What is considered heavy lifting for a woman?

Strokingdiction

If you're gonna drop the set you need to up the weight.

best I can do..someone needs to find an animated one...

Here you go!

But but, those aren't monkeys!

It's the entire cast of Time Bandits...IN MONKEY SUITS!!!

But but, those aren't monkey suits!

There's just no pleasing you is there?

Well, there is...:blushing:

But in this? NO!

quellybelly

what I lift heavy is completely irrelevant to what you lift as heavy.

Everyone is NOT the same as far as ability and where they are are in their journey.

Heavy is a rep range- not a number.

Heavy is 1-5 reps.


If you can't do just one single rep- it's TOO heavy.
If you can do between 1-5 reps- it's heavy.
If you can do between 5-10 you are training strength and size (if the diet supports it)
if you can do between 10-15 reps- you are training muscle endurance
if you can do between 15-20 it's to light and you're probably bored out of your mind.

wanted to keep a record of this for my own knowledge. thanks

SezxyStef

So if my main goal is to drop fat and simply look better (not to compete or necessarily specifically to get very strong, simply for aesthetics), I'm good with my 6-12 range?

I personally prefer my 5 rep range...3x5 or 5x5 (which I do now) but IMHO resistence training is great...I have watched my sister go from slim to lean and pretty cut (about 19% bf) doing resistence training alone. She can't do a chin up mind you where I can but she is good with that for now.

Ha ha!

Now should I get huffy because no one answered my very speficic question?

Christ.

Guess this makes me a dancing monkey

SezxyStef

Strength gains and monkeys dancing aside :laugh: ...if one is eating in a deficit and is looking to lose fat, is the 5 rep range optimal? I'm not interested so much in strength gains, but in losing fat.

Also, if you are eating in a defiict, I would imagine that strength gains will level out at some point?

Any range is good because it is the deficet that makes the fat go...the lifting and extra protien maintain muscle mass.

And yes gains do level out..mine have to an extent...as I am in a deficet (ramping up now as I am so close to goal) and I am looking forward to the gainzzzzzzzzzzzzz again.

Nice2BFitAgain

Lifting heavy is lifting a weight in repetition (1-6 times) usually for 2 - 3 sets that is difficult for you to complete. If it's hard for you to do 5 pushups, that would be lifting heavy for you. If you get good enough that the pushups become easy, then you could move to barbells and weights. You progressively load based on what your muscles are capable of pushing (or pulling). This goes for any weight bearing exercise.

New Rules for Lifting for Women is a fantastic resource that will go in depth to better answer your question.

And like others have said, free weights are inherently better due to the need to engage a much wider range of accessory muscles while lifting. It's a better overall workout.

Now I'm confused because I have always read and heard 6-12 reps and now three people here have said 1-6. Oy! lol

Though I'm wondering what good one rep really does ...

Reps 1-6 are optimal for building strength..and if your diet supports it, you will put on some mass as well.

Reps 8-12 are optimal for hypertrophy (if your diet supports it)...you will also make strength gains, but not to the extent that you would if you were training for strength (1-6 reps).

A body builder for example would optimally work in the 8-12 rep range and do much more volume of work...a power lifter or Olympic lifter on average is going to do less volume and work in the 1-6 rep range to optimize strength gains and train the CNS for optimal power and strength.

So if my main goal is to drop fat and simply look better (not to compete or necessarily specifically to get very strong, simply for aesthetics), I'm good with my 6-12 range?

There is nothing wrong with your 6-12 range, but if you can do 12 then you should probably consider upping your weight.

graham713

This thread absolutely made my day! Not only did it give me some good info and answer some questions I've been wondering about but it literally made me LOL! I had to scroll back through a few times just to watch the dancing monkeys!

rml_16

Lifting heavy is lifting a weight in repetition (1-6 times) usually for 2 - 3 sets that is difficult for you to complete. If it's hard for you to do 5 pushups, that would be lifting heavy for you. If you get good enough that the pushups become easy, then you could move to barbells and weights. You progressively load based on what your muscles are capable of pushing (or pulling). This goes for any weight bearing exercise.

New Rules for Lifting for Women is a fantastic resource that will go in depth to better answer your question.

And like others have said, free weights are inherently better due to the need to engage a much wider range of accessory muscles while lifting. It's a better overall workout.

Now I'm confused because I have always read and heard 6-12 reps and now three people here have said 1-6. Oy! lol

Though I'm wondering what good one rep really does ...

Reps 1-6 are optimal for building strength..and if your diet supports it, you will put on some mass as well.

Reps 8-12 are optimal for hypertrophy (if your diet supports it)...you will also make strength gains, but not to the extent that you would if you were training for strength (1-6 reps).

A body builder for example would optimally work in the 8-12 rep range and do much more volume of work...a power lifter or Olympic lifter on average is going to do less volume and work in the 1-6 rep range to optimize strength gains and train the CNS for optimal power and strength.

So if my main goal is to drop fat and simply look better (not to compete or necessarily specifically to get very strong, simply for aesthetics), I'm good with my 6-12 range?

