Weight Lifting Inquiry

crazebeck

I am new to lifting weights and dont want to bulk up at all, I am solely looking to define what I have and have the muscles appear more than they are currently. Hubby doesnt like super toned girls so I am not looking to go overkill, just the nice almost 6 pack I used to have and nice defined arms and back.

Is it true you do not want to lift two days in a row? I am not doing anything major so I can understand this being true for those benchpressing their weight, but for me - doing 8-10 pounds and a few exercise machines and 25 pound kettleball? I want results and know for my body, these things work but I also want to do this right!

Anyone have a good routine they can recommend? I am new to the exercise machines so maybe I need to incorporate circuit training using them to speed up my progress.

Thanks for any and all suggestions for those weight lifters out there!

lurcstet

lifting weights two, three or more days in a row is fine, but as long as your not using the same muscle groups. Most lifters who lift every day do routines that intensely work out different muscle groups, so that each group gets time to rest and recover while you work another goup. These are called split routines.

If your starting out I would go for a full body workout 2 to 3 days a week. I would look at doing one excersise per muscle group as part of a singular training sessions. So that would be something for the shoulders, back, chest, legs, biceps, triceps and core.
Look to doing 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per excersise.

You metioned kettlebells (which happens to be my alll time fav equipment) These are great when done correctly for conditioning and overall fitness. You can easily complete a full body workout using just kettlebells. I would look at the following

swings
chest press
bent over row
squats
shoulder press tricep dip
bicep curl

all can be done with a decent kettlebell. But start low in weight and learn good form... this is very important. There are loads of videos on you tube showing kettlebell and all weight lifing excersise form, study them closely and learn them before you increase the weight.

GetSoda

at the weight you lift, you could lift multiple times per day, 7 days a week. 8-10 lbs is cardio with a dumbbell in your hand.


In a progression program, rest becomes a lot more important. Someone that lifts the same weight for years does not improve. For example, if you squat that 25 pound dumbbell, it stops being strength training in about a week's time. If you do it for 5 years, you are basically staying exactly the same for 5 years. You've developed a body that can squat 25 pounds - and honestly it's really pretty pointless. However, if you add weight each week, you will make steady progress for a very long time.

I like to use my wife as an example. she went from unweighted squats to 190lbs on the barbell in about 60 days time. She earned more progress/health benefit PER WEEK than some yo-yo doing light weight or silly '100 squat challenges' for endless months.

All that said,

Circuit training is fine for fat loss, but bollocks for strength.
It sounds like that is your goal though. So. Knock yourself out on the circuit trainer.

fannyfrost

Hi,

As a woman it is really hard to bulk up. I curl 12 lb dumbells and do 15 lb dumbell chest press and no bulking at all. So don't worry about bulking up, you have to really get up there to bulk up. I am 47 years old and have been lifting for years.

For each muscle you should do at least 2 sets of 20. Work the muscles to fatigue, but not till you can't even lift the weight (that is BS).

The reason you don't work the same muscles 2 days in a row is that you can hurt yourself. I didn't think much about that till I took a Pilates class that focused on upper body, next day a Yoga class that focused on upper body and an overall lifting session the following day. Well I ended up with tendonitis in my shoulder. I shortly after feeling better went on vacation lifted a suitcase, went OW!!!! but continued to do stuff on my vacation. It was a year before I could raise my arm straight back up. So take it from me. Its now about the lbs you are lifing, it is about not letting your body rest in between. The muscle can often handle it, but the tendons may have issues.

Regards,
Fanny

rick_po

At those weights, you're just adding a little intensity to your cardio workout. That's fine and good. Nothing wrong with working a little harder. You can burn fat that way, which is probably your goal, so it's not a bad way to go.

But it's not a strength program. A strength program requires progression to heavier weights. You'll make more strength gains with heavier weights and lower reps. If your program doesn't have a plan or schedule for increasing the weight, it's not a good strength program.

Starting a new strength program is physically taxing, which is why they say you should rest between workouts. But if you're just doing a cardio workout with light dumbbells, you can workout every day.

If you've never trained for strength before, you can make a lot of progress very quickly. You might be plateauing on your cardio work, and shifting focus to a strength program might give you a kick start. And the great thing about being a woman - you don't have enough testosterone to bulk up, so you don't need to worry about your muscles getting too big.

If you decide to do a true strength program, Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting for Women, and Stronglifts 5x5 are proven winners. Look them all up, see which one looks like most fun, and jump in!

jimmmer

Circuit training is fine for fat loss, but bollocks for strength.

Quoted for bollocks! That word doesn't get used enough on here......

Plus 100% what he said.....

akindc

Hi,

As a woman it is really hard to bulk up. I curl 12 lb dumbells and do 15 lb dumbell chest press and no bulking at all. So don't worry about bulking up, you have to really get up there to bulk up. I am 47 years old and have been lifting for years.

For each muscle you should do at least 2 sets of 20. Work the muscles to fatigue, but not till you can't even lift the weight (that is BS).

The reason you don't work the same muscles 2 days in a row is that you can hurt yourself. I didn't think much about that till I took a Pilates class that focused on upper body, next day a Yoga class that focused on upper body and an overall lifting session the following day. Well I ended up with tendonitis in my shoulder. I shortly after feeling better went on vacation lifted a suitcase, went OW!!!! but continued to do stuff on my vacation. It was a year before I could raise my arm straight back up. So take it from me. Its now about the lbs you are lifing, it is about not letting your body rest in between. The muscle can often handle it, but the tendons may have issues.

Regards,
Fanny

Not to downplay your fitness accomplishments, but using 12-15lb dumbbells is hardly lifting. That's cardio.