Bad info re: heavy lifting and weight loss?

Cjmi427

I was telling my friend that I just started the SL 5x5 lifting program. She was questioning whether heavy lifting was right for her because she wants to lose around 80 pounds. She said she was using an ab machine at the gym with 90 pounds on it and a guy approached her and said she needed to do low weights and high reps to lose fat. He said lifting heavy will just give her a bulk of muscle under her layer of fat.
This seems wrong to me on many levels, but I'm not educated enough to pass on accurate information to her. Can anyone help me out on this? I'd like to share some good resources.
We did discuss the importance of diet for fat loss, which she understood, but she was concerned about doing the most effective type of training for her goals.

leahraskie

When I lifted low weights with multiple reps I still had fat over muscle. This went on for half a year at school, some places lose all the fat, like my back did, but everywhere else it was still there like before.

jayraycee

My biggest issue with this, is that he approached her at all!

lishie_rebooted

He's an idiot.
And the ab machine is also pointless.

You don't have to do direct ab work to get a great stomach.
See here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1161603-so-you-want-a-nice-stomach

With 80lbs to lose, she SHOULD be lifting. NOW.
Because she'll retain lean mass as she loses weight and that's good. Means more food at rest.
Rather than just cardio-ing it up which can cause loss of muscle (bad) and means less food at rest. Plus not as tight and jiggle free.

Check out the Stronglifts for Women group on here. Both of you.
And punch that dude next time he comes near.

Galatea_Stone

Fat loss and weight loss is caused by a calorie deficit. Eating at a deficit is all she needs to lose weight. Heavy lifting will help her retain her lean mass while eating at a deficit.

Low weight, high rep will do one of two things: 1) endurance - train the muscle to be able to do 100 reps of a silly weight, but it's not going to do much else for the muscle, and the lack of work won't burn many calories; 2) sarcoplasmic hypertrophy - is she's lifting where she can't do more than 15-20, she's going to get a "pump" of glycogen and blood into the muscle, and that will cause a temporary bulk appearance.

The guy in the gym is clueless.

_lyndseybrooke_

1. Tell your friend to stop using the ab machine, please!
2. That guy is clearly an idiot.
3. Eating at a caloric deficit makes you lose weight. Working out is for your health and maintaining muscle mass while you lose weight.
4. Women do not "bulk up" like men.

dbrightwell1270

The Calorie deficit is what causes weight loss. The type of activity that results in the "best" results is debatable. It really depends on what you define as "best." I'm not sure of any study that concludes that heavy lifting results in more fat loss than cardio or a combination of cardio and lifting. About a year ago, I summarized a study (an included a link to it) that found that when subjects were randomly assigned to either a resistance training an aerobic training or a combination of the two that the aerobic training group had the greatest average weight loss, the resistance training group had some fat loss but gained a modest amount weight on average and the combined group had the greatest fat loss but from a statistical sense, it was no different than the aerobic training group. These researchers concluded that aerobic exercise was the best given time constraints.

Several things would be interesting to know but were not examined in that study. First, the study did resistance training through machines rather than through free weights and dumbbells. It would be interesting to see how the results would change if compound lifts were used. Second, none of the subjects altered their Caloric intake. It would be interesting to see what would happen to body composition if each of the groups restricted Calories such that there was a X-Calorie deficit or such that the group average Calorie intake was fixed. It would be nice if these things were known and they may be but I haven't been able to find them and as I said, when I asked about them, I got chirping birds as a response.

amberj32

Yes, someone came up to me in the gym and said the same thing when I was doing squats. A girl my daughter's age, nothing against her age. 20 year old's can be knowledgeable. My daughter and I started doing Stronglifts 5x5 at the end of June. We are lifting heavy and have about the same amount of weight to lose as your friend. It's been awesome so far and I think it's helped with our weight loss.

Here's some links with info about women lifting-

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/8-reasons-women-should-lift-weights.html (with references)
http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/8-reasons-why-you-should-lift-heavier-weights
http://weightdownweightloss.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/8-reasons-women-should-lift-heavier-weights/
http://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/heavy-weight-lifting-has-health-benefits-women

No_Finish_Line

I was telling my friend that I just started the SL 5x5 lifting program. She was questioning whether heavy lifting was right for her because she wants to lose around 80 pounds. She said she was using an ab machine at the gym with 90 pounds on it and a guy approached her and said she needed to do low weights and high reps to lose fat. He said lifting heavy will just give her a bulk of muscle under her layer of fat.
This seems wrong to me on many levels, but I'm not educated enough to pass on accurate information to her. Can anyone help me out on this? I'd like to share some good resources.
We did discuss the importance of diet for fat loss, which she understood, but she was concerned about doing the most effective type of training for her goals.

the 'get too bulky' thing is obviously wrong.

theoretically more reps should burn more calories, at least during exercise. but there are more effective means of increasing your defecit such as doing cardio.

