I am 5'9 in OK shape at ~157 lbs. I am looking to drop weight so should I avoid lifting weights because muscle weighs more than fat? What are the two amateur weight classes below 160? Is it always best to weigh as little as possible for competition? I remember when I wrestled in high school I actually did better at a higher weight class because I felt weak after cutting weight. What weight should I compete at if I want to lose fat but keep my musculature? Thanks.
If you want to drop weight you should decrease your caloric intake and increase your caloric needs. In other words eat less and get that heart rate up. Bike, run, swim, sprint, box, whatever you please.
As RDJ said it's more about diet rather than not doing weights. You can only gain muscle mass if you have a surplus calorie intake. Even endurance athletes like marathon runners do weights and they are all very thin. Personally I have always been an advocate of strength training whether it's through free weights or body weight exercises.
Weigh in at the weigh your body feels most comfortable with. Making weight in my opinion sometimes can be false economy. In addition using heavy weights speeds up your metabolism and can be used to loose weight.
Yup, and being 150lbs of muscle beats the hell out of being 150lbs of softassedness, so the logic that one "shouldn't lift because muscle weighs more than fat" falls short. Like Scurla says, find a weight that you personally perform best at, and don't think about which weight class you'll end up in. If you lift, get stronger and end up going up a weight-class you'll be feeling much stronger and better anyways, so don't focus too much on the numbers. The "bigger guys" won't seem so big when you're that big yourself.
Skip the weights. Do pushups, pullups, burpees instead. You can build all the strength and muscular endurance you need with classic floorwork.
how do you figure thats backwards methology you go tell some of the greatest boxers of all time that if they lifted weights that they would have been better boxers and it woulda made them faster hahah now thats backwards methology
Diffrent strokes for diffrent folks. END OF STORY END OF THREAD. What the hacks fail to realise is WEIGHTS work. What do you think your doing when your doing floor work? Its just another form of resistance or didnt you know that? The whole theory thats weights harm boxers is nothing more than old school tripe. Next time disprove what i say with a FACT rather than juvenile "ha ha" talk.
