Things I notice at the gym

frogmommy
frogmommy Posts: 151 Member
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been going to the gym at roughly the same time every day for the past four years. While I do not know the challenges these two ladies face (or what their goals are), I see two in particular regularly:

Lady one: She started very overweight. She does some strength training (weights) then hits the cardio machine for a good amount of time (30 to 40 minutes maybe). Over the past year, she has dropped a ton of weight and looks great.

Lady two: She started very overweight. She does some strength training (weights), then hits the cardio for a few minutes (five or ten) and leaves. She is still very overweight.

I cannot help but wonder if lady number two cannot figure out why she is losing no weight. I look around at the cardio machines and see an obvious theme. Thinner people doing regular, sane amounts of cardio. Then I look on the floor and see some obviously overweight people who rarely hit a cardio machine. It has helped me focus on what I need.

Replies

  • BigGail
    BigGail Posts: 465 Member
    I go to the gym roughly the same time each Sunday and there's a guy there I got talking to on the treadmill. He absolutely canes both the weights and the cardio and he looks fit as a lop.
    So while I am red faced and sweating buckets, I watch this guy to spur me on, because I found out he's actually 79 years old!!!!!:ohwell:
  • LOVINMYSELFISIMPORTANT
    LOVINMYSELFISIMPORTANT Posts: 63
    I agree I know someone who does just weights and never does cardio, you have to burn calories to loose weight :)
  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
    That's also speculation.

    Do you know what either woman is doing diet-wise? That would probably have more to do with it.
  • tondalea
    tondalea Posts: 67 Member
    I agree with TheKitsune6 that diet probably has a lot to do with it. I was one of those that worked out for a long time with no change to my diet and while I didnt really gain, I didnt lose either. It takes a combination of weight training and cardio to lose weight in my opinion. You can do all of the cardio in the world and lose but you need muscle to really look good. In the words of Chalene Johnson "Muscle Burns Fat", and I strongly believe that.
  • giggles29169
    giggles29169 Posts: 12 Member
    I've been working very hard in the gym lately. Really pushing myself with cardio. There are some people though I feel like they waste my time and theirs by being there. Is it wrong for me to give them pointers...? not that they have to be like me or anything but I really think MFP has helped me and maybe could help them too...
  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
    I've been working very hard in the gym lately. Really pushing myself with cardio. There are some people though I feel like they waste my time and theirs by being there. Is it wrong for me to give them pointers...? not that they have to be like me or anything but I really think MFP has helped me and maybe could help them too...

    I would not recommend that. Most people would probably see it as hostile and invasive. It really is none of your business and unsolicited advice, especially from strangers, is rarely well received.

    Also not sure how they're wasting your time?
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    my experience at the gym is the exact opposite. lol. i see more overweight people on the treadmills, ellipticals, etc and the more fit people working out with weights. i suspect that it is because hitting the cardio machines at the gym is probably easier/less intimidating than hitting the free weights when you are first starting to work out.

    it is good that you found something that works for you though. :) keep it up!
  • frogmommy
    frogmommy Posts: 151 Member
    There was a trainer at the gym who always said that nutrition/diet is 90% of it and I firmly believe that. The problem was that I was not practicing it very well. My focus now is to eat my calories from good, healthy food. That is a huge challenge for me because I have a strong salty, crunchy food addiction ;)

    I don't know what those two ladies situations are ~ for all I know there could be heart issues preventing the larger one from doing any cardio. I hope for whatever is best for their health... But it has made me realize that I needed to step up my cardio a bit.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Watching 2 people at the gym, does not make an observation a law.
    For many, many years I pounded the weights and didn't do a minute of cardio. I was huge and fairly ripped, low body fat. I could eat a ton, but I burned a ton too.
    Does that mean cardio is a waste? Of course not.
    It jsut means different people respond in different ways.
  • hill242
    hill242 Posts: 412 Member
    Ditto with above posters. You have no idea what either woman is eating. You can lose tons of weight without exercising. You can exercise tons and never lose weight because you keep eating poorly.

    I have never been a "chronic cardio" person - I like to lift heavy things - and I lose weight just fine -- when I eat well.
  • sjaudio
    sjaudio Posts: 52
    like everything in life, moderation is the key. I've seen people at the gym who spend two hours a day on an elliptical machine (there from the moment I walk in the door until the moment I leave). While they may be fit by runway model standards, they look like they'd break in half if they tried to pick up more than ten pounds. I've also seen guys pounding the weights with bulging biceps and guts to match. I try to do 55 minutes of weights and 35 of cardio every day. For me, that seems to be a good ratio.
  • LOVINMYSELFISIMPORTANT
    LOVINMYSELFISIMPORTANT Posts: 63
    I dont think thats very nice atleast they are going to the gym.
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
    That's also speculation.

    Do you know what either woman is doing diet-wise? That would probably have more to do with it.

    Very true. Have a relative that goes to the gym pretty frequently and clocks a good half hour on the elliptical. Of course, she's completely wasting her time, as she still eats horribly. But from seeing her at the gym you'd feed kinda bad. It LOOKS like she's making an effort.
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