Why are so many people waiting to add lifting?
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Why does it seem like there are a ton of people on MFP who are waiting until they are "almost" to their weight goal before they start lifting weights? I thought the more muscle you have the better you drop the fat? I personally don't care the # on my scale as long as I become leaner, and healthier.
Am I viewing something wrong?
You could just MYOB and then write a success story on how great your routine works for you to better influence those ton of people.
I cardio because it increases my calorie deficit, lifting weights alone does not burn enough calories for me to have that be the primary focus of my exercise routine.0 -
cuz they silly0
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I'm waiting. There's lots of reasons, none of which those of you who are scoffing have actually mentioned. (Though several of those who are also waiting have mentioned...)
No money to join a gym.
No money or space to get equipment at home.
I have no strength. Seriously - I can't even open a jar of mayonnaise without my wrists screaming in pain. Also, have never managed a squat, or a press-up. I've not been able to do sit-ups for at least twenty years. There's no way in hell I'm going to be doing anything with the bar, let alone any weights on the end of it.
So I'm waiting to be able to afford it and in the meantime, working on sit-ups and press-ups and squats so by the time I've got the funds, I'll be able to do the lifting.0 -
I'm waiting. There's lots of reasons, none of which those of you who are scoffing have actually mentioned. (Though several of those who are also waiting have mentioned...)
No money to join a gym.
No money or space to get equipment at home.
I have no strength. Seriously - I can't even open a jar of mayonnaise without my wrists screaming in pain. Also, have never managed a squat, or a press-up. I've not been able to do sit-ups for at least twenty years. There's no way in hell I'm going to be doing anything with the bar, let alone any weights on the end of it.
So I'm waiting to be able to afford it and in the meantime, working on sit-ups and press-ups and squats so by the time I've got the funds, I'll be able to do the lifting.
Look into You Are Your Own Gym0 -
*snip*
So I'm waiting to be able to afford it and in the meantime, working on sit-ups and press-ups and squats so by the time I've got the funds, I'll be able to do the lifting.
Look into You Are Your Own Gym
That's really useful! Thanks so much!0 -
I am very glad to see a few people on this thread being influence to start lifting. I am also much more confidant in my own lifting endeavors. I am very pleased with my progress so far, and yes I have put on a few pounds (5lbs.) but I am fitting into a much smaller sizes. So I'll take it! I hope this thread continues to influence, and makes more of us MFPers think about adding weight lifting sooner rather than later. :happy: Ladies keep in mind that "bulking" up is harder for you. We lack the testosterone our male counter parts posses to get those ginormous muscles.0
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I personally feel like lifting is very intimidating and people are very much under the misconception that cardio burns the most calories and therefore gives you the best results. I don't even want to look at the machines or free weights when I walk into the gym, it's always crawling with big dudes whose muscles are so perfect you can't even imagine trying to work out near them. There are NEVER any chicks in the weights area at my gym and I'm awkwardly shy so it's very scary to just walk up and try something new.0
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Ah... opinions.
They're like *kitten*. Everyone has one. :P
Yes, but some are more educated than others.0 -
I personally feel like lifting is very intimidating and people are very much under the misconception that cardio burns the most calories and therefore gives you the best results. I don't even want to look at the machines or free weights when I walk into the gym, it's always crawling with big dudes whose muscles are so perfect you can't even imagine trying to work out near them. There are NEVER any chicks in the weights area at my gym and I'm awkwardly shy so it's very scary to just walk up and try something new.
I am usually the only girl there too! I took my hubby with me for the first couple of workouts to cut down on my anxiety. Now I am just fine with all that muscle around me. :happy:
Do not let anyone stand in your way! Even if that person happens to be YOU!!0 -
For me it's a money thing. I'm hoping that by the time I am closer to my goal weight I will be in a more financially stable situation where I can either afford a gym membership or can afford to buy the equipment for a home gym of sorts. Yes I know there are free exercises you can do for strength training at home and I am incorporating them into my routine, but for now I will have to wait for money in order to pick things up and put them down.
