Question for the heavy lifters out there

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  • Ambrogio1
    Ambrogio1 Posts: 518 Member
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    Lift Always
    Lose weight with Diet
    Cardio to control how much you can eat on a weekly basis, addtional burn

    Do those things and you will win
  • damorzacon
    damorzacon Posts: 124 Member
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    cardio is king when trying to loose weight. so you have to decide what you want more. getting stronger or loosing those last 60 pounds. also are you on a time restraint. what is your goal to loose these 60 pounds. if you have a deadline to have them lost then cardio is going to help you reach that gaol alot quicker then lifting weights. that being said weights do have there place & do place a major role inregards to burning calories. doing cross fit workouts can help you burn calories hours after youve finished your work out. so i would say bump up cardio for at least 60 minutes a day 5 days a week. keep those calories in the negative to continue loosing & if you really have to hit the weights because i know how hard it is to give it up completely try researching cross fit workouts that most of the time include moves like, dead lifts, lunges, leg presses, hope this helps. good luck.

    No time limit, just gotta get it off.

    I've looked into Crossfit and I like the idea of it. Haven't worked any in yet. I have been using the big lifts (squat, dead lift, bench) and working in others around those.
  • damorzacon
    damorzacon Posts: 124 Member
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    Lift Always
    Lose weight with Diet
    Cardio to control how much you can eat on a weekly basis, addtional burn

    Do those things and you will win

    I wish there was a like button!
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
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    Just accept that I won't see a lot of strength gain for now?

    Yes and no. If you're more on the beginner side of things you can see some strength increase if you're not at a drastic negative and you're getting enough protein. Just don't expect huge gains in strength but you can still make some progress. The big win for you will be that roughing up your muscles tells your body to rebuild the damage. When you're giving your body the signals that you need those muscles it will be much less likely to use them for fuel when you're dropping weight. The result will be that as you're losing weight and retaining muscle you're going to start looking like you are increasing muscle size because you're changing body composition a lot. It's totally worth it to lift heavy while cutting down the body fat %.

    I'm doing 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week first thing in the morning and lifting at night 4 days a week. The progress is fantastic and I'm actually making some gains in the strength department. I noted that last night as I was doing dumbbell bench press. I needed to use 80 lb. dumbbells for the first 2 sets because the 70 lb size was just too easy now. This was after 4 sets of bar bench press so it's not a fluke. It's actual strength gains. I'm not quite back to where I was but getting closer.

    To be fair I'm at a very small negative now because I'm really close to my goal so that factors into the equation. Expect gains to be minimal but they can happen if you're not already an advanced lifter. Mainly just do it to keep what you have as you lose weight.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Strength gain and muscle gain are independent. If you follow a good lifting program, while eating at a deficit, you should see some significant strength gains even without an increase in size.

    Try something like Starting Strength or StrongLifts 5x5. Get the most bang for your buck doing the big compound lifts.

    edited, typo: even without increase in size.
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    I do both, though not a ton of cardio compared to some, and any high intensity (of which there is little) is done on non-lifting days. I realize I don't *need* the cardio to lose fat, but I found that I didn't feel satisfied at all with the amount of calories I had without.

    So apart from any other health benefits of cardio, it's really just a mood elevator because I can eat a little more :)
  • damorzacon
    damorzacon Posts: 124 Member
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    Just accept that I won't see a lot of strength gain for now?

    Yes and no. If you're more on the beginner side of things you can see some strength increase if you're not at a drastic negative and you're getting enough protein. Just don't expect huge gains in strength but you can still make some progress. The big win for you will be that roughing up your muscles tells your body to rebuild the damage. When you're giving your body the signals that you need those muscles it will be much less likely to use them for fuel when you're dropping weight. The result will be that as you're losing weight and retaining muscle you're going to start looking like you are increasing muscle size because you're changing body composition a lot. It's totally worth it to lift heavy while cutting down the body fat %.

    This makes sense. I think I can live with the body comp change :)
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
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    I hate cardio. Like others have said, if you strength train and you're in a calorie deficit you will lose weight. Doing extra cardio will just allow you to eat more.
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    the question is: can you achive deficit you want to achive wothout burning extra kcals?
    if yes, then you do not need cardio
    you might want cardio (good for your health, especially for heart)
    but you don't need it. to lose weight you need to eat at deficit.

    New question. I understand eating at a deficit (it's how I lost my weight until now) but I keep reading that in order to build muscle you need to eat more than your maintainance calories. What do I do about this? Just accept that I won't see a lot of strength gain for now?

    You should still see pretty decent gains at first, because you are just making the muscle you already have stronger. I made huge gains the first 2 months, but now I've stalled on the larger muscle groups, and the smaller ones I'm making small gains.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Strength gain and muscle gain are independent. If you follow a good lifting program, while eating at a deficit, you should see some significant strength gains even without an increase in size.

    Try something like Starting Strength or StrongLifts 5x5. Get the most bang for your buck doing the big compound lifts.

    edited, typo: even without increase in size.

    This.
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    the question is: can you achive deficit you want to achive wothout burning extra kcals?
    if yes, then you do not need cardio
    you might want cardio (good for your health, especially for heart)
    but you don't need it. to lose weight you need to eat at deficit.

    New question. I understand eating at a deficit (it's how I lost my weight until now) but I keep reading that in order to build muscle you need to eat more than your maintainance calories. What do I do about this? Just accept that I won't see a lot of strength gain for now?

