Weight Loss Thread

Itlan_sl said:

If you're not sure of a certain motion, all you have to do is ask someone in the gym. We're all there for the same reason, I've never met anyone not willing to help.

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Never... ever do this. Only ask a trainer, never another gym member. I have heard so much bad information spewed as gospel at the gym by people who think they know what they are doing. It almost makes me want to slap them for teaching beginners all kinds of bad habits... like hitting your chest with the bar when doing a flat bench press.

Khane_sl said:

Never... ever do this. Only ask a trainer, never another gym member. I have heard so much bad information spewed as gospel at the gym by people who think they know what they are doing. It almost makes me want to slap them for teaching beginners all kinds of bad habits... like hitting your chest with the bar when doing a flat bench press.

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Well if I'm at your gym, ask me motherfuckers. I'm a god damn pro.

And you're supposed to touch the bottom of your chest, not bounce it.

Swagdaddy_sl said:

I think building muscle mass with a weight lifting program is not really a necessary place to start for a beginner looking to lose weight, it has it's benefits but from my experience carries higher risks of injury then calisthenics and as a beginner some people are already at risk.

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I think you're assuming that "lifting" = "squats/deads/other potetionally risky exercises". I'm not talking about doing squats and deads and other compound shit that can injure your back. Be real here, no one is going to injure themselves by lifting a 5 - 10 pound dumbbell over their head while sitting on a bench. That's the sort of simple lifting routine I'm talkin about for beginners. Just build SOME muscle, and gradually increase the intensity and complexity of the lifting routine as you feel more comfortable. There is no reason to ignore lifting entirely.

Fuck, old, frail women do basic exercises with 5 to 10 pound dumbbells. There's no reason a fatty can't do that, too.

Only part I disagree with. Keep those compound exercises for 25-30 mins 3x a week and you'll see the weight drop. Isolation exercises shouldn't be done by a beginner i.e. don't be doing no fucking bicep curls.

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I'd agree with you for a person of normal weight (or slightly over weight) who wants to get into serious lifting. But we're talking about obese people who can barely do the cardio required to get them through their daily lives. For them, doing ANY lifting will be beneficial, and when they've already got a shitload of weight crushing their joints it probably isn't a great idea to dive right into squats, especially unsupervised. Thus my recommendation of starting slow, building some basic muscles and getting familiar with lifting while dropping weight. Once they're at a more reasonable weight, have some experience in the gym, and have built a bit of muscle, they'll be in a much better position to start serious compound lifts.

Never... ever do this. Only ask a trainer, never another gym member. I have heard so much bad information spewed as gospel at the gym by people who think they know what they are doing. It almost makes me want to slap them for teaching beginners all kinds of bad habits... like hitting your chest with the bar when doing a flat bench press.

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Most trainers are fucking idiots as well. Especially at commercial gyms. I see trainers spewing all kinds of shit like it's gospel. They're no better than the jacked "everyday is upper body day" douchebags who live in the gym. Nowadays your best bet is to just research proper form on the Internet and try to emulate it.

As long as its eased into, lifting weights is not dangerous. What a stupid thing to say. The most dangerous thing about a beginner lifting weights is that you might drop a plate on your toe.

If someone is obese, lifting is often easier than calisthenics. Push-ups and sit-ups don't usually work out well when you're over 300lbs.

There's something even easier you can do: go for a fucking walk.

Super happy anecdote time!

I used to weigh over 400 lbs.. I'm now at 218. I lost weight because I stopped eating so goddamned much. Calories in, calories out. If you reduce calories in, calories out doesn't matter that much. And most exercises are pretty fucking inefficient at putting calories out, in comparison. The best way I did find, however, was to walk. Go download a good audiobook or some music you can listen to and pound some pavement. You'll carve through miles before you even know it.

As far as diet goes, there's only one thing I cut out completely, and that was sodas and other sugary drinks. Most have absolutely no nutritional value other than calories. I added a lot more fruit and veg to my diet, too, because you can typically eat more of them, feel more full, but still be low on calories. I still eat pizza, burgers and other shit, just more sparingly. I fucking made cookies yesterday and they're goddamned delicious, but it's not a problem because I changed the way I look at food.

