Females only - lifting/weight training results?

Crowhorse

It's a thread full of AWESOME!

psych101

I've always been muscular, but before I would exercise to lose weight and the muscles would show up and look nice. Now that I work the muscles to get them stronger and lift heavy you can tell a huge difference. Personally, I love it.

The stomach has always been my biggest struggle, and it's still major work in process. This is the first picture I've posted of it lol

Holy crap - those legs!! and those shoulders!! Nice! :flowerforyou:

2youngatheart

:flowerforyou: awesome!

SkinnyJess317

Bump for later

SeptemberLondon

These pics are mad-inspiring!!

yellow251

**Motivation is always great. but keep in mind that in order to see the results you want to see, you will need to first lower your body fat percentage. Lifting weights is fine and good to get stronger and it's supposed to be good for your bones, but most people suggest waiting until you reach your goal body fat percentage before trying to build muscle. Unless you're morbidly obese, I hear it's next to impossible to build muscle and lose weight at the same time. Building muscle is difficult for women because they have significantly less testosterone than men, but it can still be done. Best of luck to all the women weight trainers out there!**

I want to get stronger too but I still have some more weight to lose. I'm close to my first goal (when I'll finally not be considered overweight for my height and build) but I want to get even lower so I have a low enough body fat percentage to actually see the muscles I'll be building.

**No offense but that's incorrect and one of the reasons women stay out of the weight room. They believe they need to lose weight first before incorporating weights into their workouts. First of all the goal is to lose fat and maintain muscle-this is possible (as you can see from the pics posted in the thread). I'm not about to get into the science of this but believe me it's a lot easier to lose weight and weight train than to lose a ton of weight and muscle in the process and then work to put on muscle.

Hophead43

My progress:

FRONT



BICEP



BACK

DAMN!! Well done!

yellow251

Motivation is always great. but keep in mind that in order to see the results you want to see, you will need to first lower your body fat percentage. Lifting weights is fine and good to get stronger and it's supposed to be good for your bones, but most people suggest waiting until you reach your goal body fat percentage before trying to build muscle. Unless you're morbidly obese, I hear it's next to impossible to build muscle and lose weight at the same time. Building muscle is difficult for women because they have significantly less testosterone than men, but it can still be done. Best of luck to all the women weight trainers out there!

I want to get stronger too but I still have some more weight to lose. I'm close to my first goal (when I'll finally not be considered overweight for my height and build) but I want to get even lower so I have a low enough body fat percentage to actually see the muscles I'll be building.

Annnnd this is silly. Lifting as you lose weight will help you retain the muscle you have, help you become stronger, and improve your fitness. More than that you can certainly do it while lowering your bodyfat and seeing great results. I will demonstrate with a tasteful photo collage (I spend a lot of time playing on my phone...)





There is no reason not to lift as you lose weight.

I don't think that is what they are saying.

They're saying "Lifting weights is fine and good to get stronger and it's supposed to be good for your bones, but most people suggest waiting until you reach your goal body fat percentage before trying to build muscle".

In other words, lift while you cut for strength and bone health (and to preserve muscle - they left that part out). Wait to build muscle, i.e. bulk until you get to low %BF. Which is the general recommendation so your gains are more LBM, less fat.

Actually, if you're a newbie you can definitely do both, and why wouldn't you want to.

Bulking & cutting is typically associated with a very specific diet to either help initiate muscle growth or cut body fat respectively. They both require specialized diets and training plans to properly execute and this style of cycle training is typically utilized by those looking to compete in bodybuilding/fitness competitions-although non-competitors bulk & cut. For the sake of this thread I don't believe most women are looking to actual "bulk" if they're overweight. Just because a person is lifting heavy doesn't mean they're "bulking." And just because a person is lifting "light" doesn't mean they're cutting. The goal is to lose fat and maintain muscle. By incorporating heavy lifting into your weight loss plan you will burn more calories which helps to burn more fat. Fat loss = weight loss. Fat loss with heavy lifting helps to preserve muscle.

nogreenthumb

Love, love, LOVE this thread! So inspirational! I've been lifting for about a week now. I'm still trying to find the program that works for me set/rep/weight-wise.

I have a pretty good base, thankfully my early years of weight training and sports haven't totally disappeared from my frame yet. I'm looking to improve though, and push myself to lift more.

eurochick64

Saving, so one day in the near future i may have awesome before & after pictures !:blushing:

Xwardian

Awesome results

Aliciaaah

Love this post. Time to roll it over :happy:

NoMouseNoMore

4 years of lifting have given me results like this. Best my back has EVER looked.

Aliciaaah

I looks great! I've only recently started noticing changes in my back. So hard to tell when you don't see it in your face all the time.

MagnumBurrito

4 years of lifting have given me results like this. Best my back has EVER looked.

In to follow posts like NoM NoM here

the_summer_belle

Bump

LiftAndBalance

Bump so I can keep following

Serah87

In. For awesomeness!! :bigsmile:

Yanicka1

In

psych101

In for part two! And ladies showing their awesomeness xx

bschoo01

bump

loriemn

bump

CarlaMomOf4

Totally in. These posts are inspiring and are making me want to start lifting!

BombshellPhoenix

I've been lifting for over a year now. Started June 2013 after my 6 week postpartum check up after having my second baby. Erm, started out at 170 lbs at 5'3.5".








For those afraid to be all bulky and things lol:



I ended at 115 lbs before I started bulking in mid February. I've only gained 6 lbs but this made me super happy



Sorry for the spam this has truly been the best thing I have done fitness-wise in my entire life. Weightlifting means the world to me. I feel like a badass and I hope to do it forever. I've learned and have grown so much from patience under the barbell.

Love all you lifting ladies! Keep being incredible. And for those scared to start, don't be just do it!

LAT1963

Hooo Leee crud! Those pics are all awesome!

I want a back like that. Were you using free weights or machines?

liberaltendencies

I've been lifting for over a year now. Started June 2013 after my 6 week postpartum check up after having my second baby. Erm, started out at 170 lbs at 5'3.5".








For those afraid to be all bulky and things lol:



I ended at 115 lbs before I started bulking in mid February. I've only gained 6 lbs but this made me super happy



Sorry for the spam this has truly been the best thing I have done fitness-wise in my entire life. Weightlifting means the world to me. I feel like a badass and I hope to do it forever. I've learned and have grown so much from patience under the barbell.

Love all you lifting ladies! Keep being incredible. And for those scared to start, don't be just do it!

FABULOUS!

NoxDineen

Holy hell! BombshellPhoenix that is a crazy inspirational transformation. Putting down my tablet and grabbing my barbell right now!

BombshellPhoenix

Thank you all so much♡.

@LAT1963 free weights here. I'm currently doing All Pro routine.

TFaustino67

Looking great!

o2cnpl

NIce back.... Keep up the good work