Is SG alone enough to burn fat without extra cardio?

[live vintageously]

Okay, I'm a very new shugger - I have to go to the hardware store today to purchase my sledgehammer, LOL I already use kettlebells, but I'm looking to add something new and fun to my routine.

But my question is this: is daily shugging enough on it's own to burn fat without any additional cardio intervals IF I'm already watching what I eat? I ask because I'm a young woman who needs to lose these 10 lbs. I've gained and firm up the insidious flab and fat I've put on.

I know a lot of people lose inches from weight lifting and resistance training, especially the intense kind like olympic style, kbells, and shugging. But since I've taken up kbells I've gained a few inches, not lost I am wondering (and hoping!) if adding in the shugging would help get things moving in the other direction.

I guess I'm dragging my feet about doing cardio intervals. It's just not as fun as hitting the weights. (If psycho chic and Noel can look great from weightlifing. why not me? )

Do any of you do extra cardio to help burn fat or has just weights/shugging been enough? How long did it take?

[NoelFigart]

But my question is this: is daily shugging enough on it's own to burn fat without any additional cardio intervals IF I'm already watching what I eat? I ask because I'm a young woman who needs to lose these 10 lbs. I've gained and firm up the insidious flab and fat I've put on.

You're not approaching this in the world's most productive way.

"How long will this take?"

Your whole life. That's rather the point. It's not about getting to a destination quick. It's about building habits that work for you that you will sustain forever.

Yes, you CAN do cardio intervals if you want to. I'm a swimmer, so yeah, I do, cause that's the nature of the beast.

If you don't LIKE doing them, don't. Swear to Tyr, if you hate it you won't stick with it. It'd be better to take a walk. I'm a swimmer and a weightlifter at least in part because it's FUN for me to do these things. And ya know what? That hasn't made me skinny. I weigh over 200 lbs and I'm only 5'2". (I didn't work on my eating habits as well. You have to do both for it to work).

[live vintageously]

Touche, Noel! A couple of olympic weightlifters have this philosphy that whatever exercise you do should give you a happy body. Like you, I find this very true.

Truly, exercise is not about fat loss, it's about purpose. I discovered a couple of years ago that I won't even go for a walk unless there's a purpose behind it: shopping, nature, catching up on my ipod, getting some fresh air, transportation, etc. Actually, I'm an Urban Ranger at heart. I still want to try SG because it looks so fun! But I'll have to wait until I get a summer job so I can purchase one However, the same protocol might be fun to try with my k-bell.

I realize now, after your firm but kind reminder, that I do indeed hate cardio intervals! In fact, my health doesn't like them either (I have health problems from having West Nile virus 3 years ago). I did some vigorous walk-sprints yesterday and I'm still in bad shape today I shall be napping and resting today. It's no good even trying to take a walk. Interestingly, as long as I'm attentive to how I feel and resting, walking, strength training and weights have never posed problems for my immediate health and energy.

Thanks for helping me out the hole (Weightlifting metaphor intended.)

[NoelFigart]

Thanks for helping me out the hole (Weightlifting metaphor intended.)

You're welcome.

And by the way, shugging is most certainly in my fitness repertoire. I don't do it every day or even every week, but I have a shovelglove by my bed for days when I just cannot face the gym for some reason and my dumbbells don't look attractive to me.

Used it today, as a matter of fact. I set my iPod on sleep timer to shut off after 15 minutes (14 isn't an option on the iPod), and listened to an audiobook while I shugged. I feel it all through my torso and know I got a good workout. I find it immensely satisfying if I've some emotional frustration or difficulty to work through!

[live vintageously]

And by the way, shugging is most certainly in my fitness repertoire. I don't do it every day or even every week, but I have a shovelglove by my bed for days when I just cannot face the gym for some reason and my dumbbells don't look attractive to me.

...I set my iPod on sleep timer to shut off after 15 minutes (14 isn't an option on the iPod), and listened to an audiobook while I shugged. I feel it all through my torso and know I got a good workout. I find it immensely satisfying if I've some emotional frustration or difficulty to work through!

Okay, now I must get a SG!

[jules]

I'm curious as to where you've gained inches and by how much. Muscle is, indeed, denser by weight than fat so most people will lose inches. However, if you only have ten pounds to lose (and is that much how YOU really need to lose?), then you could easily gain inches.

Also, you might be one of those rare people for whom muscle growth is relatively easy. Very few of us bulk up from lifting. Even fewer of us women.

The reason why building muscle is so important if you want to lose weight is that it does help your overall metabolism. But ya gotta be consistent.

I tend to get stretch marks if I do much of anything. Particular gaining weight. lol . However, when I was an undergraduate, I took a kendo class (japanese martial art -- sword type) and had absolutely horrible upper body strength. My biceps grew enough that my arms got stretch marks.

Weightlifting will reshape your body. If you eat right (which I do have a problem with), then everyone will see results.


I do find weightlifting -- whether by shugging or with free weights -- to be a great stress reliever. Shugging has the built-in idea of visualization so a move like chop the tree could be lop off the annoying co-workers head or something equally grim, bloody, and satisfying.

I try to shug on all non-s days. Been sick last week and I miss it like crazy.
jules

[reinhard]

I think you'll find that SG *does* give you a "cardio" workout, since there are no breaks between sets. I'm pretty winded at the end of my 14 minutes. Plus, of course, the muscles it piles on are fat burning machines.

Besides SG I walk (to and from work M-F, about 17 minutes each way, sometimes also at lunch). That was all I did from 2002-late 2007. For the last year or so I've also been doing a short, relaxed run with a coworker once a week, more for the sake of sociability than exercise. All my "durings" on the site are pre-running, so it's not like that was decisive.

