Yes....ANOTHER couple of heavy lifting questions.

May I ask why are you approaching this issue in such an aggressive way? If you are morbidly obese, have not been making an effort for a while, why suddenly try to do everything at once? Are you running at all right now? If not, multiple 5k runs, or a single 5k run this summer, with the training this requires, it makes no sense to me and neither does the Spartan sprint. Why not make small steps, let your body adjust and get into exercising for the long run, without overwhelming yourself and riskign injury? Walk daily, add some jogging after a while, start with strength training if you feel it is something you would enjoy, but get into all this gradually, letting your body adjust. You cannot go from completely out of shape to doing everything at once in a few months. You will only get hurt, burn yourself out and quit. Absolutely start moving, but do it in a way that allows you to keep moving. Do not think of your cardio system needing conditoning as the main issue, your joints and muscles need time to adjust, gradually increasing exercise intensity.

Your reasons are understandable. It is possible to fully invest yourself. But maybe just in regular weights.

I lift heavy now. Almost two years after I started losing weight. I could have started earlier but needed a kick in the pants for me to realize that. That kick in the pants was moving and losing the awesome gym and instructors I had. I was no where near as heavy as you when I started, and am also younger than you.

I had a year's worth of 5 days a week of solid cardio (Les Mills 60 minute class 5 days a week of either Pump/Combat/Attack/Core/Vive/occasional sh'bam class) before I started heavy lifting. I started out having severe asthma, and considering my weight, being out of shape, and breathing issues that was hard. But, I'm the type, who like you, needs to fully invest myself. In addition I did some strength training.

I now can handle 2 Les Mills classes in a day (usually combat and Attack) without feeling like I am going to die. I started focusing more heavily on weights and heavy lifting in November/December 2 times a week and have moved to 4 times a week heavy lifting combined with 1 day of 2x Les Mills classes and some running if I remember to take my steroidal inhaler (I can't otherwise).

I have never been as sore or worn out, even when I was first starting and would finish an attack class shaking from head to toe as I have been from lifting heavy. It's worth every minute and every ache, but it's exhausting and takes a lot out of my body. I definitely don't feel I would have been able to lift heavy when I first started, or I would have stopped and continued in my old habit.

Adding squats, bench presses etc. to your routine wouldn't hurt you, but I wouldn't jump head first in the deep end not knowing how to swim, bad metaphor but I'm sure you understand. You want to be a role model for your kids. Show them little changes and long lasting changes that come from making smart decisions. Start walking/running with some strength training with machines. As you lose weight and "get in shape" start adding in more complex lifting and heavy lifting.

Also, talk to a personal trainer if you can, they will help you the most to building the pefect routine that ticks all the boxes.

StormyGal8 wrote: »

I lost 70lbs, with diet, exercise and all that goodyou get to tuff. 2 summers ago we ran 4x 5k runs, last year we ran 1 and walked 1 (there were concerns I may have had a heart condition and was forbidden to run at the time). I am not currently running, but I am walking inclines for 20-40 mins at a time, which is apparently as efficient at cardio training as jogging on the flats is.

Why the aggressive approach? I am 40, fat (lost 70lbs, gained back 50), out of shape, and a stress on my horse (thankfully he is a BIG boy). I feel awful about myself, unattractive and like I should be a role model for healthy living for my kids. I am also hoping to have 2 new careers by the end of the year and feel like I will be taken more seriously if I look better.

I have 5 months to train for a Spartan Sprint, which doesnt seem like a ridiculous or unrealistic goal to me. I realize there are burpees in my future. I dont have grand dillusions of coming in first for all (or ANY) of my 5ks. I will be happy to accomplish Color Me Rad in 40 minutes.

I find I am more successful when I fully invest myself. I am not looking to "1200 calories and 3 hour a day work outs" myself into skinny. I am looking for a viable plan that I can commit to that will grant me success with both strength and cardio. I have been successful at this before, I have lifted weights before, just never heavy weights.

I am an obese, heavy lifting, 40 year old, NASM certified personal trainer. It CAN be done. The scale weight loss might be slower, but the body recomp is awesome.

I would advise you to do your strength training before your cardio. Not only will you have the strength to lift better, but if you lift first, when you get to your cardio you'll be utilizing an energy process that burns more fat.

