I will eventually like to lift heavy weights but...

alfonsinarosinsky
alfonsinarosinsky Posts: 198 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Right now I have a lot of weight to lose. I'm 5'10" and have 103 lbs to lose (female). So in your experience, would it be good to lose a substantial amount of weight before lifting weights. I was reading about heavy lifting on this site and it sounds like its well over my head right now. I am 60 years old but not a weakling by any means.

I do belong to a gym but haven't been going. I decided I am going to start again. Would the ellipical and treadmill be a good way to start out? I think I should maybe be 50 lbs lighter before I start on that endeaver with the weights. What do you all think especially those that started out at a high weight?

Replies

  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    Personally… I would start in with weights as soon as possible. It will help maintain as much muscle as possible while you lose weight. There is no reason why you have to get down a few pounds before you start lifting. If you belong to a gym… a lot of gyms will have trainers onsite available for free or reduced cost…. I would suggest looking into that if you are unsure of how to get started with weights.

    FTR: I started out with 200 pounds to lose… and started weights within a week of starting out. I use the treadmill for cardio, but also do weights 3 times a week.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Weights while you are losing help to preserve muscle. I do weights daily for strength, followed by cardio, for burning.
  • margannmks
    margannmks Posts: 424 Member
    Your starting weight has no bearing on your lifting ability but as a more mature woman i would reccomend just using your body weight for squats, lunges lower leg work but you should use weights for upper body, shoulder press, tricep, chest etc. Start as heavy as you can for 8 reps 3 sets. You will be much happier with your body as you lose if you maintain as much muscle as possible and its incredibly important for your bones.
  • adamitri
    adamitri Posts: 614 Member
    I want to lift weights so badly but my gyms weight room is always full of buff men... I get so intimidated I flee back to the safety of my cardio. I do have some eight lbs I use at home but I know that's not enough. I need more nerve.
  • NoMoreBlameGame
    NoMoreBlameGame Posts: 236 Member
    I want to lift weights so badly but my gyms weight room is always full of buff men... I get so intimidated I flee back to the safety of my cardio. I do have some eight lbs I use at home but I know that's not enough. I need more nerve.

    this ^, yes...this
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    OP what's your overall fitness like?

    if you can comfortably do post parallel (meaning your butt gets below your knee joint) and can at least do pushups on your knees then start with the weight training. if you cant then work on doing those and maybe using some of the compound machines in the gym like the leg press, the chest press, cable row, shoulder press
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    I want to lift weights so badly but my gyms weight room is always full of buff men... I get so intimidated I flee back to the safety of my cardio. I do have some eight lbs I use at home but I know that's not enough. I need more nerve.
    yes you need nerve. those guys wont hurt you.

    check out programs like strong lifts, starting strength, or strong curves. go in with a plan and go be fabulous in the weight room :wink:
  • BigLifter10
    BigLifter10 Posts: 1,153 Member
    I hear this regularly from people who have a significant amount of weight to lose but wonder if they should lose some first, then lift. There really is no reason you should feel you need to do this. As others have stated, it will help you preserve muscle along the way, plus, you will be 'in the swing' of it when time goes on and you are feeling more comfortable and ready to lift heavier or increase the range of things you do.

    It's only one opinion, but you would be at an advantage to start lifting while you are trying to lose. It will also make you feel stronger throughout the process which may enable you to do just about everything else in your life with more ease.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    oh yeah and it'll give you something a bit more constructive and linear to focus on than what's going on with the scale, especially if you're one of those type people (like me) who likes seeing results of your efforts.

    learning better form, putting more weight on the bar, doing something that used to be hard but is now easy, etc all of these can be great NSV during those times you wont see what you want on the scale
  • Barbonica
    Barbonica Posts: 337 Member
    OP what's your overall fitness like?

    if you can comfortably do post parallel (meaning your butt gets below your knee joint) and can at least do pushups on your knees then start with the weight training. if you cant then work on doing those and maybe using some of the compound machines in the gym like the leg press, the chest press, cable row, shoulder press
    This!
  • Inshape13
    Inshape13 Posts: 680 Member
    I want to lift weights so badly but my gyms weight room is always full of buff men... I get so intimidated I flee back to the safety of my cardio. I do have some eight lbs I use at home but I know that's not enough. I need more nerve.

