"Heavy" lifter....body pump kicked my butt!
Options
Replies
-
It's a different kind of training. I lift heavy but I would probably struggle there....I mean, I consider light weight front squats cardio. I get out of breath and want to curse at people. Back squatting 90% of my max? Totally fine.
As someone else mentioned, you have to choose your goals and eat and train to achieve that. You can get a slim, defined physique from heavy lifting. No matter what, if you have fat to lose you have to lose the fat.0 -
I have less knowledge than anyone on this topic, but I run, lift heavy, and do body pump classes. I run because I love it and do the others because I should. I am at my lowest weight and BFP in my adult life and I still need to lose about 20 lbs (IMO).
That being said... Did you like the class? Do what works for you. We all know that we need to do resistance training because its very good for us. Cardio is also very good for us and really helps burn some calories. So... I say pick the cardio and the resistance that work best for you and make it work. And FWIW, there are a lot of overweight women and a lot of "skinny fat" women in my bodypump class - and they're all working hard and doing great!0 -
Think of it this way: take a 100-200 sprinter (heavy weight lifter) and have them run a marathon (light weights lots of reps). Result would more than likely be that the sprinter couldn't finish it and would feel it the next 3 days.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
0 -
chrysalis2015 wrote: »So I took a body pump class last night...lower weights higher reps. Really high. I thought I'd do so great after all the heavy lifting....WRONG! Knee injury and old rotator cuff tears aside, I still couldn't do a push up, my shoulder gave out on triceps dips, and I felt like jelly. Every single woman in there was in fantastic, fit/thin shape. Every one. I was the only overweight person there.
Have I been doing the wrong thing? These are the cardio/HIIT/"little weights" women...not the "lift heavy it'll work better" group...I am sooooo confused.
Should I just cycle in and out of heavy lifting? Are some people not cut out for heavy lifting? I've seen improvements, but I really want to look like those women.
Any advice/thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
I hear you! I took a Body Pump class once and I pretty much watched the second half of it! I wasn't thrilled with the instructor so I ended up not sticking with it.
As everyone else has pretty much said, different types of exercise have different benefits. Your goals should lead you to the types of exercise you focus on. If you only do one type of exercise, you may end up lacking in other areas of fitness. There is strength training, cardio, endurance, flexibility, and probably something else I'm forgetting.
Ultimately, if you are overweight, the key is going to be eating at a deficit to lose the fat, no matter what exercise you are doing. Maybe adding in a couple of cardio or endurance type workouts a week will help you burn a few more calories and speed up your loss.0 -
Holy smokes! Tons of replies
I think I just wanted reassurances that lifting heavy would eventually get me some kind of results...and that the rep difference was the issue versus my doing something wrong.
To clarify a few things...I like free weights and machines because I can keep a certain range of motion to avoid exacerbating old injuries. Whereas in an aerobic setting there seems to be more drastic directional changes. Probably why my knee got insanely swollen after Zumba but I have no problem doing leg presses at 350 lbs, for example.
I can't bench my BW yet. I just went up to 80 lbs. I started with just the bar, so this is big for me. As for aerobics, I just do elliptical machines at intervals getting my heart rate up. Interestingly that wasn't the portion that kicked my derriere, but the actual lifting.
I do have plenty of fat to lose. And I've enjoyed going with the lifting versus the cardio only route I tried last time. I got injured more, I wasn't seeing the size difference, etc. I just felt like I should've been so much stronger, and seeing all those women there just made me (a) self conscious (which is a me thing only) and (b) question the course I was taking.
I noticed someone mentioning they did both...maybe this is something I should do to "shake things up" on an off day or something.
0 -
chrysalis2015 wrote: »So I took a body pump class last night...lower weights higher reps. Really high. I thought I'd do so great after all the heavy lifting....WRONG! Knee injury and old rotator cuff tears aside, I still couldn't do a push up, my shoulder gave out on triceps dips, and I felt like jelly. Every single woman in there was in fantastic, fit/thin shape. Every one. I was the only overweight person there.
Have I been doing the wrong thing? These are the cardio/HIIT/"little weights" women...not the "lift heavy it'll work better" group...I am sooooo confused.
Should I just cycle in and out of heavy lifting? Are some people not cut out for heavy lifting? I've seen improvements, but I really want to look like those women.
