Women that Lift: What program are you using?

beesareyellow

SL 5X5 with accessory work right after. It's actually a modified version of SL 5X5 Ice Cream. I find this the best approach for me so far. Body building for many years, then I got real bored with that and the results were, meh. Then I got into strength training and never looked back:)

fowlerly

bump

PetulantOne

New Rules here, I'm exactly half way through. Im going to do SL 5x5 next.

I wish I hadn't started with New Rules to be honest, the descriptions of the excercises and the workout plans aren't very clear. The exercises themeselves are mostly working out ok and I'm happy with the results so far. I just got a bit confused at first, maybe it's just me.

I bought the book, flipped through it, but lost interest quickly. The workouts seem a lot more complicated than they should be. 5x5 is so much simpler and, as I hear it, takes less time than NROL4W.

Keep in mind that the programs are designed to accomplish completely different things. This is where having some fitness goals really come into play.

New Rules is a great general fitness lifting routine that is going to have quite a bit of variety and work various aspects of lifting fitness (I think this is why people think it's so complicated...it's really not at all...it still primarily uses compound movements, just different variations of these movements).

SL 5x5 is a pure strength program. It is designed with one thing in mind...getting stronger...a LOT stronger if you do the program correctly. You aren't going to be working on agility or power or whatever with this program....it's a pure strength program.

My wife started with me doing Starting Strength and then moved on to New Rules and now she's doing Strong Curves...My wife had no particular aspirations of being a power lifter and enjoyed the variety of New Rules almost immediately...she didn't like SS at all and thought it was boring....I enjoyed SS and I truly believe in these strength programs for building a good base.

Beyond that, you run into issues of how much weight do you really need to keep adding..how strong do you really have to be? A lot of people, including myself start out with a strength program in order to build that base but eventually move on to other lifting styles...other people get into competitive power lifting, etc. Really, this is where your goals come into play; not all lifting programs are training the same thing.

That's a good point.

I think another deciding factor should be calorie consumption.

I had a really hard time doing 5x5 on a deficit. I switched to 5/3/1 a few months before I reached maintenance. I was blown away by how much faster I progressed as soon as I was eating more, and it's not like I was starving myself while cutting or anything. I knew being in a deficit would slow progress, but I was amazed at how much.

levitateme

Wow really?

And you know this because you live in my body and you live my life and know exactly what works for me is that right?

Well jeez, thanks for setting me straight, you obviously know everything and what works best so I better tuck my tail and just start living my life by your standards. The truth is.... your opinion and advice, specifically on how to work MY body, are of no consequence to how I live my life so unless you're addressing the OP kindly mind your business.

The end.

I don't know that because I know your body-calm down

I know that because that's the way training works- those are not opinions.
Training too much weigh to fast- the muscles can get significantly stronger than the ligaments and joints-and can cause injury: fact
Training to failure is not successful for progressive lifting. Fact.

You may LIKE training to failure- but it's not the best way to develop strength.

And I specifically asked a question because this statement doesn't make ANY sense

I also find that using my own body weight and resistance works better than actual weights or heavy bar

better than what?
better FOR what?

I'm not here to try to dictate your life- it's a public forum- if you don't want people asking/talking about it- then don't post.

Other people read this- they can learn from these things - also- it's not about me judging you or trying to cram my life into yours. You read WAY to much into my post.

Well, that escalated quickly..

I'm doing SL5x5, been at it since March, but I'm finding it a little tedious. I am going to switch to a stumptuous routine effective next wednesday.

http://www.stumptuous.com/ this website is a great resource, with lots of form/technique information and funny stories/anecdotes.

a_stronger_me13

New Rules here, I'm exactly half way through. Im going to do SL 5x5 next.

I wish I hadn't started with New Rules to be honest, the descriptions of the excercises and the workout plans aren't very clear. The exercises themeselves are mostly working out ok and I'm happy with the results so far. I just got a bit confused at first, maybe it's just me.

I bought the book, flipped through it, but lost interest quickly. The workouts seem a lot more complicated than they should be. 5x5 is so much simpler and, as I hear it, takes less time than NROL4W.

