What does lifting "heavy" mean to women?

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cynthiaj777
cynthiaj777 Posts: 787 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I see many women claim to lift heavy, and I am just curious what exactly this means? I know heavy can be 100s of pounds for men and can vary for both genders, but for women, what does heavy mean to you?

Out of curiousity, what are you lifting when you do these various exercises?

Edit: Poor wording I guess? No one is giving me numbers. I want numbers.

I know it varies. I was curious about numbers.

I am asking specifically....what do you deadlift? Squat? Shoulder press? Curl?

I always hear "heavy" used, but I never see numbers associated with the phrase.
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Replies

  • SirBonerFart
    SirBonerFart Posts: 1,185 Member
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    Just like time and space heavy is relative
  • arl1286
    arl1286 Posts: 276 Member
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    Heavy means I'm struggling to complete rep number 6 or so.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
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    Can't really ask that as my heavy will be nothing to someone else
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Just like time and space heavy is relative

    That's deep, man.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    For some women, heavy is...let's say for a deadlift...85 lbs, and for other women it's 215 lbs. Heavy is defined by what challenges you.
  • SirBonerFart
    SirBonerFart Posts: 1,185 Member
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    Just like time and space heavy is relative

    That's deep, man.


    That's what she said
  • DeeBrownBaker
    DeeBrownBaker Posts: 145
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    are we talking arms or legs? I can lift more with my legs... my upper body strength is what I work on most...
  • VincitQuiSeVincit
    VincitQuiSeVincit Posts: 285 Member
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    "Heavy" isn't a number.
    For me, it's fatigue by the 5th or 6th rep.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    Just like time and space heavy is relative

    This.

    Last lift session I squatted 100lbs, OHP 56 (blah), and deadlifted 133 (cause kilogram plates). To me this is heavy. To someone else? Not at all heavy.
  • cynthiaj777
    cynthiaj777 Posts: 787 Member
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    Well, I know it varies. I was curious about numbers.

    I am asking specifically....what do you deadlift? Squat? Shoulder press? Curl?

    I always hear "heavy" used, but I never see numbers.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    Heavy for me is the most weight I can lift to reach my rep goal.

    Sometimes I'm working in the strength range doing 3 to 5 reps, other times I'm using hypertrophy range of 8 to 12 reps. The weight I can lift obviously varies accordingly.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,676 Member
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    Heavy to me means, taking the exercise to failure within a few reps (after having done a few sets).
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
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    Heavy lifting is subjective but usually implies lifting to failure at the 6-8th rep. Meraning, adding weight to your workset until you can barely perform a few reps in perfect form. This signals additional muscle fibers to come into play.

    Example: I see girls on hip abductor machines doing 100million reps of 20lbs whereas I've seem girls do 110lbsx10 etc. You get the idea
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    The same thing it means for men. There is no difference.

    What is heavy for them. It's relative.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    Heavy lifting is subjective but usually implies lifting to failure at the 6-8th rep. Meraning, adding weight to your workset until you can barely perform a few reps in perfect form. This signals additional muscle fibers to come into play.

    Example: I see girls on hip abductor machines doing 100million reps of 20lbs whereas I've seem girls do 110lbsx10 etc. You get the idea

    ^ There are men doing the same. It is not exclusive to women.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    Heavy means the same thing to women as it does to men. It is a high percentage of your one rep max, which can be safely gauged by working with a weight that causes you to fail at 3-5 reps. This is approx. 85-90% of your 1RM.
  • treesloth
    treesloth Posts: 162 Member
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    Just like time and space heavy is relative

    Duuuude.... totally... and why are they called fingers? Do they fing?
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    Well, I know it varies. I was curious about numbers.

    I am asking specifically....what do you deadlift? Squat? Shoulder press? Curl?

    I always hear "heavy" used, but I never see numbers.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1060132-so-who-s-the-strongest-woman-on-mfp?hl=strongest+woman
  • cmay89
    cmay89 Posts: 337 Member
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    lifting at 85 or 90% of my max. My personal bests are listed out on my profile if that helps. Different for everyone though.

    My idea of heavy is more like the average male's idea of heavy I believe, not the average female view.
  • cleotherio
    cleotherio Posts: 712 Member
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    Well, I know it varies. I was curious about numbers.

    I am asking specifically....what do you deadlift? Squat? Shoulder press? Curl?

    I always hear "heavy" used, but I never see numbers.

    Currently -
    Squat - 5x5 @160 lbs
    Bench - 4x5@105
    DL - 1x5 @205
    OHP - 4x5@85
    Curls - don't do them often, but last time I tried I did at least 10 with the barbell (45 lbs)

    ETA - I started Stronglifts 5x5 in March with the barbell for all the lifts (other than deadlifts). I had some weight lifting experience over the years. The bar by itself didn't feel "heavy", but I wanted to follow the program as it was written. I started failing at higher weights about a month or so in.

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