Any advice/thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
Traditional "heavy" strength programs are designed to build maximal strength on a low number of reps (think power lifters)...it doesn't do much for muscular endurance and stamina though, which is what higher rep, lower weight work does. A body pump class is also going to be a lot of cardiovascular work as well, so if your cardiovascular fitness isn't up to par it would not be unusual to struggle.
There is no right or wrong...how you choose to lift should be based on your particular goals. I work with a trainer and he cycles me through various rep ranges throughout the year (i.e. I'll do cycles of "heavy", cycles of moderate weight/medium reps, and cycles of boot campish type of work with higher reps and lower weight)0 -
As a Bodypump instructor, my comment would be that you are comparing apples and oranges. Heavy lifting and bodypump (enduranced based cardio) are two COMPLETELY different styles of workout, which work for different types of people. When I did my "audition" tape to become an instructor I had a few people from the gym in there with me who are the heavy lifting crowd and they said it was difficult for them. It's just not what they(or you) are used to. I would recommend that you focus on what works for you, and as others have said, maybe try mixing it up. You could add pump into your weekly routine once or twice. I do it about 3x/week, along with HIIT training, walking, stair stepper, spin, etc on different days.
With all that being said, I would add that proper nutrition will ultimately be the game changer if you want to lose weight.0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »If you want my 2 cents, i think the following....
Whats the dang point in working out if you don't have functional strength, agility, power, endurance, and flexibility? I don't want to be someone who can run 50 miles on a treadmill but can't lift groceries. And vice versa, I don't want to be super strong but can't run to save my life. Even worse I don't want to be either of those things without the ability to even touch my toes.
In my own training these things were important from the get go and i've worked in a progressive manner over time to ensure not only lack of injury but also that i've mastered certain skills before moving on.
So often, especially on MFP I see people blankly recommend heavy lifting to people. Sometimes you aren't ready to begin heavy lifting yet. And that's totally okay. It's much better to build up a base and move on progressively than to try and workout in a style that doesn't fit your current needs and make crappy progress over time. Additionally, since you've had previous injuries you are at more risk to injure yourself again.
With your knee injury you are more at risk of re-injurying the knee, causing injury to the ankle, foot, and lower body. You also likely have postural problems as a result of this knee injury which cause cause it's own slew of injuries. With the shoulder injury it's very likely that you are at risk of further tears, bursistis, shoulder impengement, and instability of the shoulder joint. These are really things you need to consider before you start going in and throwing around weights.
In my opinion if you cannot perform certain body weight movements you aren't ready to be lifting heavy weights. Because i'm a trainer whose been trained to ensure clients workout in the following manner this would be my plan if you were training with me at the gym-
Warm Up
Myofascial Release: with your injuries, I would do the calves, TFL/IT Band, adductors, piriformis, and latissimus dorsi. Some tennis ball or lacrosse balls on the upper back and pecs would probably feel great since you probably have shoulders rounding forward.
Static Stretching: with your injuries I would avoid certain movements like hurdlers and anything that applies lateral torque on the knee. Some really beneficial stretches for the shoulder like pectoral stretch on wall, lat stretch on a ball/bench.
Working on increasing strength through body weight exercises and increasing stabilization. Over time after ensuring you have increased strength in the areas you have muscle imbalances (if any from the injuries you had previously), and then slowly working your way up with weights/bands/cables/etc.
It would also be important to me to work on the cardio aspect with some form of HIIT/steady state cardio throughout the week.
In other words, i don't think one style or method of training is absolutely best for everyone but that the training approach should be tailored to the individual. ESPECIALLY since you have had previous injuries. I don't like the perpetuated nonsense that unless you are just going balls to the wall crazy with the heavy weights that you are somehow "uncool". And the people who complain about trainers having women "lift pink barbie weights for 25 reps", etc. In my opinion, everyone starts somewhere and that's just sometimes the current level of the client. Better to go low, slow, and work up progressively.
P.S. This is just a random person's advice on the internet and should not be taken as 100% fact, so if you injure yourself or ruin your life or start gambling, it's not on me.
I actually did read this I do stretch plenty. It's one of the few things I kept up with after my dancing days. I stretch all the time just because it feels good and relaxes me. I miss being ultra flexible, but...age LOL
I do some cardio with the elliptical just to get the heart going without killing the joints. When my leg is behaving I also still do some ballet/hip hop at home. Like I said above, the actual "cardio" didn't kill me it was the actual reps.