Reinhard

[live vintageously]

I'm curious as to where you've gained inches and by how much. Muscle is, indeed, denser by weight than fat so most people will lose inches. However, if you only have ten pounds to lose (and is that much how YOU really need to lose?), then you could easily gain inches.

I gained the 10 pounds before starting kbs. After I started using kbs I gained another 3 lbs (muscle?) and 1.5" in my hips and about .5" in my thighs.

Reinhard, thanks for your input. I can't afford a sledgehammer until I get a summer job. But until than, I'm going to try the daily 14 minute principle with my kb.

I've resumed my daily walks again. My plan of attack is to walk and do kbs/shugging on a daily basis. Perhaps the problem isn't the weights themselves, but just needing to do more of it to make a dent in things.

Though kbs (and soon to be SG) haven't helped me lose any inches, I think I'm starting to see a noticeable differnence in my body shape. Even before I gained 10 pounds, I was flabby and didn't like my body shape. Hopefully, weight training is changing that. If a good shape and good health means going up a few inches, oh well!

Thank you all for the thoughts and advice. I'll keep you posted

[NoelFigart]

After I started using kbs I gained another 3 lbs (muscle?) and 1.5" in my hips and about .5" in my thighs. Now almost none of my pants and skirts fit.

*WINCE* I am so sorry, but chances are very slim that you gained three pounds of muscle in a few weeks. And that many inches of pure muscle? Unlikely. The way Krista Scott-Dixon put it:

FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME, YOU CANNOT GET TOO BIG FROM LIFTING WEIGHTS! A NON-DRUG-USING MALE TRAINEE WOULD HAPPILY CRAWL ON HIS LIPS THROUGH A FIELD OF LEECHES TO ADD FIFTEEN CRUMMY LITTLE POUNDS OF MUSCLE A YEAR! DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE SOMEHOW SO SPECIAL THAT YOU WILL DEFY THE LAWS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND SUDDENLY BECOME HUGE ONE DAY? WAKE UP AND SMELL THE GODDAMNED TESTOSTERONE, HONEY! WHAT'S THAT? YOU CAN'T? OH, PERHAPS THAT IS BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU BULK UP???? RAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH KRISTA SMASH!!

It's POSSIBLE but that'd be on the HIGH end of a muscle gain for a VERY genetically-gifted woman.

I've posted my workouts, so you know how heavy I lift. Taking it as an average, I've been gaining about .3 lbs of muscle a week, and that's quite a good rate. And that's gonna stop soon, too!

[NoelFigart]

After I started using kbs I gained another 3 lbs (muscle?) and 1.5" in my hips and about .5" in my thighs. Now almost none of my pants and skirts fit.

*WINCE* I am so sorry, but chances are very slim that you gained three pounds of muscle in a few weeks. And that many inches of pure muscle? Unlikely. The way Krista Scott-Dixon put it:

FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME, YOU CANNOT GET TOO BIG FROM LIFTING WEIGHTS! A NON-DRUG-USING MALE TRAINEE WOULD HAPPILY CRAWL ON HIS LIPS THROUGH A FIELD OF LEECHES TO ADD FIFTEEN CRUMMY LITTLE POUNDS OF MUSCLE A YEAR! DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE SOMEHOW SO SPECIAL THAT YOU WILL DEFY THE LAWS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND SUDDENLY BECOME HUGE ONE DAY? WAKE UP AND SMELL THE GODDAMNED TESTOSTERONE, HONEY! WHAT'S THAT? YOU CAN'T? OH, PERHAPS THAT IS BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU BULK UP???? RAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH KRISTA SMASH!! http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=25 (I can only hope the people who love her have counseled her on her caffeine intake....)


It's POSSIBLE but that'd be on the HIGH end of a muscle gain for a VERY genetically-gifted woman.

I've posted my workouts, so you know how heavy I lift. Taking it as an average, I've been gaining about .3 lbs of muscle a week, and that's quite a good rate. And that's gonna stop soon, too!

[live vintageously]

*WINCE* I am so sorry, but chances are very slim that you gained three pounds of muscle in a few weeks. And that many inches of pure muscle? Unlikely. ...

I can't (and don't) disagree with you or Krista. In any case, I'm not panicking anymore about the weight or inches. I'm going to continue with the weight training and enjoy it.

I've posted my workouts, so you know how heavy I lift. Taking it as an average, I've been gaining about .3 lbs of muscle a week, and that's quite a good rate. And that's gonna stop soon, too!

Where did you post them? I looked but couldn't find them anywhere on the forum

And here's an[url] inspiring weight lifting article you might enjoy
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/sport ... ing&st=nyt
(There's also a video on the page, on the left-hand side.)

[NoelFigart]

http://www.everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3163

Thanks for the link. That's very cool.

[live vintageously]

Noel: that's incredible Thanks for sharing! I can't even imagine doing that myself when I can barely clean my brother's 25 lb. k-bell one time -trying as hard as I can too!

[NoelFigart]

Noel: that's incredible Thanks for sharing! I can't even imagine doing that myself when I can barely clean my brother's 25 lb. k-bell one time -trying as hard as I can too!

I just did an experiment on my dumbbells at home and put 25lbs on a bar. Yeah, I can clean that without much trouble, but I'm telling you right now, the usual KB workouts that I've seen? Those high rep intense buggers?

I'd be working out with a 10 or 15 lb KB.

Hell, I use a 10 LB sledge and 15 minutes of shugging kicks my butt most righteously.