Best exercises to lose weight (1 Viewer)

[hYperTrOphY]

There are two aims with this "low weight, high rep" style:

1/ Weight loss. Low weights and high reps allows for breathing (cardio), whereas high weights and low reps put emphasis on power. Try lifting a 500k barbell next time; your first instinct isn't to breathe deep.

lol! If breathing makes you lose weight no living person would be overweight!! Even low weights / high reps is anaerobic, not aerobic, so I disagree.
Moreover, while I have not lifted a 500kg barbell, I do lift as heavy as I can, and still breathe. In fact, breathing is essential even more so when lifting super-heavy weight in my opinion.

2/ Balance. I know people who lose weight, only to be left with flabby, fat-less skin. Low weights and high reps will help with toning the muscles.

But 'toning' is about reducing fat, so wouldn't point 2 be the same as point 1?

Doesn't lots of reps at low weight encourage long, lean muscles, whereas low reps at high weight increase bulk (think bodybuilders)...thats what my brothers told me, anyway.

Nope, it is a general misconception which has been perpetuated to a degree that it is considered factual - but I would disagree.
What do you mean by "lean muscles"? Muscles are lean. It is when you have fat on top of them that your body doesn't look lean and your muscles aren't 'defined'. For example, everyone has abs. Doing sit-ups and other abdominal training will not 'give you abs', it will only increase their size and strength. For them to be visible, the fat covering them has to be removed - which is achieved through aerobic means, not anaerobic.

The other word I hate (other than toning) is 'bulk' - what do you mean by this? Muscles increase in size due to resistance training, but their (or your) leanness is not determined by the way in which you lift. Leanness, toning, bulk etc are words which describe overall body composition - muscle to fat. The muscle elements is [primarily] determined by resistance training and protein intake and the fat element determined and affected by cardio training and diet.

 

[P_Dilemma]

lol! If breathing makes you lose weight no living person would be overweight!! Even low weights / high reps is anaerobic, not aerobic, so I disagree.
Moreover, while I have not lifted a 500kg barbell, I do lift as heavy as I can, and still breathe. In fact, breathing is essential even more so when lifting super-heavy weight in my opinion.

Ok, i see i wasn't specific enough...

When lifting heavy weights, sure you can breathe. I've seen some huge guys lifting almost all of the gym equipment, going "ARGH! huff, huff, huff... ARGH! puff, puff, puff... ARGH!". But in heavy lifting, breathing isn't the main focus; power is. Breathing here acts more like a cooling system than for weight loss.

The kind of breathing i'm referring to in the low weights, high reps, is breathing for getting more oxygen circulating throughout the whole body. Fat needs oxygen in order to be converted to energy.

But 'toning' is about reducing fat, so wouldn't point 2 be the same as point 1?

Ok, wording problem. I think muscle "definition" was what i was after...

Nope, it is a general misconception which has been perpetuated to a degree that it is considered factual - but I would disagree.
What do you mean by "lean muscles"? Muscles are lean. It is when you have fat on top of them that your body doesn't look lean and your muscles aren't 'defined'. For example, everyone has abs. Doing sit-ups and other abdominal training will not 'give you abs', it will only increase their size and strength. For them to be visible, the fat covering them has to be removed - which is achieved through aerobic means, not anaerobic.

The other word I hate (other than toning) is 'bulk' - what do you mean by this? Muscles increase in size due to resistance training, but their (or your) leanness is not determined by the way in which you lift. Leanness, toning, bulk etc are words which describe overall body composition - muscle to fat. The muscle elements is [primarily] determined by resistance training and protein intake and the fat element determined and affected by cardio training and diet.

oh, ur so pedantic, ya dun hafta take that guy so literally...

I believe the idea behind low weights high reps is to make it almost cardio as opposed to weight lifting.

As far as your second point though Dilemma you're way wide of the mark. Muscles do not 'tone up'. When you tone up (or cut - to use a term from bodybuilding) you are simply loosing fat (and often some muscle as well). You're muscles do not change however when you strip the fat off they are more prominent eg more toned.

