Weightlifting. Why don't you?

As a former cardio junkie I think it was easier to get on a dreadmill or elliptical and "burn of the calories". The weight room scared me and so I avoided it (plus there were some creapers in the gym I used to go to). When I did discover the awesomeness of lifting heavy things I am upset that I didn't get started sooner. I may do 1 hour of cardio per week now total, but I lift 4-5 days a week.

Well, I do lift weights, because I know that I need to do so. I've done it since my teens, so it's just normal for me.

However, I can see two big issues:

1. Cleanliness--so few people practice proper hygiene! Weight rooms can be kind of disgusting.
2. Chauvinism. In a lot of places, men very deliberately try to make women feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. Mostly, I lift more than these men...once they are put in their place, they leave me alone. You have to have a certain kind of personality and dedication to deal with that kind of crap though.

I do lift weights occasionally, mostly in Winter. I only have dumbbells that go up to 20 lbs though. I used to have a full set of weights when I was younger and lifted more regularly, but since we bought our farm I don't have the time or feel the need to lift except in Winter. I'm stronger and more muscular now than when I lifted.

whmscll wrote: »

I want to try weightlifting but I have chronic back issues (mild scoliosis) as well as shoulder and elbow issues (intermittent bursitis) so I'm afraid of injury. I do resistance training now, but I really like the high energy that comes with doing cardio and high intensity interval training. Am looking into joining a crossfit "box" that will scale the workouts for me and not bug me about not eating Paleo.

I have worked out at multiple crossfit locations and the only one that pushed paleo was the most expensive! All the other gyms offered other things in addition to crossfit-strongman and bodybuilding, for example. I loved both of them.

I generally stay away from the 100% crossfit zealot-type places. But that's just been my specific experience.

Because I'm lazy. There are other reasons, such as bad back and still recovering from my neck muscles locking up a couple of years ago, but in all honestly, it's mostly because I'm lazy. I'm still struggling to get into the habit of walking twice a week. I have other things I enjoy doing a lot more than exercise, and it was only taking a class and finding an app I like to make it much less of a struggle.

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

Chaelaz wrote: »

I work more on athleticism so bulkling is not good. I do general strength and conditioning for agility and movement.

Bulking is a myth! Really, it does not happen to women.

It is real. It is just a different bulk from what it looks like on men.

I've tried it at the gym, I've tried it in our apartment gym, I've tried it with equipment at home, with bodyweight only, in a class, in the free weight section, with the machines, alone, with a friend, with my husband, with a trainer, and I hate it. Can't tell you why other than it bores me to death and I always end up thinking I've been there for an hour when it's only been fifteen minutes. It is not my thing and I get zero satisfaction from it.

I suffer through it whenever I can force myself because I don't want to have brittle old bones, but honestly, I'd rather hop on the treadmill, turn up the incline a bit, and totally zone out for 5K while I read an ebook or listen to an audiobook or something. Lately I've been running the stairwells in my apartment instead (I just go basement to penthouse and back down a few times, 100 floors up and 100 floors down total) and that works too if I have sufficient auditory distraction. I don't enjoy those things either or feel good about it afterwards, really, but at least I can use the time to enjoy a book or whatever while I'm doing it, so it doesn't feel quite as tortuous.

But I've never been into exercise. I just do it because it's good for me. I have pretty much tried it all and the only things I really enjoy are mountain hiking and skiing, both of which I can't do regularly enough to use as my primary form of exercise as I live 4-5 hrs drive from the mountains, so yeah. I'm lazy and I'd rather be in the kitchen making dinner or on the couch knitting a sweater and I no longer bother to make excuses for it.

For the record, I've never been technically overweight (at 5'4" my highest weight ever was 145 pounds), so it's nothing to do with that, even...I'm just a big old exercise Grinch.

Seriously, it's page 1. We're not supposed to have clean on page 1. Please keep responses on topic and respectful to all users.

I used to weigh 340lbs - I was really big. I started doing cardio as a way to lose some weight before I started building muscle (I know there's mixed reviews/opinions/beliefs/research/etc about this - so not trying to debate, it's just what I did). Now I'm down to ~250lbs and I've been running since October 2014 (started losing weight in November 2012), training for 5 and 10K distances. In June of this year, I started doing cross training as a way to get better at running, which is my primary focus at this time.

