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Lifting questions

fancyface1955
fancyface1955 Posts: 90 Member
edited February 27 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

So I've been reading a lot of posts here about burning body fat with heavy lifting. We've all established that you can't spot reduce. I don't really need to lose more weight. I'm 5'3 at 118. I really want to tighten and tone my flabby pooch and thighs. I run 5 miles 2-3 days a week. I'm still doing the 30 Day shred and 2 days a week I go back to Insanity. I keep reading about heavy lifting and that it should be heavy enough that you can just do a few reps. Does it matter how i'm lifting this weight? I have access to one universal machine so I've been doing "heavy lifting" on the leg press and the lap-pull down bar. I also have some hand weights. I'm still doing planks, lunges and squats to help the core, but i'd love to get other thoughts/suggestions.
Thank you.

Replies

  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Does it matter how i'm lifting this weight?

    You mean machines vs. freeweights? Not from a fat loss perspective. Machines aren't as functional as freweights though, so it's good to include some freeweight sets for each muscle group, to develop usable strength.

    Whichever mode you choose, prioritize the larger muscle groups (legs, upper back, & chest), using mostly compound exercises (multiple joints moving vs. 1 joint).
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
    You really need a bit of a foundation knowledge to take on 'heavy lifting' successfully as yes, it does matter how you do it. Check out one of the New Lifting books as this will give you the information (and a set workout programme to use) to get you started.
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