Strength training has worked for me when nothing else did. I enjoy cardio, but free weights a couple times a week just makes my body look and feel like 5-10 years younger. I’ve lost about 5 lbs. that doesn’t sound like much, but i LOOK about 10 lbs lighter because I’m toned now. I’m a total convert. I will be lifting until I’m an old old lady.
Anonymous wrote:Cardio burns calories (and fat) yes, but the calorie burn stops as soon as the cardio activity stops so it's not the most effective fat burning tool. With strength training you're building muscle. Muscle burns more calories while at rest because muscle increases your metabolic rate which leads to increased fat loss. Your BMR is basically the number of calories your body needs to function. So if you combine the two, you'll have a great fat burning, weight loss regimen. This is done through HIIT -high intensity interval training.
Also important is calorie restriction. Don't expect to make great progress unless you restrict your calories. I'm not talking 1000 calories a day either, so no one come after me. You need to get online and find out how many calories you need to be consuming for your age, height, and sex.
+1
Exercise to get stronger and build/maintain muscle. Diet to lose weight.
If the scale is not moving you are eating to many calories.
Yes, I know. I'm tracking my food and netting about 1200 calories a day -- absolutely no sugar, alcohol, bread/rice/pasta.
Just wondering if weight training would help speed the weight loss process.
There’s no way you can expect to eat 1200 calories a day and lift weights. It’s unrealistic and not sustainable.
Whoa, agree here. A woman needs way more calories if she is going to be lifting weights.
Anonymous wrote:I’m 50F and spent the past two years faithfully, intensively riding my peloton and doing zero weights. Lost no weight despite generating buckets of sweat. A month ago I joined the Y and got back into my pre-COVID weight routine, supplementing with cardio. Three random people I know have asked me if I’ve lost weight and told me I look great, in the past week. Huge confidence booster after several years of feeling blech.
I’ve had a similar recent shift. I was a faithful peloton rider for 18 months. While I felt great, it didn’t seem like efforts matched my results. After a bit of googling, I read that riding for longs periods at high intensity can diminish muscle mass because you’re burning muscle and not fat or carbs. So I got a baseline through a dexa scan for a snapshot of my body composition. I continued my high cardio regimen and no weights and scheduled another scan. Not surprisingly I lost weight but a good portion of that was muscle mass. So I switched it up, more weights less cardio in time and intensity (still peloton bike and added the tread) for a few months and got another scan. I lost a nearly an equal amount of fat and gained muscle. So the scale didn’t budge but I was leaner. I’ve continued the same cardio routine but upped the weights so I’m curious to know what my next scan results will be.
Reading this with interest as a 33f who did a dexa scan when I was 27. I was told I had above average bone density which pleased me since I’d also been strength training. I’m not a cardio person and the most I’ll do on a treadmill is 1 mile. I’d like to have another dexa but not sure how to bring it up to my doc. My first dexa was only because of a clinical study I joined.
Anonymous wrote:CPT for almost 30 years. My Masters is in Exercise Science. Strength training will help you lose weight. More importantly, it increases bone density and helps prevent injury. Everyone should be doing some kind of strength training. Weight training increases muscle efficiency allowing you to burn more calories, even at rest. Your metabolic rate stays elevated after weight training. That helps with weight loss as well.
But, you still need cardio. You’ll burn more calories during cardio than weight training. This is why programs like circuit training and Tabata are so effective. They get your heart rate up and increase your muscle mass by mixing in strength training.
Remember, all the exercise in the world won’t make much difference if your diet is crap. Abs are made in the kitchen. You can spot train, but you cannot spot reduce. In order to see those amazing muscles, you’ll have to lose weight. You need a caloric deficit if you are overweight. Eating a variety of healthy foods in reasonable portions is key. Junk food should be a rare treat. Don’t buy into any of the fad diets. Don’t eliminate carbs. They are your first source of energy. And your body needs them. Just watch the portion sizes.
What are your thoughts on PP's claim, "Don’t ever use machines. They are the lazy person’s way. You gain strength from using core and other stabilizing motions needed when you do free weights"
Thanks!
