Females and Weights

iCupCakeNZ

So i'm new to the weightlifting scene, two weeks into it actually and already i'm starting to notice small changes including the drop in my body fat percentage as well as my arms are starting to tone and get smaller. I was just curious as to how many woman out there have used weight lifting as a way to tone up and lose weight and what their results were as well as how it affected them and how often they did it.

Any feed back would be much appreciated

usmcmp

Many of us lift. Lifting is a great way to improve body composition and retain lean mass. That means less weight to lose in the long run and a nice body under the fat.

I lift 5-6 days a week, but I'm also a competitive female bodybuilder.

SnuggleSmacks

I would say more ladies here lift than not. If you look for success stories, you'll find tons of before/after photos and advice.

I started out with StrongLifts, because it was simple and a great way to get your feet wet and learn your way around the weight room. But I got bored with it because it doesn't change. So I switched to Strong Curves, but found that I felt like it concentrated too much on glutes and didn't work the rest of my body enough. Now I'm doing The New Rules of Lifting for Women, and I'm pretty happy with my progress and with the rate of change in the routines to keep me from getting bored.

I lift 3 days a week, since the routines are primarily full-body (rather than splitting upper/lower body, or legs/arms or whatever) and it concentrates on building muscle. That gives me some recovery time between workouts. Recovery time is absolutely necessary to build muscle. On my non-lifting days, I try to do some light cardio, taking my dog for a jog or something along those lines.

Also, in the interest of building muscle, I keep my calorie deficit low. I have less than 20 lbs to lose, and I'm more interested in recomposition than weight loss anyway, so I try to eat within 300 calories of my daily burn, as recorded by my Bodymedia band. And I try to eat no less than 25% of my calories in protein (although that's a challenge on days when I stick with plant-based foods).

arditarose

SnuggleSmacks wrote: »

I would say more ladies here lift than not. If you look for success stories, you'll find tons of before/after photos and advice.

I started out with StrongLifts, because it was simple and a great way to get your feet wet and learn your way around the weight room. But I got bored with it because it doesn't change. So I switched to Strong Curves, but found that I felt like it concentrated too much on glutes and didn't work the rest of my body enough. Now I'm doing The New Rules of Lifting for Women, and I'm pretty happy with my progress and with the rate of change in the routines to keep me from getting bored.

I lift 3 days a week, since the routines are primarily full-body (rather than splitting upper/lower body, or legs/arms or whatever) and it concentrates on building muscle. That gives me some recovery time between workouts. Recovery time is absolutely necessary to build muscle. On my non-lifting days, I try to do some light cardio, taking my dog for a jog or something along those lines.

Also, in the interest of building muscle, I keep my calorie deficit low. I have less than 20 lbs to lose, and I'm more interested in recomposition than weight loss anyway, so I try to eat within 300 calories of my daily burn, as recorded by my Bodymedia band. And I try to eat no less than 25% of my calories in protein (although that's a challenge on days when I stick with plant-based foods).

How are you finding recomp with this slight deficit? I thought you had to be eating at least at maintenance to see any results.

Oh and yes, OP-lots of us lifters here. I do 4 days, sometimes a 5th miscellaneous day. All broken up by muscle groups. I think I would have lost fat a lot slower and wouldn't be as happy with my body and myself if I had not been lifting all along.

SnuggleSmacks

As a beginner, I can build muscle at a slight deficit. If I had been doing this longer, I would not expect to build as much muscle. As it is, I can definitely see differences in my body. It's slow going, but I'm pretty sure building muscle is a slow process for anyone. My boyfriend and I have been keeping a log of photos, and we're about due for another set.

arditarose

SnuggleSmacks wrote: »

As a beginner, I can build muscle at a slight deficit. If I had been doing this longer, I would not expect to build as much muscle. As it is, I can definitely see differences in my body. It's slow going, but I'm pretty sure building muscle is a slow process for anyone. My boyfriend and I have been keeping a log of photos, and we're about due for another set.

Cool. Just very curious to hear about people's recomping progress. Still trying to decide if I can make it work for me.

sardelsa

I started lifting at a deficit, continued through maintenance and now at a bulk. It is amazing what it can do for your body, mind and confidence. I lift 4-5x per week, plus yoga and HIIT once a week

MsHarryWinston

I lift as well. I love it. I've really only just started so no real results yet but I'm getting stronger for sure. Can't wait to see how things progress.

Changingmyfatitude

Sorry original poster, I really want to start lifting and you have some experienced people commenting... what what you advise a newbie lifter to buy for home weight training. I only have 5lb dumbells and a 6kg kettlebell both are now to light for me.

