boot camp or heavy lifting?

juliebeannn
juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
hello.

some background info: i'm about 10-15 lbs from my goal weight. i've been doing zumba twice a week and boot camp 3-4 times a week for the last few months. i can tell that i'm noticeably stronger and have lost a good amount of fat, but i want to see if i can accelerate the process.

if my goal is to lose more fat and build muscle, would you recommend that i keep up with the 3-4 of boot camp or should i take out 2 of those boot camp days and replace them with some heavy lifting in the gym. i'm totally intrigued with barbell lifting and have done it before. i would probably follow the stronglifts program.

thanks.

Replies

  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    I guess it depends on what you would enjoy and continue to do. Also, what do you do at Bootcamp? Is it all cardio, or do you do some weight-bearing activity?

    I do StrongLifts and I love it.
  • juliebeannn
    juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
    the boot camp circuit varies from week to week but it involves lots of squats (weight bearing or in the form of squat jumps), deadlifts, assisted chin ups, push ups, curl/press...with lots of jumping jacks, sprints, high knees, jump rope in between. depending on the class, sometimes it feels like a mostly cardio workout with some muscle fatigue, but not as much as heavy lifting.

    i love doing both but boot camp has the advantage of being a class and accountability. i've never tried just heavy lifting for a extended amount of time b/c i'm just recently gotten over the cardio-obsessed mentality.
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    I have a trainer that I do my heavy lifting with, I'm recovering from knee surgery, and I feel like he keeps an eye on my form to avoid further injury.

    I love lifting heavy, and I honestly recommend it, but I also believe that the best form of exercise is the one that you enjoy, because that's what keeps you consistent.
  • juliespears
    juliespears Posts: 25 Member
    I do Insanity, weight lifting and running, since I get too bored with too much of one thing. I found the Insanity makes my endurance and speed runs much better. The weightlfting keeps my arms and core balanced, so my stride is easier and I have NO injuries, and the leg squats keep my knees/ankles stronger for runs on unstable trails. I'm 47 and have never been this fit/strong in my life.

    I live in Colorado, but am currently deployed to Afghanistan, so I'm still in the process of establishing this type of routine at the local base gym, but should have no trouble keeping it up.

    Also found Clean eating 3 years ago, and the dining facility here in Kabul has EXCELLENT choices to keep that up as well. The only thing I need to add in are nuts/healthy oils, and the occasional protein shake after my lifting sessions, but that's about it. Eating clean enables me to build a good functional muscle base (not interested in bodybuilding at this time) and my alertness/energy is at the top of my game. Good thing, since I'm pulling 14-18 hour days, AND fitting in a workout or two to blowoff stress.
  • juliebeannn
    juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
    I do Insanity, weight lifting and running, since I get too bored with too much of one thing. I found the Insanity makes my endurance and speed runs much better. The weightlfting keeps my arms and core balanced, so my stride is easier and I have NO injuries, and the leg squats keep my knees/ankles stronger for runs on unstable trails. I'm 47 and have never been this fit/strong in my life.

    I live in Colorado, but am currently deployed to Afghanistan, so I'm still in the process of establishing this type of routine at the local base gym, but should have no trouble keeping it up.

    Also found Clean eating 3 years ago, and the dining facility here in Kabul has EXCELLENT choices to keep that up as well. The only thing I need to add in are nuts/healthy oils, and the occasional protein shake after my lifting sessions, but that's about it. Eating clean enables me to build a good functional muscle base (not interested in bodybuilding at this time) and my alertness/energy is at the top of my game. Good thing, since I'm pulling 14-18 hour days, AND fitting in a workout or two to blowoff stress.

    thanks for the post. clean eating is still something i'm working on. i'm not as awful as i used to be, but still a work in progress.
  • juliebeannn
    juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
    i guess my question is which would be more effective in losing fat and gaining muscle: boot camp or lifting?

    committing to a workout isn't an issue since i already have a good schedule for working out, its just a matter of whether i should replace one workout with another.
  • sweetNsassy2584
    sweetNsassy2584 Posts: 515 Member
    Try lifting and see if you like it... Lifting heavy has MANY benefits :) I love it!
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    i guess my question is which would be more effective in losing fat and gaining muscle: boot camp or lifting?

    committing to a workout isn't an issue since i already have a good schedule for working out, its just a matter of whether i should replace one workout with another.

    IMO heavy lifting would give you more of the results that you are looking for. At least twice a week, 3 x's a week would be better.
  • DixiedoesMFP
    DixiedoesMFP Posts: 935 Member
    I think heavy lifting would probably help you lean out/firm up, look better overall but the scale number may not change a lot
  • jenniejengin
    jenniejengin Posts: 784 Member
    IMO heavy lifting would give you more of the results that you are looking for. At least twice a week, 3 x's a week would be better.
    [/quote]

    :smile:
  • cpa8198
    cpa8198 Posts: 154 Member
    My trainer told me to cut back on boot camp (was 3x/wk) and lift weights at least 2x/wk.
  • murray292
    murray292 Posts: 32
    bump
  • juliebeannn
    juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
    wow. thanks for the great (quick) advice!!

    i'm gonna try cutting boot camp to 2x a week and add lifting 3x a week for the month of june and see how it goes.

    i'm also gonna shift my workouts from pm to am workouts. this should be interesting. :)
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    wow. thanks for the great (quick) advice!!

