Women & weights: how much + results questions

goredguar

I started the NHS couch-to-5k podcasts in October last year, and I now run 3-4 times a week for 35-40 minutes in my nearby park for cardio.

However, I've only recently started strength training 2 and 1/2 weeks ago, having bought a set of 20kg dumbbells and "The body sculpting bible for women" book, and do that every day I'm not running. (So my days alternate between weight lifting and cardio). I'm lifting 5kg at the moment so my arms get used to the movements. (Sessions are 20 reps each of 8 different exercises).

Thing is, I was wondering how it took for people to start seeing results? As in, how long before your muscles start to hypertrophy/grow? (I'm 22, height 5"4, weight 110 pounds when I weighed myself at home 1 week ago).
My legs are already toned from running, it's more my shoulders, arms and abdomen I'm focusing on - and I'm relatively slim so I'm not having to wait for too much fat to burn off to "expose" the muscle beneath (if that's how it works).

Also, when do you think I should increase the weights? The book seems to want me to go for another 3 weeks but I'm finding the 5kg no longer much of a challenge to lift. Do you need to "feel the burn" after the weight lifting session?

Thanks in advance. I'm loving how much stronger I feel since taking up running, and I'm looking forward to building more muscle!

ldimicco

I don't know the scientific answer for this, but I've been lifting weights 2-3 times a week for close to 15 years and always see the best and quickest results when I push myself - feeling the burn! Many women seem to lift light which is fine at first, but once it no longer feels challenging, it's time to bump up your weight.

IWILLBelieveAchieveInspire

I'm much larger than you but i have been doing a more serious weight lifting routine for the last 4weeks. I do a four day split and track my progress. Each week trying to push harder than the last. I'm always sore after my workout so my muscles have been worked. My husband took my measurements two weeks ago and again a few days back. I am already seeing a difference in numbers just about everywhere on my body. Meaning lost inches. The scale hasn't budged a bit but I can definitely tell in my clothes. My diet has been on point during this time as well. I still can't see muscles as there is way too much fat covering it but I definitely look more toned.

goredguar

I don't know the scientific answer for this, but I've been lifting weights 2-3 times a week for close to 15 years and always see the best and quickest results when I push myself - feeling the burn! Many women seem to lift light which is fine at first, but once it no longer feels challenging, it's time to bump up your weight.

Awesome - I took your advice and kept going today, but managed to get to 30-40 reps before I started to go "argh!", so I've put a bit more weight on the dumbbells and it already feels more 'right'.
Thanks for the help!

xsmilexforxmex

I would say if you can do 20 rep's of a weight and you want to gain strength then you definitely need to 'up' the weight. Go slow, dont just up 10lbs and expect not to get hurt... but add a few lbs each session until it's a push... for *ME* something I can do 6-10 rep's on usually feels the best. I also get bored easily and wont do more than 5 sets or 40ish reps of anything, whichever comes first...

cmeiron

If you want your muscles to actually get bigger, this requires gaining weight by eating at a surplus (above your maintenance intake level). If you just want to get stronger and retain your existing muscle while you continue to lose fat, then you can do that as an alternative to mass gains. An in-between approach is to eat right AT maintenance and do what's called a recomposition - slow fat loss and slow muscle gain. Either way, you'll want to find a good progressive lifting program that challenges you to continually increase the weights you're using. In terms of reps, the range for strength is about 4-6 and hypertrophy is only about 8-12. Any higher than that and you're training for endurance, not strength or muscle gain. The last rep or two should be very difficult to complete - so yes, you should feel a burn at that point.

HMVOL7409

If you want your muscles to actually get bigger, this requires gaining weight by eating at a surplus (above your maintenance intake level). If you just want to get stronger and retain your existing muscle while you continue to lose fat, then you can do that as an alternative to mass gains. An in-between approach is to eat right AT maintenance and do what's called a recomposition - slow fat loss and slow muscle gain. Either way, you'll want to find a good progressive lifting program that challenges you to continually increase the weights you're using. In terms of reps, the range for strength is about 4-6 and hypertrophy is only about 8-12. Any higher than that and you're training for endurance, not strength or muscle gain. The last rep or two should be very difficult to complete - so yes, you should feel a burn at that point.

This. 30-40 reps is going to get you no where. Time to up the weight and aim for lower reps. One thing that's helped me fire is pushing myself out of the comfort zone. Yes you should have a weight where the last few reps are difficult but when you feel it burn, push out a few more. ????

wapan

I've read that 12 to 15 reps before you lose good form is a great guage of whether a weight is heavy enough for you.

stinkypoopy

Throw that book away and instead read The new rules of lifting for women.

89nunu

Throw that book away and instead read The new rules of lifting for women.

