Help! I lift but I've got a gut. I lift but I'm fat. I lift but it doesn't look like it. I lift but aren't experiencing any of the so-called benefits such as a faster metabolism or extended fat-burning. I lift but my penis is still small. I want to lift but can't find a machine yet that does most of it for me.
All joking aside, you'll hear the first four complaints listed above -- and variations of -- right through-out the entire fitness ether and on continual repeat too. There are a lot of disappointed people out here; there's lots of frustrated people out here too; there are also lots of worried people with the best intentions but nothing much seems to be changing. None of these fears are new and in fact, if you could invest in language, I'd definitely buy shares into these exact same statements being echoed a Century from now.
You'd be a millionaire in no time.
But.
A lot of the above statements come down to goals. Without knowing the individual's goal, the statement itself holds no context and thus, is simply one of many floating motes in the online gym of opinion. For example, are you lifting weights to get stronger? Are you lifting weights because you want to lose weight first and foremost? Are you lifting weights to develop an aesthetic physique and as such, are on a bodybuilding journey? Are you lifting weights as part of an over-all fitness focus? Why are you doing this and what, specifically, do you expect to get in return?
Once you get these sorted, you're sorted.
I LIFT BUT I'VE GOT A GUT // Lifting weights to get stronger
I'm the guy with bit of a gut and love-handles, lifting his way towards health, strength and longevity. Being stronger gives me greater quality of life as a 50yr-old dad with young kids. I also know that weight-lifting benefits the circulatory system, the digestive system, the endocrine system, the immune system, the muscular system, the skeletal system and the respiratory system you get the point. My journey has years to go and I'm looking forward to learning more, practising more of this sound advice, and making further progress in my own development.
Because I know my goal, I'm not overly-concerned with creating a faster metabolism, extended fat-burning or overall aesthetics at this point in time. I may later, I may not. Whose to say? Sure I want to look good for my age, absolutely, but you know who looks amazing for their age? People like Dane Findley or Scooby; they look amazing and so can you if that is your goal. See the importance of knowing what outcome you're striving for? I would ask too: how far are you prepared to go to achieve your goal? You need to know the answer to this.
If it isn't all the way 110%, if you don't actually want to put in all that goddamn time, effort and sacrifice, then know it and own it. Don't be ashamed of that. I'm certainly not: hell no I don't want to put in all that time, effort and sacrifice. Are you insane? This ain't my life, baby, this is something I enjoy doing for health and longevity; I also like tramping, camping, shooting, going to sports with the boys y'know, the rest-of-life stuff. Be realistic. Be true to yourself and your own goal. You can change it later if you want. You're even allowed to but do at the very least get stronger.
You'll thank me for it.
NOTE: if you've watched Olympic lifters in the top male category of 240+ pounds, you'll notice a lot of these guys appear overweight. What you may not appreciate is how phenomenally strong these elite athletes are -- and yes, they are "elite" even if they'll never grace the cover of fitness magazines. Their bulk provides them the necessary strength and power to accelerate heavy loads overhead that you and I can only dream of. Its not what you've got inasmuch as it's what you can do with it that matters.
I LIFT BUT I'M FAT // Lifting to lose weight
If you're lifting weight to lose weight, that's a little different; are you relying on weight-training alone to produce weight-loss or is it part of an over-all program you're doing to lose weight through? If it's the former, chances are high your results will not match your expectations. In other words, it needs to be the latter i.e. you're lifting weight as part of an over-all program you're doing to lose weight. A weight-reducing program must incorporate the following key aspects...usually...
• Your program has you eating less
• Your program has you eating better
• Your program includes some form of cardio
All diets are first and foremost based on eating less then on eating better. Being in a calorie deficit -- gym speak for eating less -- is a hard place to be when weight-lifting because food equals energy and you need energy to lift. So good luck with that. I'm not going down that boring corridor again but if you're interested, check out Fat loss for Men or Eat for Size and not get Fat later for some helpful tips. Lastly, you do need cardio -- walk, run, sprint, jump-rope, punch the boxing bag, use the cross-trainer whatever but you need some type of cardio 2-3 times a week minimum.
On a completely different note, take a look at power-lifters: some of these are physically very big men, especially in the higher weight divisions, often topping out over 6-feet and weighing over 250-pounds plus. Some are not just physically imposing but very muscular with it whilst some clearly aren't. Some have flat stomachs, some don't. Some look fucking fat. But the point is their goal has little to do with fat-loss and a hell of a lot to do with generating enormous power to move very heavy weights. Again, recognise the importance of knowing what outcome you want.
NOTE: Some people respond exceptionally well to weight-lifting; the pounds just seem to fall off them as they shed fat and shred themselves simply through lifting. Thanks to their genetics they not only lose weight but gain muscle fast and nine times out of ten it's quality muscle too: thick, meaty, a cannibal's wet dream. Hell, you may even be one of these people. But. The overwhelming majority of us aren't these people. Instead, we need the addition of diet and cardio to reach our goals.
