Heavy lifting. Huh.
crazyjerseygirl
Posts: 1,252 Member
I'm interested. Just one thing. How heavy is heavy?
Are we talking 15, 30 lbs? Are we talking Olympic weight stuff?
I'm a lady btw, and I'm assuming that makes a difference, but really, when does lifting become heavy lifting?
(This question bought to you by dumb newbie of the month club!)
Are we talking 15, 30 lbs? Are we talking Olympic weight stuff?
I'm a lady btw, and I'm assuming that makes a difference, but really, when does lifting become heavy lifting?
(This question bought to you by dumb newbie of the month club!)
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Replies
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As heavy as you can safely handle with good form.
Usually (I think, anyway) referring to compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, etc.0 -
Those are the sorts I do (well the sorts my trainer makes me do!) and I'm fainting at a measly 10lbs so I guess I'm good to go then! Ha!0
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"Heavy" means lifting at near-failure at 5-8 reps. A 10 pound deadlift is very, very light, even for a small woman. If you can pick up a newborn baby, you can deadlift 10 pounds. If you're reasonably healthy, I'd be willing to bet you're strong enough to deadlift more than 50 pounds, and probably considerably more than that.
When you're first starting out, you'll often lift lighter weights while you learn good form and work on flexibility and/or strength imbalances. That's good strategy, and a good reason to lift light weights at the beginning. But a good beginner strength program should progress very fast, like adding 5-10 pounds every day you workout.0 -
here's a range for you
0 reps = to heavy
1 rep= 1 rep max
2-5 reps Really heavy
5-10 =heavy
10-15- not really heavy
15-20- no where near heavy.0 -
crazyjerseygirl wrote: »Those are the sorts I do (well the sorts my trainer makes me do!) and I'm fainting at a measly 10lbs so I guess I'm good to go then! Ha!
"Heavy" is relative.
I'm a woman, and I lift heavy. I've been training for several years. We all start light. Keep at it, and one day you'll be the girl doing bent over rows with the 55s.
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sarahrbraun wrote: »crazyjerseygirl wrote: »Those are the sorts I do (well the sorts my trainer makes me do!) and I'm fainting at a measly 10lbs so I guess I'm good to go then! Ha!
"Heavy" is relative.
I'm a woman, and I lift heavy. I've been training for several years. We all start light. Keep at it, and one day you'll be the girl doing bent over rows with the 55s.
Ooooh, that would be badass!0 -
"Heavy" means lifting at near-failure at 5-8 reps. A 10 pound deadlift is very, very light, even for a small woman. If you can pick up a newborn baby, you can deadlift 10 pounds. If you're reasonably healthy, I'd be willing to bet you're strong enough to deadlift more than 50 pounds, and probably considerably more than that.
When you're first starting out, you'll often lift lighter weights while you learn good form and work on flexibility and/or strength imbalances. That's good strategy, and a good reason to lift light weights at the beginning. But a good beginner strength program should progress very fast, like adding 5-10 pounds every day you workout.
I wonder if that's what trainer is working on. The ladies in our class, who are much smaller than me, lift heavy, but he doesn't let me pick my own weights yet. I think I'll take it slowly for now, I've injured myself lifting before and it wasn't fun!0 -
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Heavy depends on how strong you are. What's heavy for one person might not be for another.
I work with a PT and I deadlift 50kg comfortably and can do a few 60kg. I use a 14kg kettlebell in sessions, and 10kg free weights and chest press about 30kg on the bar.
I've been lifting for a while, although I didn't really do much while I was pregnant as my PT at the time wasn't happy to train me, so I've been back into it since my now 10 month old was 6.5 weeks old. I've definitely built up my strength over the last few months and I'm sure in a few more months I'll be even stronger.0 -
DawnieB1977 wrote: »Heavy depends on how strong you are.
not really- you can be extremely weak- and it's still qualifies as heavy- because it's the rep range- not the weight- and not how strong you are.
yes- but that's about training and genetics.What's heavy for one person might not be for another..
