when do i start resistance training?
 

i want to work on losing poundage before lifting weight to tone up.. but when do i start that? once i reach my goal weight? or right away?:?:

Right away! Ideally you should start on the first day of your diet/lifestyle change. Check out this thread for a great discussion of the issue:

Is lifting weights the way to go when your trying to shed pounds?

Why wait? Building muscle burns fat AND calories and builds endurance. :?:

Ditto to the thread Meg posted, too :)

Heheheheh.

Rather than go into my usual rant, I'll just say, read the thread Meg posted and START NOW. ;)

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:lol: I was going to write my "weight lifting changed my life" spiel again, but it is in the linked thread.

Fine. Be difficult. Make me dig. :p

Hee hee June! You really don't want me to go into my "toning" rant on such a peaceful Saturday afternoon. :)

The short version is that toning (in the way most people us it) is a myth. You lift weights to build muscle. Building muscle builds strength and increases metabolism. Muscle is denser than fat, so weight for weight, an equal amount of muscle takes up much less room. And muscle looks damn good on women. Oh, and no, women won't bulk like men ... we don't have enough testosterone in our bodies to do so. It takes serious effort and diet to bulk like female weight lifters do.

And yeah, like midwife, weight lifting changed my life!

>

Add me to the "weightlifting changed my life" club too. :)

A few years ago, we had a Men's Forum here at 3FC and I saved a post that I wrote there in response to a question that I don't even remember ... but I saved it because it came straight from my heart and I didn't want to lose the words once they were down on paper. The Men's Forum is gone and so is my original post but here's my story of how a sedentary woman (we're talking couch potato) who had been overweight or obese her whole life learned to love weightlifting:

*****

When I walked into a gym for the first time in my life at age 46 and 257 pounds, I was beaten down by all my years of failing at weight loss. I never gave up trying but each failure was killing my spirit a little further. Realizing that I was beyond clueless at what to do in the gym, I was fortunate enough to meet a personal trainer who taught me everything that I know today about nutrition, cardio, and lifting weights. But the true gift that he gave me — by teaching me how to lift weights — was the knowledge that I had the strength within me to succeed at weight loss.

What’s the connection between lifting weights and losing weight (besides building muscle)? You see, I always thought that I was a wimp — that I was physically and psychologically weak and weak-willed (after all, I was fat, wasn’t I?) Weightlifting showed me that I was physically strong (when you’ve been obese for most of your life, you build some strong bones and muscles by just hauling yourself around!) As I kept working in the gym, it was so cool to have baby muscles start sprouting under all the fat — I’d lie in bed at night and feel at these strange changes in my body (and it was fun to discover bones too — ribs! collarbones! hipbones! ). And it’s a cliché, I know, but being strong is a very empowering feeling.

But far more important than the physical changes, weightlifting showed me that I was mentally tough and could persevere. That I could pick a goal and achieve it. That I could push myself far, far harder than I ever had imagined. That I was capable of so much more than I thought. That I could push through discomfort and even pain and end up floating high as a kite on the other side. It’s hard to put the feeling into words but it’s the best feeling in the world. And I’ll bet any of you who lift weights know exactly what I mean.

I guess the bottom line is that I learned that the power to change my life lies within me. I had the strength to do what it took to lose the weight all along, though I didn’t realize it. Most of weight loss is head stuff, not the nuts and bolts of what to eat etc. You have to believe that you can do it — that you're the one making the decisions and choices. Weightlifting has shown me that I don’t have to take the easy road that most of the world does — it’s so much more rewarding to be physically and mentally strong.

And that’s why I’m the goofy 49-year old mom in the gym with dumbbells in her hands and a big old smile on her face.

*****

Every word of it is still true today -- except I'm 54 now! :fr:

i understand that most of you who have been on this site for awhile see many of the same questions but it is much appreciated that i am not responded to rudely or in a coy manner. i just started this site a week ago and already i have a bunch of you bashing this question.. the link you sent me was from november so how was i to know that it was there.. please try to be nicer to new members instead of assuming that new members have no brains at all.. thank you

Katie, sweetie, no one's bashing you for asking your question! :hug: It's a good question and I thought you might find it worthwhile to check out a recent thread for some discussion and opinions. Really, it's standard to refer members to other threads on topic and not an insult at all. :)

i am a super easy going person and i understand that the same question gets asked over and over again. i am here for support and advice and it is ok to refer me to another link. i guess i am just a lil sensitive thats all... its just the responses made me feel as if i was asking a dumb question and i should have looked for this question.

I'm so sorry if we gave you that impression! Trust me, no one expects you to dredge up old threads -- I just happened to remember that one since it's so near and dear to my heart. :D Please stick around and I think you'll find this to be one of the most supportive groups at 3FC. :hug:

It wasn't my intention to "bash" you and don't think I was.. I was legitimately curious about why you wanted to wait to start lifting.

ETA: Meg is right- referring people to existing conversations can help explain or illustrate something better than a single post. Common practice :) I'm sorry if I came off as coy!

i didnt know when to start that is why i asked.. i was always under the impression that muscle weighs more than fat and all that good mumbo jumbo and also that i will get all ripped like a man if i start... i also dont know which weights i am supposed to start with. what about crunches? do those work too? idk that part i am grey about...

Okay, one of the reasons we often refer folks is that there is good information there, and maybe when you ask everyone who had good advice then isn't available right now, etc. On that note, I'll refer you to the stickied threads at the top of this forum for hints on getting started with weight lifting.

As for crunches, they can be one part of a routine. Crunches alone won't do much. You'll build some abdominal muscle, but that's all. Weight loss requires cardio to speed it along, and weight lifting to help build muscle which is more metabolically active than fat (that is, it burns calories). But, exercise is not enough. Most of your weight loss will require a good food plan. THose things together will add up to weight loss. :) Stick around, read some old threads, and you'll find lots of help here. The fact that it's a holiday weekend is also a reason there's not all of us around.