    You should still see pretty decent gains at first, because you are just making the muscle you already have stronger. I made huge gains the first 2 months, but now I've stalled on the larger muscle groups, and the smaller ones I'm making small gains.

    Oh also, I usually run betweent 3.5 - 4 miles after I'm done lifting, and then make sure to take a protein/recovery shake right after. Would like to take some more creatine or something during the week, but I'm afraid of the extra water weight haha.
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies, I've enjoyed reading what you all have to say. I think it's very helpful to hear from people who have had success.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Wow. This thread is so full of win.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    A lot of people do JUST lifting. Primarily because cardio can (not will, but can) interfere with strength gains.
    If you do cardio, do them on days you aren't strength training on. You should be wiped after your lifting session anyway.
    yea, THAT. I do try to do some light cardio on off days. I am absolutely spent after lifting, but I don't want to do cardio beforehand; I don't want anything tiring me out for the weights.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    If you said 15 pounds, I'd be inclined to say just lift and cut calories. But for 60, I'd definitely do the cardio. That's pretty much my own plan right now for a 50ish pound loss.

    You've got a ton of options. I lift mon, wed, and fri. I do cardio on the off days. Or I lift in the AM and do cardio after work. One thing i like is getting to the gym a little earlier than my lifting partner and doing a little cardio for lifting and a little after. With jumping rope, I do 12 mins before and after, with the spin bike, I have to up it to 20 mins before and after.

    Choose whatever works with your schedule and energy levels. Perhaps when you get down to 10-15 pounds to go you can drop the cardio if you want. But for me, it's really hard to keep my energy level up while lifting heavy and cutting calories for an extended period of time.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    I've recently purchased a gym membership and starting throwing the heavy stuff around. My question is this:

    I still have about 60 pounds I'd like to lose, so should I work in some cardio after I lift or will the lifting/new muscle be sufficient to burn fat? I'm still trying to work out my routine but I've got it down to an upper/lower body split 4 days a week, I do about 5-10 minutes on a bike to warm up before lifting and on Mondays I work in a spin class (thumbs up for free classes with a membership!).

    Thoughts?

    Initially try like 20-min sessions of low-impact cardio like 3 days a week. Work up to 30-min sessions and then add a 4th day if you feel you're recovering well enough.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I've recently purchased a gym membership and starting throwing the heavy stuff around. My question is this:

    I still have about 60 pounds I'd like to lose, so should I work in some cardio after I lift or will the lifting/new muscle be sufficient to burn fat? I'm still trying to work out my routine but I've got it down to an upper/lower body split 4 days a week, I do about 5-10 minutes on a bike to warm up before lifting and on Mondays I work in a spin class (thumbs up for free classes with a membership!).

    Thoughts?

    Initially try like 20-min sessions of low-impact cardio like 3 days a week. Work up to 30-min sessions and then add a 4th day if you feel you're recovering well enough.

    OP only if you want to do cardio, no need to if you are fine eating less and having the same deficit. Cardio for weight loss is overrated.
  • JayByrd107
    JayByrd107 Posts: 282 Member
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    bump
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    I've recently purchased a gym membership and starting throwing the heavy stuff around. My question is this:

    I still have about 60 pounds I'd like to lose, so should I work in some cardio after I lift or will the lifting/new muscle be sufficient to burn fat? I'm still trying to work out my routine but I've got it down to an upper/lower body split 4 days a week, I do about 5-10 minutes on a bike to warm up before lifting and on Mondays I work in a spin class (thumbs up for free classes with a membership!).

    Thoughts?

    Initially try like 20-min sessions of low-impact cardio like 3 days a week. Work up to 30-min sessions and then add a 4th day if you feel you're recovering well enough.

    OP only if you want to do cardio, no need to if you are fine eating less and having the same deficit. Cardio for weight loss is overrated.

    I don't totally disagree with that but conditioning will absolutely make you better at lifting. I know all people are a little different but doing a little cardio has definitely helped me in my body re-comp goals. Trust me, I friggin' HATE doing cardio but it's a necessary evil unfortunately. Not to mention certain types of cardio can act as eccentric-less exercise and improve your development. Almost any strength-coach or powerlifter that's worth a damn will tell you to do some cardio. Don't forget that cardio doesn't always have to be running. Options:

    1. Medicine Ball Slams: Take a medicine ball and with two hands hold it over head and slam that ****er into the ground as hard as you can. Do this for 10-reps as fast as you can for one set, take a 30-second rest and repeat for 10 sets.

    2. Clean and Pulls: I love doing this. I use a weight that's about 50% - 60% of my max for Power Cleans from the Hang and I'll do 3-reps, then go do 5-chin-ups, come back without resting do 3-more cleans, 5-more chin-ups and repeat that 5 times. One set looks like:
    a. cleans
    b. chins
    a. cleans
    b. chins
    a. cleans
    b. chins
    a. cleans
    b. chins
    a. cleans
    b. chins
    *Rest 90-seconds and repeat as many times as you can. Increase intensity by reducing rest-time.

    You can do that with a variety of things too, combinations like push-ups, chin-ups, sit-ups or broad jumps, push-ups for instance.
  • damorzacon
    damorzacon Posts: 124 Member
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    Got some great info in here! Thanks everyone!!

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