Once again sorry OP

kelly_e_montana

I've been on a powerlifting, Crossfit, & Olympic lifting regimen for a year. During this time, I've been at maintenance cals and following the recomp plan on Eat to Perform. I don't have an accurate BF % from the start or the end but I can tell the trend (I mean, the mechanism may not be that reliable). I've also lost a pants size while staying the same weight. My back is pretty ripped and my lower abs are starting to show a v-cut. Everyone is always making comments about my change in body composition. Lifting weights has been great for me! As an aside, I've grown very confident and I can maintain on 2700 calories and eat all the foods as long as they fit my macros!

blobby10

I started using more weights than cardio at the start of the year and now my arms feel rock solid, as do my legs. My shoulders look fab in sleeveless tops and my back is very strong. Unfortunately due to my lack of control over eating, I still have a fair amount of flesh over these muscles - as my physio said recently "you've got some really good muscle tone under that lot" said as he poked the excess flesh around my lower back! Good job hes so good!!

yoovie

23486248576234876587423658732646908374569873459867954769456747 of us have. But no one started listening til the last 2 years.

yoovie

PS

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/835838/99-pounds-cause-i-need-a-win-today/p1 <~ progress pics

Fujiberry

A lot people here lift and advocate lifting for women. It's very common, actually.

SezxyStef

I have been lifting for just over a year....at a deficit for 9 months, maitenance for 3 and now a small deficit.

I don't have BF% from testing so can't help there but...

I currently weigh 147.7lbs and wear a size 4 Silver jean

My arms, shoulders and back are definately defined, my butt is "da bomb" as my husband says and legs are very well muscles...abs working on them.

I started with SL 5x5 and moved to 5/3/1 about 6 weeks ago so currently lifting 4x a week.

I love love love it...and can't recommend it enough.

VegasFit

I lift on my own about 3 days a week. I track everything in a log book and set mini goals for myself. I initially started lifting seriously it was at a women's only gym along with classes and cardio. It was a great environment because I didn't feel self conscious at all. Before that I had only done the basic machines at the big name gyms. I am ideally about ten pounds away from where I want to be and then I plan to get my body fat tested in the Pod to see where I am at.

PwrLftr82

Yup, I'm a female lifter--3-6 days/week depending on schedule. I'm here to get MUSCLES!

adamitri

three days a week but I'm an absolute beginner. I'm saving up for an hour or two with a personal trainer so I can make sure my form is correct.

lishie_rebooted

usmcmp wrote: »

Many of us lift. Lifting is a great way to improve body composition and retain lean mass. That means less weight to lose in the long run and a nice body under the fat.

I lift 5-6 days a week, but I'm also a competitive female bodybuilder.

USMCMP is one of the most inspiring lifters on this site with everything she has gone through and overcome, with how helpful and caring she is, and how pictures and progress reports from all her competitions.

a_stronger_me13

I've been lifting for a few years now, lots of ups and downs, but I would never go back to what I was doing prior. It's helped me tremendously with working on my body composition as well as having strength goals to focus on rather than being dependent on the scale to feel like I'm making progress.

I lift 4 days a week as well as do two days of heavy conditioning (row sprints, hill sprints, metcons ~10-20min) and two days of light conditioning (hill walks, hikes, cycling ~30-60min). I do a program based on training one of the four main compound lifts each day as well as supplemental work to hit on weaknesses in my main lifts.

Just a little perspective, I'm 5'8, 5 years ago I was 145lbs, running a lot everyday, hardly eating and doing P90X and I was a size 10. Since lifting and working on maintaining muscle mass while losing weight from being in a moderate deficit, I fit in the same size clothes that I was wearing at 145lbs now even being almost back up to 175lbs. Last spring I was down to 160lbs and my size 10s were falling off of me. I have a 6 week comparison in my pictures which is from me really getting back into the weight room after spending some time injured and rehabbing those injuries. Pretty drastic changes in just a little time, not to mention I've added a lot of weight to my main lifts in that time as well.

Along with the physical benefits, it's done a lot for my self-esteem too. It's amazing how much the confidence from being able to lift well over my body weight and feeling physically strong translates into being more confident in the decisions I make in the work place and less tolerant of people mistreating me or walking all over me in my personal life as well. I didn't think a barbell could teach me so much about life whether it be handling success or failure, overcoming your personal doubts or the doubts of others, or just realizing that I'm capable of so much more than I ever thought.

JTick

shutupandlift308 wrote: »

Along with the physical benefits, it's done a lot for my self-esteem too. It's amazing how much the confidence from being able to lift well over my body weight and feeling physically strong translates into being more confident in the decisions I make in the work place and less tolerant of people mistreating me or walking all over me in my personal life as well. I didn't think a barbell could teach me so much about life whether it be handling success or failure, overcoming your personal doubts or the doubts of others, or just realizing that I'm capable of so much more than I ever thought.

^^All of this.

Yeah, it's awesome to look at something heavy and know you can move it with no problem. But it carries over into other areas of your life. The callouses, the sweat, the chalk....it molds your body and mind in ways that have nothing to do with physical strength.