Lift heavy ~ women.

kittywrangler

I see all these articles on how women need to " lift heavy". What does that exactly mean? Is it in reference to going to a gym and lifting 100 lbs or can it mean simply using free weights at 15-20 lbs during in home work outs?

kittywrangler

Sorry. I double posted this somehow.

I_Will_End_You

It varies from person to person. People generally consider weights to be heavy when you cannot do more than 5-8 reps with that weight. So if you're using weight that you feel like you can do over and over and over again...it's probably not "heavy" for you. Here are some standards for strength training at different levels. These are just averages, of course, but it may help you get a better idea of what weight to use.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

segacs

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

It varies from person to person. People generally consider weights to be heavy when you cannot do more than 5-8 reps with that weight. So if you're using weight that you feel like you can do over and over and over again...it's probably not "heavy" for you. Here are some standards for strength training at different levels. These are just averages, of course, but it may help you get a better idea of what weight to use.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

Hahahahaha. This says I should be able to deadlift 75lbs. Yeah, right. In my dreams.

I'd suspect that these body weights are assuming that the person in question is mostly muscle and has very low body fat. Those of us trying to lose weight and still carrying around too high a fat percentage probably ain't gonna come close to these numbers.

I_Will_End_You

segacs wrote: »

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

It varies from person to person. People generally consider weights to be heavy when you cannot do more than 5-8 reps with that weight. So if you're using weight that you feel like you can do over and over and over again...it's probably not "heavy" for you. Here are some standards for strength training at different levels. These are just averages, of course, but it may help you get a better idea of what weight to use.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

Hahahahaha. This says I should be able to deadlift 75lbs. Yeah, right. In my dreams.

I'd suspect that these body weights are assuming that the person in question is mostly muscle and has very low body fat. Those of us trying to lose weight and still carrying around too high a fat percentage probably ain't gonna come close to these numbers.

It was pretty spot on for me. For when I was a beginner and at novice.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

segacs wrote: »

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

It varies from person to person. People generally consider weights to be heavy when you cannot do more than 5-8 reps with that weight. So if you're using weight that you feel like you can do over and over and over again...it's probably not "heavy" for you. Here are some standards for strength training at different levels. These are just averages, of course, but it may help you get a better idea of what weight to use.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

Hahahahaha. This says I should be able to deadlift 75lbs. Yeah, right. In my dreams.

I'd suspect that these body weights are assuming that the person in question is mostly muscle and has very low body fat. Those of us trying to lose weight and still carrying around too high a fat percentage probably ain't gonna come close to these numbers.

How much have you tried to deadlift? I bet you'd be surprised with just how strong you are. High fat percentage doesn't mean you are weak. Start with the bar (45lbs), add 5lbs ever time you can finish your reps and sets. You'll be at 75lbs in no time.

SLLRunner

twiggifer wrote: »

I see all these articles on how women need to " lift heavy". What does that exactly mean? Is it in reference to going to a gym and lifting 100 lbs or can it mean simply using free weights at 15-20 lbs during in home work outs?

Welcome, Twiggifer!

I do heavy lifting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I spend this time at the squat machine doing squats (105 lbs), lunges (105 lbs), rows (55 lbs), overhead lifts (not sure if this is the correct name) (55 bs), and dead lifts (125lbs). I don't know if this is really heavy, but for me it is, and I've seen amazing changes in my body.

Get a hold of New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women and read it and try out their program. It contains a lot of great information about muscle and nutrition and is an excellent resource.

I_Will_End_You

BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »

segacs wrote: »

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

It varies from person to person. People generally consider weights to be heavy when you cannot do more than 5-8 reps with that weight. So if you're using weight that you feel like you can do over and over and over again...it's probably not "heavy" for you. Here are some standards for strength training at different levels. These are just averages, of course, but it may help you get a better idea of what weight to use.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

Hahahahaha. This says I should be able to deadlift 75lbs. Yeah, right. In my dreams.

I'd suspect that these body weights are assuming that the person in question is mostly muscle and has very low body fat. Those of us trying to lose weight and still carrying around too high a fat percentage probably ain't gonna come close to these numbers.

How much have you tried to deadlift? I bet you'd be surprised with just how strong you are. High fat percentage doesn't mean you are weak. Start with the bar (45lbs), add 5lbs ever time you can finish your reps and sets. You'll be at 75lbs in no time.