I started out low...lifting "heavy" was defined on a different thread as just lifting a high amount of weight for you. Each person has a different "heavy". So on a few things I am fairly "balls to the wall", but others like OHP I'm only using 15 lb dumbbells for because of a left shoulder that's had 3 partial tears.
Maybe it's the "catering" of my routine to avoid injuries that's gotten me out of balance with some of the things we did in class.0 -
chrysalis2015 wrote: »I do have plenty of fat to lose. And I've enjoyed going with the lifting versus the cardio only route I tried last time. I got injured more, I wasn't seeing the size difference, etc. I just felt like I should've been so much stronger, and seeing all those women there just made me (a) self conscious (which is a me thing only) and (b) question the course I was taking.
I noticed someone mentioning they did both...maybe this is something I should do to "shake things up" on an off day or something.
Fat loss will come down to dietary adherence.
Training is a matter of preference and goals.
If your goal is to build strength-endurance, then higher rep work will be the way to go.
If your goal is to build strength, then lower rep work will be the way to go.
All else being equal, if you nail the diet, you'll lose fat either way.
Just randomly mixing stuff in will probably lead to you under recovering and performing mediocrely in both pursuits. In the case that you want to build both qualities, then you'd be better doing a well designed routine that incorporates elements of both and gives you adequate recovery.
0 -
1. You didn't do poorly simply because it was hard, you did poorly because you weren't conditioned for challenging cardio. If you do it more often you'll adapt.
2. Unless you saw before pics and all the women in the class lost 100 pounds doing bodypump, the more likely scenario is that the people that choose to do a high energy, challenging cardio class were relatively thin and relatively in shape. I mean, if you went to a slam dunk competition you wouldn't come to the conclusion that playing basketball makes people grow taller.
3. If you enjoy it, do it. I wouldn't cycling in and out of lifting **because bodypump aint lifting** but if you're trying to cut or wish to improve your cardiovascular endurance, adding cardio is a real thing. I HAAAAATE cardio but I do cardio on the regular when it's cutting time or when I'm trying to improve my sports performance.
4. If you have injuries, jumping around in a fast moving class without direct supervision and doing 30 reps of everything may not be the most awesome thing in the world.
this.Whats the dang point in working out if you don't have functional strength, agility, power, endurance, and flexibility? I don't want to be someone who can run 50 miles on a treadmill but can't lift groceries. And vice versa, I don't want to be super strong but can't run to save my life. Even worse I don't want to be either of those things without the ability to even touch my toes.
omfg- stop it.
Your personal goals are your personal goals. who cares if you can touch your toes? I want to be able to squat 300 pounds- if that means I have to give up my ability to touch my toes- FINE. My goal IS to be able to lift things- I don't run- I don't care about running (that's kind of a lie- but it's the truth- I run for training when i need to and I'm surprisingly good at it) but I seriously don't care about it. I like it- but my main goals are lifting.
You do not need to be functional across the board. If that's what kind of life you want- fine- go for it- but it's not every ones' personal goal.
There are people who train to do ultra long distance running- being super strong and squatting 300 pounds won't help them. Cross training is useful for BOTH sides- but the more focused your personal goals are the more likely you will swing away from the other side of cross training.
So STHAP IT WITH THE FUNCTIONAL TRAINING BS.
IT IS NOT BS!!!! When you reach certain age (aka old) function, flexibility and balance will be more important than squatting 300 lbs. Don't worry you get there some day.0 -
I don't see a reason why you can't do both unless you have a particular goal.
I do All Pro MWF, Zumba with light hand weights Tu ( that had a similar effect on me. How hard can it be to wave around 2 lb weights for an hour- my arms thought they were falling off) swim at lunch and do yoga on Sunday.
I don't have a goal to be brilliant in any of them so I don't mind mixing it up to keep me interested.
Cheers, h.0 -
1. You didn't do poorly simply because it was hard, you did poorly because you weren't conditioned for challenging cardio. If you do it more often you'll adapt.
2. Unless you saw before pics and all the women in the class lost 100 pounds doing bodypump, the more likely scenario is that the people that choose to do a high energy, challenging cardio class were relatively thin and relatively in shape. I mean, if you went to a slam dunk competition you wouldn't come to the conclusion that playing basketball makes people grow taller.
3. If you enjoy it, do it. I wouldn't cycling in and out of lifting **because bodypump aint lifting** but if you're trying to cut or wish to improve your cardiovascular endurance, adding cardio is a real thing. I HAAAAATE cardio but I do cardio on the regular when it's cutting time or when I'm trying to improve my sports performance.
