Strength Training for "Obese" people?

Don't think of your fat as fat, but a huge tank of fuel, because in reality that is what it is. Your body has so much stored up energy you could do 100/100 cardio/strength. Just make sure you are eating properly and push that body to its limit!

Exactly! why not go 100$% lifting 4 days then cardio 2-3?
Toning later will suck. Lift now and prevent muscle loss and look a lot better at your goal weight

Does heavy lifting prevent muscle loss even when you're eating at a calorie deficit?

I know where you are coming from and have been there myself.

I would suggest a 60/40 plan.
Exercise 5 days a week 2 days only cardio, 1 day only lifting and 2 days with a combo of both.

1. on the 2 days of cardio make sure to do at least 1.5 hrs straight or you can condense it to 1 hr by adding HIIT.
- 1.5 hr workout:
You can switch things up, like 30 min treadmill, 40 min stationary bike, 20 min aerobics with stretching.

- 1 hr workout:
You can find info on HIIT (high intensity interval training) on the following sites:
http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/HIITvsET.html
http://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/HIIT.html
I use the stationary bike for my HIIT, it is recommended to do it as a running exercise and on the site it describes how that would work.
HIIT with stationary bike:
1. start with a 5 min warm up @ tension 3 through 5 which ever is most comfortable for you.
2. Increase tension to 20 for 30 sec then go back to the warm up tension for 50 sec to 1 min. Repeat this for at least 10 min and work your way up to 20 min or more if you prefer.
3. go back to the warm up tension till you have completed a total of 40 min on the bike.
After the HIIT exercise do 20 min of aerobics and stretching.

2. on the lifting day:
- start with a 10 min treadmill warm up at speed 4.5 with max incline of 8. Use one of the programs that will change it up for you.
- lift for 50 to 60 min follow the instructions on this page:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/373801-two-day-full-body-strength-training-routine
Do not lift lower weights and higher reps anything you can lift for more than 12 reps is too light. You are just wasting you time.

3. on the 2 combo day:
- start with a 10 min treadmill warm up at speed 4.5 with max incline of 8. Use one of the programs that will change it up for you.
- then go to the weight machines for about 30 min using the same instructions in the post above.
- go back to cardio what ever you want to do for 30 min then end it with 20 min aerobic and stretching.

Note for the aerobics and stretching do different variations of squats, lunges, sit ups and leg lifts. You can find these variations by running a google search or on youtube.

I hope this helps :flowerforyou:

Hi.
If you go to the gym, is there a Bodypump class you can take? I do Bodypump every Sunday as well as cardio every day. I also do Jillian's 30DS as an extra at home. This is what is working for me!

I suggest you get two of the Jillian Michael's DVD workouts! Its strength with cardio combo and it's only 25 to 30 minutes! There's 30 Day Shred and Ripped in 30. Get both so you can switch up and don't get bore with the same exercise. But believe me it's really good!

Compared to lifting at the gym the 30DS and such are garbage.

They are a good starting point for someone who doesn't know where to begin or isn't comfortable with the weight room in their gym, like me. I lost 10 inches in 10 days so far on 30 day shred and have toned up quite a bit already. I don't know if it would be as good for a male or not though.

I started with Strength Training my very first day at the gym with a personal trainer... I was 327 lbs at my first weigh in with him. He doesn't allow me to rest between sets, but doesn't really use circuit training either. It's definiately a combination of cardio and strength training, which after two months, I can already see a difference.

I work out with him twice a week and follow his workouts with at least a half hour of extra cardio, and the rest of the time I try to do cardio for an hour on my own, so that I'm working out about 5 to 6 days a week.

I wanna burn fat and build muscle at the same time. I don't know if it's 80/20 or whatever, but it's working so far.

i've been doing a LOT more strength training the past year or so... my scale weight loss is kinda slow, which drives me loco, BUT I DO know I am a lot smaller LOOKING then without the strength training. Most people balk at me when I tell them the actual weight number, and I firmly believe this is because I am leaning out due to weight training. I do weight training both at home and at the gym. I have a set of adjustable free weights, a door gym with adjustable weight pulleys...and then use the machines and free weights at the gym....

There was a girl in Zumba the other day...who is about 50 pounds smaller then me...and we LOOKED more like 10 or maybe 20 pounds apart... I credit that to the weight training!

I started my journey at 337...and am down about 95.....

As someone who is studying personal training, I can tell you they are both important and definitely have their place. Strength training is what will boost your RMR because muscle actively burns more calories than fat, but cardio is a faster fat-burner while you're doing it. Switch up your work out, but make sure you do a little of both every for every work out. If you only have 20 minutes, do a 5 minute cardio warm up to get your muscles warm and then do some strength training. If you have an hour, split it! Just be sure to mix up your strength training...don't work the same muscle group 2 days in a row (your muscles need time to repair themselves, since essentially what you are doing with strength training is creating tiny tears in your muscles). Mix up back, chest, abs, biceps, triceps, legs and butt, without repeating a zone for 2 days in a row. Don't neglect cardio, the benefits go beyond losing weight and it's very important! Just split it up and make sure you're doing both on a regular basis.

I suggest you get two of the Jillian Michael's DVD workouts! Its strength with cardio combo and it's only 25 to 30 minutes! There's 30 Day Shred and Ripped in 30. Get both so you can switch up and don't get bore with the same exercise. But believe me it's really good!

Compared to lifting at the gym the 30DS and such are garbage.

They are a good starting point for someone who doesn't know where to begin or isn't comfortable with the weight room in their gym, like me. I lost 10 inches in 10 days so far on 30 day shred and have toned up quite a bit already. I don't know if it would be as good for a male or not though.

No, a good starting point is the book Starting Strength Learn how to do the lifts and proper form and hour the gym. Not being comfortable and not knowing where to start is am excuse. The information is incredibly easy to get. You will get better results this way, so why waste time? And men and women do not have to train differently.

I used New Rules of Lifting and it really laid it all out for me.

[/quote]

I used New Rules of Lifting and it really laid it all out for me.
[/quote]

I use new rules too, I'm not stranger to lifting, but this book was awesome. easy to understand, awesome for beginners...it's the best $6 I ever spent.

CARDIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CARDIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BURNBURN BURN BURN BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!