JoRocka wrote: »

StormyGal8 wrote: »

I have lived this life. I did not gain my weight back because I was overzealous and then burned out. I had completely unforseen issues in my home, which ended up leading to being disowned by my family and my inlaws (through no fault of my own, my husband took full responsibility with everyone, but I ended up in everyone's garbage can). I then ended up far from home, my gym and my support system, by myself, trying to be sure my kids had the food they needed to be healthy.
Up until that point, I could to a spin class, immediately followed by a BodyPump class, and then head back to the gym later for yoga (although I didnt often do the 3rd class). I ran 5ks, never with great time, and always in intervals, but I ran them.
I worked in a gym for a year as well, and actually thought about becoming a personal trainer.
I am not trying to be argumentative, but I am also not some green girl looking to lose 100lbs before her friend's wedding in August.
My goals are to get back to the level of fitness I was at. Since its REconditioning, I should have an easier time of it. Also, my best friend/workout buddy was a national level gymnast, with a lifetime of knowledge regarding conditioning. Since she's also my mud run buddy, she will have no problem telling me to back off if I am going to hard. We do these runs for FUN and for self, and her goal, as my friend, is to see me feeling like I did 2 years ago, mentally and physically. And while it has been 2 years, I have not been completely idle in that time, I just havent been dedicated. Spring is here, weather is good, i have more free time now, and I would like to end my summer feeling a whole lot more physically fit than I am feeling now.

So- I'm kind of seeing a thing....

" I was able to do X, Y and Z fitness wise" and when I had problems I couldn't- and then I got fat.


Well- if I may- gentle remind you- you could have easily maintained your weight WITHOUT the fitness classes. Just stopping working out doesn't mean you balloon up. I would caution you against equating the two- and realize that you need to separate your food from your working out.

Workout- yes- lift- yes do cardio- do them gently- be kind to your body- we are not 18 any more.

But lock down the food situation. You own horses- you know- you can't run them skinny- you moderate their food- they easy keepers and hard keepers get fed separately. You an get back to where you were without the aggressive schedule.

But to answer your question YES lift- but I would drop down from 4-5 days of cardio to at most 3-4. 3 is more than reasonable. Even 2 lifting- 2 cardio is more than acceptable.

Always wise words from JoRocka...OP I recommend that you should take her advice seriously.

JoRocka wrote: »

StormyGal8 wrote: »

I have lived this life. I did not gain my weight back because I was overzealous and then burned out. I had completely unforseen issues in my home, which ended up leading to being disowned by my family and my inlaws (through no fault of my own, my husband took full responsibility with everyone, but I ended up in everyone's garbage can). I then ended up far from home, my gym and my support system, by myself, trying to be sure my kids had the food they needed to be healthy.
Up until that point, I could to a spin class, immediately followed by a BodyPump class, and then head back to the gym later for yoga (although I didnt often do the 3rd class). I ran 5ks, never with great time, and always in intervals, but I ran them.
I worked in a gym for a year as well, and actually thought about becoming a personal trainer.
I am not trying to be argumentative, but I am also not some green girl looking to lose 100lbs before her friend's wedding in August.
My goals are to get back to the level of fitness I was at. Since its REconditioning, I should have an easier time of it. Also, my best friend/workout buddy was a national level gymnast, with a lifetime of knowledge regarding conditioning. Since she's also my mud run buddy, she will have no problem telling me to back off if I am going to hard. We do these runs for FUN and for self, and her goal, as my friend, is to see me feeling like I did 2 years ago, mentally and physically. And while it has been 2 years, I have not been completely idle in that time, I just havent been dedicated. Spring is here, weather is good, i have more free time now, and I would like to end my summer feeling a whole lot more physically fit than I am feeling now.

So- I'm kind of seeing a thing....

" I was able to do X, Y and Z fitness wise" and when I had problems I couldn't- and then I got fat.


Well- if I may- gentle remind you- you could have easily maintained your weight WITHOUT the fitness classes. Just stopping working out doesn't mean you balloon up. I would caution you against equating the two- and realize that you need to separate your food from your working out.

Workout- yes- lift- yes do cardio- do them gently- be kind to your body- we are not 18 any more.

But lock down the food situation. You own horses- you know- you can't run them skinny- you moderate their food- they easy keepers and hard keepers get fed separately. You an get back to where you were without the aggressive schedule.

But to answer your question YES lift- but I would drop down from 4-5 days of cardio to at most 3-4. 3 is more than reasonable. Even 2 lifting- 2 cardio is more than acceptable.

She's a good one to listen to, too.

