People losing weight: How many days a week do you lift?
serenapitala
Posts: 441 Member
To those who are still losing weight: How often do you lift? Do you lift heavy? How has it worked for you?
I just started hitting the weight room last week. I'm new to lifting. I've done strictly cardio and power yoga up until now. I love those and they have worked for me (I'm down 54lbs), but as I get closer to my goal I have been thinking more about body composition. I currently weigh 186 and am 5' 4". I still have roughly 40 lbs to lose, but I want to focus on how it looks and feels as I lose.
Please, no judgements from anyone about someone else's methods. I want to hear everyone's experiences, so I can work on my own. The reason I am asking those who are losing weight is because I have heard a ton from people who are building body mass or are way further along in the process than I am. Mostly, I would like to hear from people who are closer to my situation so I can learn from them too.
Thank you!
Serena
I just started hitting the weight room last week. I'm new to lifting. I've done strictly cardio and power yoga up until now. I love those and they have worked for me (I'm down 54lbs), but as I get closer to my goal I have been thinking more about body composition. I currently weigh 186 and am 5' 4". I still have roughly 40 lbs to lose, but I want to focus on how it looks and feels as I lose.
Please, no judgements from anyone about someone else's methods. I want to hear everyone's experiences, so I can work on my own. The reason I am asking those who are losing weight is because I have heard a ton from people who are building body mass or are way further along in the process than I am. Mostly, I would like to hear from people who are closer to my situation so I can learn from them too.
Thank you!
Serena
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Replies
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3x per week. heavy. you can judge my results and others here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/849093-show-me-ur-heavy-lifting-results-please?page=20
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3x per week as heavy as I can!
*but I'm not trying to lose anymore. I just want body recomposition0 -
4-5 times per week.0
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3 times a week, heavy. Goal set to lose 0.5 pounds a week (I am only aiming for 5 total, with 40 to go you can probably safely keep your goal at 2). I also throw cardio in there some because it's fun (Zumba and yoga) or because I like to eat too much on occasion and need the wiggle room.0
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I lift 3-4x a week. Currently 4.
Have lifted throughout deficit and have made strength gains throughout. Lifting heavy is basically my religion.0 -
3 times a week heavy, 3 days using my own body weight and core stuff and all 6 days i work out I have some form of cardio. I switch up my workout routine every 6 weeks to keep my body guessing and I also do a friends workout now and then to give myself some new "material" and keep things fun0
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Thanks for your answers!
Now I have some follow up questions : What weights did you start at and how quickly/slowly did you build up to where you are now? I've read that when you do cardio and lifting in the same day you should do whatever workout out is your focus first (ie. if you want to focus on building muscle, do lifting first, if you want to focus on cardio do that first). In your experience, do you lose weight at the same speed doing either first? Do you lose faster doing cardio first, do you lose faster doing lifting first? I want to build muscle (obviously), but I want to focus on health and for me, there has to be a fair amount of weight loss to get healthy, not just building muscle.0 -
I lift 2x a week. But I also do martial arts 4x a week and we do a lot of calisthenics0
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I'm still relatively new - in my 6th week - and I lift 3x/week. I didn't see actual weight start to come off until week 5, but I've definitely lost inches (I'm not as concerned with the scale number). I don't do cardio on the same days that I lift, I alternate days (running, 1-2x/week). Seems to be working thus far.
As far as weight progression, the first day I tried to squat the 45lb bar, I nearly fell over. But once you learn form and start pushing yourself, you'll be amazed at the strides you can make - I definitely am a lot stronger than I thought I was going into this.0 -
I'm still relatively new - in my 6th week - and I lift 3x/week. I didn't see actual weight start to come off until week 5, but I've definitely lost inches (I'm not as concerned with the scale number). I don't do cardio on the same days that I lift, I alternate days (running, 1-2x/week). Seems to be working thus far.
As far as weight progression, the first day I tried to squat the 45lb bar, I nearly fell over. But once you learn form and start pushing yourself, you'll be amazed at the strides you can make - I definitely am a lot stronger than I thought I was going into this.