Keep in mind that the programs are designed to accomplish completely different things. This is where having some fitness goals really come into play.

New Rules is a great general fitness lifting routine that is going to have quite a bit of variety and work various aspects of lifting fitness (I think this is why people think it's so complicated...it's really not at all...it still primarily uses compound movements, just different variations of these movements).

SL 5x5 is a pure strength program. It is designed with one thing in mind...getting stronger...a LOT stronger if you do the program correctly. You aren't going to be working on agility or power or whatever with this program....it's a pure strength program.

My wife started with me doing Starting Strength and then moved on to New Rules and now she's doing Strong Curves...My wife had no particular aspirations of being a power lifter and enjoyed the variety of New Rules almost immediately...she didn't like SS at all and thought it was boring....I enjoyed SS and I truly believe in these strength programs for building a good base.

Beyond that, you run into issues of how much weight do you really need to keep adding..how strong do you really have to be? A lot of people, including myself start out with a strength program in order to build that base but eventually move on to other lifting styles...other people get into competitive power lifting, etc. Really, this is where your goals come into play; not all lifting programs are training the same thing.

That's a good point.

I think another deciding factor should be calorie consumption.

I had a really hard time doing 5x5 on a deficit. I switched to 5/3/1 a few months before I reached maintenance. I was blown away by how much faster I progressed as soon as I was eating more, and it's not like I was starving myself while cutting or anything. I knew being in a deficit would slow progress, but I was amazed at how much.

I would recommend Starting Strength while in a deficit before 5/3/1 but that also depends on how much accessory lifting you are doing with 5/3/1 and how long you have been lifting in general.

I personally run 5/3/1... well getting back at it at least. I have been lifting for roughly 2 years, but spent most of last year injured in some form or another.

Serah87

I do mostly stronglifts and a little bit of other things.

ETA: I been doing strength training for about 1 1/2 yrs, but only about 6 months or so of heavy weight lifting.

JTick

I started with Stronglifts, did that for almost a year. Then went to 5/3/1 and well, just... Love that program. I don't follow the suggested accessory work though, my trainer put something together for me. I really, really like it though.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

New Rules here, I'm exactly half way through. Im going to do SL 5x5 next.

I wish I hadn't started with New Rules to be honest, the descriptions of the excercises and the workout plans aren't very clear. The exercises themeselves are mostly working out ok and I'm happy with the results so far. I just got a bit confused at first, maybe it's just me.

I bought the book, flipped through it, but lost interest quickly. The workouts seem a lot more complicated than they should be. 5x5 is so much simpler and, as I hear it, takes less time than NROL4W.

I agree with you about it being complicated. It's ok if you've been doing it for a few months and are in to the swing of things, and I like the variety, but as a beginner it was a bit baffling. There are also a *lot* of excecises that require good balance, which I detest, but are good for me as I have lousy balance and co-ordination.

Have you seen this? The spreadsheets take out a lot of the confusion. http://maggiewang.com/2008/05/20/new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-diet-calculator-and-workout-logs

I did NROLFW and a couple of rounds of All Pro, which I really liked, but then my bff bought me a gym membership, and I'm not allowed to bring fractionals, so now I'm doing the routine on simplyshredded.com. I saw the results another MFP'er got from it, so I thought it was worth a try. I just started Monday, so I can't give a good review yet.

margannmks

I have read both new rules supercharged and strong curves. I like to work lower body mon wed fri and upper body tues thurs sat. So i do my own thing and just up my weight when needed. Those books have so many different exercises that i just keep it fresh but i always do the basics, bb squats, weighted lunges, dead lifts, over head press and chest press. Right now im trying to add more of the glute stuff in brets book. My particular goals are maintaing what ive built in upper body and build more lower body especially glutes. Thats one thing i didnt like about some of the programs ive looked into is only one leg day a week. Time is not an issue for me and i just really enjoy working out, except i hate cardio so id rather do supersets on some days for the extra calorie burn cause i like to eat. I still have about 5-8 lbs to lose but i dont really eat at enough of a deficit so i guess im at maintenance and doing a slow recomp but thats ok. Ive been strength training for a long time and seriously lifting for 3 months.

