Lifting Weights

Just to quickly say I am currently reading 'The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution' by Fred Hahn in conjunction with Protein Power by Drs Eades (who also contributed to the former) and even though ive not properly started the practical side of things I am very impressed by what I have read so far. Just thought it was worth a mention

 

Check out the podcast "Your Body Do Over." Lots of good information. Been working out for years and read lots of information from all sorts of people, but the information in this podcast is direct, to the point, and makes the whole process simple, and it's usually around 15 minutes an episode. It hasn't changed how I do everything, but a lot of things. They talk specifically about weight lifting to lose weight on more than a few episodes.

 

using little weights and lots of reps will result in a toned sculpted body and you'll only need 1min break in between reps to get results

 

You should private message Melancholy Weightlifter. He knows his stuff about weight lifting.

~Squeaky Soul

 

It sort of depends on what you mean by strength. lots of reps with a smaller weight will increase endurance. few reps to failure with a heavy weight will increase how much you can lift once and cause muscle growth. you should do both, how much of each depends on your goals.

I second what Able says about calisthenics.

 

I am sure I have seen an avatar on here of a guy lifting weights...

 

Haha! That is MelancholyWeightlifter

 

I'm afraid he's gone though! He said that if he ever come back it will be under another name.

 

@Bass

If you want weight loss & strength. You have to go HEAVY higher weight/less reps. You need to breakdown the muscle, stress it and create micro tears that will grow larger as they heal.

A good range is start with a warm up at a weight that you can do 10 times. Then do 2-3 sets to failure. At weights that you can maybe do 4-6 reps.

Learn good form first then add weight! Allow at least 1 rest day before doing that group again. Large muscle groups you might only hit once a week i.e. Squats, Dead lifts.

The science behind strength training is solid. It is generally superior to cardio for weight loss and it is due to simple mathematics. During cardio you only really are burning calories when you are doing the exercise like running. But if you lift heavy your body is working through the rest of the day burning calories to repair that muscle and feed it. The second point is even more amazing. Every pound of muscle you add will need to consume an additional 50 cal/day just at rest!

Adding just two pounds of muscle will burn the equivalent of one pound of fat just at rest every 35 days:

[(2x50)(35)]=3500 cal or one pound.

Add 10 pounds of muscle and that's a pound a week assuming your caloric intake stays constant.

Get strong! Stay Strong!

 

i have been lifting weight in the gym for several years, but switched to bodyweight exercises. I can do them at home, which saves me a lot of money and time. The results are just as good if not better and it is much more natural - more natural movements, lesser stress on your joints, etc.
A great read about body weight training is "convict conditioning" where you find a progressive programm for training the most important muscle groups of the body. For example the pushup-progression goes from pushups against a wall (standing) to one armed pushups on the floor, with plenty of steps in between, so that you're progressing with the right effort - not too much and not too little.

Another really good book about strength training in general, but with a focus on training with weights is "power to the people" by Pavel Tsatsouline

BUT: the must important thing is to keep doing it! In the end, in doesn't really matter so much how you train, as long as you fell comfortable doing it and don't stop.

 

do starting strength 5x5 by Mark Rippetoe
or 5x5 by elitefts

how to perform deadlifts: watch every youtube tutorial you can.
this might help:
http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/06/28/deadlift-technique-with-team-juggernaut/

 

I would suggest you stick to mostly swimming and running and focus more on your diet. If you really want to do strength training then I'd suggest looking at alternatives to weight training. If you really want to do weight training then I'd suggest avoiding free weights for the most part. Try to be rational about it and realize that like all decisions life, it's all about a risk-reward analysis. Your goal is to lose more weight.. so you should weigh (no pun intended) the potential gains vs the actual risks and make a determination.


About working out in general:
Keep it simple. Don't obsess over theoretical stuff like routines to follow or this or that, it saps time and energy. The main thing is just making sure you know and understand the basics so you do not hurt yourself, then just getting out there and start doing it. What do you do? It all depends on your goals. Losing weight is actually really really simple. It might not be easy, but it is simple. All you have to do is consume less energy (calories) than you burn. Simple, right?

As a former gym-rat, the main things I learned was that supplements (including diet) and rest are just as important or even more important than your actual workouts, regardless if your goal is to get cut and jacked quick (like me at age 18-19 straight out of high school) or if it's to lose 20-30 lbs (like you and me today). You DO NOT need to spend tons of money on all kinds of crazy supplements. Learn the difference between marketing vs. engineering. This applies to all aspects of life in a consumerist society..(eg, did you know most OTC sleep medicines are just relabeled and marked up benedryl? Engineering=truth vs. Marketing.) It very much also applies here. The only supplement you really need, in addition to a good diet of course, is a whey protein isolate. Of course if you want to get into the nutritional aspect of things, there are many other supplements worth considering, but I am talking strictly within the framework of weight training.. more specifically, weight training to LOSE weight.

If you want to loose weight then you need to focus primarily on burning calories. The best way to do that, fast, is with high intensity workouts. As far as lifting weights goes.. I would say that it's vastly over-rated and you should probably avoid free weights for the most part. They are OK for some exercises like bench pressing or curls, but if you have access to a good gym.. it's 2014 and the technology we have now all but obsoletes the need for free weights. Of course there are purists and traditionalists who will fight me on this issue, but it's scientifically provable. Losing weight is all about burning more calories than you consume. For one thing, I would stick to compound exercises to get the most of your time. However, I would focus mostly on cardio and high intensity training. You need to get your heart rate up into "burn" zone and keep it there for as long as your safely can, at least 30+ minutes at a time. Lastly and more importantly you need to eat right. Everyone in the US talks about "fat" all the time..zero fat this, zero fat that.. and you know what? The US is one of the least healthy and fattest countries in the industrialized world, so it's no coincidence that they have no idea what they're talking about. Fat (as a macronutrient) is NOT the enemy. Losing (or gaining) is not about excess consumption of dietary fats. 99.9% of the time it's all about carbs.. specifically sugars. Sugar is the poison, not fat. I know, fats have 9 calories per gram whereas carbs and proteins only have 4. and you need carbs.. good carbs.. however, you need to avoid all sugar at any cost. A little bit of natural fructose is OK (especially in the morning but nothing more beyond that. Nothing.

 

Weightlifting doesn't make you lose weight, cardio does though. Check out Youtube for advice and information about lifting. I would recommend, Elliott Hulse, Scott Herman and Omar Isuf. Top guys and great lifters! Stay clear of Mike Chang and any other faddy stuff though that promises quick results. It's all bull.

Spend time working on your form and leave your ego at the door.

All the best!

 

I agree with almost everything said minus the first bit. You totally have the right idea, but the semantics are off. You can, in fact, lose weight by weightlifting. However carido is generally a better, more efficient, way do it. It's not the weightlifting or the carido itself which is actually making you drop pounds.. it's the calories you burn doing said activities. If you can burn more by weightlifting rather than cardio, then you will lose more by weightlifting. With one very important caveat to note: Weightlifting generally results in gaining muscle mass and muscle is a lot heavier than fat. So if you've already got high body fat, start weightlifting and you begin to gain muscle mass... you will start to gain some serious weight and look "bigger" than ever because while you might be burning a little bit of subQ. fat you're going to be adding a bunch of very heavy muscle fiber under that fat.

 

Well I am only 15 and I was on my school wrestling team. My point is like some have said little weight and lots of reps will definitely build muscles and increase endurance. But like others have said lots of weight and few reps leads to you getting strong quick. But you see people say eat protein you can build muscle so people eat meat. However that protein alone can't help your body build muscles you have to workout and eat proteins trust me it works. My buddy that plays football at school was my size as a freshman. 126 pounds and our coaches said to him that if you wanna get big try this now that dudes a senior in high school star runningback and build like the rock he is huge just the little things that help man just saying. Goodluck with this

 

Right now i am following one of Dr.Jim Stoppani's workout HIIT. He has written many great articles on weightlifting I suggest reading one of those.