Not the RPT but I am a someone who has been lifting for years. For the most part I agree that free weights are better than most machines. When you us free weights, for example doing a goblet squat, you are using a lot of stabilizer muscles. When doing a goblet squat properly (bracing core and using heavy enough weight) you will feel your abs on fire as well as using your upper body to hold the weight. On a leg day when using free weights you'd be surprised how much you feel it in your upper body. If you use a leg press machine you miss out on these benefits. That said there is a place within a workout for some machines, but I wouldn't just do the standard machine circuit workout at the gym and expect to get great results. If you go to any gym and see who is on the machines vs who is in the free weight area you typically see most of the serious lifters in the free weight area. Maybe throwing in the leg press and leg extension machine here and there.
I don't disagree with this, but many of us do not want to be a "serious lifter". We want to be strong and lean, not looking for PRs.
Translation: we want to be skinny. Strength-training becomes the vehicle for that. And that obsession with being thin is just tiresome at this point.
I'm the person you quoted, and I'm listening to every word. It's easy to say being obsessed with being thin when being fit is easy for you. I've done the diets - WW, Keto, IF, MFP, even paid programs like Ideal Protein. I don't want to be "skinny", but I don't want to be overweight. I want to be lean, strong, and not a size 10-12. My diet isn't terrible, but I'm only 5'0". I need to find a long term balance that fits with my very short frame. I know that's through lifting (I've been taking HIIT and lifting classes for a month). If I don't make it to a class I want a sustainable gym plan, and free weights (other than dumb bells) can be very intimidating.
I'll continue more reps as I get stronger, as PP recommended, rather than continuing to increase weight. It's also probably time to make an appointment with a trainer at my gym. I wanted to get a solid month and routine behind me first.
PP, how much time and energy and money are you willing to spend on being "lean"? To the point where it consumes you entirely? To what end? There's a difference between being "lean" and being overweight. Make the appointment with the trainer, but also at least start to think about how much you want this pursuit to control your life.
Also, it's not easy for me to be fit, at least in terms of your goals of being "lean." I'm not short, and I have a decades long workout habit, but for me to be thin requires no exercise save running and a bit of yoga. I build muscle easily for a woman, more than most women would want. But it's important to me to be strong and healthy, so I prioritize setting a good example for my kids and spending my time on things other than the pursuit of being thin.
That is awesome. But I suspect you are genetically predisposed to be fit and thin. If running a few times a week and yoga were enough for me to be thin, I would be absolutely thrilled. Please recognize that there are people out there who can get 1200-1500 calories a day, work out every day, and still not be "thin."
LOL, no, I'm not predisposed to be thin. I'm predisposed to be muscular, so for me to be "lean," I need to run 30-35 miles/week and yoga a few times, mostly for injury prevention. That's more than running a few times/week. And even then, that puts me at a size 8, not a size 2. I'm 5'8, so I completely get that shorter people have different calorie needs, but FFS, stop assuming that everyone who pushes back on diet culture is naturally skinny. Really focusing on weight lifting, as I did back in my 20s, has me as a solid size 10 with visible muscle definition. That's not the look most women here are going for.
The irony being that that's the look which is the most appealing to men (if that's your motivation behind exercising)
We do NGAF what men find appealing and we haven't exercised for men since at least the 60s, when we start making our $. And you know that saying "d* is plentiful, low quality, and cheap", so we don't have to lifr a finger to get men. Women exercise for health reasons, to feel good, and to look good in clothes and swimsuits for other women, as we observe and compare each other. Now, on the subject, I've never counted calories, but keto or whole foods low carb and weights, combined with light cardio, like walks and hiking, keeps me in shape.
Anonymous wrote:CPT for almost 30 years. My Masters is in Exercise Science. Strength training will help you lose weight. More importantly, it increases bone density and helps prevent injury. Everyone should be doing some kind of strength training. Weight training increases muscle efficiency allowing you to burn more calories, even at rest. Your metabolic rate stays elevated after weight training. That helps with weight loss as well.
But, you still need cardio. You’ll burn more calories during cardio than weight training. This is why programs like circuit training and Tabata are so effective. They get your heart rate up and increase your muscle mass by mixing in strength training.