This one. I don't lift heavy because I don't have the things I need. No equipment, no gym membership and no knowledge of lifting. So for now I just do basics (squats and pushups ect). Also I'm terrified of injuring myself by doing it wrong and regaining any/all the weight I lost0 -
I know quite a few people who are under the impression that lifting will just bulk them, so they want to slim before adding any bulk. I will admit that when I lost a bunch of weight a few years ago I had that same fear.. but then I gained almost all the weight back and since I'm older now it's been more difficult to get it back off but I added in weights and it's making a huge difference. I think lots of people are just intimidated because they think they need to lift big or go home and that's just not the case.0
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Ah... opinions.
They're like *kitten*. Everyone has one. :P
Yes, but some are more educated than others.
And some stink more than others.0 -
For me I love doing weights, The way my muscles feel afterwards is a good feeling, but I am trying to loose weight so I do about a hour of cardio at the gym and 30 mins of weights (arms, abs, legs) and I do that about 3-4 a week and I steadily increase my strength training by 10-20lbs , I started lifting 30 lbs and now I'm lifting 70 lbs with ease. What I noticed were my arms were looking bulkier and I seemed to be gaining weight which wasn't helping my problem so I'm careful with weights. I'm back to doing about 40 lbs. So I don't know if anyone else had this issue, but for me personally that is the reason I plan to wait to lift. I was planning to burn the calories and when I'm near my goal I plan to incorporate more strength training. My fear is just getting bulky.0
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Perhaps they don't know how to get started or they don't have a spotter.
When I was lifting on my own there was a limit to how heavy I could go because I didn't have anyone to spot me. Now that I workout with my husband he spots me and pushes me to lift as heavy as I can. It's a lot easier when you know you're not going to get crushed beneath the weight you're lifting.0 -
Why does it seem like there are a ton of people on MFP who are waiting until they are "almost" to their weight goal before they start lifting weights? I thought the more muscle you have the better you drop the fat? I personally don't care the # on my scale as long as I become leaner, and healthier.
Am I viewing something wrong?
You could just MYOB and then write a success story on how great your routine works for you to better influence those ton of people.
I cardio because it increases my calorie deficit, lifting weights alone does not burn enough calories for me to have that be the primary focus of my exercise routine.
I think you would be surprised by the calorie burn you get from lifting/strength training...and the extended burn afterwards. It works out to a higher burn than cardio for me. PLUS I didn't end up 'skinny fat' (not saying that you are, just a common ocurrence).0 -
I thought the more muscle you have the better you drop the fat?Sorry. This is just a myth. The amount of calories burned by muscle is not significantly higher.
Not a myth...the reason men have faster overall metabolisms than women, even if they are of similar stature is that men by nature have more muscle mass...muscle mass is an expensive commodity that requires exponentially more calories to maintain.
Yeah. Sorry. But you're wrong. It is a myth.
Like the other poster already pointed out. A pound of muscle mass burns ~6kcal. That is not "exponentially"
Gaining 5kg/10lbs of pure muscle mass would burn an extra 60kcal. That is less than 3% of my BMR. Does that sound "significant" to you? I burn more during 10min of my warm up session.Why exactly do you think body builders can eat all the foodz if this is such a myth?
Bodybuilders only eat big ammount of food during bulking. And they gain a lot of fat that they have to cut again.
Plus they exercise every day like crazy.
As opposed to cardio rats who exercise everyday like crazy still eat very little and are skinny fat??
Yes, there is only a small percentage increase in how many calories muscle burns per hour, but that is not the only metabolic increase provided by building and maintaining muscle.