Kind of this. Doesn't sound like the workout in that book is gonna get you anywhere. Think about a gym membership, or buy a a barbell, if that's not an option YouTube how to substitute the compound movements with dumbbells (you will quickly need more weight though) I heard good things about the all pros beginners routine using dumbbells.

And everything cmeirun and hmvol said. They know

Cait_Sidhe

Thing is, I was wondering how it took for people to start seeing results? As in, how long before your muscles start to hypertrophy/grow?

Unless you're eating at a surplus, your muscles are not going to grow.

Also, when do you think I should increase the weights? The book seems to want me to go for another 3 weeks but I'm finding the 5kg no longer much of a challenge to lift. Do you need to "feel the burn" after the weight lifting session?

If it's not a challenge, increase the weights. Even if it is a challenge, increase the weights. Unless you're unable to lift with proper form, increase the weights. If you're not able to keep proper form, don't increase the weights. In this case, lower the weights and work your way back up.
I'd consider a different lifting program myself.
Read Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Look into Stronglifts 5x5.

kelly_e_montana

For aesthetics, aim for 9-12 reps. If you want the best medium between strength building and aesthetics, then do something more like the heaviest weight you can do at 6-8 reps. If you want to focus simply on strength gains but don't care that much about how it makes you look, lift as heavy as possible in the 1-5 rep range.

You can buy a book or there are lots of free web sites. When I was young and into bodybuilding, I honestly started with Weight Lifting for Dummies and Oxygen magazine. I have been lifting off and on since 2000. I am getting more into the power lifting side of things now. I don't think you need barbells at all for bodybuilding to start, as long as your dumbbells are heavy enough. I like barbells now and use them a lot, but I still prefer dumbbell chest presses and overhead presses, but now I use 40 pound dumbbells. The only things I actually prefer barbells on for body building is squats and deadlifts, although that's just my personal preference.

I don't buy into the fact that body recomp is difficult. I gained a ton of weight in grad school (70 pounds) and started lifting again when I was about 200 pounds (down from 235) in about October 2012. Then eating at a small deficit and working out with weights has caused me to lose 3 pants sizes in the last year, but I've only lost 10 pounds the whole time (now at about 170 and in the acceptable body fat range). I you are new to weightlifting, you will see gains and I saw them very easily. For example, my leg extension (although I rarely use machines now) was 40 pounds in October 2012 and now it's 140+ pounds. I am now curling 25# and I was curling 8-10 when I started lifting again in October 2012.

I could start to see visible results after about 4-6 weeks of lifting. If you are thinner, you will see definition quickly.

usernamekelly1

this is a good read

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/progressive-overload/

goredguar

Thanks for the awesome advice everyone! I will definitely look into buying those books you mentioned.

The reason I won't go to the gym is that I'm: (a) A student (b) Living in super-expensive London.
So it's too much money for me to spend when there's a perfectly good park nearby for running, and I bought a set of weights for my birthday.

Usernamekelly - I've had a look at that site, so is what they're saying: (i) If you can do the reps they've listed, increase the weight next time until you can do the reps fine, then increase / etc (ii) To build muscle women need 125 calories extra a day (iii) train the full body 3-4 times a week with rest days in between.
Is this correct?

Thanks once again everyone!

EDIT - Also, should I be aiming for around 110g of protein a day, since that site mentions 1g of protein per body weight is most commonly used (and obviously increase it as I gain weight)
- Plus, it says (for women) to aim to gain 1lb a month / 0.25lb a week if muscle building, again, is this correct?

cmeiron

You can definitely get really good results with dumbbells at home, but you may find that you quickly need heavier weights. Check out the classifieds for used equipment (there's often a lot floating around this time of year b/c people upgraded their stuff for the new year). I'm a student and couldn't afford the gym either; I used the All Pro Beginner Routine (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843 ) at home, using dumbbells (so used DB versions of the BB lifts), from Feb to December last year, first while I was cutting and then later for bulking. I like the program because the rep range and weight progression is a good middle-of-the-road designed for both strength and hypertrophy. You can use YouTube or any of the books mentioned earlier to learn how to do the lifts properly. I finally outgrew my equipment and am using the school gym now - it's included in my tuition - maybe that's an option for you too?

If your aim is to gain, then yes, 1-2 lb/month is a good target for women. Usually that means eating at a surplus of around 150-300/day but you'll have to see how you respond and tweak as required. Your protein sounds reasonable; you could go higher if you wanted to. If you're interested in bulking, there's a good mfp group you might want to check out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/51470-women-who-bulk

IWILLBelieveAchieveInspire

Prior to my new routine I was lifting light and high rep and saw no change in my measurements. Now that I lift as heavy as I can tolerate for 8-10reps the inches are coming off.