Why are so many people waiting to add lifting?

stef_monster

I really, really wish I knew the answer to this. I've just recently started lifting heavy, and am still working the kinks out. I'm a longtime cardio lover (endorphins do wonders for my mental health), and it's been terribly difficult for me to slack off. I'm backing the cardio down a little lately after almost 4 months of lifting 3x/week and cardio 5-6x/week. I find it difficult to keep my calories in check when I don't have the extra 200-300 to play with from daily cardio. From a standpoint of waiting to get to know your body's needs better, I sort of understand waiting.

As for why people wait, I think most people here have hit it on the head. My husband, who's lost 90 FREAKING POUNDS through calorie logging and cleaning up his diet, is a "waiter". He wants to lose about 20 or 30 more pounds before starting to lift heavy. He claims that he's afraid of gaining weight back due to small fat gains from bulking. However, I think he's also one of the "one thing at a time" people. He plans to start quitting smoking after he reaches his goal weight, because a complete overhaul of how he interacts with food is something he's still getting used to and he doesn't want to deal with withdrawls on top of that.

I'm trying to make him understand that strength training will burn the fat off of him faster, and that he'll LOOK more muscular due to improved definition from fat loss, even though his scale weight (and likely his measurements) will be smaller.

ETA: Strength training will burn fat off faster versus no exercise at all.

whitebalance

Because I'd spent 2-3 years under the false impression that I had an abdominal hernia and must not aggravate it... I lost most of my weight by walking and counting calories. Then when I found out I didn't have the hernia, I had to prepare myself for a hysterectomy, so I had to put lifting on hold until after I recovered. I happened to hit goal weight right around the time of surgery. I'm sure my surgeon appreciated not having to wade through the extra fat I'd been carrying before.

I should add that I got on a brief lifting kick over 25 years ago in college, but dropped it for lack of space and time. It took MFP reminding me of the benefits (and of course having a place and funds of my own) before I picked it up and really started working on it seriously. I appreciate some of the "lifting community" here very, very much for that. :flowerforyou:

cwolfman13

I thought the more muscle you have the better you drop the fat?

Sorry. This is just a myth. The amount of calories burned by muscle is not significantly higher.

Not a myth...the reason men have faster overall metabolisms than women, even if they are of similar stature is that men by nature have more muscle mass...muscle mass is an expensive commodity that requires exponentially more calories to maintain. Why exactly do you think body builders can eat all the foodz if this is such a myth?

cwolfman13

Also, for all of the waiters or those contemplating this and/or not understanding why they should lift while dieting...it is far easier to preserve that muscle now than to try to get it back later. Building muscle is painstakingly difficult to do. If you're not forcing your muscle to work with resistance training then your body is going to treat is as an expendable commodity while you are in an energy deficit.

When you do resistance work you preserve more of this mass because you are signaling your body that this is important and necessary and not expendable...you will still lose some, it is inevitable, especially if you have a lot to lose and remain in an energy deficit for a lengthy period of time...but resistance training is key to preserving as much as possible. Also, you look all that much better at goal rather than having to hit goal and then do a couple of years of body re-comp to really get to where you want to be.

MeanderingMammal

Everyone has to do what works for them.

Hate that saying!! :frown:

You might hate it, but it's reasonable. What's actually achievable for the individual?

Sustainability is the key issue, and too much change all at once is unlikely to be sustainable.

MeanderingMammal

I find it much more gratifying than running on the treadmill.

Pretty much anything is more gratifying than a treadmill.

I find it interesting that so many on here seem to see CV work as a chore, and that seems to be largely because so many do their CV work in a gym rather than getting outside four walls.

sijomial

I thought the more muscle you have the better you drop the fat?

Sorry. This is just a myth. The amount of calories burned by muscle is not significantly higher.

Not a myth...the reason men have faster overall metabolisms than women, even if they are of similar stature is that men by nature have more muscle mass...muscle mass is an expensive commodity that requires exponentially more calories to maintain. Why exactly do you think body builders can eat all the foodz if this is such a myth?

Muscle burns more calories but not a huge amount - I think the myth the poster is referring to is that adding a few pounds turns people into a "calorie burning machine" as people seem to believe. 6 calories per day per pound is the amount I've seen stated.
Significant - yes, but not massive.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dissecting-the-energy-needs-of-the-body-research-review.html

ryry_

I find it much more gratifying than running on the treadmill.

Pretty much anything is more gratifying than a treadmill.

I find it interesting that so many on here seem to see CV work as a chore, and that seems to be largely because so many do their CV work in a gym rather than getting outside four walls.