4. If you have injuries, jumping around in a fast moving class without direct supervision and doing 30 reps of everything may not be the most awesome thing in the world.
this.Whats the dang point in working out if you don't have functional strength, agility, power, endurance, and flexibility? I don't want to be someone who can run 50 miles on a treadmill but can't lift groceries. And vice versa, I don't want to be super strong but can't run to save my life. Even worse I don't want to be either of those things without the ability to even touch my toes.
omfg- stop it.
Your personal goals are your personal goals. who cares if you can touch your toes? I want to be able to squat 300 pounds- if that means I have to give up my ability to touch my toes- FINE. My goal IS to be able to lift things- I don't run- I don't care about running (that's kind of a lie- but it's the truth- I run for training when i need to and I'm surprisingly good at it) but I seriously don't care about it. I like it- but my main goals are lifting.
You do not need to be functional across the board. If that's what kind of life you want- fine- go for it- but it's not every ones' personal goal.
There are people who train to do ultra long distance running- being super strong and squatting 300 pounds won't help them. Cross training is useful for BOTH sides- but the more focused your personal goals are the more likely you will swing away from the other side of cross training.
So STHAP IT WITH THE FUNCTIONAL TRAINING BS.
IT IS NOT BS!!!! When you reach certain age (aka old) function, flexibility and balance will be more important than squatting 300 lbs. Don't worry you get there some day.
Not to go off on a tangent, but a well performed 300lb squat will demonstrate strength, function, flexibility and balance. You don't have to stop being/becoming awesome as you get older you know...
0 -
1. You didn't do poorly simply because it was hard, you did poorly because you weren't conditioned for challenging cardio. If you do it more often you'll adapt.
2. Unless you saw before pics and all the women in the class lost 100 pounds doing bodypump, the more likely scenario is that the people that choose to do a high energy, challenging cardio class were relatively thin and relatively in shape. I mean, if you went to a slam dunk competition you wouldn't come to the conclusion that playing basketball makes people grow taller.
3. If you enjoy it, do it. I wouldn't cycling in and out of lifting **because bodypump aint lifting** but if you're trying to cut or wish to improve your cardiovascular endurance, adding cardio is a real thing. I HAAAAATE cardio but I do cardio on the regular when it's cutting time or when I'm trying to improve my sports performance.
4. If you have injuries, jumping around in a fast moving class without direct supervision and doing 30 reps of everything may not be the most awesome thing in the world.
this.Whats the dang point in working out if you don't have functional strength, agility, power, endurance, and flexibility? I don't want to be someone who can run 50 miles on a treadmill but can't lift groceries. And vice versa, I don't want to be super strong but can't run to save my life. Even worse I don't want to be either of those things without the ability to even touch my toes.
omfg- stop it.
Your personal goals are your personal goals. who cares if you can touch your toes? I want to be able to squat 300 pounds- if that means I have to give up my ability to touch my toes- FINE. My goal IS to be able to lift things- I don't run- I don't care about running (that's kind of a lie- but it's the truth- I run for training when i need to and I'm surprisingly good at it) but I seriously don't care about it. I like it- but my main goals are lifting.
You do not need to be functional across the board. If that's what kind of life you want- fine- go for it- but it's not every ones' personal goal.
There are people who train to do ultra long distance running- being super strong and squatting 300 pounds won't help them. Cross training is useful for BOTH sides- but the more focused your personal goals are the more likely you will swing away from the other side of cross training.
So STHAP IT WITH THE FUNCTIONAL TRAINING BS.
IT IS NOT BS!!!! When you reach certain age (aka old) function, flexibility and balance will be more important than squatting 300 lbs. Don't worry you get there some day.
Oh. Has the OP reached that certain age? Has every client that has enlisted the help of the person that Jo responded to also reached that certain age? Is there some reason you believe people can't choose for themselves what's most important to them, and at what time in their lives? Instead of spending my teens training to improve my performance on the field should I have spent that time preparing for the stage of my life when I'd need a walker or cane?0 -
chrysalis2015 wrote: »Should I just cycle in and out of heavy lifting?
NO! You should find something you like (or don't dislike) enough to do it consistently for a minimum of 6 months. You're already overweight and out of shape, so ANY workout you do -- along with fixing your food intake -- is going to vastly benefit you.
