weights and weight loss

I lift heavy, low reps.. I am all about the strength..

Just to be clear, you're talking about 2 separate things. Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. Strength training has very little to do with that.

Maintain a healhty, reasonable calorie deficit to lose weight. Strength training to help preserve muscle mass while you lose weight. You'll end up losing a greater percentage of body fat while retaining a higher percentage of muscle. This is certainly the most healthy approach, and for most people gives a better end results.

But more to yoru question about the type of lifting... anything is better than nothing. Machines, body weight , free weights, resistance bands, all work. But most people will agree that higher weight with lower reps will work the best.

i think it's good to use a variety of methods, as long as your muscles are working hard and you can barely eek out the last few reps, that's how i know it's working. i switch it up between low weight and high reps and high weight and low reps every 8-12 weeks to keep my body guessing. works for me!

I lift 3x week and no more than once every 72 hours. I lift for an hour and 15 minutes; 1 hour upper body and 15 minutes lower (primarily my glutes and quads since I'm a runner). I do cardio for an hour after I lift as well interchaning the eliptical machine with running every other day (easier on the knees).

Work your core every time you work out. My tried and true formula has been using the Roman Chair to do crunches, then switch to situps (go slow), then do plank push-ups, then back to Roman Chair crunches, and so on.

Go slow and start with nautilus machines until you your muscles are conditioned. For example, I did preacher curls on the nautilus machine for several months before I switched to free weights. Weights are fantastic for weight loss.

Work your muscles in opposite directions. For example if you do dips (works your triceps), then switch to pull ups (works your biceps) then go back to dips, then back to pull ups. You can use a weight assist machine if your gym has one for the dips and pull-ups. As you lose weight and get stronger you'll see you won't need the weight assist plates anymore.

for new people and even more experienced people the best method is both low weight high rep and high weight low rep. To get the most out of weights you should always focus on form over amount. Form is king, poor form will equal injury or ineffective use of time. It took me years to learn that lower weight and better form yields better results than higher weight with poor form. Also training for size and training for strength are 2 very different approaches.

FInd a strength program like Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength. Eat in at moderate deficit. Get enough protein. Add cardio if you want.

<---It works.

Just to be clear, you're talking about 2 separate things. Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. Strength training has very little to do with that.

That's true, but more muscle mass = more calorie burn.

As a general rule, heavy weights and low reps = more mass. Higher reps with low weights = more definition and tone. To significantly affect muscle mass, you need to break down the muscle tissue by exhausting it. The best way to do that is to start with a weight that you can lift 8-10 times at most. On the next set, go until you can't lift it any more, less reps are okay and expected. Do the same with the 3rd set and do a 4th set if possible until you can't even to 1 more rep. If done right, you should completely exhaust the muscle group. Eating plenty of protein and/or consuming amino acids directly will help the muscle group recover. During this recovery period, the muscle tissue will grow a little stronger (add mass). For this reason, you need to alternate the muscle group workouts to give the body time to rebuild the muscles you have exhausted. Always allow a day between working the same muscle group.

According to my trainer..heavier weights less reps an you go till you fail (meaning you dont lose form but can't do another rep) I do 90 minutes 3 x a week an love it

I do heavy weight/low reps 2 nights a week, and Low weight/high reps 1 night a week (Or once every other week if I can't find time).

Strength training has been shown to help in weight loss. Though during the actual training, you might not burn as many calories as straight cardio, your body continues to use calories long after the workout, as it builds muscle while you rest.

I would say heavy weight/low reps two nights a week would be minimum. If you can squeak in an extra day, as I know adults have busy lives, then I would do so. I do the low weight/high reps because I'm training muscle endurance, which is nice to have. But I believe, from what I've read at least, straight strength training tends to burn more calories around the clock.

Remember to ALWAYS give yourself a day off between workouts. Nothing sucks worse than hurting a muscle. I hurt my foot really bad once, and I wasn't able to exercise for two weeks