Weight Loss: How Many Days Should I Be Lifting?

fragileelegance

I've seen so many different answers to this question. Half the people say don't do cardio and just lift to lose the weight while others say to mainly do cardio to shed pounds. I don't get it, I need to know!

birdiecs

You can do both, I follow a Mon Wed Fri lifting, Tues/Thur cardio schedule. You will still lose weight if you are eating at a deficit.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

The important thing is to do what you love so that you do it consistently. If you love to lift, then lift! If you love cardio, do cardio! They both have incredible health advantages

I weight train 4x/week and I also run. I find I have the best results that way. Your diet plays the biggest part though....for weight loss you must be eating at a deficit.

Good luck!

JACopas

I'm on the same schedule as birdiecs and it works out great for me. However I lost all my weight with cardio and calorie counting then added strength training back into the mix. I did zero weight training and lost a lot of weight.

AntWrig

I've seen so many different answers to this question. Half the people say don't do cardio and just lift to lose the weight while others say to mainly do cardio to shed pounds. I don't get it, I need to know!

You're going to need a combination of them all.

The amount of volume is totally dependent on your training experience and overall calorie intake. If you're a just starting out, a basic weight training routine is a good bet, coupled with some form of cardio. The amount of cardio is totally based off your starting condition.

rduhlir

Honestly, just do what you like to do. If you like lifting for 3 days...then lift for 3 days. If you prefer to do more cardio than lifting, then do more cardio than lifting. Everyone suggests different things because everyone likes different exercises. Do what works for you and what you can stick to.

trogalicious

if you're wanting to lose weight, maintain a calorie deficit. lifting alone doesn't make you lose weight.

cwolfman13

- Shed pounds with your diet...that's the way MFP is set up...you calorie goal is a deficit from your estimated maintenance...you eat to that goal without any exercise whatsoever and you will lose weight. I don't recommend it but you can and will lose weight just netting to MfP's calorie goal. This also why you eat back your exercise calories with MFP...your fitness really has nothing to do with it unless you're using your fitness to widen your calorie deficit (completely unnecessary and can be dangerous) I lost my first 20 Lbs with ZERO exercise and just hitting my calorie goal.

- Do cardio for your cardiovascular health and fitness and endurance. Cardio is weight lifting for your heart and lungs...nothing more, nothing less. You can do all the cardio in the world but it won't make up for a **** diet and overeating.

- Lift weight/resistance train for your muscles and bone health. When you diet you lose muscle along with fat...doing resistance work minimizes muscle loss. Do an actual program here...you will get virtually no results just doing whatever and making up your own routine. If you want results do an actual program like New Rules of Lifting for Women, Starting Strength, or Strong Lifts 5x5. All of those are full body routines which I recommend for beginners...full body routines are generally 3x weekly. There is no reason to do a bro-split at this juncture...you're not an advanced lifter.

Rockstar_JILL

I love to do cardio, so that is what I do most. I do some weights but the truth is you can exercise all you want but if your diet sucks, you likely won't lose much weight. You can't out exercise a bad diet.

Amandainyaface

I lift at least 4 times a week and do cardio once a week. But really it's up to you

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

I've seen so many different answers to this question. Half the people say don't do cardio and just lift to lose the weight while others say to mainly do cardio to shed pounds. I don't get it, I need to know!

You can lift 365 days/year if you don't go for maximums. Circuit training with high reps in the circuit training section works for both cardio and some overall body strength. If you are lifting primarily to gain strength, you should to lower reps, higher weights and space out the work outs however, to give yourself time to recover.

Lifting weights you will typically not shed pounds as fast as cardio, but it will be better for your body in general, because you tend to keep more muscle and lose inches before you lose as much weight. But, no weight is necessarily lost under any program without caloric restriction.

It depends on your goals, what are they?

msf74

- Shed pounds with your diet...that's the way MFP is set up...you calorie goal is a deficit from your estimated maintenance...you eat to that goal without any exercise whatsoever and you will lose weight. I don't recommend it but you can and will lose weight just netting to MfP's calorie goal. This also why you eat back your exercise calories with MFP...your fitness really has nothing to do with it unless you're using your fitness to widen your calorie deficit (completely unnecessary and can be dangerous) I lost my first 20 Lbs with ZERO exercise and just hitting my calorie goal.

- Do cardio for your cardiovascular health and fitness and endurance. Cardio is weight lifting for your heart and lungs...nothing more, nothing less. You can do all the cardio in the world but it won't make up for a **** diet and overeating.

- Lift weight/resistance train for your muscles and bone health. When you diet you lose muscle along with fat...doing resistance work minimizes muscle loss. Do an actual program here...you will get virtually no results just doing whatever and making up your own routine. If you want results do an actual program like New Rules of Lifting for Women, Starting Strength, or Strong Lifts 5x5. All of those are full body routines which I recommend for beginners...full body routines are generally 3x weekly. There is no reason to do a bro-split at this juncture...you're not an advanced lifter.

All of this.

PikaKnight

I've seen so many different answers to this question. Half the people say don't do cardio and just lift to lose the weight while others say to mainly do cardio to shed pounds. I don't get it, I need to know!

The reason for those answers are:

The OP complains about hating cardio or asks if they have to include it in their weekly routine
The OP is complaining about lack of body definition or asking how to recomp their body

Huffdogg

Cardio is generally thought to reduce fat, but it doesn't. A calorie deficit does.

Lifting is generally thought to improve body composition, and it usually does.

How many days a week you lift really depends on the type of lifting you are doing. If your primary goal is to reduce body fat and look leaner, lift in the strength range (1-6 rep sets) and achieve a mild deficit in whatever way is most effective for you.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

if you're wanting to lose weight, maintain a calorie deficit. lifting alone doesn't make you lose weight.

This.

Lifting is for body composition-- to make sure you lose mostly fat while dieting down rather than a combination of fat and muscle.

wheird

if you're wanting to lose weight, maintain a calorie deficit. lifting alone doesn't make you lose weight.

This.

Lifting is for body composition-- to make sure you lose mostly fat while dieting down rather than a combination of fat and muscle.

Yup.

As for how many times per week, I recommend 2-4.

Huffdogg

if you're wanting to lose weight, maintain a calorie deficit. lifting alone doesn't make you lose weight.

This.

Lifting is for body composition-- to make sure you lose mostly fat while dieting down rather than a combination of fat and muscle.

Yup.

As for how many times per week, I recommend 2-4.

That doesn't really apply if you're doing a bb-style 5 day split, thought. That's why I said frequency depends entirely on the type of program you pursue.