Weight loss before muscle gain?

I would like to get a few opinions on this..

I currently need to lose about 50pounds to be at my ideal weight. I work in the yard for about an hour every morning, and I walk about an hour every night with my dog. I plan on developing this into jogging/running. Now that my pool is warm enough, I do plan on some swimming as well. I would like to gain muscle and become stronger, but at the moment I cannot afford a gym membership and I only have a set of light barbells at home.

My question is...

Should I first just focus on losing the weight, and later on strength training if I can save up and join a gym?

You don't need a gym membership.  Use the money and buy yourself a set of dumbells- just add lbs as needed.  Push ups are an awesome workout for arms and chest. 

also you can do body weight matrix workouts

Doing dips off a sturdy chair works the triceps well too.

Planks are a good workout.  Or get a stability ball and check online for workouts using these. 

I myself utilize classes at the local community college.  I take a weightlifting class and a cardio class the cost for the 2 - 12 week classes is $100 see if your local college might offer something ike that. 

There also is nothing wrong with losing the weight first, but incorporating weights/ strength training now will help get those muscles ready to be shown off faster

Strength traing is awsome for weightloss, for every pound of muscle you put on you burn about 50 more cals a day doing nothing. gain 10 lbs of muscle and thats 500 more cals burned a day without having to do anything! On top of that you will have something to show off once the fat melts away.

Thanks for the link, I'll try that out! Having those muscles start to show sounds good lol, so I will try to get some strength training into my routine, I'll probably go get a set of dumbells as suggested :)

Thanks guys!

Original Post by treztastic:

Strength traing is awsome for weightloss, for every pound of muscle you put on you burn about 50 more cals a day doing nothing. gain 10 lbs of muscle and thats 500 more cals burned a day without having to do anything!

These numbers are wrong, but it's the right general idea.  Every pound of muscle in your body burns about 5 calories/day BUT every pound of *trained* muscle in your body burns about 7 calories/day.  (Fat only burns about 2 calories/day per pound.)  SO, if you start strength training your metabolism will increase even if you don't put on a single ounce of muscle.  If you have 25 pounds of muscle to start with, simply training it increases your metabolism by 50 calories/day.  (This is where the myth about 50 cals/pound started.)  That's not even counting the calories you burn by actually doing the exercise!

Strength training goes hand in hand with weight loss and will ultimately help you achieve your goals quicker and most likely produce a better overall result than weight loss alone. I'm sure you've read on this site forums from people who have reached their goal weight but still feel they look fat and untoned. Distorted body images aside, this is a common side effect of being thin but with no muscle.

I am a big fan of stregth training and it has done more to change my body than calorie counting alone. And there is no need to wait until you get closer to your goal weight. The three activities (dieting, cardio and strength training) are complementary.

If you have a set of dumbbells great. I would suggest investing in an elastic band as well and start to pull exercise programs from the internet to get started.

IF you can afford it, pay a personal trainer to develop an at home routine for you and work through it with the trainer at least twice to make sure your form is correct. This could cost up to $150, but if you feel confident about what you are doing and that you're doing it correctly, you will have developed the base to add new exercises and the confidence to keep at it.

Good luck!