SueSlick

Bump so I can read all this stuff when I'm more awake!

wilmnoca

Started out doing a full body circuit 6 days a week, then moved on the a 3 day split - mon/legs tue/shoulder & biceps wed- chest & triceps Thursday-off Friday-legs Saturday-shoulders & biceps Sunday-chest & triceps. I also hit abs 3 times a week and do HIIT 4 days a week and treadmill interval training once a week. Thinking of adding in a back day now. I live for this!! Love it!

kdiamond

I change it up every 8-12 weeks based on my short term goals. Right now I'm doing this Simply Shredded program and I like it so far. http://www.simplyshredded.com/bel-falconi.html

monikabenoit

I am doing a Beachbody program called Chalean Extreme and I LOVE it, just a week shy of finishing up my first 90 day round. Starting Monday I will be doing a 60 day round of PiYo (which only uses body weight) then I'll go back to Chalean Extreme for another 90 day round of lifting!!!

meshashesha2012

no set program, mainly compound lifts (back squats, rows, bench press, deadlift, overhead press) and olympic lifts and their components

kimberlyblindsey

I love this thread, lots of great info. I'm by no means a heavy lifter, but I'm better than I was prior to knowing nothing about lifting, as a recovering cardio bunny. I did P90x for a while, now I either use Fitnessblender, or do my own program (bodybuilding.com has been a great resource) since I WO in home gym with no barbell, yet just free weights and Kettlebells. I think I'm going to check out Strong Curves though.

GeordieGirl80s

This is something I'm really interested in too. The guy I'm working with at the gym as part of the GP referral scheme currently has me doing 2 sets of 12 reps with 1 minute between the sets on (machines) overhead press, chest press, lateral pull down, leg press & leg raise (might have name of that 1 wrong)

I'm trying to do them at home as well with resistance bands.

I asked him about doing them with free weights and he said that because of my medical issues it's not a good idea yet.

LexiMelo

I started New Rules at the beginning of the year then got sidelined when I strained my erector spinea muscles. I had to take a few weeks off and then wasn't sure what to do as far as the New Rules program (which was getting really complicated) so I switched to Stronglifts 5x5. I really like the simplicity of SL, as I am a beginner I think I will have less of a chance of reinjuring myself. I got the iPhone app which is awesome it even has a timer in between sets so you don't have to keep track of the time which is awesome. I also like how it tells you how much weight to lift every week unlike New Rules, where I probably was trying to go too heavy too fast hence the injury.

Whatever you do it is worth it. Even though I'm a beginner I am much more happy with my body since the beginning of the year (even though I have maintained the same weight).

janine2355

I'm running Sheiko- this is my 3rd rotation- first one I stopped 3/4 of the way through- (they moved my meet I was prepping for) second one I ran Sheiko 29 all the way out- and now I'm doing Sheiko 30. it's long- takes me typically 2 solid hours if not a little more to get through. making progress though.

I've been lifting for almost 2 decades. This is the first year I've ever run programs- I was bored at first- then I was having psychological issues showing up to the gym b/c of the program at the time- now it's back to business as usual.

I don't follow a program. I did browse the 5X5 program once and sort of do a variation of that I guess. I just do the standard three sets of reps weights (upper body) and squats with heavy weight and I aim for muscle failure. That's it. I like to keep things simple. It seems to be working for me. I started about a month ago and am seeing some great results in my muscle tone (arms and legs). I was previously very striated and some of that has gone away. A teeny bit more bulk now vs. just skin, bones and sheer muscle. I like it. Good luck

I also find that using my own body weight and resistance works better than actual weights or heavy bars. I asked a trainer about this and she said because your own body weight and resistance is based upon natural and organic movement vs. holding steady form when lifting. That makes sense to me and I do gain a lot more strength and focus from doing it that way. But it takes a lot more reps to get to failure!

couple things- training to failure is typically NOT a good plan. And with a month under your belt of lifting- you are aiming for some serious joint/ligament injury along with other assorted issues including early stalls.