Remember, all the exercise in the world won’t make much difference if your diet is crap. Abs are made in the kitchen. You can spot train, but you cannot spot reduce. In order to see those amazing muscles, you’ll have to lose weight. You need a caloric deficit if you are overweight. Eating a variety of healthy foods in reasonable portions is key. Junk food should be a rare treat. Don’t buy into any of the fad diets. Don’t eliminate carbs. They are your first source of energy. And your body needs them. Just watch the portion sizes.
What are your thoughts on PP's claim, "Don’t ever use machines. They are the lazy person’s way. You gain strength from using core and other stabilizing motions needed when you do free weights"
Thanks!
Not the RPT but I am a someone who has been lifting for years. For the most part I agree that free weights are better than most machines. When you us free weights, for example doing a goblet squat, you are using a lot of stabilizer muscles. When doing a goblet squat properly (bracing core and using heavy enough weight) you will feel your abs on fire as well as using your upper body to hold the weight. On a leg day when using free weights you'd be surprised how much you feel it in your upper body. If you use a leg press machine you miss out on these benefits. That said there is a place within a workout for some machines, but I wouldn't just do the standard machine circuit workout at the gym and expect to get great results. If you go to any gym and see who is on the machines vs who is in the free weight area you typically see most of the serious lifters in the free weight area. Maybe throwing in the leg press and leg extension machine here and there.
I don't disagree with this, but many of us do not want to be a "serious lifter". We want to be strong and lean, not looking for PRs.
Translation: we want to be skinny. Strength-training becomes the vehicle for that. And that obsession with being thin is just tiresome at this point.
I'm the person you quoted, and I'm listening to every word. It's easy to say being obsessed with being thin when being fit is easy for you. I've done the diets - WW, Keto, IF, MFP, even paid programs like Ideal Protein. I don't want to be "skinny", but I don't want to be overweight. I want to be lean, strong, and not a size 10-12. My diet isn't terrible, but I'm only 5'0". I need to find a long term balance that fits with my very short frame. I know that's through lifting (I've been taking HIIT and lifting classes for a month). If I don't make it to a class I want a sustainable gym plan, and free weights (other than dumb bells) can be very intimidating.
I'll continue more reps as I get stronger, as PP recommended, rather than continuing to increase weight. It's also probably time to make an appointment with a trainer at my gym. I wanted to get a solid month and routine behind me first.
PP, how much time and energy and money are you willing to spend on being "lean"? To the point where it consumes you entirely? To what end? There's a difference between being "lean" and being overweight. Make the appointment with the trainer, but also at least start to think about how much you want this pursuit to control your life.
Also, it's not easy for me to be fit, at least in terms of your goals of being "lean." I'm not short, and I have a decades long workout habit, but for me to be thin requires no exercise save running and a bit of yoga. I build muscle easily for a woman, more than most women would want. But it's important to me to be strong and healthy, so I prioritize setting a good example for my kids and spending my time on things other than the pursuit of being thin.
That is awesome. But I suspect you are genetically predisposed to be fit and thin. If running a few times a week and yoga were enough for me to be thin, I would be absolutely thrilled. Please recognize that there are people out there who can get 1200-1500 calories a day, work out every day, and still not be "thin."
LOL, no, I'm not predisposed to be thin. I'm predisposed to be muscular, so for me to be "lean," I need to run 30-35 miles/week and yoga a few times, mostly for injury prevention. That's more than running a few times/week. And even then, that puts me at a size 8, not a size 2. I'm 5'8, so I completely get that shorter people have different calorie needs, but FFS, stop assuming that everyone who pushes back on diet culture is naturally skinny. Really focusing on weight lifting, as I did back in my 20s, has me as a solid size 10 with visible muscle definition. That's not the look most women here are going for.
The irony being that that's the look which is the most appealing to men (if that's your motivation behind exercising)
We do NGAF what men find appealing and we haven't exercised for men since at least the 60s, when we start making our $. And you know that saying "d* is plentiful, low quality, and cheap", so we don't have to lifr a finger to get men. Women exercise for health reasons, to feel good, and to look good in clothes and swimsuits for other women, as we observe and compare each other. Now, on the subject, I've never counted calories, but keto or whole foods low carb and weights, combined with light cardio, like walks and hiking, keeps me in shape.
