HI all,

I went to see the exercise physiologist yesterday and he tole me some great things. First, he said that biking was THE BEST cardio ever. Better than walking. No stress on joints at all. He said that if he could get everyone who starts on WLS journey to get a bike and ride it everyday they(the WLS clinic I go to) would have the number one success rate in the country. So I guess that is a NSV for me, since that is my favorite thing to do...

Second he talked with me about strength training. I was a little concerned about adding weight and adding weight as the smaller weight became too easy, but he set me straight on a few things.

1) Testosterone is what builds massive, huge muscles. Women do not have that kind of testosterone in their bodies, so it would be impossible to buile huge muscles.

2) If you can do more that 12 reps in a set of weights then you need to add a bit more weight.

These were a few things that I didn't realize and thought I would share with you.

Deanna

thanks for tip #2. i didnt know that!

Deanna, I weight train 2 days a week and I love it. Thanks for the tip on biking.

What about weight gain from working out? I have started to gain a little weight and I am wondering when the weight will start coming off.

hi Harlito,

what are you eating? you can work out all day long and eat horribly and that would make you gain ... (of course i am NOT talking from personal experience ... )

good luck!

lol losing...I liked that "not talking from personal experience"....

You will not gain muscle to the tune of gainig weight. Someone else will probably pipe in here that knows the affects of muscle and weight, but you are not gaining because you are exercising per se. Deanna

HI all,

I went to see the exercise physiologist yesterday and he tole me some great things. First, he said that biking was THE BEST cardio ever. Better than walking. No stress on joints at all. He said that if he could get everyone who starts on WLS journey to get a bike and ride it everyday they(the WLS clinic I go to) would have the number one success rate in the country. So I guess that is a NSV for me, since that is my favorite thing to do...

Second he talked with me about strength training. I was a little concerned about adding weight and adding weight as the smaller weight became too easy, but he set me straight on a few things.

1) Testosterone is what builds massive, huge muscles. Women do not have that kind of testosterone in their bodies, so it would be impossible to buile huge muscles.

2) If you can do more that 12 reps in a set of weights then you need to add a bit more weight.

These were a few things that I didn't realize and thought I would share with you.

Deanna

Deanna - great info - thanks for sharring. I've been doing Body For Life and their program and they say the say thing, You want to work your muscles to complete exhausten By the time I'm finishing up a body part with weight - I can barely get the 12th one up!

Also, I've not lost 1 single pound the past 2 weeks (I'm on my 10th week of the BFL challenge) - HOWEVER, I have dropped another dress size. So sometimes you might not lose on the scale while strength training, but you are losing inches.

And inches are where its all girl!!! I mean, who would rather see a pound loss or a dress size dropped????? Don't be such slaves to the scales people...watch your over all fitness and see big changes...thanks for that post Tonya. Deanna

hi Harlito,

what are you eating? you can work out all day long and eat horribly and that would make you gain ... (of course i am NOT talking from personal experience ... )

good luck!

Well... this past weekend was not as good as I should have been but I didn't eat that much. I might have made a couple few bad choices. :rolleyes

Overall I have been eating much better. The trainer at the gym told me to stay off the scale and that a weight gain is very possible at first since I am doing weight training along with the cardio. But the scale is soooo addicting!

I know....the scale is like a ball and chain and we can't get rid of it!!! I think Jachut explains some weight gain in the damaged muscles retain water???? I am not sure about that it just sticks in my mind. Keep at it and it will go away and you will be sleaker, sexier and lean...Deanna

I know....the scale is like a ball and chain and we can't get rid of it!!! I think Jachut explains some weight gain in the damaged muscles retain Water???? I am not sure about that it just sticks in my mind. Keep at it and it will go away and you will be sleaker, sexier and lean...Deanna

I don't know if I can get any sexier. :whoo:

YOU gooo..that is the attitude to have....good on ya!!! Deanna

That's what I learned at the gym anyway - I asked about that, becuase really, it always struck me as bizarre that people say "Oh, I've started working out and gained 10lb but its muscle" - ah, if you could gain 10lb of muscle in a couple of weeks, you'd probably qualify as Miss World Champion. Its not possible.

Anyway the fellow at the gym said, no, when you start you cause microdamage to the muscle fibres (which is the point of lifting weights, when the damage is repaired, it becomes stronger and bigger) it causes a lot of Fluid retention in those muscles which accounts for the weight. Over time, this effect dissipates as your body becomes more used to the process.

You can actually gain muscle weight of course, but it takes a lot of effort and a lot of time and would likely not be more than a few pounds for the average woman - but that makes a big difference and of course, the point is also to PRESERVE the muscle tissue you have as you lose weight.

So, the issue then becomes building and keeping lean muscle and losing fat. What do we know about ways to measure body fat. No traditional scale is going to do that...

The scale that the doctor weighs me on has all these fancy numbers that come out of it and I am like.....what???????? There is a number for fat % but I am pretty skeptical if the scale can do that!!! I don't know for sure though. I guess one of the "pinch" fat tests??? This is a good question. I know they can measure how much fat your body has....never had it done though. Deanna

So, the issue then becomes building and keeping lean muscle and losing fat. What do we know about ways to measure body fat. No traditional scale is going to do that...

I take my measurements and use this website to figure my body fat:

Army Fitness Calculator | Interactive Military Training Tools