Two questions: weight lifting, and cardio

[siromar]

I keep hearing things about how you cant spot reduce, or how you won't gain muscle unless you have a calorie surplus. But does strength training have any aesthetic benefit if you're on a diet? Will weight lifting make you look better in any way? Or is it just for health reason (minimizing muscle loss, increasing endurance, etc)?

Second, I heard that doing the same unchallenging exercise over and over is counter-productive. Does that mean the net benefit will actually become negative? Are you better off not exercising than doing the same easy aerobics? I have increased the intensity of my exercise and in a few days I've noticed a significant improvement. So I'm not planning on doing it the wrong way, only to gain additional knowledge on the workings of the body.

 

[iamfire1]

Strength training == good stuff

Morning,

I'm by no means an expert in this area; I'm certain Steve and Leigh and others will have far more relevant comments.

That being said, here's my own personal experience - I've lost 35+ pounds and built up some rather impressive deltoids/biceps/etc., during the process (10+ months; I started strength training immediately back then (late december)). During this time, I've found the "look" of my shoulders/arms has become FAR more aesthetically pleasing than the former flab that used to coat my upper extremities!

I think it's also a psychological thing for me - back when I started, I might not have noticed my shape changing a whole lot, but the armMuscleIncrease could be immediately verified....it helped attest to me that yes indeed, I WAS changing and yes indeed, it was moving towards the positive direction.

Regarding your second question, I cannot see how static routines (ie, aerobics etc.) can produce NEGATIVE reactions (ie, weight gain) - exertion always burns up calories, right? As your body adapts and you get healthier, however, I CAN see how you do need to mix/match to CONTINUE with weight loss.

Best wishes,

Barbara

 

[James2]

Second, I heard that doing the same unchallenging exercise over and over is counter-productive. Does that mean the net benefit will actually become negative?

Short Answer: No

Are you better off not exercising than doing the same easy aerobics?

Another Short Answer: No

If you're up and working out, you are better off than if you were sitting on the couch in your own potato chip crumbs.

However, the best way to optimize your muscle gain is to follow the over-used adage: "Keep your body guessing." At best, you should be changing your static workout every 6 weeks. This does not mean you should leave muscles off, only hit them in a different way. Instead of doing flat bench and then dumbbell fly to hit your pectoral muscles, switch up your workout to include incline bench and the smith machine bench super-setted with decline pushups, and then stick with that routine for the next 6 weeks.