I don't have much muscle mass and started deadlifts at 90lbs when I was 115-120 lbs. I was really surprised that I was able to do it quite easily.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

I looked at what I should be able to lift. yeah most of it is not happening lol. and Ive been lifting almost 3 years and still cant lift very heavy

jemhh

For me, the chart is more accurate when I am not cutting than when I am cutting. I've been training since July so I should qualify as a Novice. I'm 150 lbs. When I was not cutting over the holidays, I could bench 90 pounds. But now that I have gone back to reduced calories in order to lose a few more pounds, my max is down about 10%. I'm pretty much viewing this as a time to work on form.

I think that Bret Contreras's chart is a good one.

segacs

Hey, I consider it an accomplishment that I can do a "real" push-up now. Of course, I can only manage 3 or 4 before collapsing exhausted, but hey, this is a brand new thing for me this month. For years I could barely manage the modified ones on my knees.

I can hold a plank for 30 seconds now too. Something else I never thought I'd be able to do.

NSVs... they come slow, but when they come, they feel great! And it's all relative -- I don't compare myself to others, but just to myself.

lemurcat12

BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »

segacs wrote: »

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

It varies from person to person. People generally consider weights to be heavy when you cannot do more than 5-8 reps with that weight. So if you're using weight that you feel like you can do over and over and over again...it's probably not "heavy" for you. Here are some standards for strength training at different levels. These are just averages, of course, but it may help you get a better idea of what weight to use.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

Hahahahaha. This says I should be able to deadlift 75lbs. Yeah, right. In my dreams.

I'd suspect that these body weights are assuming that the person in question is mostly muscle and has very low body fat. Those of us trying to lose weight and still carrying around too high a fat percentage probably ain't gonna come close to these numbers.

How much have you tried to deadlift? I bet you'd be surprised with just how strong you are. High fat percentage doesn't mean you are weak. Start with the bar (45lbs), add 5lbs ever time you can finish your reps and sets. You'll be at 75lbs in no time.

This. I had no idea of how much weight I could lift (especially deadlift, which I'd never tried) before I, well, tried.

My weights are still pretty light compared to many here, but 75 lb for a deadlift isn't that heavy.

Anyway, thanks for that link (and the Bret Contreras one too)--I've been looking for something like that to try and think through some goals.

Re heavy lifting--as said above, it's all relative, and means what you can only do 3-8 reps of or something like that. For example, something based on 5 sets of 5 reps, like StrongLifts is heavy lifting, whereas something based on more reps, like 3 sets of 10-12, is not (which does not mean it's not valuable or capable of increasing your strength).

andylllI

oh but keep in mind those are 1 rep maximums. Have you ever tried to find your IRM? I haven't. But I used this calculator (http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html) and based on what I can do right now, the numbers in that chart given by I_will_end_you seem worked for me.

Cool. It's good to have confirmation that I"m a novice. Haha.

terar21

segacs wrote: »

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

It varies from person to person. People generally consider weights to be heavy when you cannot do more than 5-8 reps with that weight. So if you're using weight that you feel like you can do over and over and over again...it's probably not "heavy" for you. Here are some standards for strength training at different levels. These are just averages, of course, but it may help you get a better idea of what weight to use.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

Hahahahaha. This says I should be able to deadlift 75lbs. Yeah, right. In my dreams.

I'd suspect that these body weights are assuming that the person in question is mostly muscle and has very low body fat. Those of us trying to lose weight and still carrying around too high a fat percentage probably ain't gonna come close to these numbers.

You'd be surprised at what you can lift. And those are max lifts so it's just one go. But they're also guidelines for what would place you at a certain level based off generalizations. It may take you more time to get to the next level or you may get there very quickly.

stargazgal

I would say those charts are bang on
I'm on week 5 and I've surpassed the starting weights . Wish I had seen this chart prior to starting. I think sometimes we surprise ourselves at how heavy we can lift. I'm now deadlifting 90-100 lbs

arditarose

segacs wrote: »

Hey, I consider it an accomplishment that I can do a "real" push-up now. Of course, I can only manage 3 or 4 before collapsing exhausted, but hey, this is a brand new thing for me this month. For years I could barely manage the modified ones on my knees.

I can hold a plank for 30 seconds now too. Something else I never thought I'd be able to do.

NSVs... they come slow, but when they come, they feel great! And it's all relative -- I don't compare myself to others, but just to myself.