Jumping back abit - 'bruce lee style running' is High intesity Interval Training (HIT), this is a training technique of turning an aerobic exercise (eg running, swimming, cycling) into an anabolic one. The principle is basic once you have warmed up you go all out for a minute and then you slow off for at least two minutes and then go all out again. Repeat this cycle for as long as you are able. It is great for building endurance and lightning speed. It is the recommended training for all fighters (be they boxers, or martial arts miscellaneous) for these reasons.

Again, forgive me for my bad choice of words... gonna have to work on that.

Didn't know the proper name was "HIT". Thanks for that.

-P_D

 

[fernando]

DANCING! free style dancing, crazy dancing, anything-that-involvements-movement dancing! works all part of the body!!

 

[hYperTrOphY]

Ok, i see i wasn't specific enough...

When lifting heavy weights, sure you can breathe. I've seen some huge guys lifting almost all of the gym equipment, going "ARGH! huff, huff, huff... ARGH! puff, puff, puff... ARGH!". But in heavy lifting, breathing isn't the main focus; power is. Breathing here acts more like a cooling system than for weight loss.

The kind of breathing i'm referring to in the low weights, high reps, is breathing for getting more oxygen circulating throughout the whole body. Fat needs oxygen in order to be converted to energy.

I still don't quite understand... Oxygen's availability is dependent on the duration of exercise - not the way in which you breathe.
There could be an argument that because more reps would increase duration, there would be an increased chance of oxygen presence. Whilst I do not have the time to research this possibility, I would suggest it is rather irrelevent anyway. If one wants to lose weight, they should be doing what is optimal for fat loss, which is cardio. Doing weight training for the benefits of weight loss, while impractical and unsupported (in this thread), would be far from optimal. By doing so, reps would have to increase to an amount that would negate the chance for muscular hypertrophy and/or strength - which is the purpose of resistance training. Also note, that even if resistance training could be aerobic, fat loss would not be burned from the area(s) in which youwere training. This is referred to as spot reduction and is a myth.

oh, ur so pedantic, ya dun hafta take that guy so literally...

I perceived what she said as literal. She was informed of something from her brother, and I believe what she described is exactly what most people accept as fact.

 

[P_Dilemma]

I still don't quite understand... Oxygen's availability is dependent on the duration of exercise - not the way in which you breathe.
There could be an argument that because more reps would increase duration, there would be an increased chance of oxygen presence. Whilst I do not have the time to research this possibility, I would suggest it is rather irrelevent anyway. If one wants to lose weight, they should be doing what is optimal for fat loss, which is cardio.

Well, with more reps, the duration would be longer than low reps/ more weights.

Deep breathing would provide more oxygen than short, shallow breaths (ARGH! huff, huff, huff... ARGH! puff, puff, puff... ARGH!).

But you're right, cardio would be the primary method for weight loss. low weights, high reps (plus breathing!) would be secondary...

-P_D

 

[hipsta_jess]

What do you mean by "lean muscles"?

You know, like the 'long, lean' sexiness that the infomercials on Pilates promises

The other word I hate (other than toning) is 'bulk' - what do you mean by this?

Big, chunky muscles like body builders or even some footballers.

 

[loquasagacious]

Well im guessing but in that context I would suppose that lean muscles refer to a toned physique. eg only muscles as opposed to muscles+fat.

As an academic point I have heard the term lean muscle used not to describe all muscle mass as hypertrophy suggested but rather to describe the 'actual' muscle mass. In that for bodybuilders (especially those on creatine) their muscle fibres are swelled by water mass giving them that pumped up look. So visible muscle mass equals lean muscle+water/etc.

Moving on to the bulk issue the problem with this term is it is simply a size descriptor. Bulk as a term can be used to describe total size of a person be they fat or built. My personal take on it is that muscle bulk describes total size and tone describes their definition in terms of a %bodyfat.

