ExRx.net

I am very new to this whole scene.

I have been lifting weights for about a month and a half now.

I do either upper or lower body four times a week, and I do 20-30 minutes of cardio.

I have progressed GREATLY in the amount of weight I can lift (ESPECIALLY with my legs) and in the number of reps I do. However, I am not seeing any of the changes I'd like to see--some type of weight loss, or change in body type.

How long does it take to see changes?

An untrained person will make a great deal of progress in the amount of weight that they can lift initially, but little of that is due to an increase in muscle strength, per se. During this period, the body learns how to recruit muscle units during exercise effectively. Once they become effective at recruiting muscle units - and this usually takes place in 4 to 8 weeks - then muscles can be overloaded during exercise, and stimulated into hypertrophy.

If you've been working out for a month and a half, you should be almost finished with the break-in period. In the next couple of months, you should notice muscle gains.

when one begins to get fat it doesnt happen overnight
how many trips to mcdonals did it take before you noticed your skin was not so tight
as the months progressed so did the waist line---or something like that
the same is true with losing weight and putting on muscle
get your body fat % taken that will tell the truth more thatn the mirror
month one like stephen said is the"break in "period month 2 is when you can get down to business
take a shirtless picture soon to have someething to reference
dont believe the scale because it lies!!!!
as you lose fat you will gain muscle

Weight training and 20-30 minutes of cardio will take much longer to show the results that you are seeking. Weight training is good for muscular strength and endurance, but as far as fat loss, weight training only slightly will lower %body fat. If you place emphasis on more cardio and use weight training as a supplemental tool, you may see more of the results that you are seeking.

I disagree with the previous poster. The key to changing your Body Comp is to burn fat and spare (keep or build) muscle. Weight Training has been shown to burn more energy (calories) than just mid-intensity cardio because it continues to burn calories for hours after the fact. Weight training and mid-intesity endurance work together produced around 100% (read 2x) the results of endurance training alone. If you want to speed it up, then replace your 20-30 steady state cardio with something like HIIT that gets into the anaerobic zone as it too will continue to burn calories after the fact. Steady state mid-intensity cardio work only burns calories while your doing it.

The place I'd look first and foremost is your diet.

i agree with the last poster

I also agree. Until about 7 months ago I did nothing but wieght lifting. I lost 65 to 70 lbs of fat during that time. Hard to be exact due to all muscle gain. My weight didn't go down much, but I just kept getting smaller and smaller. My cloths went from really tight to falling off. My shirts were tight in the belly, now they are tight in chest, shoulders and sleeves. So I still need XXL shirts most of the time. I used to be busting out of 44 inch pants. Now 38's are starting to get loose. The legs are getting tight though. Belts are very important now.

I wish I would have taken the pictures. I only started to do that recently. Results are faster at the beginning. So do start taking the pictures, you'll be glad you did.