Your thoughts on strength training to lose weight

[HoosierDaddy73]

Sorry, I am sure this has been discussed at nauseam. But here we go again! Obviously the core activity to the Fitbit model of fitness is walking/running. As a runner, I know one of the main debates for years has been if running/walking or lifting weights is more effective for weight loss. Personally I prefer cardio -- And in the past I lost about 20 pounds, getting to 12% body fat without ever lifting a weight. But that was when I was half-marathon training and doing some serious mileage. I don't run nearly that much these days. 

What do you all think about lifting weights in combination with getting your steps in? Is it effective or are you better off spending time meeting your daily step goals / active steps?

[Dominique]

I’d say the main benefit of resistance training while in a caloric deficit to lose weight is to help preserve existing lean mass (or maybe even let you add a bit of extra muscle, if you are lucky enough), not so much to let you burn extra calories (though any activity - including lifting weight - will of course let you burn more calories than no activity at all).

Cardio training and resistance training do not need to be mutually exclusive: they have their own purpose and merits. I wouldn’t consider burning calories as the main purpose of either. You train for health and fitness, and calories burned while training are a side product of your workouts.

[emili]

yep - everything that @Dominique said.. and as a footnote..

I strongly believe in cardio for weight loss. That is my number one go to for losing because it has a proven track record. However, and this is especially true for guys and based on my opinion and observation.. cardio skinny is not a good look. It isn't for women either especially for those who lost weight quickly but in my opinion more so for men. So unless you are training for marathons or planning a Forrest Gump adventure, I would always encourage weight lifting as part of the routine. Where cardio makes one feel sleek and skinny, weight lifting makes you feel powerful and strong. I like both feelings 🙂

[JenHarness]

I tried to combine walking with lifting little weights and I found it wasn't at all making me go cardio, so I dropped the weights and started walking much more. 

But I read on an article that strength training was a good way to burn a lot of calories, so maybe I was doing everything wrong. Maybe it's working better when you're going to a gym?

[WavyDavey]

I believe it's important to have some kind of strength training in addition to cardio work. They are largely working two different systems (anaerobic and aerobic).

Cardio (and a caloric deficit) is probably better if weight or bodyfat loss is the only goal.

 I find the debate of strength and cardio/endurance interesting. Look at the body types of marathon runners--very lean. Then look at a 100m sprinter. Still fairly lean, with a bit more muscle. Not that one is better than the other. Just different.

[Dominique]

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@JenHarness wrote:

I tried to combine walking with lifting little weights and I found it wasn't at all making me go cardio, so I dropped the weights and started walking much more. 

But I read on an article that strength training was a good way to burn a lot of calories, so maybe I was doing everything wrong. Maybe it's working better when you're going to a gym? 

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@JenHarness: most weight lifting is anaerobic by nature, so it can be expected your average HR during sessions will be lower than during pure aerobic exercise (e.g. zumba classes). Your HR isn’t the only metrics that matters for health and fitness.

For resistance training to be optimal, you need to provide your muscles with a sufficient stimulus: if you use "pink dumbbells" Tracy Anderson style, you probably won’t reach that stimulus:

Women are often afraid of lifting heavier weights, as they fear it will transform them into female Arnold-lookalikes. That fear is unfounded. And remember, "heavy" means heavy for you. Females just won’t bulk up easily or even at all, even if they wanted to.

As to whether you do your resistance training at the gym or at home, it doesn’t matter. The gym may be a better place if all you have at home are pink dumbbells. OTOH, you can get pretty challenging workouts using your own bodyweight. You don’t need all the fancy machines found at the gym to get a good workout.

[JenHarness]

I have zero money for gym but it's true that I was starting with 1,7 kg for each weight. I just thought it was better than nothing but you're right.

Thanks for the insight, I will look into better possibilities!

[Esya]

I do yoga and for me it is my strength training to go to using my body weight. I am sure there are other work outs you can easily find on youtube that use body weight and that you can do at home.

[Mukluk4 · Accepted solution]

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I strongly believe in cardio for weight loss. That is my number one go to for losing because it has a proven track record. However, and this is especially true for guys and based on my opinion and observation.. cardio skinny is not a good look. It isn't for women either especially for those who lost weight quickly but in my opinion more so for men. So unless you are training for marathons or planning a Forrest Gump adventure, I would always encourage weight lifting as part of the routine. Where cardio makes one feel sleek and skinny, weight lifting makes you feel powerful and strong. I like both feelings 🙂

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Cardio is fine for weight loss as long as you can keep it up.  Get injured and on the sideline for a month or more everything you work for comes back.  Strength training increases the high energy using muscle mass in your body so it's more of a furnace that can assist in keeping the pounds off.  

There is also a huge difference between looking fit (skinny fat) and being functionality fit (fat skinny).  As someone that's very active in sports, I tried heavy cardio and dropped to 230 at one point, but my sporting ability suffered.  I've since maintained my cardio, increased caloric intake and incorporated 3x's a week strength training and put myself back into a 255-265 range that has done wonders for me on the court/field.

[DanielleinDC]

I've recently read about doing low weights with more repetitions as a way to build muscle and increase toning. Or a combination of one exercise (like bicep curls) with heavier weights and another (like preacher curls) with lighter weights.

[SunsetRunner]

whilst jogging on the spot I carry 1lb weights on either hand, although it means that I burn more than what FitBit/MFP thinks, it gives either arm/hand a good workout

or ankle weights

[Dominique]

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@DanielleinDC wrote:

I've recently read about doing low weights with more repetitions as a way to build muscle and increase toning. Or a combination of one exercise (like bicep curls) with heavier weights and another (like preacher curls) with lighter weights.

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@DanielleinDC: muscle hypertrophy (building muscle) is indeed optimally achieved with lighter weights, more reps (typically between 8 and 12) and and shorter rest periods between sets. Strength, OTOH is optimally achieved with heavier weights, less reps (typically less than 5-6) and longer rest periods between sets. Both hypertrophy and strength can benefit each other: if you have bigger muscle, you will be able to lift heavier weights and become stronger; if you get stronger, you will also be able to lift heavier weights for reps, and thus gain muscle. These processes are usually done during separate phases, a bit like you would alternate periods when you are in a caloric deficit (to lose fat) and periods when you are in a caloric surplus (to build muscle): it’s very hard (and even when possible, not optimal) to do both (losing fat, gaining muscle) at the same time. Same with muscle hypertrophy and strength, which is why I don’t really understand the logic in doing two exercises that work the same muscle in two very distinct rep ranges.

As to increasing toning (what’s most women are seeking!), being "toned" is really having some amount of muscle and not too much fat around them. There aren’t exercises that produce "toned" muscle and others than produce "untoned" muscle. Muscle is muscle, it’s the level of fat that determines how "toned" you are.