I care that my husband is attracted to me (and vice versa). I lift weights because it's much easier to function as a human when you are stronger. I certainly don't do it for other women and I certainly don't dress for other women. Sheesh.
Anonymous wrote:I’m 50F and spent the past two years faithfully, intensively riding my peloton and doing zero weights. Lost no weight despite generating buckets of sweat. A month ago I joined the Y and got back into my pre-COVID weight routine, supplementing with cardio. Three random people I know have asked me if I’ve lost weight and told me I look great, in the past week. Huge confidence booster after several years of feeling blech.
I’ve had a similar recent shift. I was a faithful peloton rider for 18 months. While I felt great, it didn’t seem like efforts matched my results. After a bit of googling, I read that riding for longs periods at high intensity can diminish muscle mass because you’re burning muscle and not fat or carbs. So I got a baseline through a dexa scan for a snapshot of my body composition. I continued my high cardio regimen and no weights and scheduled another scan. Not surprisingly I lost weight but a good portion of that was muscle mass. So I switched it up, more weights less cardio in time and intensity (still peloton bike and added the tread) for a few months and got another scan. I lost a nearly an equal amount of fat and gained muscle. So the scale didn’t budge but I was leaner. I’ve continued the same cardio routine but upped the weights so I’m curious to know what my next scan results will be.
Reading this with interest as a 33f who did a dexa scan when I was 27. I was told I had above average bone density which pleased me since I’d also been strength training. I’m not a cardio person and the most I’ll do on a treadmill is 1 mile. I’d like to have another dexa but not sure how to bring it up to my doc. My first dexa was only because of a clinical study I joined.
I’m the pp you quoted. I went to composition id and had my dexa scans done.
Anonymous wrote:Cardio burns calories (and fat) yes, but the calorie burn stops as soon as the cardio activity stops so it's not the most effective fat burning tool. With strength training you're building muscle. Muscle burns more calories while at rest because muscle increases your metabolic rate which leads to increased fat loss. Your BMR is basically the number of calories your body needs to function. So if you combine the two, you'll have a great fat burning, weight loss regimen. This is done through HIIT -high intensity interval training.
Also important is calorie restriction. Don't expect to make great progress unless you restrict your calories. I'm not talking 1000 calories a day either, so no one come after me. You need to get online and find out how many calories you need to be consuming for your age, height, and sex.
+1
Exercise to get stronger and build/maintain muscle. Diet to lose weight.
If the scale is not moving you are eating to many calories.
Yes, I know. I'm tracking my food and netting about 1200 calories a day -- absolutely no sugar, alcohol, bread/rice/pasta.
Just wondering if weight training would help speed the weight loss process.
There’s no way you can expect to eat 1200 calories a day and lift weights. It’s unrealistic and not sustainable.
Whoa, agree here. A woman needs way more calories if she is going to be lifting weights.
? Why? Lifting burns few calories. If I am doing intense cardio I need more but just lifting? I’m good on 1200.
Anonymous wrote:CPT for almost 30 years. My Masters is in Exercise Science. Strength training will help you lose weight. More importantly, it increases bone density and helps prevent injury. Everyone should be doing some kind of strength training. Weight training increases muscle efficiency allowing you to burn more calories, even at rest. Your metabolic rate stays elevated after weight training. That helps with weight loss as well.
But, you still need cardio. You’ll burn more calories during cardio than weight training. This is why programs like circuit training and Tabata are so effective. They get your heart rate up and increase your muscle mass by mixing in strength training.
Remember, all the exercise in the world won’t make much difference if your diet is crap. Abs are made in the kitchen. You can spot train, but you cannot spot reduce. In order to see those amazing muscles, you’ll have to lose weight. You need a caloric deficit if you are overweight. Eating a variety of healthy foods in reasonable portions is key. Junk food should be a rare treat. Don’t buy into any of the fad diets. Don’t eliminate carbs. They are your first source of energy. And your body needs them. Just watch the portion sizes.
What are your thoughts on PP's claim, "Don’t ever use machines. They are the lazy person’s way. You gain strength from using core and other stabilizing motions needed when you do free weights"
Thanks!
Not the RPT but I am a someone who has been lifting for years. For the most part I agree that free weights are better than most machines. When you us free weights, for example doing a goblet squat, you are using a lot of stabilizer muscles. When doing a goblet squat properly (bracing core and using heavy enough weight) you will feel your abs on fire as well as using your upper body to hold the weight. On a leg day when using free weights you'd be surprised how much you feel it in your upper body. If you use a leg press machine you miss out on these benefits. That said there is a place within a workout for some machines, but I wouldn't just do the standard machine circuit workout at the gym and expect to get great results. If you go to any gym and see who is on the machines vs who is in the free weight area you typically see most of the serious lifters in the free weight area. Maybe throwing in the leg press and leg extension machine here and there.
I don't disagree with this, but many of us do not want to be a "serious lifter". We want to be strong and lean, not looking for PRs.
Translation: we want to be skinny. Strength-training becomes the vehicle for that. And that obsession with being thin is just tiresome at this point.
I'm the person you quoted, and I'm listening to every word. It's easy to say being obsessed with being thin when being fit is easy for you. I've done the diets - WW, Keto, IF, MFP, even paid programs like Ideal Protein. I don't want to be "skinny", but I don't want to be overweight. I want to be lean, strong, and not a size 10-12. My diet isn't terrible, but I'm only 5'0". I need to find a long term balance that fits with my very short frame. I know that's through lifting (I've been taking HIIT and lifting classes for a month). If I don't make it to a class I want a sustainable gym plan, and free weights (other than dumb bells) can be very intimidating.
I'll continue more reps as I get stronger, as PP recommended, rather than continuing to increase weight. It's also probably time to make an appointment with a trainer at my gym. I wanted to get a solid month and routine behind me first.
PP, how much time and energy and money are you willing to spend on being "lean"? To the point where it consumes you entirely? To what end? There's a difference between being "lean" and being overweight. Make the appointment with the trainer, but also at least start to think about how much you want this pursuit to control your life.
Also, it's not easy for me to be fit, at least in terms of your goals of being "lean." I'm not short, and I have a decades long workout habit, but for me to be thin requires no exercise save running and a bit of yoga. I build muscle easily for a woman, more than most women would want. But it's important to me to be strong and healthy, so I prioritize setting a good example for my kids and spending my time on things other than the pursuit of being thin.
That is awesome. But I suspect you are genetically predisposed to be fit and thin. If running a few times a week and yoga were enough for me to be thin, I would be absolutely thrilled. Please recognize that there are people out there who can get 1200-1500 calories a day, work out every day, and still not be "thin."
LOL, no, I'm not predisposed to be thin. I'm predisposed to be muscular, so for me to be "lean," I need to run 30-35 miles/week and yoga a few times, mostly for injury prevention. That's more than running a few times/week. And even then, that puts me at a size 8, not a size 2. I'm 5'8, so I completely get that shorter people have different calorie needs, but FFS, stop assuming that everyone who pushes back on diet culture is naturally skinny. Really focusing on weight lifting, as I did back in my 20s, has me as a solid size 10 with visible muscle definition. That's not the look most women here are going for.
The irony being that that's the look which is the most appealing to men (if that's your motivation behind exercising)
We do NGAF what men find appealing and we haven't exercised for men since at least the 60s, when we start making our $. And you know that saying "d* is plentiful, low quality, and cheap", so we don't have to lifr a finger to get men. Women exercise for health reasons, to feel good, and to look good in clothes and swimsuits for other women, as we observe and compare each other. Now, on the subject, I've never counted calories, but keto or whole foods low carb and weights, combined with light cardio, like walks and hiking, keeps me in shape.
Wow....just wow.
You're being disingenuous if you think people don't workout to look appealing to the opposite sex. Disingenuous or just stupid.
Men do it to look good for women. Women do it to look good for men. You're so full of crap
I have not read all the comments, OP, but I would suggest you give it a try and see if it works *for you*. But definitely do some sessions with a trainer to make sure you have good form and ease into it to avoid injury.
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