And body weight works better than actual weight for what??

Training to failure does not make you stronger- training to failure typically means training muscle endurance. But it usually does not actually make you stronger.

and said trainer is an idiot. there is nothing more natural than squatting or dead lifting.
If you use a bathroom- or have used one- and or have ever done your business outside- you've squatted.
If you pick something up off the floor- you've dead lifted.

Wow really?

And you know this because you live in my body and you live my life and know exactly what works for me is that right?

Well jeez, thanks for setting me straight, you obviously know everything and what works best so I better tuck my tail and just start living my life by your standards. The truth is.... your opinion and advice, specifically on how to work MY body, are of no consequence to how I live my life so unless you're addressing the OP kindly mind your business.

The end.

:laugh: :laugh: good answer!

SezxyStef

I did SL 5x5 for 10 months and switched to 3x5 for the summer while I search out another program. It's not that I don't like SL 5x5 I just want to see what is out there.

I currently do not do any accessory worth with weights but that is why I switched to 3x5 to start that.

So looking to add in some extra stuff for abs, tricepts, doing some glute bridges, hip thrusts and chin ups/pull ups.

a_stronger_me13

I'm running Sheiko- this is my 3rd rotation- first one I stopped 3/4 of the way through- (they moved my meet I was prepping for) second one I ran Sheiko 29 all the way out- and now I'm doing Sheiko 30. it's long- takes me typically 2 solid hours if not a little more to get through. making progress though.

I've been lifting for almost 2 decades. This is the first year I've ever run programs- I was bored at first- then I was having psychological issues showing up to the gym b/c of the program at the time- now it's back to business as usual.

I don't follow a program. I did browse the 5X5 program once and sort of do a variation of that I guess. I just do the standard three sets of reps weights (upper body) and squats with heavy weight and I aim for muscle failure. That's it. I like to keep things simple. It seems to be working for me. I started about a month ago and am seeing some great results in my muscle tone (arms and legs). I was previously very striated and some of that has gone away. A teeny bit more bulk now vs. just skin, bones and sheer muscle. I like it. Good luck

I also find that using my own body weight and resistance works better than actual weights or heavy bars. I asked a trainer about this and she said because your own body weight and resistance is based upon natural and organic movement vs. holding steady form when lifting. That makes sense to me and I do gain a lot more strength and focus from doing it that way. But it takes a lot more reps to get to failure!

couple things- training to failure is typically NOT a good plan. And with a month under your belt of lifting- you are aiming for some serious joint/ligament injury along with other assorted issues including early stalls.

And body weight works better than actual weight for what??

Training to failure does not make you stronger- training to failure typically means training muscle endurance. But it usually does not actually make you stronger.

and said trainer is an idiot. there is nothing more natural than squatting or dead lifting.
If you use a bathroom- or have used one- and or have ever done your business outside- you've squatted.
If you pick something up off the floor- you've dead lifted.

Wow really?

And you know this because you live in my body and you live my life and know exactly what works for me is that right?

Well jeez, thanks for setting me straight, you obviously know everything and what works best so I better tuck my tail and just start living my life by your standards. The truth is.... your opinion and advice, specifically on how to work MY body, are of no consequence to how I live my life so unless you're addressing the OP kindly mind your business.

The end.

Sometimes I don't agree with how JoRocka phrases things, but I have no idea why you got so nasty with her, she actually provided you with some excellent information. Training to failure is extremely inefficient for building strength. It's not an opinion, it's a FACT. And as far as barbell lifting not being a "natural and organic" movement, that's garbage. If you are doing the big four with PROPER FORM, they are a natural and organic movement.

Oh yeah, and you posted in a PUBLIC forum, therefore no one has to kindly mind their own business. Hopefully, in spite of you throwing a temper tantrum about someone providing you with a more efficient way to train, someone else was able to take away the valuable information in Jo's post.