Lifting Heavy weights to lose weight

Lift. Yes. I am smaller than i was when I was anorexic, and weigh 10 lbs more.

Another thing you might want to try is kettlebells. I do the kettlebell swing. It is cardio and weight training (kind of all in one.) You use your core mostly for the swing, but your legs get a good workout too...and it's fun!!

I think you should focus more on aerobic exercises for now.
. However, gaining muscles helps you burn more fat. You can lift! I encourage you , but lifting alone will not help
But yeah, aerobics is the way to go and once your body gets pretty lean, lift hard and look sexy.
Good luck!

not true

What part of it?

the part about lifting alone not helping
as well as doing cardio until you "look lean"and then lifting.

one of the main reasons to lift progressively heavier weights when you're losing weight, especially if you have a significant amount of weight to lose, is that it helps you retain more of your muscle as you lose weight. that way lifting weight and eating moderately below your TDEE ensure s that most of what you burn is fat. doing cardio alone won't ensure that because muscle is active tissue and requires more energy for your body to upkeep. if you arent eating enough calories AND you arent progressively overloading the muscles then your body has no reason to not start burning off a higher percentage of muscle that it normally would.

Lots of good tips on here. The bottom line is this...muscle mass burns fat. Heavy lifting builds muscle mass...quickly, if you keep your protein intake levels high enough to rebuild muscle tissue. Give each muscle group at least 2 days rest between workouts, otherwise you risk breaking down muscle tissue without giving it a chance to repair and strengthen. Make sure you include a good pre and post workout stretching program.

bump

...If i keep a calorie deficit, do cardio, but keep lifting weights as my main focus, do you think this could help me with my goals?

You don't NEED to do cardio as long as you establish a deficit in your diet. Cardio just gives you extra calories to consume. Lifting weights will help you kick so much *kitten*!

Check out this for another story of a girl doing awesome things lifting heavy: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

I actually read this story before! shes one of the reasons I decided to look into weight lifting hahah


I just started lifting this week and this is what i do so far, im wondering if i should add to it because the sessions seem so short... like 30 -40min usually. but im always sore the day after

Mondays & Wednesdays & Friday 5 sets 6-8reps
Seated Bicep curl
Shoulder shrugs
Seated dumbbell military press
Lateral raises & front raises
Dips

Tuesdays & Thursdays 5 sets 4-6 reps
Squats
Deadlifts
Chin ups
Horizontal Leg press

To be honest, you will be better off doing a fully body workout 3 x a week as a beginner.

Check out Starting Strength or Stronglifts.

So all signs point to lifting... But now the questoin - what constitutes lifting and how much is enough???

that's the beauty of something like strong lifts because everyone starts off at the same weight (the bar) that way newbs can make sure they get the form right before adding crazy weight and everyone can feel good about themselves about the progress in strength they make.

with strong lifts you start off with the empty bar (or some other easy amount for you) then each time you do the routine you add another 5 pounds. maybe at first you arent lifting heavy, but you are getting used to the movements and before you know it (assuming there are no stalls) you can be lifting some very heavy weights

If you want to be fit and toned don't pay attention to the scale. When you work on muscles and lift heavy your weight will most likely not drop as much as you would want it to however your body will change drastically.

This, most definitely.

So all signs point to lifting... But now the questoin - what constitutes lifting and how much is enough???

that's the beauty of something like strong lifts because everyone starts off at the same weight (the bar) that way newbs can make sure they get the form right before adding crazy weight and everyone can feel good about themselves about the progress in strength they make.

with strong lifts you start off with the empty bar (or some other easy amount for you) then each time you do the routine you add another 5 pounds. maybe at first you arent lifting heavy, but you are getting used to the movements and before you know it (assuming there are no stalls) you can be lifting some very heavy weights

Isn't a barbell like 45 pounds? What if you can't lift that with good form? Wouldn't it be better for a newbie that's a total weakling to start lower than that? :blushing: Personally, I started with 3 pound weights, then moved up to 5 pounds and will be doing ten pounds. But I don't have any "official" type of weights anyway. I just find things around the house and weigh them to see what I can lift. :bigsmile:

ETA: The most I was able to do was a Rubbermaid tub that I discovered weighed 58 pounds, but I could only lift it twice, then I couldn't get it off the floor again. :blushing: