Lifting heavy (women)

PetiteLittleFlower

Hey, iv been told by a lot of others I should start lifting heavy? I have 4lbs to loose then want to maintain but gain a little muscle. What weights should I be doing? And what weight? Iv no idea what lifting heavy for a woman means. I don't want to look bulky at all just want to improve my shape.

PetiteLittleFlower

Anyone???

fittocycle

A lot of people here like the book New Rules of Lifting for Women. It has some great weight training ideas in it.

If you're more of a DVD kind of gal, you could try the Jari Love Get Ripped and Chiseled DVD. It's the close thing I've seen to the barbell classes at my gym!

nomeejerome

Hey, iv been told by a lot of others I should start lifting heavy? I have 4lbs to loose then want to maintain but gain a little muscle. What weights should I be doing? And what weight? Iv no idea what lifting heavy for a woman means. I don't want to look bulky at all just want to improve my shape.

1. You will not get/look bulky by lifting weights.
2. You cannot gain muscle while eating at a deficit.
3. By lifting, it will help you retain lean *body mass
4. To gain muscle, you will have to eat at surplus and be patient....it takes awhile.

ETA:*for clarification

saanaismom

I say lift as heavy as you can to complete 8-12 reps, 3 sets. The last few reps should be work. For some women that may mean 5lbs for others 40lbs (using a bicep curl as an example).

PetiteLittleFlower

Hey, iv been told by a lot of others I should start lifting heavy? I have 4lbs to loose then want to maintain but gain a little muscle. What weights should I be doing? And what weight? Iv no idea what lifting heavy for a woman means. I don't want to look bulky at all just want to improve my shape.

1. You will not get/look bulky by lifting weights.
2. You cannot gain muscle while eating at a deficit.
3. By lifting, it will help you retain lean muscle.
4. To gain muscle, you will have to eat at surplus and be patient....it takes awhile.

Will I not gain fat by consuming a surplus? I take it I would be having the right kind of foods. Think I will invest in one of these books.

PetiteLittleFlower

I say lift as heavy as you can to complete 8-12 reps, 3 sets. The last few reps should be work. For some women that may mean 5lbs for others 40lbs (using a bicep curl as an example).

Thank you. On the pec dec (think that what it's called) I lift 50 but biceps I can only lift 30

nomeejerome

Hey, iv been told by a lot of others I should start lifting heavy? I have 4lbs to loose then want to maintain but gain a little muscle. What weights should I be doing? And what weight? Iv no idea what lifting heavy for a woman means. I don't want to look bulky at all just want to improve my shape.

1. You will not get/look bulky by lifting weights.
2. You cannot gain muscle while eating at a deficit.
3. By lifting, it will help you retain lean *body mass
4. To gain muscle, you will have to eat at surplus and be patient....it takes awhile.

Will I not gain fat by consuming a surplus? I take it I would be having the right kind of foods. Think I will invest in one of these books.

*I edited for clarification......

If you are lifting heavy you will retain lean body mass and decrease body fat, which will reveal the muscle you already have...so if you want to build more muscle, you would have to eat at a surplus and be patient because it can take quite a long time, especially in women.

tehboxingkitteh

A lot of people recommend NROL4W or stronglifts 5x5.

I have my own regimen. I lift 3 days a week, usually 3 sets of 10. I also box 3 days a week.

nomeejerome

Eat, Train, Progress.

Is a group on MFP that could answer more questions for you and have awesome links to previous threads.....

dkhuff1

Just be careful too. I have done New Rules for for women and twice I got hurt because my tendons and ligaments couldn't handle the weight. I got strong, I looked and felt great and then got injured. This happened to me twice. So just make sure you listen to your body. My Physical Therapist does not want me lifting heavy any more for this reason.. But I do still lift and challenge myself but I tend to list so that I can stay around 15 reps so that I don't develop tendon problems.. I also think stretching is really important when you lift be UAE you can get really tight.

Achrya

I did the first stage of NROL4W and I enjoyed it, now I'm doing SL5x5 because I like the simplicity and ease of the program (Though I wonder if it's enough on it's own and if I should work in more/different lifts) I believe I've leaned out a bit (Less back fat) and most importantly I enjoy it.

Don't be afraid to start heavier than you think you can; I believe people often under estimate themselves and are shocked by what they can actually do. But don't hurt yourself either, lol.

Also be sure to warm up (I putter on the treadmill for 5-10 minutes for mine. meh) and stretch after.

3foldchord

1. You will not get/look bulky by lifting weights.
2. You cannot gain muscle while eating at a deficit.
3. By lifting, it will help you retain lean *body mass
4. To gain muscle, you will have to eat at surplus and be patient....it takes awhile.

ETA:*for clarification

TRUTH^^^

I do Stronglifts 5X5 and eat at a deficit. I don't want to gain muscle, just lose the bodyfat covering them. But I know ladies that eat at a surplus while lifting to gain muscle, and of course some fat is gained, then they go through eating at a deficit (while still lifting) to reduce the bodyfat again

sunlover89

Find your nearest cross-fit box or invest in a few hours with a Olympic lifting certified personal trainer. Getting the right form and technique first is CRUCIAL. There are two moves that make most others obsolete - Squats, Deadlifts. Do these properly with a barbell and you're on the right track.

PetiteLittleFlower

I did the first stage of NROL4W and I enjoyed it, now I'm doing SL5x5 because I like the simplicity and ease of the program (Though I wonder if it's enough on it's own and if I should work in more/different lifts) I believe I've leaned out a bit (Less back fat) and most importantly I enjoy it.

Iv no idea what nrol4w or the other one is!

Achrya

I did the first stage of NROL4W and I enjoyed it, now I'm doing SL5x5 because I like the simplicity and ease of the program (Though I wonder if it's enough on it's own and if I should work in more/different lifts) I believe I've leaned out a bit (Less back fat) and most importantly I enjoy it.

Iv no idea what nrol4w or the other one is!

New Rules Of Lifting for Women http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1583333398

Stronglifts http://stronglifts.com/

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

If you want to gain actual muscle, you're going to need to eat at a slight surplus. Yes, you will probably gain some fat as well, but the end result will be that you look better when you cut in a few months.

There's a reason men do cut and bulk cycles to get that ripped look. As a woman, you're not going to get bulky without a whole lot of eating and/or using substances that cause that anabolic reaction. Something people NEVER tell you. Those bodybuilding bikini women are not big in real life (think 5'4"-5'7", 110-115 pounds, 11-13% bf, size 0-2 jeans). They're quite tiny. The heavyweight class ones are juicing, and not juice-fasting.

If all you're looking for is a little bit of newbie gains, then eat at maintenance and lift. Then eat at a deficit and lift to shed fat. But if you're aiming for more than the overall millimeters of added muscle mass, you're going to need to eat at a surplus. It can be as little as 100-200 calories over maintenance a day. You don't need to eat all the foods to do this. If you find you're putting on more weight than you like or that your clothes are getting too tight for your comfort, then cut back on the food and keep lifting.

You'll get farther with a bulk and a cut than you ever will doing this at maintenance. I'm finding this lesson out the hard way and getting ready to start a bulk again in August.

karen19711

BUMP.........Smile K xo