No_Finish_Line

1. Tell your friend to stop using the ab machine, please!
2. That guy is clearly an idiot.
3. Eating at a caloric deficit makes you lose weight. Working out is for your health and maintaining muscle mass while you lose weight.
4. Women do not "bulk up" like men.

men don't bulk up like men either

JoJo__Fit

Oh Gawd!!!!
Why must random people have to throw in their 2 sense, when their opinion isn't even being asked for!!

I lift heavy as heck! and I'm not huge! All this nonsense needs too stop!
Unless you are injecting yourself with steroids then okay I would see why a women would look like the hulk.

I personally have my months when I lift heavy, I always make it a point to listen to my body.
As of right now I did take a month off of lifting because my body asked for it, and I'm slowly getting back into lifting heavy. However I do have my days where I take it easy on the heavy weights.

meshashesha2012

i had a trainer tell me this. in our first section he was all cardio blah blah to lose weight, dont eat potatoes or chocolate dont lift weights. i didnt work out with him again

fast forward 6 months later i had lost around 30 pounds. he sees me in the weight room at the end of a heavy deadlift set.
basically after commenting on how much weight i had lost he was like oh but you want to avoid doing those heavy weights because they'll make you bigger. i was like yeah you're right, weight lifting has made me go all the way up from a size 22 to a size 14 :laugh:

it took him awhile to get it.

but anyway, like others have noted, weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. if you're eating at a deficit it's physically impossible for you to get bigger . if you do then you are a mystery of science and should be studied in a lab because your body defies the laws of our physical universe and is able to create perpetual motion


anyway, lift your weight, eat at a deficit, profit from the fat loss and lean body mass preservation

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Fat loss is generated by a calorie deficit.

DavPul

My biggest issue with this, is that he approached her at all!

IKR??? how dare people speak to other people EVER!!!

to the OP, what matters most is if you're in a calorie deficit. do 1000 reps sets and go to the buffet and it won't matter. do 4 rep sets with your diet in check and you'll lose weight and fat.

Azdak

First of all, if she was doing 90 lbs on an ab machine, she was doing it wrong. (Simple solution is not to do ab machines).

The guy did not know what he was talking about, but, by sheer chance, he wasn't entirely wrong.

Heavy lifting is not necessarily the best choice for obese beginners starting a weight-loss program. Here is a more detailed explanation:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/heavy-lifting-always-the-best-541735

Note that I am not against heavy lifting for anyone--even the groups described in the blog. And, even for those who benefit from starting at a lower level, moving to a heavy (or heavier) lifting program will eventually be recommended. But the subject is more nuanced than you might think.

GiddyupTim

These people are all correct, in that they say weight loss is about diet much, much more than exercise and the type of exercise done.
However, studies of long-term weight loss have show that most people who are successful at keeping lost weight off for years adopt some kind of regular exercise.

FoxyLifter

1. Tell your friend to stop using the ab machine, please!
2. That guy is clearly an idiot.
3. Eating at a caloric deficit makes you lose weight. Working out is for your health and maintaining muscle mass while you lose weight.
4. Women do not "bulk up" like men.

I agree. Women do not bulk up like men. We don't make enough testosterone. Besides, even men find it hard to "bulk up". Years and years of training and eating enough protein, bulking and cutting. It's not easy for anyone, unless you're genetically lucky and/or work your @$$ off! (unless they cheat with steroids, which for obvious reasons, I would never recommend)

High weight, low reps, enough protein, moderate calorie deficit is the way to go. I am "toning" for the first time in my life. I actually like flexing in front of the mirror..... with or without clothes! :laugh:

Cjmi427

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it and will pass it on to my friend.

shadowofender

I have 90lbs to lose and I started lifting. I'm with a personal trainer just because I prefer that to trying to figure it out on my own when I could possibly hurt myself or whatever.

I'm losing body fat and pounds and getting smaller. I also do cardio just because I'm starting to really like it and I'm a creature of habit. But the whole "muscle under fat" thing....Even if that were the case, I'd rather have muscle going on even if there's still fat on my frame. The whole thing is ridiculous, though. Lifting is so good for you.

yopeeps025

1. Tell your friend to stop using the ab machine, please!
2. That guy is clearly an idiot.
3. Eating at a caloric deficit makes you lose weight. Working out is for your health and maintaining muscle mass while you lose weight.
4. Women do not "bulk up" like men.

5. women get curvy