I'm a weirdo and I love the treadmill...Can't wait for the NBA tip off so I can get my cardio in.

charlie_anne

I started on a renewed effort to lose weight at the end of September, I do 30-45 mins cardio then lift/squats\sit ups for about 30 mins after 3-4 days a week. So far have lost 8lb... but have lost 1.5 inches off my waist and the same off my hips, as well as 1" each off thighs and arms - I know it's not a lot, but the inch loss is more satisfying than the scales - and I can already see the hint of muscle coming on - toned is the way!

Saucy_lil_Minx

Everyone has to do what works for them.

Hate that saying!! :frown:

You might hate it, but it's reasonable. What's actually achievable for the individual?

Sustainability is the key issue, and too much change all at once is unlikely to be sustainable.

I can understand that. My lifestyle change was not instantaneous either, and I completely get educating yourself first (no one is instantly good at anything.), and that it has to be sustainable for you.

MeanderingMammal

I can understand that. My lifestyle change was not instantaneous either, and I completely get educating yourself first (no one is instantly good at anything.), and that it has to be sustainable for you.

For this I look at my own situation, I travel a lot on business; 3-4 nights away from home per week. I select hotels that I can run from, so it's easy to throw the kit in the back of the car and then go out for an hour mid evening. Sustaining anything more than bodyweight work isn't going to work, so plan for what can actually happen.

That said I'm not too worried about weight per se, mainly improving fitness and general health.

Saucy_lil_Minx

I find it much more gratifying than running on the treadmill.

Pretty much anything is more gratifying than a treadmill.

I find it interesting that so many on here seem to see CV work as a chore, and that seems to be largely because so many do their CV work in a gym rather than getting outside four walls.

For me I do not run outside b/c of allergies, and unstable running surfaces.

You see I am allergic to most grasses, most trees, and ragweed (I basically should be in a bubble half the year.) I do love to walk, and hike, but always have my inhaler with me.
i had an ankle injury in 1998 (I detached all the ligaments in my right ankle) I walked on it for many years (before my surgery) and screwed up my left ankle compensating for the original injury to my right. I do not want another 6 mos. in a cast. so I opt. for stable surfaces.

whitebalance

I find it much more gratifying than running on the treadmill.

Pretty much anything is more gratifying than a treadmill.

I find it interesting that so many on here seem to see CV work as a chore, and that seems to be largely because so many do their CV work in a gym rather than getting outside four walls.

I'm a weirdo and I love the treadmill...Can't wait for the NBA tip off so I can get my cardio in.

Same here, though for me it's DVDs or Netflix.

whierd

Now I see why people always say MFP members are mean.

Just_Kim_

I don't know enough about weight lifting to begin. Walking, I can do.

ldrosophila

Different goals different folks.

Personally my motivation is to be a stronger dancer. Dont have any motivation to lift heavy. I've been lifting heavy for a very long time, and I'm tired of it.

JustJennie13

I will admit... I stayed away from lifting and did hours of cardio because I was one of those... I don't want to become muscular... I was also more focused on the numbers on the scale than I was in being FIT and healthy. My mentality changed when I deployed to Afghanistan and a friend of mine convinced me to just try it. The tone that I was looking for just wasn't happening with cardio. That is when I had to look at this whole process differently. I love my body now. The number on the scale STILL isn't what my crazy brain feels like I SHOULD be, but when I look in the mirror and the progress pics along the way I see what I wanted. Tone, fit, and healthy.

teamAmelia

I'm adding it right now bc I just feel like I need to do more w my exercising other than running. But, I was going to wait bc I saw no need. I mean, there's no muscle there (talking about my arms, which is what I'm going to work on). It's just flab. But, I read that muscle will be created under the flab?

natalieyeo39

My only lifting is the machines, which I'm sure some would consider not proper lifting at all! I'm hesitant to jump
Into the stronglifts 5x5 because I'm at 30% BF so I'm doing a calorie deficit about 500/day anyway. (TDEE-20%) I haven't had any gains in strengths for 2 weeks now but I don't mind since I'm losing inches! For me to do the stronglifts program would require eating at maintenance or more which I don't really want to do till I hit like BF 25% thereabouts. So my 'weights' right now are just for me to not lose lean muscle mass.

traceyjj

Didnt realise lifting was for women as well as men
Fear of the unknown
Dont know what I should be doing
I thought I would get even bigger (especially as I was already big)
How can standing there raising a bar a few times actually DO anything
These were just SOME of my thoughts/excuses that used to go through my head before I started lifting weights.