Pains me to do it but I agree with Ark on this. Just dont be a retard and throw on 315 and try and squat it. Dont even do 135 if you cant handle it. Start with a bar and be realistic. Really though if you have 100+ pounds to lose just do whatever you will stick with. Whatever you enjoy.

I also like Trolls suggestion to on just going out and walking. I wouldnt say eat less so much as eat better, especially cutting sodas and juices as he said.

This guy is AWESOME. "I laughed in his face." YES!

For those of you just starting out and not sure if you want to do cardio or weights, why not do both? See if your gym offersBodyPump. It's a weightlifting-type class that is done aerobically. One thing that is unique about it is that the effort comes from how much weight you put on the bar, not your own body weight. The movements are slow and structured. This means that even if you are a total exercise newbie and/or very overweight, you can still get an effective workout. If you have never lifted weights before, this class can be a good introduction to using weights as the instructors emphasize proper form.

Before



And After:



Just look at the difference cleaning the mirror makes.

Serious time: Going to get back in shape starting today. No more shit food 24x7, will start jogging again with some basic lifting, taking walks at work (twelve hour shifts at a desk 3-4 days a week) and the big one - no more smoking. Why post it here? Obviously the fear of a bunch of anonymous people I've never met thinking me a cretin if I'm still chubby in a few months, will solidify my drive. Why now? Wife doesn't want me to die too early, but mostly Spartacus just started again, which always makes me feel like a fat fuck.

Cool_Dude_sl said:

Before

Just look at the difference cleaning the mirror makes.

Serious time: Going to get back in shape starting today. No more shit food 24x7, will start jogging again with some basic lifting, taking walks at work (twelve hour shifts at a desk 3-4 days a week) and the big one - no more smoking. Why post it here? Obviously the fear of a bunch of anonymous people I've never met thinking me a cretin if I'm still chubby in a few months, will solidify my drive. Why now? Wife doesn't want me to die too early, but mostly Spartacus just started again, which always makes me feel like a fat fuck.

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Can you really quit smoking and keep your diet in check? Sounds like a pretty difficult task. You might want to focus on one or the other at first. Attempting to go full throttle will probably just lead to failure.

Actually... That's how I quit smoking too. I fought withdraw with working out.

I understand that the quitting smoking-and-eating-like-shit combo creates an increased risk for failure, but I believe that I've grown so tired of feeling like shit all the time that it will be enough.

Tuco_sl said:

I will judge you and your family based on future updates or lack thereof.

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May my future profile honor this house!

How many calories do you burn in a 60, 45, 30, 15, or 2 minute fuck session? Trying to maximize gains while outside of the gym. Let's say my fiance is an amorphous blob and I will be doing 97.3% of the movement.

Noodleface_sl said:

How many calories do you burn in a 60, 45, 30, 15, or 2 minute fuck session? Trying to maximize gains while outside of the gym. Let's say my fiance is an amorphous blob and I will be doing 97.3% of the movement.

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Is this you?

Cool_Dude_sl said:

...

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Might I suggest you don't arch your thoracic? Makes it difficult to actually see progress.

Eat This Not That

Don't let the tag line fool you. It's not a diet or a solution but a good start for people. When people start up exteme diets and then crash and burn a week later its because they have done too much too fast. Ease into it. Eat a little less of X, drink a little less beer, take the stairs instead of the elevator, etc. Then go from there.

Troll_sl said:

I used to weigh over 400 lbs.. I'm now at 218.

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This right here is pretty much me. Except I'm 374 and want to be 218.

I live a pretty sedentary live. Desk job 9-6 sometimes 7 and all of my walking is to and from the printer and outside to smoke.

Few weeks ago I bought a 20lb dumbbell and have been doing exercises with it at my desk throughout the day. Come in, bust out a set of 15 isolated curls, military press, wrist rolls, bent over one handed row, and over the head triceps lifts (have to do 2 handed, 1 handed with a 20lb I can do like once).

It sucked at first but now I find myself grabbing it and doing the routine automatically when I get a break in calls/walk-ins. I've started to feel better, my back hurts way less, my arms and shoulders are getting noticeably larger, and the old arm fat is shrinking. I haven't lost any scale weight, but I can tell I'm losing fat.

Really thinking about trying out that DDPYoga stuff from the thread in SS. Squeezing in time when I get home is tough, but 30 minutes is do-able.