Should I lift to lose weight/fat?

So I gained ~25lbs doing consulting for 2 years, eating hotel food every night, not exercising, and not sleeping did that to me. I'm out of that mess now and I've been eating healthier and working out every weekday for the past 5 weeks. I've lost ~5lbs so far, I expect this to be a long process.

First of all, I've been doing all cardio. High intensity interval stuff on treadmill, elliptical, and this other elliptical-like machine. I do this for ~30min in the morning, then I go to work. I find doing interval stuff to be really weird on a treadmill because when you set it fast... it just feels really unnatural.

Question is, should I be lifting? I have no aspirations of being huge and buff like I see some of you in the before and after pics. I just want to be lean, some additional muscle mass would not hurt. Mind you, I have no idea how to do the dead lift, squats, etc... I can bench press and that's about it. What am I to do?

I'm pretty new at anything health too...but from what I've read...the answer is yes.

Mainly because doing cardio...you burn calories only while you're doing it.

Lifting weights, there is a residual effect for body repair etc and you continue to burn calories after you stop your session. This is of course if you actually lift to make your heart rate increase and don't just do wimpy stuff.

When muscle starts to build, the increased lean body mass will also require more calories to maintain itself, so you'll burn more calories (hopefully fat) as a result...as long as your caloric intake doesn't increase dramatically.

I'm sure other more seasoned people will guide you better though in case I'm wrong :p

Mainly because doing cardio...you burn calories only while you're doing it.



nah u continue burning calories at a higher rate even when your done with cardio

Yes, if you want to lose weight the healthy way, lift weights 3x a week and do cardio 3x a week.

If you just cut calories and do cardio, you'll lose muscle mass and be skinny, but still have a relatively high BF%. If you lift weights during your diet to maintain muscle mass, you're have a leaner build when you're done losing weight.

You can't really gain muscle mass while losing fat though, you can maintain it.

to answer the initial question... a good lifting schedule will burn far more calories than cardio. if you want to lose weight, lift.

So... what kind of lifting should I be doing and how do I know if I'm doing it right?

If you don't know how to lift, I suggest either getting a trainer to show you how to do the lifts you can't do or else stick to machines and dumbbells. Here is a decent routine that you could do 3 days a week and get great results:

Bench Press
Overhead Press
Upright Row (hands about 2-3 inches apart on a barbell and lift up until bar passes your nipples, or as high as you can bring it)
Tricep Extension
Barbell Curl
Reverse Curl
Leg Press
Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Calf Raises
Abs

Each one do 3 sets of 12 at a weight that is difficult to complete.


And if you really wanna start small, just do:

Bench Press
Overheard Press
Curl
Leg Press or Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Abs

That first routine is absurd for a beginner.

3x5 sets of 3 heavy compound lifts a day 3x a week until he plateaus would be just fine for someone who hasn't done much weightlifting (if any)

I say the same lifts every time:
Squat
Bench Press
Deadlift
Pendlay Row
Military Press
SQUAT

I'll copy and paste a great routine that i posted in another thread with some variations for a beginer lifter. For each lift make it heavy enough so that you can't complete the 5th rep on the 3rd set. If you can do all 15 reps then bump up the weight a little.

When you plateau, come back and ask for more advice/new routine.
Monday
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Barbell Row 3x5
Assistance:If you have extra time and want to push out something extra 2 sets of weighted hypers and 4 sets of weighted sit-ups

Wednesday
Squat 3x5
Incline or Military 3x5
Deadlift 4x5
Assistance: If you have extra time and want to push out something extra 3 sets of sit-ups

Friday
Squat 3x5
Bench 3X5
Barbell Row 3x5
Assistance:If you have extra time and want to push out something extra 3 sets of weighted dips (5-8 reps), 3 sets of barbell curls and 3 sets of triceps extensions (8 reps)

Deadlift: Barbell Deadlift (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ErectorSpinae/BBDeadlift.html)
Bench: Barbell Bench Press (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/BBBenchPress.html)
Barbell Row: Barbell Bent-over Row (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/BBBentOverRow.html)
Military Press: Barbell Military Press (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/BBMilitaryPress.html)
Squats: Barbell Full Squat (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/BBFullSquat.html)
Hypers: Weighted Hyperextension (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ErectorSpinae/WtHyperextension.html)
Situps: Weighted Crunch (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/WtCrunch.html)
Barbell curl: Barbell Curl (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Biceps/BBCurl.html)
Tricep extentions: Barbell Lying Triceps Extension "Skull Crusher" (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBLyingTriExtSC.html)

All that said. do things to their full range of motion. If you don't you're only cheating yourself. You're not in a power lifting comp so there is no point to half ass it to up the weight. Get all those stabilizers in there and work your body as a whole.

This might be a dumb question but when you say 3x5, does that mean do 3 sets of 5 reps?

I recommend what Rayn said for starting out. Excpet i dont know what a pendlay row is.

also, out of curiousity, have you posted your pics her ebefore Rayn? j/w. maybe some before and afters? I see you post here a lot and I didnt know that any of our admins were in good shape :P

Maybe I'm not flexible at all... but I just tried the squat motion without weights and I can't even do that. How am I suppose to keep my feet flat on the ground while bending my knees and hips fully?

ExRx (Exercise Prescription) on the Net (http://exrx.net/) has animated gifs of these lifts that you have no clue about.

This is sort of offtopic but i advise you to go outside and jog with intervals. Treadmills propel you and simplify running greatly. While lifting might burn more fat, cardio is important and half an hour on your eliptical thingy won't really cut it.
Put your shoes on, go jogging outside in the morning, watch as the city wakes up and take in the fresh air. Nothing better if you want a healthy body and healthy heart.
:bigthumb: Good luck.

As said above...muscle burns fat, simple as that. Increasing your muscle mass will make it easier to lose weight as well as maintain a healthy weight. You should be lifting 3x a week.

muscle burns fat, simple as that.

This is a myth.

This is a myth.

It is a myth that muscle burns fat, but it's not a myth that weight lifting increases your metabolism, which, in turn, burns more fat than if you weren't lifting.

I recommend what Rayn said for starting out. Excpet i dont know what a pendlay row is.

also, out of curiousity, have you posted your pics her ebefore Rayn? j/w. maybe some before and afters? I see you post here a lot and I didnt know that any of our admins were in good shape :PI'm not in my best shape now as I recently received doctor's clearance to return to weight lifting (I have a blood pressure problem due to an adrenal lesion). I have taken 2 years off lifting which started when my appendix burst and I wound up with a cantaloupe sized strep infection on my liver due to complications. I lost 40 lbs in 6 months, most of it muscle. I dropped down to about 165 at 6'0", 8% BF (calipers). I have been fluctuating in weight since then, but I wasn't adding any muscle since I wasn't lifting.

I started back on my program 2 months ago which is basically doing an intermediate version of the program posted above (which is Rippetoe's beginner program). I'm a strong believer in doing heavy compound lifts until you can do 1.0x body weight bench and 1.5x BW squat/deadlifts or you plateau then working in more accessory lifts. I have been active in athletics since high school and I eat right so I'm pretty health concious, especially with all my medical woes. I'm not where I want to be right now so I'm not inclined to rip off my shirt and flex for TW, but if you're just curious what I look like I will post a recent picture. I'm relatively in shape all things considered. I'll be happy to check in again in 4-6 months since I'm on a bulking cycle now and am pretty happy with my progress towards where I used to be.

http://www.omginter.net/images/deeny.jpg
The picture is, of course, tongue in cheek.

It is a myth that muscle burns fat, but it's not a myth that weight lifting increases your metabolism, which, in turn, burns more fat than if you weren't lifting.

Wouldn't the same be true for endurance?