I LIFT BUT IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT // Stop lifting heavy
If your goal is to get bigger rather than stronger, you need to stop lifting heavy weights at lower reps and incorporate a bodybuilding style of moderate weights with higher reps. Usually. Those guys are the undisputed experts when it comes to size gains. You also need to eat more -- and more good shit, not junk food -- for energy and growth (you could actually eat more junk food if you wanted). Don't believe me? Give me two people of identical genetics on the same program with one eating more than the other; this second person will bulk up faster than the first because food does equate to size. Will you also put on fat? Fuck yeah. Embrace that shit.
• Use moderate weights in the 6-10 rep range
• Eat more and make it more good shit. Mostly
• Get stronger
Getting stronger kind've flies in the face of using moderate weights but what I'm really trying to say here is, if you're using butterfly weights at high reps, you're going nowhere fast. The only time you should do anything like this in my opinion is when you're A) deloading or when you're B) doing some form of rehabilitation, doctor's orders. You need to get stronger. The amount you lift should increase with time. This personifies progressive overload. Even your so-called "moderate" weight used for any given exercise will, in time, increase and so it should.
NOTE: some programs-slash-lifters advocate heavy weights with low reps over moderate weights with high-reps and are living proof of how successful this has been for them. Does that then undermine what I've said above? Yes. Yes it does. But to clarify: the majority of people make aesthetic progress better on a bodybuilder-style program. Did I? Actually no. What's more, I prefer heavy weights with low reps, so let that percolate in your bowl of misery and confusion.
I LIFT BUT AREN'T EXPERIENCING ANY OF THE SO-CALLED BENEFITS // Increase your intensity
I'll be honest with you: I'm not 100% convinced in the whole faster-metabolism-extended-fat-burning benefits espoused by online netspurts at least, not to the dribbling degree they are. Yeah, I've read a few research papers. I don't put much stock in it. I know muscles grow in size and strength; I know that for a fact. I know after a hard work-out like heavy squats I'm personally more hungry. I get that only because I can feel it. But I can honestly say at no point have I ever felt my metabolism "sky-rocketed" or noticed I'm churning through body fat faster. Sorry.
Still.
That's just me.
...maybe you're different?
What I can say is that intensity (I explain that below) definitely increases my appetite and if I don't eat -- or at least, don't eat more than usual -- the odds are high that in time I will experience the benefit of a reduction in body-fat. Why? Because my body is gulping whatever food I've fed it with and breaking this down into glucose which is our first, immediate source of energy. Once your glucose sources are depleted though, your body will turn to and use your fat-stores for energy. So. Increased intensity increases hunger but if you still eat the same amounts, you'll lose weight.
...wtf?
Now by "intensity" I mean how much effort is required to move a weight. Intensity can also be measured not just in terms of producing x-amount of power and/or acceleration to move x-amount of weight, but how many times this needs to be done. Both are different sides of the same coin. Lift a heavy-ish weight once and you're okay. Lift it 3-5 times where you're grinding out the last rep and suddenly it's heavy as fuck. We call the effort required here intensity.
If you're regularly ensuring high intensity either through heavy weight/low reps (3-5 per set give or take) or moderate weight/high reps (6-10 per set or roundabout) where either way you really have to push that last set or rep -- not grind it the fuck out so you prolapse your own anus though -- then you're incorporating good intensity. You're pushing yourself. Muscles respond to this. Not each and every day, no, but however you've programmed it in (if you haven't, you should).
NOTE: some programs support pushing for a 1RM weekly in a lift of your choice. Some programs support daily 1RM and hey, that's up to you; I just figure as older guys we don't really need to do that so often. Not my use of the phrase "so often". By all means do it, find your 1RM, but if you don't allow yourself adequate time to recover it could catch up with you and boot you in the bollocks. Or not, I don't fucking know you. Just saying is all. Keep frisky.
:: CONCLUSION
Here's the part where you're really going to hate me. You may do all the above but still make little if any progress unless health and longevity is your focus -- and I am always pushing that for men in my age bracket over and above everything else. We need to lose abdominal fat both internally and externally. We need to increase our cardiovascular health. We need to stop eating & drinking shit. We also need to resist being the household hoover eating too much and finishing off the left-overs. Our over-all, holistic health whether mental, physical, physiological, sexual, emotional or spiritual should be the focus.
Hang a minute, taihoe e hoa, back up a bit I hear you say -- let's get back to doing all the above but making bugger all progress: isn't that the focus of this? So tell me: what do I do about that? What do I do, man? You do high-quality steroids. That shit is real. Or. Or you do the smart thing and go and find a coach, online or otherwise, that can get you there. I'm not offering that. But let's be realistic. Very, very few men in our age bracket starting off on the weights for the first time come remotely near to the young, life-long bodybuilders you see online. Why you'd want to waste time and effort looking like them is beyond me.
But hey...
Do your thing, kemosabe. Do your thang.
Let me leave you with this: know what you want. But -- and I mean a big 'ol butt like the girl in the third row of the church choir be hav'n -- know too if you're really not willing or prepared to put in the time, effort and energy needed to attain your goal, then clearly it's not going to happen. So keep open-minded and flexible, willing to change your focus for that which is more realistic and more immediate, at least in the short term. Much as I hate the following mantra, you really should be the "best version of yourself"; you don't need to re-enact the Rich Pianna effect. Kia ora whanau.
△
© ironkiwi.nz