Men in their 30s and 40s often overlook fitness and weightlifting and beyond looking to slim down. In fact, many of them steer clear of lifting weights entirely, viewing it as an activity exclusively reserved for the fit and young. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth—men in all age groups can benefit from lifting weights! This guide will explain why you should start lifting weights today if you’re overweight or obese and offer tips on getting started on your weightlifting journey.
Reasons to Lift Weights
Weightlifting doesn’t just help overweight people build muscle and increase their metabolism; it helps them become better at almost every other aspect of their lives. The extra time spent at the gym or doing household chores will be more fun when you feel fitter, healthier, and more self-confident. Stop slacking off and put your big guy brawn to good use!
It is a fact that most of us are not working out regularly and overweight people even more so.
People think they will lose weight by reducing their food intake, and since most men eat over much and gain too much fat, they become obese. Obesity leads to other problems, including diabetes, hypertension, and a lower level of motivation.
You may reduce all of these symptoms mentioned above by losing weight if you do your exercises regularly. Weightlifting helps strengthen your bones, and it also strengthens your muscles.
The Best Way to Lose Weight With Lifting
If you’re a big guy, don’t worry. Even for men with a high BMI, lifting weights is a great way to burn fat and lose weight quickly, even if overweight or obese. Why? The best exercises to lose weight are compound lifts, which use multiple muscle groups at once. For example, squats activate your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. While dumbbell curls only hit your biceps.
They’re also free or cheap. You can do some excellent body-weight exercises at home—or even at work—to build muscle and get fit. But if you want to get results, it’s a good idea to invest in some weightlifting equipment. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Just check out Craigslist or your local thrift store for cheap weight sets that still have plenty of use.
Before you begin, it is a good idea to check out BMI charts for men. It can give you a general idea of what you will need to accomplish.
Don’t worry about bulk. It can be helpful to gain weight if you’re a big guy trying to get fit. Muscle weighs more than fat, so building up your muscle mass will help you lose weight overall, even if your body fat percentage doesn’t change.
Plus, lifting weights doesn’t have to take a lot of time. The most straightforward weightlifting routine will involve three exercises—the squat, bench press, and deadlift—performed once per week.
Getting Started
If you’re an overweight male and you want to start lifting weights to burn calories, gain strength, and add lean muscle mass. There are a few things you need to know. First things first: talking with your doctor is always a good idea.
Once you get a thumbs up from your doctor, it’s time to talk with a trainer and start studying proper form and workout techniques. Although there are plenty of quality lifting programs that won’t break your bank, nothing beats having an experienced coach right beside you. Ideally, they will also be in great shape and have ample motivation to see you succeed. While other weight loss solutions are available to overweight men (see below), nothing will work better than regular exercise done correctly.
If you’re serious about adding muscle mass… it’s time to lift weights!
Start Lifting Weights: Use These Exercises To Lose Weight
If you’re overweight, adding more muscle mass can help you lose weight more quickly—which is why you must do all of these exercises. To start, lift heavy weights at least three times a week and eat a healthy diet made up of lean protein and complex carbs. Don’t worry about your strength levels; lifting light weights will build muscle and burn fat.
Keep your body guessing by mixing up your exercises and challenging yourself in new ways. This will help you see results faster and build a more muscular, more sculpted body. When you think you’ve reached your limit on one exercise, simply push through it—it’s called working out for a reason! If you keep pushing your boundaries, there’s no telling how strong and fit you can become.
The sooner you start working out, the more time you’ll have to see results and reap their benefits. Even if you don’t have a lot of extra time to devote to exercise, adding a few new exercises into your routine can make your other workouts more effective. Exercising may seem like an intimidating task at first, but stick with it—your health and weight depend on it!
How Much Time Do I Need?
Weight lifting, like most physical activities, takes time to see results. After a few weeks of lifting weights two to three times per week, you will notice changes in your body. Within a few months of consistent weight lifting, you should see noticeable muscle growth and fat loss.
Your progress will vary based on your current fitness level and your commitment to working out. Some people experience fast results, especially by lifting weights regularly and eating a healthy diet. Other men might not see results as quickly but will still be able to get fit in a relatively short amount of time. It all depends on your personal goals and fitness levels.
Most people start to see results regularly within a few weeks of lifting weights. However, these changes can take longer if you’re lifting weights as part of a healthy diet but not exercising regularly. How quickly you see results depends on your current fitness level and how often you exercise. Some men see results in less than two months, while others require several months to notice significant body changes.
Myths About Bulking And Cutting
Many heavy men are under a lot of pressure to bulk up and look like a bodybuilder. If you’re one of them, know that no matter how much you work out, it takes way more than just lifting weights to bulk up—it takes protein. It also takes steroids, which many bodybuilders take if they want big muscles.
If you’re trying to lose weight, don’t be tempted to try bulking and cutting. It’s a bad idea that can backfire and make you fatter than when you started. That’s because it puts your body in starvation mode, which leads to storing calories as fat.
It’s much easier to build muscle and burn fat when you’re young. After age 25, it becomes significantly harder to lose weight and build muscle.
But if you want to focus on building muscle, work out with free weights—they challenge more of your muscles than weight machines do and burn fat in the process. My advice is to pick two or three exercises that exercise multiple muscle groups and do them two or three times a week on non-consecutive days.
It’s also important to remember that diet matters more than exercise. It will help you lose weight faster and build muscle more quickly than an extra hour at the gym. It’s also more manageable—you can diet while you’re on your way to work, after work, and even when you go out with friends. My advice is to pick a diet and stick with it, making minor adjustments as needed until you reach your goal weight.
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