a moron, but for me it's about one life change at a time.

Getting my diet in order was a major change. I already had cardio as part of my life.

Weight lifting, whether at home or at the gym would be another major change to my routine.
So it might not be the wisest choice, but I'm going to wait until GW is achieved and go from there.

Everyone has to do what works for them.

pastryari

Could be:

they want to get thin as fast possible cause instant gratification or OH NOES I'M GETTING MARRIED IN 9 DAYS and they think cardio is the only way to do it.
they think it will make them bulky.
they haven't learned about lifting yet. Nobody walks into this knowing everything already.
lifting isn't something they enjoy or something that helps them towards whatever goals they've got.

Or a myriad of other reasons.

Myhaloslipped

Because they think they can burn more with cardio, and they don't want to do cardio along with lifting.

Otherwise, it's because they know that they will have to eat a surplus of calories to gain muscle, and with it some fat, so they want to "cut" down before they "bulk" up again.

This seems so much more difficult than doing both simultaneously.

chivalryder

Ah... opinions.

They're like *kitten*. Everyone has one. :P

Serah87

I do cardio and weight lifting and still have 26 more pounds to go. :bigsmile:

PJ_73

I lost 2st before I started lifting, however, I wasn't 'waiting' for anything.

It took me some time to watch and listen and to educate myself on the benefits of lifting as opposed to cardio. Before MFP I wasn't really sure what it would entail, the changes it would make to my body and that I would enjoy it a damn sight more than cardio.

Maybe I took longer than others but that's just the way it was.

mustgetmuscles1

Just a lack of education. Many people still believe you have to do cardio to lose weight.

kyleekay10

I was of the mindset that I'd get bulky. Unfortunately, it took me a while to get educated.

If I could do it over again I'd start lifting from the get-go.

Serah87

Everyone has to do what works for them.

Hate that saying!! :frown:

Cindyinpg

Just a lack of education. Many people still believe you have to do cardio to lose weight.

Yes, agreed. Plus there is still a very widely held misconception among women that lifting anything heavier than the barbiebells will make them bulky.

Mr_Knight

Because they think they can burn more with cardio, and they don't want to do cardio along with lifting.

Well, that part is true, the sky is the limit on how many calories you can burn with cardio, which in theory allows creation of potentially very large deficits.

Where it falls down is that too many people turn that into "I'll walk for 30 minutes three times a week" on the exercise front, but eat based on the "I'll cycle 30 miles a day" exercise plan that they aren't actually doing.

rhonderoo

I don't "lift", but I do strength training on the machines, and it's when I added that that my body started responding to the cardio and diet more, especially when I upped the weights and lowered the reps. I'm over 40, so the only way to get my metabolism moving is to build muscle, since everywhere I read says that it slowed down by about 25% after I turned 40. I can tell immediately, especially in my abdomen (I do about 100lbs on the ab machine) when I go to the gym and really work. Posture, bone mass, you name it... weights and resistance benefits it.

tasharock

Everyone has to do what works for them.

Hate that saying!! :frown:

Agreed, but what I'm doing is obviously working for me.
There are those that have success in ways I find unappealing or stupid, but I can't let it deter me.

cwolfman13

I blame the '80s...people have been ingrained with the notion that to lose weight you have to suffer through hours and hours of cardio. Never mind the fact that lifting preserves that precious LBM that actually keeps your metabolism up and running so that you actually burn more calories at rest.

Nothing against cardio here, I do my fair share training for various events...but strength/resistance work is an essential component of any fitness regimen regardless of where one is on their weight loss safari.

__Di__

OP it could be that not everybody wants to do lifting.

mustgetmuscles1

OP it could be that not everybody wants to do lifting.

I think she was pretty clear about the topic. People that think they need to wait until they are near goal weight to start not people that dont want to at all.