    i'm gonna try cutting boot camp to 2x a week and add lifting 3x a week for the month of june and see how it goes.

    i'm also gonna shift my workouts from pm to am workouts. this should be interesting. :)

    I think you're gonna love the results! Don't be disappointed if the scale stalls or even goes up. This is NORMAL!! lol Wait it out. Definitely take measurements. With heavy lifting you will lose inches...usually like crazy! IMO the inches are way more important then the scale number anyway. No one knows what that scale number is but they do know how you look. Good luck!
  • juliebeannn
    juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
    wow. thanks for the great (quick) advice!!

    i'm gonna try cutting boot camp to 2x a week and add lifting 3x a week for the month of june and see how it goes.

    i'm also gonna shift my workouts from pm to am workouts. this should be interesting. :)

    I think you're gonna love the results! Don't be disappointed if the scale stalls or even goes up. This is NORMAL!! lol Wait it out. Definitely take measurements. With heavy lifting you will lose inches...usually like crazy! IMO the inches are way more important then the scale number anyway. No one knows what that scale number is but they do know how you look. Good luck!

    thanks!! yeah. the number on the scale is arbitrary to me now. if it goes down, that's great...if not, whatever. haha. when i first started boot camp i lost almost a full dress size w/o the scale moving. haha. so i said F the scale! i'll take the inches lost. haha.
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    wow. thanks for the great (quick) advice!!

    i'm gonna try cutting boot camp to 2x a week and add lifting 3x a week for the month of june and see how it goes.

    i'm also gonna shift my workouts from pm to am workouts. this should be interesting. :)

    I think you're gonna love the results! Don't be disappointed if the scale stalls or even goes up. This is NORMAL!! lol Wait it out. Definitely take measurements. With heavy lifting you will lose inches...usually like crazy! IMO the inches are way more important then the scale number anyway. No one knows what that scale number is but they do know how you look. Good luck!

    thanks!! yeah. the number on the scale is arbitrary to me now. if it goes down, that's great...if not, whatever. haha. when i first started boot camp i lost almost a full dress size w/o the scale moving. haha. so i said F the scale! i'll take the inches lost. haha.

    Great attitude! Congrats on your progress so far!
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    hello.

    some background info: i'm about 10-15 lbs from my goal weight. i've been doing zumba twice a week and boot camp 3-4 times a week for the last few months. i can tell that i'm noticeably stronger and have lost a good amount of fat, but i want to see if i can accelerate the process.

    if my goal is to lose more fat and build muscle, would you recommend that i keep up with the 3-4 of boot camp or should i take out 2 of those boot camp days and replace them with some heavy lifting in the gym. i'm totally intrigued with barbell lifting and have done it before. i would probably follow the stronglifts program.

    thanks.

    If your goal is to get stronger and drop bodyfat then maximal strength training (i.e. StrongLifts / Starting Strength) with light cardio is definitely the better option. Things like boot camp, p90x, Insanity are really just cardio solutions but not true strength training methods. If you've been completely sedentary then you'll get some gains but it's not even remotely the same. I would recommend TRX long before any boot camp, P90x, or Insanity.
  • juliebeannn
    juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
    hello.

    some background info: i'm about 10-15 lbs from my goal weight. i've been doing zumba twice a week and boot camp 3-4 times a week for the last few months. i can tell that i'm noticeably stronger and have lost a good amount of fat, but i want to see if i can accelerate the process.

    if my goal is to lose more fat and build muscle, would you recommend that i keep up with the 3-4 of boot camp or should i take out 2 of those boot camp days and replace them with some heavy lifting in the gym. i'm totally intrigued with barbell lifting and have done it before. i would probably follow the stronglifts program.

    thanks.

    If your goal is to get stronger and drop bodyfat then maximal strength training (i.e. StrongLifts / Starting Strength) with light cardio is definitely the better option. Things like boot camp, p90x, Insanity are really just cardio solutions but not true strength training methods. If you've been completely sedentary then you'll get some gains but it's not even remotely the same. I would recommend TRX long before any boot camp, P90x, or Insanity.

    thanks for the input, jnick77! i'm borrowing my husband's "starting strength" and will be starting stronglifts this week. :)
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    hello.

    some background info: i'm about 10-15 lbs from my goal weight. i've been doing zumba twice a week and boot camp 3-4 times a week for the last few months. i can tell that i'm noticeably stronger and have lost a good amount of fat, but i want to see if i can accelerate the process.

    if my goal is to lose more fat and build muscle, would you recommend that i keep up with the 3-4 of boot camp or should i take out 2 of those boot camp days and replace them with some heavy lifting in the gym. i'm totally intrigued with barbell lifting and have done it before. i would probably follow the stronglifts program.

    thanks.

    If your goal is to get stronger and drop bodyfat then maximal strength training (i.e. StrongLifts / Starting Strength) with light cardio is definitely the better option. Things like boot camp, p90x, Insanity are really just cardio solutions but not true strength training methods. If you've been completely sedentary then you'll get some gains but it's not even remotely the same. I would recommend TRX long before any boot camp, P90x, or Insanity.

    thanks for the input, jnick77! i'm borrowing my husband's "starting strength" and will be starting stronglifts this week. :)

    I think you'll like stonglifts it's a good, simple routine, and fantastic way to push yourself.

    I use the iPhone app, but I basically use it to check what I'm meant to be doing each session then fill in my results when I get home.

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