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DawnieB1977 wrote: »Heavy depends on how strong you are.
not really- you can be extremely weak- and it's still qualifies as heavy- because it's the rep range- not the weight- and not how strong you are.
yes- but that's about training and genetics.What's heavy for one person might not be for another..
Yes, but I might find say 60kg heavy and someone else might not. In a few months I might have increased what I can lift, so yes, training.
So how heavy is heavy? That is different for everyone.0 -
The rep range is the qualifier for how heavy something is for YOU. And, it sounds like your trainer is doing the right thing starting you off slowly. Myself, I started a couple of years ago only using the empty bar, and I found that really heavy. This week I was testing my 1RM's and my squat came in at 230#, my deadlift at 250#, my bench at 125# and my OHP at 105#. These are relatively average numbers, but I am over 50, and have mobility issues due to a running injury. In dumbbells, I usually work with 30-40#, but then again, I don't do too much isolation work. These things take time, and the higher you go, the slower the progress. These days I'm ecstatic if I can add 5 pounds to a lift in a month. Point being, just keep at it, you may surprise yourself with what you can accomplish
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beesareyellow wrote: »The rep range is the qualifier for how heavy something is for YOU. And, it sounds like your trainer is doing the right thing starting you off slowly. Myself, I started a couple of years ago only using the empty bar, and I found that really heavy. This week I was testing my 1RM's and my squat came in at 230#, my deadlift at 250#, my bench at 125# and my OHP at 105#. These are relatively average numbers, but I am over 50, and have mobility issues due to a running injury. In dumbbells, I usually work with 30-40#, but then again, I don't do too much isolation work. These things take time, and the higher you go, the slower the progress. These days I'm ecstatic if I can add 5 pounds to a lift in a month. Point being, just keep at it, you may surprise yourself with what you can accomplish
Nice. I hope I can have a 230 squat someday. And a 105 OHP.0 -
[/quote]
So how heavy is heavy? That is different for everyone.[/quote]
That is my bug revelation, that it's personal. Makes me feel much more confident in starting!0 -
beesareyellow wrote: »The rep range is the qualifier for how heavy something is for YOU. And, it sounds like your trainer is doing the right thing starting you off slowly. Myself, I started a couple of years ago only using the empty bar, and I found that really heavy. This week I was testing my 1RM's and my squat came in at 230#, my deadlift at 250#, my bench at 125# and my OHP at 105#. These are relatively average numbers, but I am over 50, and have mobility issues due to a running injury. In dumbbells, I usually work with 30-40#, but then again, I don't do too much isolation work. These things take time, and the higher you go, the slower the progress. These days I'm ecstatic if I can add 5 pounds to a lift in a month. Point being, just keep at it, you may surprise yourself with what you can accomplish
Excellent work.
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I don't know what an "official" definition is, but I think of heavy lifting as anything outside of "Barbie weights" with an intention to progressively be increasing your weight.0
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crazyjerseygirl wrote: »sarahrbraun wrote: »crazyjerseygirl wrote: »Those are the sorts I do (well the sorts my trainer makes me do!) and I'm fainting at a measly 10lbs so I guess I'm good to go then! Ha!
"Heavy" is relative.
I'm a woman, and I lift heavy. I've been training for several years. We all start light. Keep at it, and one day you'll be the girl doing bent over rows with the 55s.
Ooooh, that would be badass!
One day, my trainer had me doing bent over rows, just for the heck of it, he had me keep going until I could only do one. I went all the way up to the 55s. Yesterday he had me doing high volume ( like 4 or 5 sets. Rep ranges from 10-20) with 15s. My pecs and delts are so sore today!
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DawnieB1977 wrote: »DawnieB1977 wrote: »Heavy depends on how strong you are.
not really- you can be extremely weak- and it's still qualifies as heavy- because it's the rep range- not the weight- and not how strong you are.
yes- but that's about training and genetics.What's heavy for one person might not be for another..