Stop looking for the perfect workout. Stop looking at how all the other women look. Find something you like, do it, cut out the calories, and you'll see great results. After 6 months of consistency, you can reevaluate and maybe decide that you'd rather do something else.
Finally, everyone struggles with Body Pump for the first few weeks/months. Like pretty much everything else in fitness, if it's not a struggle, it's not worth doing.
0 -
I don't know if anyone has said this as I don't feel like reading through the whole thread. You are comparing apples and oranges. Body pump is basically intense cardio with weights, that is, an aerobic activity. Heavy lifting is not aerobic in any way, it is anaerobic using completely different energy paths. To compare the two is like asking a sprinter to run a marathon. It doesn't work that way. Heavy lifting is a great way to maintain muscle while losing weight. Cardio exercises like body pump are great for building endurance and aerobic capacity. Both have their place, your goals dictate how much you do of each. Personally I would suggest use of a least some of both for overall health.0
-
The amount of jimmies rustled just because I suggested the OP stretch, foam roll, work their way up strength wise, and incorporate multiple styles of training in their routine is... well, kind of ridiculous.
But do whatever you want to do, hence my initial disclaimer.
0 -
1. You didn't do poorly simply because it was hard, you did poorly because you weren't conditioned for challenging cardio. If you do it more often you'll adapt.
2. Unless you saw before pics and all the women in the class lost 100 pounds doing bodypump, the more likely scenario is that the people that choose to do a high energy, challenging cardio class were relatively thin and relatively in shape. I mean, if you went to a slam dunk competition you wouldn't come to the conclusion that playing basketball makes people grow taller.
3. If you enjoy it, do it. I wouldn't cycling in and out of lifting **because bodypump aint lifting** but if you're trying to cut or wish to improve your cardiovascular endurance, adding cardio is a real thing. I HAAAAATE cardio but I do cardio on the regular when it's cutting time or when I'm trying to improve my sports performance.
4. If you have injuries, jumping around in a fast moving class without direct supervision and doing 30 reps of everything may not be the most awesome thing in the world.
this.Whats the dang point in working out if you don't have functional strength, agility, power, endurance, and flexibility? I don't want to be someone who can run 50 miles on a treadmill but can't lift groceries. And vice versa, I don't want to be super strong but can't run to save my life. Even worse I don't want to be either of those things without the ability to even touch my toes.
omfg- stop it.
Your personal goals are your personal goals. who cares if you can touch your toes? I want to be able to squat 300 pounds- if that means I have to give up my ability to touch my toes- FINE. My goal IS to be able to lift things- I don't run- I don't care about running (that's kind of a lie- but it's the truth- I run for training when i need to and I'm surprisingly good at it) but I seriously don't care about it. I like it- but my main goals are lifting.
You do not need to be functional across the board. If that's what kind of life you want- fine- go for it- but it's not every ones' personal goal.
There are people who train to do ultra long distance running- being super strong and squatting 300 pounds won't help them. Cross training is useful for BOTH sides- but the more focused your personal goals are the more likely you will swing away from the other side of cross training.
So STHAP IT WITH THE FUNCTIONAL TRAINING BS.
IT IS NOT BS!!!! When you reach certain age (aka old) function, flexibility and balance will be more important than squatting 300 lbs. Don't worry you get there some day.
Not to go off on a tangent, but a well performed 300lb squat will demonstrate strength, function, flexibility and balance. You don't have to stop being/becoming awesome as you get older you know...
cosign0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »The amount of jimmies rustled just because I suggested the OP stretch, foam roll, work their way up strength wise, and incorporate multiple styles of training in their routine is... well, kind of ridiculous.
But do whatever you want to do, hence my initial disclaimer.
If that's what you took from this......okay0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »The amount of jimmies rustled just because I suggested the OP stretch, foam roll, work their way up strength wise, and incorporate multiple styles of training in their routine is... well, kind of ridiculous.
But do whatever you want to do, hence my initial disclaimer.
If that's what you took from this......okay
Please enlighten me, what specifically is the intended take away here?0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »The amount of jimmies rustled just because I suggested the OP stretch, foam roll, work their way up strength wise, and incorporate multiple styles of training in their routine is... well, kind of ridiculous.
But do whatever you want to do, hence my initial disclaimer.
you kind of implied that if one lifted heavy and left off cardio that your routine was not balanced, and should be..
Nothing got rustled, people are just questioning the reasoning behind your post.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 389 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 918 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions