Thread: Lifting for Weight Loss

you can, cardio would speed it up a bit, but it's not necessary IMO.

You can definitely do it without cardio. Cardio is good because it speeds up your metabolism, but adding muscle mass does the same thing.

It can be done.

Look to gaining about 10 pounds of muscle as well, giving an overall weightloss of 20 pounds.

Use a measuring tape as well as a scale to measure your progress.

I you loose 10 pounds acording to the scale, but your arms are 1/4 of an inch larger than before, then you lost more than 10 pounds of fat.

Without doing cardio, then I'm thinking my split should include some sort of lifting at least 5 days a week...maybe one muscle group per day...does that sound about right?

Thanks all for the replies

I'd say 3 days per week if you're just starting out, then up it to four. I'm making this statement assuming that you're new to this, if you're not, then I apologise. I suggest that you build a workout around compound exercises (deadlifts, squats, presses, rows, dips, pull ups, chins)

Peace.

I think people who just start lifting should do a full body workout with lots of compound exercises with free weights at higher reps. This will help you develop your stabilizer muscles so that you can perform lifts with proper form and help prevent injury in the future. Do it 3 days per week, and try to leave a day of rest in between each session (I like doing it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). I gained approximately 30 pounds in 6 months with a similar routine, although 10 of it was fat. Here is the standard routine that I recommend to beginners:

3 x Full Squats 12-15
3 x Romanian Deadlifts 12-15

3 x Deadlifts 12-15
3 x Chinups 12-15

3 x Bench Press 12-15
3 x Military Press 12-15

3 x Bicycle Crunches to Failure
3 x Reverse Crunches to Failure

Don't forget to keep reading and change your routine frequently. No two workouts of mine are ever exactly the same, although they might be very similar. At first it won't matter, but it will once you become more advanced. I say do this routine for about a month (Or whenever you feel comfortable with form) before you drop to lower rep ranges. 1-6 reps is good for strength, and 8-12 is good for mass. It depends on your body, but these will server as guidelines to help you get started; you will learn a lot about your body as time goes on. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply CowPimp...Actually, I have been lifting on and off for years. My main problem has been consistency. I would lift strong for a few months until I would start to see some gains, then for some reason I would just stop. This bouncing back and forth has probably thrown my metabolism out of whack...being why I gained 30lbs of fat.

I am just hoping now that I can drop the fat without doing cardio. I'm not being lazy, I just don't like doing it...I would rather lift

I think my best bet is to start a journal and let you guys see what I'm doing...any and all comments are always welcome. I need to be accountable and this will be a good way to do it.

Thanks everybody for the input!

VonDrunk