Yes, but I might find say 60kg heavy and someone else might not. In a few months I might have increased what I can lift, so yes, training.
So how heavy is heavy? That is different for everyone.
Exactly- it's not a matter of how strong you- it's simply a matter of rep range.0 -
"Heavy" means lifting at near-failure at 5-8 reps. A 10 pound deadlift is very, very light, even for a small woman. If you can pick up a newborn baby, you can deadlift 10 pounds. If you're reasonably healthy, I'd be willing to bet you're strong enough to deadlift more than 50 pounds, and probably considerably more than that.
When you're first starting out, you'll often lift lighter weights while you learn good form and work on flexibility and/or strength imbalances. That's good strategy, and a good reason to lift light weights at the beginning. But a good beginner strength program should progress very fast, like adding 5-10 pounds every day you workout.
I'd broaden the rep range a bit. Guys are usually more willing to get into the low rep range and should target 4 to 6 reps. But depending on the exercise (like bodyweight exercises or fixed dumbbells) the next step up might be a relatively big jump, so higher reps might be needed before adding weight.
A lot of women aren't comfortable starting right in on 4 to 6 reps although there's no reason they can't or shouldn't. However, they might feel more confident starting in the 8 to 10 rep range, then move down to 6 to 8 reps after a few months. Again, aside from personal preference, there's no reason they can't then shift to 4 to 6 reps and lift just as heavy as guys.
So as a quick answer I'd suggest 4 to 10 reps for "lifting heavy."0 -
crazyjerseygirl wrote: »Those are the sorts I do (well the sorts my trainer makes me do!) and I'm fainting at a measly 10lbs so I guess I'm good to go then! Ha!
Fainting? Is that from the pace of the exercise or the weight itself?
When most of us are referring to lifting heavy, we mean via strength training (yes, usually compound movements). In generalized strength training, you do a heavy set of an exercises (e.g., squats) for a set number of repetitions (usually 3 - 12, depending on the program). You then rest for 60 - 300 seconds.
I am usually breathing heavy during a lifting session, but I’m working with weights at or above my bodyweight.0 -
"Heavy" means lifting at near-failure at 5-8 reps. A 10 pound deadlift is very, very light, even for a small woman. If you can pick up a newborn baby, you can deadlift 10 pounds. If you're reasonably healthy, I'd be willing to bet you're strong enough to deadlift more than 50 pounds, and probably considerably more than that.
When you're first starting out, you'll often lift lighter weights while you learn good form and work on flexibility and/or strength imbalances. That's good strategy, and a good reason to lift light weights at the beginning. But a good beginner strength program should progress very fast, like adding 5-10 pounds every day you workout.
I'd broaden the rep range a bit. Guys are usually more willing to get into the low rep range and should target 4 to 6 reps. But depending on the exercise (like bodyweight exercises or fixed dumbbells) the next step up might be a relatively big jump, so higher reps might be needed before adding weight.
A lot of women aren't comfortable starting right in on 4 to 6 reps although there's no reason they can't or shouldn't. However, they might feel more confident starting in the 8 to 10 rep range, then move down to 6 to 8 reps after a few months. Again, aside from personal preference, there's no reason they can't then shift to 4 to 6 reps and lift just as heavy as guys.
So as a quick answer I'd suggest 4 to 10 reps for "lifting heavy."
Yeah, I agree. I think some ladies/guys try to use their lifting session as a form of cardio too and think that doing 20 reps low weight will build muscle and help them burn calories. Heavy Compound movements might help gain strength with a decent calorie burn but doing loads of light isolation movements (curls etc) on a low weight probably wont do much for either strength or cardio. I try to separate the two, lift heavy (mid rep range) and separate my cardio on different days for overall health and a decent calorie burn. This is just my opinion though from what I observe/hear.
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Heavy is what heavy is to you. Some people can pick up things that weigh a hundred pounds and it is light, some people think that is to heavy and won't be able to move it at all. Don't compare yourself to other people. Lift what you can and progressively lift more.0
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