 

[hYperTrOphY]

You know, like the 'long, lean' sexiness that the infomercials on Pilates promises


Big, chunky muscles like body builders or even some footballers.

lol, you just defined it by using the same description/word. There is little difference between the muscles (other than the development of predominantly fast-twicth or slow-twitch mucle fibres) of people who look, as you describe it, long and lean, and those who you describe as bulky.
The main difference between the people in those pilate infomercials and bodybuilders is the size of their muscles, not their leanness or length.
In fact, bodybuilder are actually leaner in terms of their bodyfat percentage.

For example: Ronnie Coleman (bodybuilder) is leaner than most, although you would probably describe his as bulky/chunky.

EDIT: Another interesting fact for you to think about is that he doesn't train with low reps.

 

[gordo]

jog, sprint, push ups, sprint, jog, situps, jog, sprint, squats, sprint, jog repeat...

 

[olchik]

Thank you very much for your replies, guys!

 

[MzbLaZeIT]

when im bored i usually do most of these exercises i found on a site!

http://www.shapefit.com/abs-exercises-bent-knee-hip-raises.html

scroll down and there are heaps more, they actually show u how to do it too!

if i feel like getting out of my room ill go to the gym and do the stepper, treadmill, bike + strider!

 

[Qlimax]

Go to a weekly rave event like sublime or plastic (www.echild.info to get some information about when the events are on)
take 1 pill
dump them in halves and dance all fkn night

 

[MzbLaZeIT]

Go to a weekly rave event like sublime or plastic (www.echild.info to get some information about when the events are on)
take 1 pill
dump them in halves and dance all fkn night

lmaoooooo so many of my fat friends who used to go raving, are unbelievable skinny now! lol

smoking weeed nearly everyday helps weight loss also.
lol

 

[Always]

^^^ I agree. When I used to go to raves I'd lose up to 3 kgs each time. Most of my friends were able to lose 5 kgs.

Raves are not glamorous but they're sort've fun in a crazy way and best of all, they're great for losing weight quickly.

 

[Qlimax]

Exactly, the best way to lose weight, although it still is very unusual to see that there are so many fat ravers out there that rave occasionally

 

[mr_brightside]

The best exercises to lose weight involve movement.

 

[Bourkey]

I ride my horse three times a wk for an hour or two, depending on how much energy i have. then have to walk him back to his paddock which is a km away frm my house. So its a 2km round walk to get him then take him back as well as the work out during the ride as well. This i think is the best workout as horse riding uses like all the muscles in teh body. Especially a trot for a km then a long canter, then you go for a gallop. This is not only exercising, it also SO much fun to do. The days that i dont ride, i still have to go chek him as well. SO its a 2km walk a day, 7 days a wk. So yeah its the money that i had to spend on gettinh him then keeping him fed and looked after proberly, was a good investment 4 me on a fitness level.....!!

 

[wanton-wonton]

I ride my horse three times a wk for an hour or two, depending on how much energy i have. then have to walk him back to his paddock which is a km away frm my house. So its a 2km round walk to get him then take him back as well as the work out during the ride as well. This i think is the best workout as horse riding uses like all the muscles in teh body. Especially a trot for a km then a long canter, then you go for a gallop. This is not only exercising, it also SO much fun to do. The days that i dont ride, i still have to go chek him as well. SO its a 2km walk a day, 7 days a wk. So yeah its the money that i had to spend on gettinh him then keeping him fed and looked after proberly, was a good investment 4 me on a fitness level.....!!

Location: Whoop Whoop

 

[loquasagacious]

Comparitively riding a horse and walking a km is a very shit exercise.

If you want to loose weight then exercises you should do are:

Running,
Cycling,
Swimming,
Rowing.

If you want to loose weight and gain strength then you should also do compound movement exercises eg:

Pushup
Sit up
Squat
Lunge
Chin-up/pull-up
Tricep dip

 

[Bourkey]

Ok yes it may seem that way, but have u eva riden a horse???????