Thanks, that is really helpful.0 -
Thanks for your answers!
Now I have some follow up questions : What weights did you start at and how quickly/slowly did you build up to where you are now? I've read that when you do cardio and lifting in the same day you should do whatever workout out is your focus first (ie. if you want to focus on building muscle, do lifting first, if you want to focus on cardio do that first). In your experience, do you lose weight at the same speed doing either first? Do you lose faster doing cardio first, do you lose faster doing lifting first? I want to build muscle (obviously), but I want to focus on health and for me, there has to be a fair amount of weight loss to get healthy, not just building muscle.
From personal experience I feel like I workout harder when I warm up with the treadmill, then do my 30-45 minutes of weights then follow that will running. It also helps with muscle soreness for me compared to cardio then lifting. For abs I started with no weight but as they got easier I started to add weight and core days. For my legs my biggest accomplishment is the leg press which I used to hate. I was weighing 220 and could only do 90lbs. Now at 145 I am doing 3 sets of 20 with 280lbs and no my legs are not bulky. My arms and back I started with my own weight. so push ups and assisted pull ups. Now I do incline push ups and pull ups and also lift free weights at about the 15lb range. Weighted machines are a little different for me. Start out small and work your way up. A good way to measure if you have the right weight is if it starts to get difficult nearing the end of your reps, but you need to stay with the correct form!!!! good luck and I hope this helped0 -
Thanks for your answers!
Now I have some follow up questions : What weights did you start at and how quickly/slowly did you build up to where you are now? I've read that when you do cardio and lifting in the same day you should do whatever workout out is your focus first (ie. if you want to focus on building muscle, do lifting first, if you want to focus on cardio do that first). In your experience, do you lose weight at the same speed doing either first? Do you lose faster doing cardio first, do you lose faster doing lifting first? I want to build muscle (obviously), but I want to focus on health and for me, there has to be a fair amount of weight loss to get healthy, not just building muscle.
I started off with strictly dumbbells and spent about 1.5 years more or less spinning my wheels. It was not until I switched to basic barbell training of the big compound lifts that my strength gains really took off.
I prefer to keep cardio and strength on separate days.
If you must do both on the same day, do the strength training first. (Why bother burning out and compromising your strength workout?) Neither will affect your weight of weight loss; for that is driven by calorie deficit; but cardio first will compromise your strength training workout IMO.
People like Jim Wendler would recommend you do some intense conditioning like prowler pushes or hill sprints right after your strength training workout.0 -
I'm 5'4" and started at 188, and I was about as out of shape as you can be at that point. Started with all bodyweight 3x/week, worked up to dumbbells 4/x and now barbells 5-6x/week, over about 18 months. Strength gains are a lot faster than you think they will be at first (because really it's about teaching your muscle to move that way, not actually how hard it can contract), so it's really easy to keep doing a lighter weight than you actually can. That will really slow down your progress if you let it happen, so keep picking up heavier things, as long as you can keep your form. (I stalled for a long time because my brain hadn't caught up to my muscles, it's not as smart as it likes to think it is.)
Until you get into the advanced/elite category, it makes no difference how you split up your cardio/weights workouts. I do cardio warmup then weights, and add a 20-minute cardio finisher a couple times a week. When I was lifting 3x/week, I did warmup + weights on my lifting days and longer cardio or light circuits on my non-lifting days. Whatever fits best in your schedule, really.0 -
I lift every other day0
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i've recently set my deficit low enough past my TDEE to lose 2 pounds a week so unfortunately i'm not able to go as heavy as i'd like as often as i like since it takes too many days to recover and i'm noticing some decrease in strength. for instance in nid-december i was able to deadlift 210 pounds but now i can only do around 160 :sad:
but i lift as heavy as i can 2 days a week. the 3rd day i do more of a circuit style routine with lighter weights (usually 15-35 pound kettlebells depening on the movement)..
