Strength Training FRUSTRATION!!!!!!

So frustrated!!!

I've been doing cardio throughout my weight loss journey (30-40 mins stationary bike 4-5 times per week) and while this is fine for me and i'm motivated to do it (most of the time) i've been told by a few people lately that i should also be doing strength training as i'll only be losing muscle on my bike and not fat!!!!!!

Firstly is this true?!?!?!?!!?!!!!! I've never been a particularly strong person physically, but i don't feel any weaker than i always have, so surely i can't be losing that much muscle from this method of working out????

Strength training is hard for me- in that i don't feel as motivated to do it because i have no idea what i'm doing.

Is it really so important? or can i just stick to what i know??

Yes it's important. If you don't know how to lift, then I suggest you get a qualified trainer. I don't mean one that will direct you straight to a machine. You want to find one that instruct you to lift weights correctly.

I'm not working at the moment so i don't have money for personal trainers/big weights etc.

Why is it so important? Its not really in my goals to look like a bodybuilder or a fitness model etc. I just want to be a bit more healthy. I don't really care about being super-strong (i've never been strong but i wouldn't say i'm super weak either) i'm relatively ok with my own level of strength. I thought cardio was the way forward for being healthy.....

Are my resistance bands not enough?

To keep it simple. Muscle burns fat.

Are my resistance bands not enough?

You're better off doing body weight exercises.

I know that muscle burns fat, but doesn't cardio do that too?

Where would i even start with bodyweight exercises????

Exercise is stressful to the body, ALL forms of exercise. The difference between just doing cardio and lifting weights is when you lift weights you produce testosterone. Testosterone blunts cortisol production. Too much cortisol production CAN lead to fat gain.

When you lift weight you build lean muscle (with the correct amount of calories). Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat. That means your RMR or resting metabolic rate is increased. Hence you become a fat burning machine.

Hi

Muscle training is important, although fat burning is only a small part of it. Cardio exercise is generally repetitive and leads to injuries, particularly if muscle strength / stability isn't good enough.

HOWEVER strength training does not have to involve heavy weights or any equipment at all. Done correctly you can work all the muscles you need to using your own body weight and household items!

Good examples:
Squats
Lunges
Tricep Dips
Press Ups (start leaning against a wall and progress to on the floor)
Bicep Curls (with bottles of water)
Shoulder Presses (with bottles of water)
Plank
Calf Raises
Hamstring Curls (without weight or put heavy boot/shoe on)
Lying hip exercises (lifting leg up backwards and to side whilst lying on front/side)
Sit ups (although you should always pull your tummy muscles in whilst doing this to get the best core workout as well as abs)

Muscle training shouldn't be your focus though, continue to do mostly cardio and add in 2-3 20 min sessions of muscle work a week.

Can cardio burn muscle? Yes, but under extreme circumstances. For the average person doing exercise and trying to get fit it is not a problem, most people confuse burning muscle with burning Glycogen, which is stored within the muscle. What you won't do is really add any muscle doing cardio. Doing some strength training will tone your muscles and make you look more healthy.

Joannie it sounds like you're saying whatever you need to in order to get out of strength training. Just dont do it if you dont want to, nobody is making you and nobody is saying you have to. It will make your journey easier if you do but thats a decision you will have to make.

Joannie,

First let me tell you that I am a trainer, and also certified in Olympic Weight Lifting (by the US Olympic Weight Lifting team), so you can be relatively sure I'm not anti-weight training.

So credentials out of the way, I will tell you that the information you were given was incomplete and somewhat of a lie by omission.

Weight training IS an important part of any exercise routine, as cardio basically does 2 things for you, it builds endurance (if you work moderately hard or harder) and it burns extra calories at the time of exercise (and for a very short time after, about 1/2 an hour to 1 hour). So that being said, cardio doesn't necessarily cause you to burn "muscle and not fat" per say. But if you are in a large deficit, one that is triggering excess muscle burning, and you increase that deficit with cardio, this will burn a higher percentage of muscle.
We all burn muscle in deficit, it's the percentage of energy derived from burning muscle that can be altered. Someone on a small deficit, who utilizes both cardio and weight training effectively will burn the smallest percentage of muscle mass (say 5 to 10 % of weight loss will be lean mass loss).

So why does weight training minimize this? Because muscle in use, being repaired, or in recovery from a recent workout is spared from catabolism (burning lean protein in this case).

Please note, if your deficit is to large, you will still burn excess lean mass even if you weight train, it'll just come from areas that you don't use or train as often.

Yes, muscle is metabolically active (1 lb of muscle at rest burns about 6 calories a day, 1 lb of fat burns about 1), but that's not the issue, or I should say, the issue with this is the human body is genetically programmed to recognize a state of famine and will reduce inefficiencies. The body sees unused muscle as an inefficient way to burn calories, so it will try to remove it. Thus, work a muscle and it won't be targeted for removal when in high caloric deficit.

As to where to start. The great thing about weight training, is that it's you against you, don't worry about what others are doing. Start with some simple exercises like body weight squats (find out the right form please, squats are great, but easy to do wrong) then progress into weighted squats. Things like lunges, pushups then progressing into plyometric pushups, under hand grip pull ups (assisted at first probably) and overhand pullups (also assisted at first), all kinds of core work, and arm work (underhand pullups are arm work but...).

If you don't have the money for a gym or a trainer, these are great starting points while you research and become more familiar with resistance training. You don't have to go to the gym and put up as much weight as you can to be building muscle. There's plenty of activity that will do this without picking up a weight. Start slow, doing a few things every other day. Eventually you'll work up to the point where you want to put a full 45 minutes of work together.

Hope this helps,

-Banks

I downloaded ChaLean Extreme from here: http://tutolearning.com/chalean-extreme-workout-dvd-program-burn-fat-boost-your-metabolism-get-lean/

It's a super way to start strenght training. You can use resistance bands as well, and there are separate videos to show you the proper form. I really love it.

I have never immagined before that I will love strenght training, but I do. And I even burn more calories with it than during "just" cardio sesions.

get the 30 DS for starters

anyone who says the 30 DS isn't enough for a beginner hasn't actually done it and I bet half the people who tell you lifting heavy is the only way to go couldn't even keep up with it

Gaining muscle mass should be your biggest goal now and forever.

total bull****

I'm trying to gain a bit of knowledge from helpful comments so that i can learn where to start and how to do it properly.

Since you are completely uneducated on the subject, I would recommend STRONGLY following an established program. You can look into the Convict Conditioning and YAYOG (You are your own gym) programs online right away. I would also say that you should save up a bit of money and buy Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. It will give you the best foundation in strength training education you could possibly want.

I dont know if someone already mentioned this but you burn more in a resting state and burn state
Obviously when you have more muscle mass. Also cardio will not reshape your body

Weight training is also very good for bone density! If you don't have money for a gym you can just get free weights and even check Craig's list or rummage sales for used ones. People dump them all the time.

However..you need to challenge yourself..throwing around the same 5 pound weight for months will not help you.

Form is also key. Ask for advice or watch you tube videos and pratice form. Before you even have your weights in hand.

You would be surprised how much you like it...once you start doing it. I'm hooked