After an intense workout with weights after workout metabolism is increased and those who have had a heavy lifting session (in the hour after the workout)
In addition to that the exerciser working out with weights, has calorie burns during the workout (say half of someone doing cardio), burns extra calories per hour from having more muscle - say 50 calories a day, burns extra from post workout burn (say another 50 calories). in addition your body burns a higher percentage of fat calories up to a day after the workout (in the region of 20% more 'fat' calories than someone who did cardio the day before. So you are tuning your body to use more fat when it is burning calories up to 1 day after your workout.
In comparison, the better you get at cardio/endurance the more efficient your body gets at doing it and the less calories you burn doing the same work. If you increase lifting weight as a novice and then when you max out start doing advance weight training to push your muscles you can still have the same caloric and fat burning as you did the first day you trained.
I have been doing C25K and losing weight and I would already have to run faster or longer to try to burn the same amount I did as a larger arsed unfit person.
So lifting despite the fact that as a lean strong person you only burn say 3-5% more calories at rest than a skinny fat person has far more metabolic benefits than cardio and the effects can be sustained for a lot longer period than someone who trains to get better at cardio.
I am starting lifting this week, I was going to start with cardio, and cardio strength training (body Pump) until I got lighter, but I have changed my mind because I have educated myself, so I am definitely not going wait! I want these benefits now.
I still think there is merit in the C25K because I do want to get off the couch and be able to run for short periods of time and not be totally out of breath. But being able to squat 1.5XBw - that is going to be so awesome!!0 -
For me I love doing weights, The way my muscles feel afterwards is a good feeling, but I am trying to loose weight so I do about a hour of cardio at the gym and 30 mins of weights (arms, abs, legs) and I do that about 3-4 a week and I steadily increase my strength training by 10-20lbs , I started lifting 30 lbs and now I'm lifting 70 lbs with ease. What I noticed were my arms were looking bulkier and I seemed to be gaining weight which wasn't helping my problem so I'm careful with weights. I'm back to doing about 40 lbs. So I don't know if anyone else had this issue, but for me personally that is the reason I plan to wait to lift. I was planning to burn the calories and when I'm near my goal I plan to incorporate more strength training. My fear is just getting bulky.
It is nearly impossible for women to get "Bulky" we simply lack the testosterone needed to gain that kind of muscle mass. Not to mention muscle gains in general are difficult. Ask any man who is well muscled gaining that kind of mass takes years, and serious dedication! It is very hard to "bulk". If you looked bigger it could only be in a positive way. When you say your lifting 70lbs. doing what? Squats, Bicep Curls, Seated Row? You will gain weight when your adding muscle. Most of it is water retention, and hopefully more muscle fiber
As your muscle is healing from the stress of lifting your arms, legs, body could appear bigger from holding fluid in the muscle. Remember in order to encourage new muscle growth you damage some of the current muscle fibers in a lifting session. This tear down, and rebuild of tissue is what gains you more muscle fiber in the long run. You are telling your muscle I am needing more to easily lift this amount of weight repetitively. That is way when a weight becomes easier to lift you increase the poundage your lifting so you keep this cycle of tear down, rebuild bigger going. Your muscles have to keep adapting for you to more easily lift a heavier weight, more often. Plus you will need to consume more calories to maintain that larger muscle mass. You get to eat more, and still lose inches in the long run. What does it matter if the scale says 216, but you are know fitting in a smaller size pant, and top?0 -
I have been going to the same gym for 10 years and never lost a single pound because I offset my results by eating whatever I wanted. Then I made a lifestyle/diet change.
I didn't hit the gym at all when I started counting calories recently because I knew I would come home and eat the house. I took a break from the gym and lost weight in the kitchen. Now I'm back into it . I like a little of everything when it comes to exercise.0 -
gyms are intimidating0
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Why does it seem like there are a ton of people on MFP who are waiting until they are "almost" to their weight goal before they start lifting weights? I thought the more muscle you have the better you drop the fat? I personally don't care the # on my scale as long as I become leaner, and healthier.
Am I viewing something wrong?
Yes, I believe you are. Unless they're asking you for your opinion, why do you care?0
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