also my goals might be a little different than yours since i'm not looking to build any more muscle (i essentially spent the past 20 years bulking thanks to heavy lifting AND eating like crazy :laugh: ) so at the moment i'm just looking to preserve as much of my muscle mass as possible while i lose another 60 pounds0 -
6x week0
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4x a week, upper/lower split
Though technically I don't really lift weights (except for DB's/vest/ankle weights with just a couple exercises), I do progressive callisthenics; same effect as lifting heavy, but done with bodyweight instead.0 -
I prioritize on body parts on a 3 day split and have a full body done usually during Saturdays. I'm still experimenting with my calories though but at around 2000-2200 cal a day I was losing while now at 2300-2400 I've started to see near pound gain.0
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4x a week, upper/lower split
Though technically I don't really lift weights (except for DB's/vest/ankle weights with just a couple exercises), I do progressive callisthenics; same effect as lifting heavy, but done with bodyweight instead.
Can you explain progressive calisthenics? If not, I'll look it up.
Thanks0 -
4 x per week. 2 upper body and 2 lower body. Hard cardio twice a week. Light cardio to warm up the body prior to working out. Once a week I throw in a tabata work out... makes me want to puke but really pumps your metatbolic rate for a long time after work out.
Good luck!0 -
3-4 times a week, I use lighter weights so I can focus on the mind muscle connection (full stretch at the bottom of the movement and a hard contract at the top) and perform the movement with good form. I also do giant sets and cycle fast with the only rest being moving from one exercise to the other0
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I lift heavy 3-4 times a week. i like to start with a warm up (5-10 mins) on the treadmill, do my weights, usually about 45 mins then finish off with 15-20 mins of gentle cardio either on the bike or treadmill again. I prefer free weights but tbh i do use machines more as annoyingly at my gym the free weights section is always super busy!!0
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I weighed 190lbs when I started. I would do weight training from Monday to Thursday always, and sometimes Friday , targeting different parts (also don't forget to stretch and warmup!). Heres an example:
Monday : chest & biceps.
Tuesday: back & triceps.
Wednesday: legs
Thursday: shoulders & abs.
Friday: chest & biceps.
Saturday & Sunday: Rest Days.
After doing this for a while, I wanted to work more towards abs, so I incorporated more ab workouts to at least 3x a week. Separating what you do is very helpful. The next day you wont be sore in those spots so its much easier to workout. And sometimes yes, it may hurt a bit, but you wont be targeting the same muscles. Giving them a chance to repair and letting you continue. After about a month, I began incorporating cardio. I hate it, but yeah ill do it about 3x a week. I lost 50lbs ( with of course the help of eating healthy! Without it you will not see the results you want) I basically spent about 45 minutes every day at the gym. And with cardio, over an hour. Also , I started with what I could do for lifting. Not too light that's it boring, but just enough that I could do it. After a while it starts getting lighter, and you can move on to the next one up.Also, when doing weights, pay very good attention to what your doing. How your lifting, posture, everything. You can find videos online that show you how to properly lift and put down weights. You can do iiiittttttt!0 -
4x a week, upper/lower split
Though technically I don't really lift weights (except for DB's/vest/ankle weights with just a couple exercises), I do progressive callisthenics; same effect as lifting heavy, but done with bodyweight instead.
Can you explain progressive calisthenics? If not, I'll look it up.
Thanks
Instead of adding weight to the bar as you get stronger, you use bodyweight and move on to more difficult exercise variations as you get stronger.
For example with pushups you start out with the wall or on your knees, work up to basic pushups, move to diamond and feet elevated variations, then on to one arm and handstand pushups. From there you start to work pseudo planche pushups working up to tuck planche pushups, then on toward straightening out your body into full planche pushups. Around the time you get tuck planche pushups you should be strong enough to do plyo switch one arm pushups (a la Rocky), and should be ready to start working handstand pushups on elevated handholds to work down to doing them hands to shoulders. Should you ever reach this level (few people have) you'll probably need external load and can use some ankle weights or a weight vest.0
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