    You just have to go in with confidence like you know what you are doing. I used to feel the same way when I started lifting close to 2 years ago now.

    OP I waited until I lost 60lbs(through a ton of cardio only) and I ended up with a large amount of lose skin and having to spend so much time working to get definition. What I learned was that the earlier you start with some form of weights or circuit, the better. You don't have to go all crazy and lift heavy, just begin. You can totally do this!
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    I'm 52 and started MFP @ 232lbs. At about 210lbs, I attempted SL5x5, but I found that I still carried too much weight around my belly and it hindered my flexibility. I did continue walking which aided in weight/fat loss. At 180lbs (50lbs weight loss), I started SL5x5 again and found that my flexibility was much better and lifting has been much better this go-around.

    But I don't want to dissuade you from starting heavy lifting...This was just my personal experience. Try it out, it won't hurt.
  • 6Brenda8
    6Brenda8 Posts: 12
    I want to lift weights so badly but my gyms weight room is always full of buff men... I get so intimidated I flee back to the safety of my cardio. I do have some eight lbs I use at home but I know that's not enough. I need more nerve.

    Omigosh, me too!
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    lol I am in there with those buff guys and they are to busy flipping their shirts up checking out there abs as well as other body parts I highly doubt they even know your there... The rest of us are trying to work on ourselves but I guarantee would be the first to help if you needed it... In other words everyone in the weight room has their own agenda, just come in and join the crowd, you'll never learn anything unless you come in... Best of Luck.... Oh and I agree with other, no better time than the present, do not wait, get in there and preserve the muscle you have while you lose....
  • crescentgaia
    crescentgaia Posts: 71 Member
    I agree with the others on saying that you should start lifting whenever you want to. I've got a long road to go (around 200 pounds at the end of everything) but I'm using weight machines to gain strength first. I'm planning on doing heavy weights eventually* but I wanted to work a bit on something that felt comfortable to me. So, go with what is comfortable to you, but yes - use that gym!

    *I've also got an old shoulder injury from when I fell with the stairs into the basement. Old house, built in the 60s, and the stairs were hanging into the wall by two nails. Not bolted in like it should be, but nailed in. Extremely lucky that I was the one it happened to instead of my 90+ year old grandmother when we had to evac to the basement due to a tornado warning. Strained the muscle badly, didn't break anything, and got cuts and scrapes. Do not ask me how.I survived it, but I did. It makes doing the one where you lift straight up with your arms extremely hard to do.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    lol I am in there with those buff guys and they are to busy flipping their shirts up checking out their abs as well as other body parts I highly doubt they even know your there... The rest of us are trying to work on ourselves but I guarantee would be the first to help if you needed it... In other words everyone in the weight room has their own agenda, just come in and join the crowd, you'll never learn anything unless you come in... Best of Luck.... Oh and I agree with other, no better time than the present, do not wait, get in there and preserve the muscle you have while you lose....

    oh they know but they more often they just dont care :laugh:
  • alfonsinarosinsky
    alfonsinarosinsky Posts: 198 Member
    OP what's your overall fitness like?

    if you can comfortably do post parallel (meaning your butt gets below your knee joint) and can at least do pushups on your knees then start with the weight training. if you cant then work on doing those and maybe using some of the compound machines in the gym like the leg press, the chest press, cable row, shoulder press

    Hi Thank you. I am in weird shape lol. I can walk/run on the tread mill. I can do the elliptical at a decent pace. One thing I can't do is squat down. I think it might be the way my weight is distributed. I'm hoping that as I lose weight I'll be able to do that. When I was going to the gym a few months ago, I used to be able to do many of the machines. I was able to do the leg presses. Not sure what the machine is called but its where you lay down and lift the weights with your feet on a platform. I can't remember the weight but a few people there were surprised I could lift that much.
  • alfonsinarosinsky
    alfonsinarosinsky Posts: 198 Member
    thank you everyone for the great advice. I have a much better picture on what I should do :smile:

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