I am Obese; Cardio only, or weights too?

[dx7alex]

The real question is..."Should I loose weight first, then weight lift to get toned? Or do both?"

I am 5'5" or 5'6" 26 years old and weigh 232 lbs. goal is to drop to 200 lbs by the end of January 2011. Should I focus more on cardio only? Or a combination of both weight lifting too? If so, can you guys give me a good workout program idea? For example, how many days of cardio and how many of weight training and what excersices I should do for lifting (parts of body to workout) for the most calorie burn. If you can also suggest any protein shakes out there if you guys recommend any of course, or any supplements that would help me burn off the fat.

[dx7alex]

"fat burners" are a waste of money and frankly, dangerous. Save it.

At this point, I would suggest drinking a glass of FF milk after a weight-bearing workout. There's no need to go for protein powder just yet. You can, of course (get something without a lot of crap added to it. It's just... crap... and they tend to be more expensive for no real benefit, plain ol' powder is fine) but there's no reason to, and it's cheaper to just go with the milk for now (about 9g protein/serv).

workout!!

Are you currently conditioned? Do you do any kind of exercise at the moment? At present, I would suggest 3 days of weights, and 5 cardio, and 2 off.

1 weights then cardio
2 cardio
3 weights then cardio
4 off
5 weights then cardio
6 cardio
7 off

Your cardio goal should be to go for 45 minutes at a reasonable pace with a maintained HR. I think you would benefit from something low-impact at the moment. Elliptical, Bike, or ( personal fav!) The Arc Trainer!! To start, just go as long as you can, watching your HR. Try to go for about 7-10 minutes, but just do as long as you can. Each session, try to tack on another minute or so. Your heart should condition relatively fast, just practice every day. A lot of people (especially here) do a lot with HIIT training (high intensity intervals) where you sprint for a few, then maintain a reasonable pace for 2x as long (1 minute on, 2 off), for 4-6 cycles, then a 20 minute moderate-pace, followed by a cool down. While this is effective for fat loss, it requires a strong and healthy CVS, so I do not think you should do this until you are well conditioned. You'll get there, I promise. Plus, it is harder and a bit more work than steady state cardio, and to start off you will see results with SS. Why work harder than you have too, eh?

For the resistance training, if you can do more, then by all means, add weight! Most of these you can do with water bottles or soup cans or just something lying around the house. After you've built up a bit more you should invest in some weights or a gym! If there's something you don't know exrx.net is awesome and so is youtube! Plus we can help here. Nice folks (:

8-10 reps:
Lower: squats AND lunges OR step-ups; deadlifts (watch your form)
Upper: bent over rows; pushups (off a table if you need too); military press


This is pretty basic for now, but I think it is a good starting point.

Thanks for the valuable info! Now...I hate treadmills, I just bought a Wave Master punching/kicking bag today, I would like to do cardio using that as well as jump rope, I am also a member at a local gym. I was thinking doing weights and cardio on the days you recommended at the gym, and the only cardio days doing them @ home with jump rope and the punching bag. Now...I really hate eating 5 or 6 small meals a day like the majority of people recommend, I have a doubt and I hope you can get me out of it, I mean, I can work butt off in the gym and burn lots of calories, but I need to eat differently which brings next question up...will I still be successful if I eat whenever I feel hungry? Let's say 3 times a day, if I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, that should be enough right? I really hate checking "labels" even though I know it's good to do so, but if I just eat healthier foods and small portions 3 times a day, I hope and really think it should be enough, but correct me if I am wrong, thanks again!

[PandorasVise]

Thanks for the valuable info! Now...I hate treadmills, I just bought a Wave Master punching/kicking bag today, I would like to do cardio using that as well as jump rope, I am also a member at a local gym. I was thinking doing weights and cardio on the days you recommended at the gym, and the only cardio days doing them @ home with jump rope and the punching bag. Now...I really hate eating 5 or 6 small meals a day like the majority of people recommend, I have a doubt and I hope you can get me out of it, I mean, I can work butt off in the gym and burn lots of calories, but I need to eat differently which brings next question up...will I still be successful if I eat whenever I feel hungry? Let's say 3 times a day, if I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, that should be enough right? I really hate checking "labels" even though I know it's good to do so, but if I just eat healthier foods and small portions 3 times a day, I hope and really think it should be enough, but correct me if I am wrong, thanks again!

I love the wave master. I like to fight too and we train on those bags. There is so much you can do. Recently I taught a kickboxing class and you can do almost the whole thing on a wavemaster bag. Are you into MMA? try this workout http://www.kihonwasa.com/2010/10/teachi ... abata.html The only thing you would need is an agility ladder, which I posted recently how to make on blog, and a speed bag, but you can always nix those rounds and replace with something else. One other thing you will need is a round timer. There are some free online timers, I like http://www.speedbagforum.com/timer There are some presets, including one for tabatas on there.

Hate checking labels? Me too, but you won't have to check them forever. Soon you will know a good food from a bad one. A good diet will consist of whole, real foods. No fake sugars, no fat free cookies, the least amount of processing the better. Most things that come in a package or box are not going to be good for you.

I have no problem with you eating three times a day. I sometimes will have a larger meal, then I won't be hungry for 4 to 5 hours later. Gracie, and Jillian michaels say that is how they eat. I recently read in Black Belt Mag that the Gracie diet doesn't count calories, but eats every 4 1/2 hours. It is one carb per meal, so no rice and beans, but rice or beans, lean protein and fruits and veggies to your stomachs content. In between, no snacks, no drinks other than water. One thing to note however, if you are an overeater, you need to get into touch of what 'full' feels like. You never want to be 'stuffed'. chew slowly (like 20 -30 times for each bite) and before each bite think to yourself, "Am I still hungry?", not "are you full, but still hungry. There is a difference. After you are not hungry anymore, stop eating, you will find that the fullness feeling comes a little while later as your food starts to digest.

I also have to disagree with LP (sorry ) I think jumprope is fine for a short period of time, like a round. You probably will find that in the beginning you will not be able to do the entire two minutes. It took me 9 months to be able to jump for 2 mintes straight. To do it properly have soft landings. Land like a cat with as little noise as possible. Take a break and a couple breaths when you need to and start going again until your timer goes off.

Oh I almost forgot. Definatly do weight training like suggested. That is a great schedule. I would do the kickboxing workout on day that you do not do weights though.