I think you can dead lift 75 pounds! It's not as much as it seems, and it's a lift that allows you to pull a little more than you would think. Have you tried? I dead lift 195 but still think pushups are super hard haha.

yirara

I did stronglifts for a while but didn't get much past the beginner column for my weight, apart from deadlifts. But then I gave up because the gym equipment is too dodgy: a 5kg bar on which I can only put two weights max on each side because it doesn't fit the rack properly, the clamps are unscrewed after one set, and the bar tends to roll off the rack. Not good.

ana3067

segacs wrote: »

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

It varies from person to person. People generally consider weights to be heavy when you cannot do more than 5-8 reps with that weight. So if you're using weight that you feel like you can do over and over and over again...it's probably not "heavy" for you. Here are some standards for strength training at different levels. These are just averages, of course, but it may help you get a better idea of what weight to use.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

Hahahahaha. This says I should be able to deadlift 75lbs. Yeah, right. In my dreams.

I'd suspect that these body weights are assuming that the person in question is mostly muscle and has very low body fat. Those of us trying to lose weight and still carrying around too high a fat percentage probably ain't gonna come close to these numbers.

even when I was at my heaviest, I was able to lift the "untrained" number (although I wasn't "untrained," but I wasn't properly trained either and was previously only deadlifting like 60lbs). I am now about 6-7 months into regular lifting and just deadlifted 200lbs, putting me above the intermediate mark. I'm at or above novice for every exercise except bench press, but I also have tennis elbow which has limited my progression in upper body work. I've not properly bulked yet either, and I'm ~25%bf, maybe more!

But these are also all for one rep maxes. So it's possible you could do one rep at 75lbs for a deadlift. However, I am sure that variation in body fat % would definitely impact how well you match up with these stats, but also just other random variables. I happen to just be pretty good at back exercises compared to all my other lifts, and I think that my proportions influence this. I have lanky arms and that can make bench pressing kind of awkward too.

ana3067

jemhh wrote: »

For me, the chart is more accurate when I am not cutting than when I am cutting. I've been training since July so I should qualify as a Novice. I'm 150 lbs. When I was not cutting over the holidays, I could bench 90 pounds. But now that I have gone back to reduced calories in order to lose a few more pounds, my max is down about 10%. I'm pretty much viewing this as a time to work on form.

I think that Bret Contreras's chart is a good one.

I've been cutting since July, I bet that's also why my numbers are not that accurate for how long I've been at it.. I've really only been able to improve a bit on squats and bench/shouler press, the most on deadlifts, but I bet if I were maintaining or bulking in that time I would have improved even more. Especially if I didn't experience tennis elbow!

ana3067

SLLRunner wrote: »

twiggifer wrote: »

I see all these articles on how women need to " lift heavy". What does that exactly mean? Is it in reference to going to a gym and lifting 100 lbs or can it mean simply using free weights at 15-20 lbs during in home work outs?

Welcome, Twiggifer!

I do heavy lifting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I spend this time at the squat machine doing squats (105 lbs), lunges (105 lbs), rows (55 lbs), overhead lifts (not sure if this is the correct name) (55 bs), and dead lifts (125lbs). I don't know if this is really heavy, but for me it is, and I've seen amazing changes in my body.

Get a hold of New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women and read it and try out their program. It contains a lot of great information about muscle and nutrition and is an excellent resource.

Yup, all relative. None of these are heavy for me, although my shoulder press (overhead lift) is only 10lbs heavier than yours, so that one would be the closest to feeling heavy for me. Heavy relates to how many reps you can do without it being a walk in the park but also not putting yourself in danger lol.

SLLRunner

ana3067 wrote: »

SLLRunner wrote: »

twiggifer wrote: »

I see all these articles on how women need to " lift heavy". What does that exactly mean? Is it in reference to going to a gym and lifting 100 lbs or can it mean simply using free weights at 15-20 lbs during in home work outs?

Welcome, Twiggifer!

I do heavy lifting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I spend this time at the squat machine doing squats (105 lbs), lunges (105 lbs), rows (55 lbs), overhead lifts (not sure if this is the correct name) (55 bs), and dead lifts (125lbs). I don't know if this is really heavy, but for me it is, and I've seen amazing changes in my body.

Get a hold of New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women and read it and try out their program. It contains a lot of great information about muscle and nutrition and is an excellent resource.

Yup, all relative. None of these are heavy for me, although my shoulder press (overhead lift) is only 10lbs heavier than yours, so that one would be the closest to feeling heavy for me. Heavy relates to how many reps you can do without it being a walk in the park but also not putting yourself in danger lol.

Shoulder press, that's it (what I could not remember)!