There is nothing wrong with your 6-12 range, but if you can do 12 then you should probably consider upping your weight.

Thanks. :-)

Pamela_in_Progress

In for the info

pchari1

If you just started you do not need to worry about lifting "heavy", as everything is in the details.

It is my belief that you should start with a solid foundation which would include the following.
* A balanced program: [this is to fix or prevent poor posture]  for a good start at basic balanced programs you can check out Bodybuilding.com, and note that supplements are not necessary.
* Correct form: [if you lift incorrectly you will NOT work the intended muscles even on the machines] Once you know the type of movements you are going to be performing it, it would be wise to have someone help you with form, whether it be a Good personal trainer, a knowledgeable friend, or YouTube and books [there is a lot of information out there now a days]

Do machines count as heavy lifting? I believe machines are helpful, but you will get the most bang for your buck out of free weights. This will allow all the small muscles to be active during the lift and burn the most calories and give you the most overall strength.

Good Luck

jhc7324

Why all the "hate" for machines? I work out at large commercial gyms and everybody uses machines in the weight section.

Whenever I hear that I think of these posts from a guy I know on another message board...

Mostly though, the thing that has shocked me the most is the strength gains. I can bench 250 25 times right now. I feel like those combine kids are little girls. I don't know why but I'm just crazy strong now. Maybe its because I do the reps nice and slow to really stress myself? I keep adding weight to my bench every week or so. I've never been a gym rat, but I don't think this is normal for most. Maybe my body (6'4" and a big frame) is just meant to carry more muscle and is gladly putting it on. Don't know.

followed by this a couple months later...

So I've been lifting since January, two or three times every week. All along I've been using machines exclusively, figuring is switch to free weights about now.

Well today I made the switch.

For reference, on the chest press machine I was doing 3 sets of ten reps at 260 lbs. I new I wouldn't be able to do as much so I loaded up 4 45 pound plates for 225. Lifted it up of the rack and promptly got stuck under it. Had to flag down someone with my leg to help me out oof.

I was cautious on my second attempt so I just went with 135. I barely managed 3 sets of 8 reps.

WTF?

I realize I haven't been using some stabilizing muscles, but this is a crazy difference. What gives?

In other words, you can make strength gains by using machines, but those gains are going to be limited to the muscles that the machine allows you to use, and don't come close to replicating real life movements.

jhc7324

Strength gains and monkeys dancing aside :laugh: ...if one is eating in a deficit and is looking to lose fat, is the 5 rep range optimal? I'm not interested so much in strength gains, but in losing fat.

Also, if you are eating in a defiict, I would imagine that strength gains will level out at some point?

Strength gains will level out at some point whether you're eating at a deficit or not. If they didn't, everyone in the world would be bench pressing 500 lbs and squatting 1,000 .The stronger you get, the harder it will be to get even stronger.

RenaTX

This is really great information Thank You! I came to this board thinking about asking about this.

Question about reps. If a rep is 1 lift ( correct ?) and a set is a number of reps .

I have a few more questions if someone can please help me?

When you work out with lifts how do you determine the number of sets to do in a work out?
How long do you rest between a set ?
Do you work through your entire set before you move on to the next exercise?

I really appreciate it! I've always wondered if I'm doing this right or not.

heatherloveslifting

This is really great information Thank You! I came to this board thinking about asking about this.

Question about reps. If a rep is 1 lift ( correct ?) and a set is a number of reps .

Yes, correct.

I have a few more questions if someone can please help me?

When you work out with lifts how do you determine the number of sets to do in a work out?

I'm not sure. Most people do 2-3 sets, but some programs like stronglifts are 5 sets of 5 reps.

How long do you rest between a set ?

30 seconds to 2 minutes. If I can do the first set okay but fail in the second sometimes a longer rest helps.

Do you work through your entire set before you move on to the next exercise?
I really appreciate it! I've always wondered if I'm doing this right or not.

Yes, especially for "full body" lifts like deadlift. For some I alternate sets of opposing muscle groups, like bench press with rows or lat pulldown with overhead press to get done faster while still giving each muscle group enough rest.

RenaTX

This is really great information Thank You! I came to this board thinking about asking about this.

Question about reps. If a rep is 1 lift ( correct ?) and a set is a number of reps .

Yes, correct.

I have a few more questions if someone can please help me?

When you work out with lifts how do you determine the number of sets to do in a work out?

I'm not sure. Most people do 2-3 sets, but some programs like stronglifts are 5 sets of 5 reps.

How long do you rest between a set ?

30 seconds to 2 minutes. If I can do the first set okay but fail in the second sometimes a longer rest helps.

Do you work through your entire set before you move on to the next exercise?
I really appreciate it! I've always wondered if I'm doing this right or not.

Yes, especially for "full body" lifts like deadlift. For some I alternate sets of opposing muscle groups, like bench press with rows or lat pulldown with overhead press to get done faster while still giving each muscle group enough rest.

Thank You very much for taking the time to answer me. I'm very new to weight lifting but thanks to some very inspiring people here I've decided to try and add much more heavy lifting to my regime and just wasn't sure how to about it. Here's hoping I can build some good muscle under this pudge.