Building strength

jessicagrieshaber

5'5", 120 pounds, female.

I currently work out 5-6 times a week. I run every day (usually 3-4 miles) and do abs a lot of the days of the week too. I lift twice a week, once for arms/shoulders/back and once for legs, and the days that I lift I generally only run two miles.

I'm not trying to lose weight. I understand I'm at a healthy weight for my height and that my BMI falls into the healthy range. I do, however, want to gain strength and look stronger and healthier.

How do you go about this?
Do I need to up my calories? How much protein should I be eating? Also, how many days a week should I be lifting weights?

BigT555

no need to up cals if you dont want to gain muscle (and you can gain strength without gaining muscle)
for protein try to aim for 0.8 g's/lb of lean body mass
3 days is generally the number per week for strength, this allows your body to repair muscle between workouts while still having enough volume to be effective
look into "the new rules of lifting for women", that seems to be a pretty common routine around here. if not, try starting strength, or stronglifts. all 3 are based off of compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench and keep the reps low, and the weight high

rybo

My suggestions
Do a full body strength routine 2-3x week, focusing on compound movements like OHP, bench, squat, dead lift & rows/pull ups. Also not to be discounted and encouraged to be worked into your routine are push ups, pull ups, hanging knee raises, planks etc. Eat at maintenance cals and 70-80 grams a protein a day is fine, if you want to go higher that's ok.

TavistockToad

eat at maintenance, aim to get 0.8g of protein per lb of bodyweight and do a full body lifting programme 3 x a week. you can run on your non lifting days but the more cardio you do the more you have to eat - not that that is a bad thing!

yopeeps025

My suggestions
Do a full body strength routine 2-3x week, focusing on compound movements like OHP, bench, squat, dead lift & rows/pull ups. Also not to be discounted and encouraged to be worked into your routine are push ups, pull ups, hanging knee raises, planks etc. Eat at maintenance cals and 70-80 grams a protein a day is fine, if you want to go higher that's ok.

How do people do all four lifts at max potential? I can barely dead lift and squat heavy in the same sessions. One is going to give. Bench and overhead press I can do in the same sessions.

ew_david

My suggestions
Do a full body strength routine 2-3x week, focusing on compound movements like OHP, bench, squat, dead lift & rows/pull ups. Also not to be discounted and encouraged to be worked into your routine are push ups, pull ups, hanging knee raises, planks etc. Eat at maintenance cals and 70-80 grams a protein a day is fine, if you want to go higher that's ok.

How do people do all four lifts at max potential? I can barely dead lift and squat heavy in the same sessions. One is going to give. Bench and overhead press I can do in the same sessions.

It's doable in the beginning, when the weight isn't that heavy. For me, when I maxed out on my weights is when I went to a split routine.

yopeeps025

My suggestions
Do a full body strength routine 2-3x week, focusing on compound movements like OHP, bench, squat, dead lift & rows/pull ups. Also not to be discounted and encouraged to be worked into your routine are push ups, pull ups, hanging knee raises, planks etc. Eat at maintenance cals and 70-80 grams a protein a day is fine, if you want to go higher that's ok.

How do people do all four lifts at max potential? I can barely dead lift and squat heavy in the same sessions. One is going to give. Bench and overhead press I can do in the same sessions.

It's doable in the beginning, when the weight isn't that heavy. For me, when I maxed out on my weights is when I went to a split routine.

Yup me too. It is how I weight train five days a week. Cardio is more for increasing metabolism than burning calories.

SezxyStef

My suggestions
Do a full body strength routine 2-3x week, focusing on compound movements like OHP, bench, squat, dead lift & rows/pull ups. Also not to be discounted and encouraged to be worked into your routine are push ups, pull ups, hanging knee raises, planks etc. Eat at maintenance cals and 70-80 grams a protein a day is fine, if you want to go higher that's ok.

How do people do all four lifts at max potential? I can barely dead lift and squat heavy in the same sessions. One is going to give. Bench and overhead press I can do in the same sessions.

It's doable in the beginning, when the weight isn't that heavy. For me, when I maxed out on my weights is when I went to a split routine.

Yup me too. It is how I weight train five days a week. Cardio is more for increasing metabolism than burning calories.

It's doable after 10 months as well...

I DL and Squat 1 or 2x a week depending on which week I am on. My squats currently are at 155 3x7 and DL are 190...no issue.

I even went for a 2mile brisk walk on Monday after doing that...

yopeeps025

My suggestions
Do a full body strength routine 2-3x week, focusing on compound movements like OHP, bench, squat, dead lift & rows/pull ups. Also not to be discounted and encouraged to be worked into your routine are push ups, pull ups, hanging knee raises, planks etc. Eat at maintenance cals and 70-80 grams a protein a day is fine, if you want to go higher that's ok.

How do people do all four lifts at max potential? I can barely dead lift and squat heavy in the same sessions. One is going to give. Bench and overhead press I can do in the same sessions.

It's doable in the beginning, when the weight isn't that heavy. For me, when I maxed out on my weights is when I went to a split routine.

Yup me too. It is how I weight train five days a week. Cardio is more for increasing metabolism than burning calories.

It's doable after 10 months as well...

I DL and Squat 1 or 2x a week depending on which week I am on. My squats currently are at 155 3x7 and DL are 190...no issue.

I even went for a 2mile brisk walk on Monday after doing that...

3 sets of seven reps is heavy. Im talking about like a 7,5,3 rep routine or even harder 5,3,1, rep rountine. increase weight as reps decrease.

Leadfoot_Lewis

Yup me too. It is how I weight train five days a week. Cardio is more for increasing metabolism than burning calories.

I agree and do the same. Unless you're training for some kind of endurance event you don't need to do cardio 5-6 times a week. Also, if you're eating/sleeping=recovering properly, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to hit the big lifts a couple of times a week.

yopeeps025

Yup me too. It is how I weight train five days a week. Cardio is more for increasing metabolism than burning calories.

I agree and do the same. Unless you're training for some kind of endurance event you don't need to do cardio 5-6 times a week. Also, if you're eating/sleeping=recovering properly, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to hit the big lifts a couple of times a week.

I do maybe an hour of cardio and week. If I do cardio acceleration then a little more then an hour a week.