Steve, thank you so much. I am looking into starting some kind of weight training. The thing is that I had no idea where to start. Now I do. It's much appreciated.

Welcome.

And don't think of this as a 'program.' Think of it as a methodology. There are a lot of ways to make this method work for you.

Steve

I'm New Here and was glad to see This thread,,Kudos to You...I'm an Avid Weight lifter..Cardio in the Morning and Weights in the Evening...I've got the Build and muscle,But It just has a protective coating...I have a program We call "Cardio Burst",,My Trainer Has me do it,The first 5 minutes of doin it,Your drenched ,,,Heart beating in the ears Head gonna explode...You Know,,The good stuff..It combines Short Bursts of Cardio, along with Light weight lifting with some High reps....When I get a few more moments,I'll post the workout,I think You'll like it

I also do two more Workouts that don't invovle any cardio and use light weight,It's more of an endurance wourkout, You see major difference from workout to workout with it.

I'm going to be starting in some Core training too,But will have to go slow,I have sciatic problems now,And don't want to make it harder than it has to be..

But the real training I have to do,Is my Eating,,It absolutly sucks

Eating is a large chunk of the battle. I had trouble controlling my intake until I started tracking it all. Tracking is what helped me get my arms around it all.

In terms of weight training, to be honest, I'm not a fan of light weight resistance training. I mean, I guess there is a time in a place. However, for the most part, lifting heavy (relative to individual strength) is where it's at IMO.

I agree...I'm addicted to the Max-OT workout, Myself..For Years it was the Heavier the Better.But it was an Eye opener when I thought I had the Endurance to go with it....The Light weight Training for me is to get my endurance up (useing a 40 lb dumb),And It was Working till I got Hurt,,Now I'm going back into it,Dropping 87lbs and then going back heavy to get my Size Built back up.,,Before When I was goin heavy,I would see the weight gain and size,,But My BF would never drop...I gotta set one goal at a time for myself Or I'll never hit any of them...I'll still Lift heavy with my Arms and Shoulders on my off days,,I've worked To hard to loose the size on them..It's funny how different things work for different people..

I did some Max-OT style training back in the day.

I'd say 80%+ of the people I train for weight loss stick to the 4-8 rep range for the majority of their movements. IMO, weight training serves a very specific function in a weight loss strategy: Muscle maintenance.

Strength oriented training seems to best serve this function.

And let's remember, you don't build any significant amounts of muscle unless you are in a caloric surplus. It's not the weight on the bar that builds muscle. It's the mechanical overload coupled with a surplus in energy (food).

Steve since I have a spinal cord stimulator implanted in my back I can't really do squats or dead lifts because if I bend over with to much weight I can move the wires in my back which would result in another surgery. What would you recommend as a replacement for these lifts? The gym has a smith machine, sled, and several leg lift machines.

Here is a link for what is in my back. Neurostimulation: Neurostimulators and their Selection/Implantable System Components

Honestly, I wouldn't give advice to you in person, let alone over the web, without consultation with your doc. Just too risky.

LOL...I can understand that....very few are willing, even the trainers at the gym are leery to do so.

What has your doctor cleared you to do?

Basically anything I feel comfortable with but to go easy. PT department had me doing squats without weights by sliding up and down a wall with my back to it, this caused the wires to move in my back which resulted in my last surgery. Thats why I am a bit gun shy with doing squats or dead lifts, but I know legs are the biggest muscle group to build which in turn burns more fat. Also the more muscle I build around the wires the more stable they are supposed to become.

To get a better understanding where on my back the surgery was I am attaching a link to a couple of the pics, if you get queasy in anyway please don't look.
The first picture has two spots bottom staples are where old wires was removed top staples are where new ones are anchored to vertebra. (The top of T11 to top of T10).
Second pic is where stimulator generator is located.
Third pic is what caused all this.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...P4220019-a.jpg
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...P4220017-a.jpg
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/DCP_0443.jpg

Damn man, what the heck happened?

Yea, I'm hesitant to give recommendations. I'd just stick with less technique-intensive exercise modalities and build up strength and confidence. Take it very slow.

It all started stepping off a step at work ankle rolled under thought it was a sprain, turn out I severed 2 of the 3 ligaments in right ankle, had surgery to repair ligaments with tendon from bottom of foot.

A condition called RSD/CRPS set in after surgery because the ankle was immobilized with cast. Ankle has constant swelling, pain, burning, etc. Last option after all different kinds of drugs were tried and before severing the nerve in my back that controls the lower leg feeling was to try a stimulator attached to the spine to block the pain signals from reaching the brain.

Before the PT had me doing squats during recovery I had 100% pain relief, since then and the last surgery I manage about 70% relief now. This is why I mainly do ellipticals because they are low impact.

So since Aug 2001 I have had 1 ankle ligament reconstruction, 1 trial stimulator implant surgery, 1 permanent stimulator implant surgery, 1 revision surgery because of infection, another revision because leads moved because of a vehicle accident, then the last one because of the PT department so a total of 1 ankle and 5 back surgeries all within 5 years.

Heart goes out to you man.... that's insane. I thought I've dealt with a lot of injury in my time. You take the cake!!

Best of luck man.

Steve, a quick question...when do you bump up the weight? I'm starting out very small, because I have wussy arms. LOL! So ignore my weenie weights...I started out the first day with 5 lbs in each hand, just to see, and increased to 10 the next day. It made my arms shake a little, but felt good. Now, after 2 weeks I'm more comfortable with that. Should I increase to 15 now? Or wait a bit?