StormyGal8 wrote: »

I have a serious need to lose weight/fat, build cardio endurance, and gain strength. We are doing a Spartan Sprint in September, and I am TERRIFIED. I am weak, fat and completely out of shape!

There's some great advice in this thread, so I'm just going to add a few thoughts.

You can definitely work on these three goals at once. However, it's my personal feeling and experience that you can only work on either the weight loss or the fitness goals aggressively. If you want a 2 lb per week deficit, you may not be able to progress as well as you'd like on your fitness goals (though you'll still see progress of course). And you risk burnout. Asking your body to do cardio and heavy lifting and horseback riding and walking and all the things, while feasting off itself by 1000 calories a day (more, if you don't eat back those exercise calories), is a big ask. If you want to harness as much energy as possible to pour into the fitness goals, you'll likely want to shoot for a modest deficit (maybe 1 lb a week, maybe less, or no deficit, the odd time).

Either way, you'll want to eat back your exercise calories and pay attention to nutrition, sleep, rest days, and so on. Be 100% willing to back off, skip a race, walk a race, etc at the first signs of overdoing it or weakness or injury. Prioritize taking care of yourself if you're going to train hard.

I do think it is awesome that you seem to have the non-scale victories/goals forefront in your mind!

Oh, and: If you do proceed with cardio AND lifting, I'd personally recommend separating your sessions. Or consult a personal trainer about it. My current cardio routine is fast bodyweight type stuff (burpees etc) and honestly, if I try anything from my current strength routine (pilates fused with typical bodyweight stuff), I REALLY notice a decrease in performance, because my muscles are tired from the endurance training. I can't imagine I'd take well to a 45-minute cardio session followed directly by a heavy lifting session. (At best, I'd not be able to lift as heavy as I otherwise could. At worst, I'm sure my form would suffer, which would put me at risk.)

JoRocka wrote: »

s2mikey wrote: »

I lost about 100 lbs over the course of 16 - 18 months with basically dietary changes and cardio(mostly walking/running/biking). If I had to do it again I would have started adding strength training about 4-6 months into my program. Why? Because after all that weight loss I had the dreaded "skiny-fat Marathon Runner" build that makes you look like you just escaped from a Hospice center. Yuk. Now I am mainly doing weights to add back lost muscle which is working for me.

In your case - Id concentrate on JUST cardio and diet for now. get some lbs off and get used to your new routine. Then, after about 3-6 months or whatever, add weight lifting - moderate to heavy moxed with some high rep/low weight work too. It will all help to AVOID that "sickly" look. It will also be less of a shock and more sustainable to your body than trying to do it all in 30 days! LOL

no reason to wait on lifting- cardio and lifting in moderation can be implemented slowly in an alternating manner.

Maybe so - doing right away could be better.

I think there are a number of considerations to make here and I won't be able to provide you with an answer but I'd like to make a few observations/comments that I'd like you to consider:

- First and foremost your ultimate goal should revolve around adherence to both training and diet. This is going to be well above and beyond the importance of micromanaging acute variables in your training. As this pertains to training modality and exercise selection I would start with your personal preferences and build from there.

Just for example I have several clients who squat and bench and deadlift but I've also made the mistake of taking a new client and teaching them to squat and bench and deadlift and watching their adherence go straight in the tank. Now it's possible that this could have happened regardless and it's also possible that they weren't ready to make the investment of learning those techniques whereas had I stuck them on a few machines and said "do some leg press then do some lat pulldowns and some machine presses" it's possible that this would be superior from an adherence standpoint because it's easier. And as motivated as you feel right now OP, consider what I'm saying because it matters.

- As far as lifting -- if you enjoy it or aren't opposed to it, I think it's a good idea. But depending on your condition you may have limitations with mobility and/or potential joint issues that could present some barriers to certain lifts. Additionally, lifting "heavy" is a relative term. If the goal is to maintain muscle while dieting then you have two things going for you in this regard. Being obese, you will preferentially burn fat more readily than a lean person, and being relatively untrained, the stimulus required for you to create the adaptations necessary to drive progress are going to be minimal in comparison to a conditioned athlete. So the relative dose of resistance training you need is also going to be rather low.


So for the above reasons, getting into something like Starting Strength or Stronglifts is probably not the route you'd want to start with.

Start by getting into the gym, discovering which modes of training you most tolerate in terms of entertainment and preference, and perhaps with the help of a trainer or other resources you can come up with a well rounded training program over time.