Is it necessary to do weight lifting?

jesseylou22
jesseylou22 Posts: 51
edited September 27 in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, so of course I want to build muscle because it burns fat, and I want a rock hard body some day. However, I have a bad knee and my husband has a bad shoulder. Lifting weights seems to be very hard on us due to our old injuries. Is it necessary to actually lift weights? What are some good alternatives to build muscle that would put less strain on the joints and body? Would appreciate any suggestions!

Replies

  • superhippiechik
    superhippiechik Posts: 1,044 Member
    Doing the motions without weights and high repititions will do the same thing,but you have to do it 'till you can't do it anymore!
  • TaushasJourney
    TaushasJourney Posts: 143
    You can use your own body to build muscle with crunches, push ups, pull ups, all those kinds of exercises. :)
  • Jena_72
    Jena_72 Posts: 1,057
    First, there other things like resistance bands, they are inexpensive and you can take them anywhere.(park, beach and what not) But as far as weights go I'll tell you like I told my daughter when she complained that our 3 lb weights were stupid. I simply said do the curl 100 times. They don't have to be heavy to be effective! :smile:
  • dragonbug300
    dragonbug300 Posts: 760 Member
    Doing the motions without weights and high repititions will do the same thing,but you have to do it 'till you can't do it anymore!

    Bending your arm 1000 times will do nothing except provide minimal cardio. I have no idea where this person got their information from.
    What softlyseeking said was correct: bodyweight exercises are a good alternative. You can modify them so that they're more comfortable. Do deep stretching after each workout.
    I do bodyweight exercises from http://www.bodyrock.tv/
    As you'll see, the woman who makes up and demonstrates all of the workouts is in incredible shape--but those short workouts are all that she does for exercise. It's quite inspirational :smile:
  • laughingdani
    laughingdani Posts: 2,275 Member
    I do all bodyweight exercises and it has done wonders as I have lost the weight.

    142597_3640.jpg

    I swear by push-ups and tricep dips. Check out Bob Harper's Blog. He has short exercise challenges that incorporate bodyweight.
    http://www.mytrainerbob.com/challenges

    Running has totally transforned my legs as well, but I'm not sure with a bad knee if running is something for you depending on the severity of the injury.

    Good Luck!

    Dani
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    lift weights. what sort of 'bad knee' do you have? unless you have ligament damage you should be ok to do weights. and yes resistance is the only way to build muscle, and real muscle.

    muscle doesnt burn as much calories as we'd like to think. maybe 5-10 more each lb of muscle compared to fat. but i hear that when we lift, our bodies are in that calorie burn mode for much longer than if we just do cardio.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    I do all bodyweight exercises and it has done wonders as I have lost the weight.

    142597_3640.jpg

    I swear by push-ups and tricep dips. Check out Bob Harper's Blog. He has short exercise challenges that incorporate bodyweight.
    http://www.mytrainerbob.com/challenges

    Running has totally transformed my legs as well, but I'm not sure with a bad knee if running is something for you depending on the severity of the injury.

    Good Luck!

    Dani

    This, and you can also use resistance bands. You can perform most of the same types of lifting routines with bands since slow and controlled movements should assure that you're not banging your joints around if weights aren't stable enough to support.
  • jesseylou22
    jesseylou22 Posts: 51
    Thanks for all of your great ideas.. I like the callesthenics idea! I just didn't know if that was enough!
  • jesseylou22
    jesseylou22 Posts: 51
    I have a torn ACL ligament, I have had surgery once, and repaired the ligament and miniscus, and now I have re injured the knee not as severe but still prevents a lot of activities.
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