stop overdoing cardio and hit the damn weights!!!

I'd hit that

o wait - I already do. lol. I was a little scared to start, but I like the differences I am seeing. I love feeling of empowerment.

That feeling of empowerment is what I feel when I run 6 miles, when I couldn't run to my mailbox 4 months ago. I WANT to have that feeling from weights so badly, because I know I need them. I think it's because the results are slow to build, where with running I instantly started dropping weight. I love that you love it.

This may totally open up a whole 'nother argument, but why do you have to go to a gym? For me push ups, planking, wall squats, lunges, etc. build muscle and give definition. I personally don't think you need to spend gym money to get definition. I love to run and I love the cardio workouts. You can do lunges all the way to the kitchen to get a drink of water while you break from the cardio. just sayin

This is a pseduo quote from elsewhere on the internet:

"Look, I don't like paying any more for a gym mebership than the next guy. I don't work for a gym, I have no skin in them getting your membership money. I would love to be able to say 'yea, I could do a 20 minute bodyweight workout and build muscle.' The fact of the matter is, you can't for multiple reasons.

First, going to the gym puts you in the mindset that it's workout time. You don't put it off until later until all of a sudden it's 10 pm and you're ready to go to sleep and you'll 'just do it tomorrow.' Secondly, if you are consistent you will rapidly outgrow bodyweight exercises to the point where you will stop making progress. It simply is not enjoyable nor beneficial to do workouts consisting of 4 sets of 50 pushups, 4 sets of 80 situps, 4 sets of 50 dips on the couch, 4 sets of 50 lunges, and 4 sets of 2 minute planks. Thirdly, muscles work in this funny way that in order to make them grow and get stronger, you need to lift as heavy weight as you can handle. 50 pushups of 2/3 your body weight is NOT the same as lifting 1.25x your bodyweight in a bench press 5x when it comes to strength training.

Those people on the perfect pushup ads, ab roller ads, etc all got that way by going to a gym and lifting heavy weights (with a healthy dose of steroids on top).

The bottom line is that if you are seriously considering strength training, you need a gym membership (or you need to purchase a home gym)."

First, going to the gym puts you in the mindset that it's workout time. You don't put it off until later until all of a sudden it's 10 pm and you're ready to go to sleep and you'll 'just do it tomorrow.'

Not necessarily true.

There are plenty of times where the intention is to go to the gym in the afternoon but work happens and the next thing I know it's 5 p.m. I've been to the gym at that time and it's so crowded it's impossible to get any piece of equipment so I'm not going to drive the 20 minutes to the gym only to be mad because I can't do what I want. So in that case, yes. I will wait until tomorrow.

As for me, when I want to work out, I want to work out, do my thing and not be hit on.

:laugh:

Now that there's funny I don't care who you are!

I am curious as to where all these gyms are located where one can't workout because guys are trying to hit on girls all the time. Seriously. This makes me laugh!

As for me, when I want to work out, I want to work out, do my thing and not be hit on.

Wow, it must be nice to be irresistible!

But, seriously. I don't set foot in a gym. You don't have to live at the gym to do strength training.

I get how my comments might be misunderstood...

I was talking about some of the meat-market gyms around here.
I think the fact that I'm hardly irresistible just points out that the places are, in fact, meat markets.

As for me, when I want to work out, I want to work out, do my thing and not be hit on.

:laugh:

Now that there's funny I don't care who you are!

I am curious as to where all these gyms are located where one can't workout because guys are trying to hit on girls all the time. Seriously. This makes me laugh!

Just put in your headphones and give them the tha faq look they'll leave you alone "princess"

As for me, when I want to work out, I want to work out, do my thing and not be hit on.

:laugh:

Now that there's funny I don't care who you are!

I am curious as to where all these gyms are located where one can't workout because guys are trying to hit on girls all the time. Seriously. This makes me laugh!

I'm sorry if that is something that you would enjoy and don't have the opportunity to find such a place. Perhaps keep looking?

Has seen some damn hot girls lifting heavy weight with no one bothering them in the slightest.

Bump

Has seen some damn hot girls lifting heavy weight with no one bothering them in the slightest.

Then they didn't go to the gyms that I'm talking about.

To anyone who may want to visit those gyms, PM me. I'll be happy to send the locations. They are a local chain.

Whilst I'm in the "choose lifting over running" category, I never used to lift in my early 20s and was slim with little muscle mass. Mainly played badminton, some kind of martial arts (TKD, wu shu or something else) and enjoyed clubbing a lot. So it was all cardio.

Thoughts? I was not skinny fat (that came 15 years later). I was slim.

Of course, if we rewound the clock 15 years, I'd pick up heavy lumps of metal regardless of physique.

I love the way some people say the best way to burn more calories is to add more muscle, by lifting weights. Then others say, women don't bulk -- that is, they really do not put on much muscle when they lift.

Gah! I find myself wondering about this, too. Say if a woman wasn't aware of the impact nutrition could have on her results, decides to exercise by lifting heavy weights but not drop the calories, indeed you only build muscle in a surplus. Couldn't she then get bigger, more shapely muscles, but with the fat over them just appear bulkier? With cardio only they probably just wouldn't by smaller but the look of the muscles would not really change. But when some women say this is their experience they're told to shut up and only the ones who got sexy from lifting can speak. Also when people point out women who've indeed got muscly and ripped from lifting, they're told to shut up and leave those women alone.

Bulky or not has nothing to do with why I don't lift 140lbs, just thought the information out there can tend to be a bit one sided, and perhaps we let it be since lifting is, after all pretty great for your health

Here's what you're confusing. If you're eating in a deficit and not lifting, you're losing LBM along with fat. If you're lifting and eating in a deficit you're maintaining as much LBM as you can. You're not gaining muscle, you're maintaining what you have. So yes, it is extremely difficult for a woman to gain muscle mass and/or get bulky, but by lifting you're maining that muscle mass you already have, rather than losing both fat AND muscle.

It's not necissarily that the best way to burn more calories is to add more mass (as stated, it's really....really hard for a female to put on mass due to testosterone levels), it's to maintain what you've got.

^^^I like this explanation. Thank you for this.

I do not actively lift weights.. I want to, but I just haven't figured out how I am going to fit it into my life. I believe that cardio has it's place (do some, but don't have to go crazy), I love what boxing does for me. My shape changes have come from bodyweight exercises, some medicine ball work, and hitting the heavy bag.

My upper body looks like I push weight, when in fact, I do not. I just beat up a heavy bag.

The main thing, in my opinion, is that people find where their passion lies. It may involve trying things they never would have thought they'd ever do in their life - like me trying boxing... or some others trying weights, or cross fit, or for weight people - adding in some cardio too.

It's all about balance.

AND quality of life.


Do what you enjoy... if you don't enjoy what you are doing, then try something new.

Has seen some damn hot girls lifting heavy weight with no one bothering them in the slightest.

Then they didn't go to the gyms that I'm talking about.

To anyone who may want to visit those gyms, PM me. I'll be happy to send the locations. They are a local chain.

Well, it's not exactly like a guy can't "hit on" a female without attracting the attention of every casual observer in the place. Do they all bash someone over the head with a stick?

Someone makes a comment that they prefer not to receive unwanted advances in a public environment, and gets a rash of responses making light of it.

I hope the scenario isn't that inconceivable!

I like cardio and have had a lot of success losing weight doing it but need some support and tips for weight training on the weekends.