Like most people here I started out changing my eating habits, and going for walks (I was so overweight I couldnt run, or even "dare" to go to the gym) I lost about 40lbs through walking and eating better and decided to try a small gym as I was walking more than 5 miles a night and it was no longer hard or enjoyable as it was almost winter. During the induction the "trainer" gave me mainly cardio and 2 or 3 machines to use.

After a fall the trainer there would not give me a program to do to work around my knee injury, told me to suspend my membership until I was recovered. I went back to walking, and after visiting the physio she recommended going to the gym, and easing the knee back into work... told me what I couldnt do for a few weeks.

I joined a different gym, and this one had a trainer who was trained in injury rehab, and immediately he started me on mainly resistance work. I loved the feeling I was getting from knowing that each week I could add a weight to at least one machine.

I used to think that "real lifting" was a men only thing until I saw some results from the ladies here, and then when they went on to list the other benefits, I decided I had to give it a try. I'd been doing some small group training at the gym that involved dumbells/kettlebells/sandbags, and there seemed endless variations of exercise, so I spoke to a trainer and booked a set of PT sessions. Even after a few weeks of lifting the barbell with him, I still felt awkward/out of place in the weight area as I had never seen another woman in there. About a month ago I bit the bullet and walked in there by myself, and havent looked back since.

I'm coming up full steam to 50, and I have been post menopausal for 15 years, so my bones are likely to be weaker than they should be... but a recent visit to the doc has told me that I'm doing everything right to preserve my bones, by doing my progressive lifting and losing weight at a sustainable pace.

Myhaloslipped

They are afraid of these kind of results.

mdhummel

I lift weights twice a week in addition to my cardio because I don't want everything to jiggle! I wonder if more people would lift if they knew that lifting weights can help protect your bones and prevent osteoporosis-related fractures?

spookyjo

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.

^^^^ This is why i never considered it

The lack education and bulk thing.

I'm just about to start lifting and it wasn't until i came here and read, took on board what i read and saw photo's in the support forum that it hit home.

I'll most proberbly have an induction at my new gym next wk and i will have a copy of the SL 5X5 pdf. in my hand.

KeViN_v2pt0

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?

No you are not viewing it wrong. This is why every individual should go through an initial assessment. While everyone is not a special snowflake, everyone is different. They have different body compositions, goals, experience, likes, dislikes, other obligations in life (job, kids etc.) All these are a factor when trying to figure out what to do with our lives so we can be the healthiest most fit we can be.

ctinawilson

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.

Me too!

pittsjg

Because you Nancy are ahead of the game, diet, calorie deficit, cardio (in a sense that it burns calories creating a larger deficit in calorie expenditure) uncovers your shape by removing bodyfat, but lifting weights sculpts a shape worth uncovering, plus raises the amount of calories burned per day with or without cardio. Good information!

Chevy_Quest

Cardio (in a sense that it burns calories creating a larger deficit in calorie expenditure) uncovers your shape by removing bodyfat, but lifting weights sculpts a shape worth uncovering, plus raises the amount of calories burned per day with or without cardio. Good information!

Cardio = Uncovers!
Lifting = Sculpts!

Brilliant!

amyrob56

I am that person who is waiting. For me:

1) get control of eating patterns and come up with an eating plan (I don't cook much) started with lo carb, then no wheat then added high protien and moderate fat

2) start with exercise I like - dance class and walking - stair climbing (real - at work - not machines)

3) lost 30 lbs - cut BP meds in half feeling healthy

4) bought weights and bar - a bit afraid of hurting myself as I have had back, neck and shoulder injuries and I am feeling really good right now

5) signed up for a body pump class at work at lunch start next week. I need the support of someone close by who can help me get the right form and help me learn how to protect myself from injury. Don't want to do the gym thing!

6) I have always had very strong legs and dancing for the last 9 months has me happy with my legs but I need the upper body strength. I am 57 and have a very hard time with anything involving upper body strength. (neck and shoulder injuries are part of that problem,,,)

So I am very happy with the path I took and now I am READY to add the weights - baby steps to a big, healthy future.

And that is all I have to say about that!

theycallyoumister

Keen observation...I've lifted from the start (or never gave it up while on a calorie reduced plan).

Cooriander

I know I should, but I don't enjoy it ... yet. I run, but I should also work on strength. I am waiting to get more motivated. I want to. I am procrastinating. I really should get started it will insulate me from injuries. :sad: please! I will read about it, maybe that will motivate me.