Question from a newbie

beth0277

I am just starting on my weightloss journey. I currently do some cardio, lots of walking, and some light weight training. Everyone says to "lift heavy" but if I am trying to lose 60 pounds, should I do that now or should I wait until I have lost most/all of my weight before lifting heavy and focus more on cardio/light weights now? I'm not interested in bulking up, but would like to be toned.

grimendale

Lifting weights will not bulk you up unless you put serious time, effort and, importantly, food into it. Toned is just reduction of fat so that existing muscles show through. To this, lifting heavy would be beneficial as it helps you to retain lean body mass as you lose weight. Otherwise, you tend to lose both fat and muscle mass, and you can end up with a lower body weight but similar body fat percentage (skinny fat). Consider doing something like Stronglifts or New Rules of Lifting for Women to get a good beginner program.

BoxerBrawler

When I first started out I did mostly cardio to shed the fat. I did some light lifting just for general tone. Once I hit my first goal I started focusing more on heavy weight and specifically the types of foods I was eating, and when I was eating, to fuel my lifting. I have been doing it for a while and I am stronger, more endurance and more toned vs. striation but I am not bulking. I still focus on keeping my weight down. Hope this helps.

CipherZero

Lifting heavy - which merely means enough that you're pushing your limits - won't make women "bulky" or "manish" unless you start shooting intramuscular testosterone. What it will do it build strength.

Take a look at Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, but ignore his dieting advice. It goes for almost two hundred pages of describing how the majors compound lifts are performs - and not - correctly.