High Intensity Weight Training Question

bizybeemom

My husband goes to a facility where he does 20 minute workouts with a trainer. They do 4-6 exercises on various machines. The intervals are 3 minutes and he does the exercise very slowly. I went for a free consult there, and it was very tough. I definately have seen a difference in his muscle tone, but his weight has stayed the same. Weight loss is my husbands main goal, so I was wondering if anyone out there has ever gone to a facility like this, and lost significant weight? He sometimes adds cardio throughout the week, but not regularly.

aippolito1

The man needs cardio for sure. Is he on a calorie deficit diet? If he's just lifting weights, he's going to build muscle and if he's not doing cardio, he probably isn't burning a lot of fat so he'll end up gaining weight.

bizybeemom

He follows the recommended calories the MFP recommends. The trainer doesn't really encourage any other exercise during the week, but I think cardio is very nessesary.

wpij25

if he is working with a trainer...I feel confident he will eventually see the results he is looking for

I know muscle burns fat so they maybe building muscle first and will work him up to a cardio routine eventually.

bizybeemom

This is a facility that does not do cardio there (it's not a normal gym, it's an exercise studio), but maybe your right about working up to cardio. But he has been going there for 7 months and has not seen much change in his weight.

wpij25

you can actually get a really good cardio workout with free weights...in high school we called it around the gym...I think I am not sure but think it's circut training

Paxie

When you lift weights you build muscle, and that will slowly raise your metabolism - but it's a veeery slow process.

To get of the fat so you can actually see the muscles you need serious cardio training, which can be anything from just a simple run (outside, on a treadmill, anything!), cycling, anything that gets your pulse up.

If he dosn't have the time, equepment or motivation you can try these sides - I cannot prove how effective they are, but they certainly gets your pulse going up and you can really feel it in your body.
http://www.youtube.com/user/sixpackshortcuts#p/u/2/ir0jp-MU42o (mostly for men I think)
http://www.bodyrock.tv/ (lots of great workouts and tips)

I really hope that was helpful.

Good luck!

lesliemk

I'm doing ChaLEAN Extreme, which is a similar concept. Lifting heavy weights to failure. I do this 3x per week. The program also incorporates cardio 2x per week, which is to build muscular endurance. There is also a yoga that concludes the week. Honestly my scale was stuck for the first 2wks, b/c my body/muscles were in shock and those muscles were retaining major fluids to recover & repair. Now the scale is down 6lbs in 3wks. You've gotta give it some time.

Your husband also needs to make sure he's eating enough to support a strenuous weight routine and definitely getting enough protein to help those muscles build and repair.

PLUMSGRL

This is a facility that does not do cardio there (it's not a normal gym, it's an exercise studio), but maybe your right about working up to cardio. But he has been going there for 7 months and has not seen much change in his weight.

Instead of looking at the scale, look at the tape measure~it will show results the scale can't~5 lbs of muscle is smaller than 5 pounds of fat. If he's been working on building muscle he's probably been gaining about 1/4# of muscle each week. But that said, why hasn't he been doing cardio? Even going for a 30 min (4-5 miles/hour) walk puts you in the fat burning zone!

bradspace

I have to agree with everyone here. I am a bigger guy that has lifted hard since Jr. High and while I have packed a significant amount of muscle on my frame, I can't seem to lose a pound without complete nutrition and cardio. If you are serious about lifting (just lifting, you don;t have to be a bodybuilder), cardio compliments the weight training perfectly. Also, the nutrition is more than just calories. He needs to be taking in a good amount of protein to repair and build those muscles. After a several year layoff due to life in general and postponing some necessary shoulder surgery, I got back into the gym and was able to immediately start gaining muscle, but found that i hovered within a 5-7 pound range. Once I added some serious cardio, I started to lose weight on a more permanent basis. Tell him that even 30 - 40 minutes of good cardio a day will make a difference.

borys12

Cardio is a must ! I had issue with losing weight doing weight and 15 minutes HIIT treadmill cardio only. I changed this recently to set of 20 minutes HIIT + X trainer for 10 minutes + stairmill. It helped a lot !

mark996

If his trainer is recommending him not do any other work, and no cardio, it's time to find a new trainer. My strength coach advises I do at least 3 days of cardio, 45 mins each time, cardio before and after for warm up/cool downs of heavy lifting days. Just because it's a "trainer" doesn't mean he knows anything.

wrn1979

You can actually burn a great deal of calories doing weight training if done properly. Your husband needs a new trainer. He also needs to know that the number of calories he will burn during his exercise routine if only weight training will be smaller than those of someone who does aerobic-type exercise; however, anaerobic training creates an "afterburn" effect for hours after you leave the gym.