just got back from my first gym session.

[Matt77]

^ totally agree. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn when doing nothing.
Do a lot of leg weights as well. Big legs need a lot of feeding.
I'm off to the gym

[Dr. Stein]

Any kind of strength/weights work (within reason) is a superb way of burning fat, the sort of confusing thing though is that as you build muscle mass - and most people I know who lift weights in gyms do it to build muscle mass - you end up getting heavier. Lies, damn lies and bathroom scales...

It's pretty intimidating how much conflicting advice you get when it comes to exercise. My advice, for the little it's worth, is always to find something that motivates you and let fitness follow organically. How many people do you know who excercise purely to get in shape? I'm guessing a good majority are badly out of shape!

Edit - Oh, and if you are going to be lifting weights then some good tuition from a qualified coach is utterly priceless. Your back will thank you...

[Plexi Ken]

[snip] the sort of confusing thing though is that as you build muscle mass... you end up getting heavier [/snip]

If you are creating a 'sensible' calorie deficit, you should lose more fat mass than lean muscle gain.

http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/DietExStudy.html
The group who did 'diet & exercise' lost the same weight as the 'diet only' group but lost much more fat.

[Dr. Stein]

[snip] the sort of confusing thing though is that as you build muscle mass... you end up getting heavier [/snip]

If you are creating a 'sensible' calorie deficit, you should lose more fat mass than lean muscle gain.

http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/DietExStudy.html
The group who did 'diet & exercise' lost the same weight as the 'diet only' group but lost much more fat.

I've tried to read that three times now and got lost. I'll give it a bash tomorrow when I'm sober :lol:

[XxpapertigerxX]

If you're looking for a noticeable increase in muscle mass, you need to lower the reps and raise the weight. For example, 2 or 3 sets of 10 reps with a lighter weight will tone your muscles, but won't affect their size so much. Instead, try increasing the weight to the most you can lift with good form for 2 to 3 sets of 6 reps. Logically, it makes more sense to work the sets of 6 until you are happy with the size of your muscles, then work with sets of 10 or 12 to really carve them out and give yourself the definition you're looking for. The most important thing to do, whether you're toning or bulking, is to lift to the point of muscle fatigue.

If you're looking to lose weight, then your best bet is actually to focus on your diet. It is much easier to cut 100 calories out of your diet than to work those 100 calories off after you've already eaten them. The simplest and most effective diet is a vegetarian, or mostly vegetarian, diet that is low in animal products, especially dairy products. Even if that is out of the question, just cut back on or eliminate the dairy products and limit your meats to chicken and fish. Finally, after you're all done with that, then you can finally hit the gym  :D

P.S. Sorry about the essay. I wrote a lot because I'm interested in the subject and I feel that there is a lot of misinformation out there. Anyway, good luck with everything

[Dr. Stein]

If you're looking to lose weight, then your best bet is actually to focus on your diet. It is much easier to cut 100 calories out of your diet than to work those 100 calories off after you've already eaten them.

Really? I'd take walking up some stairs over going hungry any day of the week. Motivation's a very personal thing though so it's bound to be an each to their own job.

The ideal sets/reps for any given purpose will depend on the exercise but actually for most 10 reps is about right for encouraging hypertrophy, some 6 might be ok for but typically about 5 is what you'd do for max strength, with 1-3 being best for power.

[Dr. Stein]

[snip] the sort of confusing thing though is that as you build muscle mass... you end up getting heavier [/snip]

If you are creating a 'sensible' calorie deficit, you should lose more fat mass than lean muscle gain.

http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/DietExStudy.html
The group who did 'diet & exercise' lost the same weight as the 'diet only' group but lost much more fat.

Women don't build mass as easily as men, which I imagine would make a difference? The type of exercise will make a huge difference too, as will what counts as a 'sensible' calorie deficit. I dunno.

[XxpapertigerxX]

If you're looking to lose weight, then your best bet is actually to focus on your diet. It is much easier to cut 100 calories out of your diet than to work those 100 calories off after you've already eaten them.

Really? I'd take walking up some stairs over going hungry any day of the week. Motivation's a very personal thing though so it's bound to be an each to their own job.

The ideal sets/reps for any given purpose will depend on the exercise but actually for most 10 reps is about right for encouraging hypertrophy, some 6 might be ok for but typically about 5 is what you'd do for max strength, with 1-3 being best for power.

Well I didn't mean you have to starve yourself, just substitute lower calorie foods for higher calorie foods. Lower calorie foods aren't necessarily less filling than high calorie foods.

[XxpapertigerxX]

Also, as for how many reps needed to max muscle growth:

http://www.building-muscle-guide.com/how-many-reps.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/pauline5.htm (I know it's technically for women but it applies to men as well)

[XxpapertigerxX]

Honestly it seems as though there aren't a lot of scientifically proven rules about weightlifting, based on the hundreds of conflicting theories. So maybe it's best just to do what feels right to you

[Plexi Ken]

[snip] The simplest and most effective diet is a vegetarian, or mostly vegetarian, diet that is low in animal products, especially dairy products [/snip]

The 'most effective' diet is the one that you can stick to over an extended period of time. I have no idea if a 'mostly vegetarian' diet is best for weight loss. Finding 'credible' long term comparative studies can be difficult. However, I think your advice about a low-dairy diet is incorrect and the reverse is true,

http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v12/n4/full/oby200467a.html

all participants lost body weight and body fat due to the daily energy deficit of 500 kcal/d. However, both weight and fat (measured by DXA) loss were markedly increased on the high-dairy diet

As for rep-range, unless you're an advanced lifter, they all 'work'. If you lift, you'll get stronger, doesn't matter if it's 1 rep or 100. It's the lifting that's important not the rep range.

[agentOrAnGe]

[snip] The simplest and most effective diet is a vegetarian, or mostly vegetarian, diet that is low in animal products, especially dairy products [/snip]

The 'most effective' diet is the one that you can stick to over an extended period of time. I have no idea if a 'mostly vegetarian' diet is best for weight loss. Finding 'credible' long term comparative studies can be difficult. However, I think your advice about a low-dairy diet is incorrect and the reverse is true,

http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v12/n4/full/oby200467a.html

all participants lost body weight and body fat due to the daily energy deficit of 500 kcal/d. However, both weight and fat (measured by DXA) loss were markedly increased on the high-dairy diet

As for rep-range, unless you're an advanced lifter, they all 'work'. If you lift, you'll get stronger, doesn't matter if it's 1 rep or 100. It's the lifting that's important not the rep range.

I Agree that if you are just getting into lifting that doing just about anything will help you advance. But, I am a semi- professional power lifter so I have a pretty high calorie diet (lots of protein, carbs and dairy). This helps support the repair of the muscles I am destroying in my workout routine.
It all really depends on what you are after though. My routine is typically stretching, sets of 6 at 90% of my max, then an hour and a half on the bike, then more stretching, abs and pullups. This is mainly to work "peak" strength and quickly build dense muscle and raise your strength. 
End the end it is about finding a routine that works for YOU and being able to stick to it regularly, because even a week off can set you back a little.