Weights or no weights?

You don't necessarily NEED weights, but they help.

Weight training long term will help you lose weight faster than just cardio.

What he is referring to (whether he knows it or not) is using his body weight for training rather than free weights. It is as effective (weight training is weight training) but some people prefer to use free weights for their ease and to target specific muscles. Free weights are also used with body weight (holding a weight while doing crunches) to make an exercise more challenging.

You can develop a high level of fitness with just body-weight exercises (check out the book "You Are Your Own Gym")

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/body_weight_exercises/

http://baye.com/bodyweight-versus-weight-training/

it's really just a matter of personal preference and what your goals are.

You don't NEED weights, you need resistance.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

To be strict and slightly pedantic. He is using weight, his own bodyweight! Once you actually look into it properly and delve deeper than the normal uninformed "press ups and crunches" view most have, you'll find bodyweight training has plethora of different exercises for every skill or strength level. Have a look at Pistol Squats and Planche Push Ups on Youtube to see how far the exercises can really progress.

You don't necessarily NEED weights, but they help.

Simply true; however, as others have said, body weight IS weight. In my case, there are body weight exercises I am not ready for and the weights are actually easier.. (Example, I do a lat pull down at about 175 lbs but my body weight is 230 so chin up exercises are not really an option for me)... In this case, the body weight would actually be more strenuous than the corresponding weight based exercise. Like another poster said... you don't really need weight, you need resistance...

If your goal is to get lean then you are definitely going to want to focus on aerobic activities such as running, biking, swimming, etc. Lifting weights, while a good supplement to aerobic activity, does very little in torching fat. Same thing with body weight exercises. Average calorie burn for 1 push up is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/2 to maybe 1 calorie. 3500 calories make up 1 lb. Of fat. So best case scenario, youd have to do 3500 push ups to burn just 1 lb. Of fat. Not a very efficient way of reaching your goals unfortunately. Anyways hope this info helps and good luck on your goals!

Absolute codswallop! All running ever did for me is break me. I lost 17kg last year, almost entirely fat, despite doing no running or cycling and next to no swimming after my second round of running injuries in May.

To lose weight you need a calorie deficit, how you get there is up to you. If cardio like that works for you, go for it. If you're just generally more active (walking when you can, taking stairs etc) then that's just as good.

To neglect strength training in favour of cardio because it "torches fat" is daft.

TL;DR: Calorie deficit causes weight loss, progressive strength training (bodyweight, barbell or other) helps lean muscle retention.

Another thumbs up for bodyweight training here, so long as the resistance is kept to a range where you can only comfortably do around 6 - 9 reps in each set before you feel the next rep will fail or lose a lot of form.

Also, as you and your bf lose fat you will appear more lean as the fat drops way from the muscles already there behind the fat layer.

Weights or no weights - its whatever you like and stick with that will make the difference.

weights. Well, you asked . I could not imagine losing all this weight without the benefits that came along with lifting. I might have felt skinny without lifting, but because I incorporated cardio and weightlifting I feel FIT.