Okay, so I just joined a gym, and went yesterday. My usual routine is going to be a half hour on the bike that you lean back in more, not the upright one. I don't know what that's called! Then the treadmill, and then the elliptical at the end. All for a half hour each. And obviously upping resistance and speed and such as I get more in shape, is that enough to do 3-4 times a week? What does everyone think of lifting weights? I know it's not "just for guys" anymore, but still. Should it be something I alternate into my work outs every other day or something?

I think mixing it up is good, but a lot of people have routines. I start with cardio (elliptical and treadmill) and then move to free weights. It is good to alternate which body parts, though. For example, I don't do legs every day.

It's the recumbent bike that you're using

Also, it may not be a bad idea to get with a trainer to show you a good strength training routine as well as to go over proper form.

I am a firm believer that weights are a must! Last year I lost a total of 30 pounds with weight training and cardio combined.

Weight training will give you more muscle mass which will allow you to burn more fat when doing cardio, and people with more muscle burn more calories and fat just doing everyday activities.

For years I just did cardio because I hated weight training and that was just for boys- my fitness guru husband told me over and over again that weight training was the way but I wouldn't listen Eventually I decided to try it and I haven't gone back! Now I do a cardio warm up then some weight training and if I have any energy left over I do a cool down on the treadmill.

I really need to learn to love ab workouts the way I love leg, arm and butt workouts though lol

I started out with just cardio, but now I love doing weight lifting. It adds some variation and gives me a bit of tone, plus some different goals to work towards. For weightloss, you would probably be fine for the most part just doing cardio but weight lifting is both good for you and fun!

From what I've learned after 6 years of maintenance and 5 years in the gym... a proper (I mean, *on the dot*) diet and heavy weight training is what really produces the best results. I haven't done cardio in about 3-4 years and before I was pregnant, I was in the best shape of my life. When you are lifting heavy, you have trouble breathing and are just as worn out.

My experience is that cardio is over-emphasized when diet is really 80-90% of weight loss, whereas weight lifting is the icing on the cake. Just my opinion, going from 160lbs at 5'5 to 118lbs for 5 years of maintenance.

I started cardio and weights on day one of my journey, and would do the same if I had to do it all over again.

This is a great thread! I have been doing strict cardio but today I am working out with a friend and we are going to be mixing some weights in! I am so excited to start some lifting.

I started working out for the weight loss but now do it mainly for other reasons. If it were just to lose weight, I'd probably do less cardio, more strength training, and keep a stricter diet. Now, I do an hour of cardio about 5 days a week, plus 30 minutes of strength training 2-3x/wk. I do the cardio bc I love being active and able to hike and bike and all that good stuff, and I do the weights to build lean body mass yes for calorie burning but also just for strength and muscle tone. I don't do enough of it either but I'm in a groove with my routine now and it's something I enjoy and can handle (and gets results), so I'm not motivated to shake it up right now.

Hello

I LOVE weights, they have been the best for giving me a nice tone and athletic look (which I like). My metabolism is like a crazy thing when I am lifting as well. I am probably more a fan of lifting heavier as opposed to light because I have had more success with it but thats each to their own I guess.

I do cardio 6 -7 days a week in various forms including running (outdoor and treadmill), spin classes, rower machine and dragonboat paddling. Weights are generally 3 times a week upper, lower and core.

Paddling sort of combines the two anyway - i've gained a lot of core and upper body tone since starting. I have also found weights have improved my performance in all my cardio exercises so yep, for me I cannot have one without the other!

I've always enjoyed running outside but am not the biggest fan of the treadmill. It's way to cold right now for me to run outside (I'm in Toronto) so from about March-November I'm getting a lot more cardio from running and don't do nearly enough weight-lifting.
This winter I'm trying (fingers crossed!) to get into the habit of doing more weight-lifting. I'm going for some 'getting aquainted with weight-lifting' sessions at my gym next week so hopefully that will inspire me!

For now I'm just doing cardio because, honestly, it doesn't need that much creativity. I'm just getting my body/mind used to the idea of exercising first before venturing to lifting weights where you have to mind which muscles and reps etc~

I loooooove weights. I find them MUCH more satisfying than cardio both from results and fun-factor. I recently added kettlebells and am totally in love with them, the more I shake up the weights and resistance activities the better I feel. My cardio tends to be a nightly half hour to hour (or whatever) walk with the dog that has some intervals (we'll jog, we'll sprint, we'll climb a hill to sniff things... well, I don't do as much sniffing) but I rarely go balls to the wall for cardio anymore, like how I would be dripping sweat with every workout. I save balls to the wall for random and surprise!attack shake-ups.

And since I just realized no one said anything: In case you are a total weights newbie remember that you shouldn't work the same muscle more than every other day. So if you put weights in your routine you shouldn't be working your biceps (or whatever) everyday. This is because stressing your muscles puts micro-tears in the tissue which your body then repairs and makes bigger and stronger to help you out in the future. Working the same muscle over and over doesn't show better results because you don't have the recovery time.

I like to do full body every other day (minus any rest days) but some people like to work opposing groups like one day do biceps and the next do triceps. You'll find what works for you through trial and error. Good sites for beginners are stumptuous (also geared towards female-types, unlike a lot of lifting sites!) and I really like ExerciseRX, mainly for the "muscle/exercise maps" that let you learn how to do moves that target certain muscles groups.

I've been running about 3.5 miles a day 4 times a week, cross training about an hour 2 times a week, and resting on my tired behind the last day lol. I have been using the weight machines, I try to work out upper body one day, lower body the next day, etc. I'm not entirely sure what muscles I'm exercising or anything (sounds promising right, lol) but I just want to get used to lifting weights. I'm training for a half marathon and I would rather spend more time doing cardio exercises to build up more endurance than strength (obviously both are important). My arms are more toned, which can be attributed to the weight lifting, and my legs are definitely more toned, but I'm not sure if that's more from running or lifting. I try not to do too much lower body lifting because I don't want to injure my legs.

Another thing about lifting is that I don't see the scale move, even though I'm losing inches. I tell myself not to worry about it but it's still frustrating!

I have a love hate relationship with weights but have seen really fast results with lifting weights the last 2months 3days a week and doing cardio on other days and sometimes after the weight lifting. Your body loves muscles and you burn more fat at rest when u weight train then just doing cardio alone. You should introduce it into your workout twice a wk and then work up to three days.