So from my experience and opinion, some people may not lift or weight train because they have a lot to lose and cardio gives you more calories to play with each day whereas lifting does not. Also, in the beginning I was working on my diet and nutrition choices alongside starting to work out. With starting to cross train, my diet and nutrition needs have changed. If you have a lot to lose and you're figuring out the diet side of things then trying to eat to support a lifting routine which gives visible results can be really overwhelming. I know for me making the changes to nutrition which supports both running and lifting/cross training was hard for me and I've been at this for closing in on 3 years.

I'm not saying this is why for everyone, but from what I've learned about myself and my habits (as a formerly 300+lb person) I can see why people stick to cardio for so long: it just gives you more calories to play with for the day and when you're coming from a place where eating (and usually overeating, at that) is such a large part of your life you need to get that under control before you start lifting or looking for body recomp. Many people have said many times that you can't out exercise a bad diet - and you just can't. 70-80% of weight loss results comes from what you put in your mouth. And I've found that when I make poor nutritional choices (NOTE: this isn't good vs bad food, this is eating food that is not nutritionally sound with my fitness goals) my workouts suffer - my legs feel heavy, I am not motivated to push myself further; what I eat has a seriously profound effect on my workouts and I notice it. If you don't have the eating part down and you starting lifting (and you're looking for visible results) you're wasting time - lifting for results requires certain nutritional and diet choices that people who are obese or morbidly obese may not do or understand. I know I had to understand basic nutrition before getting into foods that support both running and lifting - it's a crucial aspect to long term weight loss success. You need to not just eat less than you burn with lifting, there is a nutritional aspect that comes into play if you want any kind of real results. This is where I believe the saying: give a man a fish, he will eat for today but teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Working with a registered dietitian has provided me with the knowledge to know and understand what I am putting into my body, what my body needs for working out, what I need for recovery, how I should structure my eating. I have started to look at food as fuel to keep me going, nothing more, and I have filled my life with other things. Eating used to be such a big deal for me, now it's more like oh it's 3pm time for snack # 2 . . . not oh man, can't wait for afternoon break to go get my apple fritter. It's a routine that I have and looking at food only as fuel has helped me to get over emotional eating.

When I was 340lbs, I was eating because I was sad, I was eating when I was happy, I was stressed so I ate, etc. It was really attached to how I feel. Now I allow my workouts to do that for me. And if you're just starting out, you may or may not have this mind set.

Again, just my thoughts on what I've learned from my experience. Not saying this is or isn't the reason some people don't lift but it's why I didn't cross train very much until this year; I really just didn't have the nutritional knowledge to support the goal I had in mind. Once I started working with a registered dietitian a lot more came together for me.

I swim, it's a great workout, sucks in the winter months though. I don't life weights because I have had Cystocele, Enterocele, Rectocele, Uterine and vaginal vault prolapse 3 times and bursitis in my shoulder. There are no more surgeries for me so I have to be really careful this time around. I'm not allowed to lift more than 10lbs from the floor or 30 from waist height, and sometime less than that is painful if repetitive. I can't do squats either, or any kind of running or jumping, sit ups... anything that helps gravity out. It's kind of depressing when I see everyone else talking about lifting and squats all the time... but swimming... yes... I could do that for hours on end if the reasons for all my medical problems weren't running around asking me to cook and clean for them, haha.

peleroja wrote: »

I've tried it at the gym, I've tried it in our apartment gym, I've tried it with equipment at home, with bodyweight only, in a class, in the free weight section, with the machines, alone, with a friend, with my husband, with a trainer

Have you tried it with a mouse? Or in a tree or on a house?

I've lost about 50 pounds doing cycling, spin classes, and yoga. I cycle ~150 miles a week, and it's loads of fun: I get to go outside, see new sights, fly by people with expensive bikes, push through yellow lights, etc. With lifting weights, I'm relegated to counting reps and waiting my turn at machines, and that's pretty boring.

I used to use the elliptical and treadmill, but those machines are pretty boring as well. There is SO much to do outside and at fitness-related studios. I live in NYC, so that helps a LOT!

I like looking lean and tone and don't want large muscles, as I feel body parts that are proportional to one another look the best. With that said, I'll probably start strength training once I get to my target weight because I'll look more tone and balanced because of it. Until then, all of the tests I've taken at the doctors show that my current fitness regime of mostly cardio has me about as healthy as can be.

257_Lag wrote: »

peleroja wrote: »

I've tried it at the gym, I've tried it in our apartment gym, I've tried it with equipment at home, with bodyweight only, in a class, in the free weight section, with the machines, alone, with a friend, with my husband, with a trainer

Have you tried it with a mouse? Or in a tree or on a house?

Loving the Dr. Seuss references!