strength training

htimpaired

I recently joined a gym and have been spending alot of time doing cardio-kickboxing, cycling, stair climber...
However, I notice that I spend so much time doing cardio that I am neglecting strength training, which I know is important because muscle helps look toned and burns more calories than fat.
I was using Jari Love and Kelly Coffey Meyer DVDs for strength training at home before I joined the gym, so now I am trying to figure out how to incorporate free weights into the gym...does anyone have any free weight routines they do that they would like to share?
I especially want to focus on upper body, because alot of the cardio I do is lower-body intensive (like cycling-yikes!).

emersoam

That's awesome you want to get more into lifting! It really is the key to having a toned/fit body (for so many reasons). I'm always amazed by how many women kill themselves on cardio machines but neglect the weights. Personally, I lift weights twice per week.

If you are looking to learn more about strength training, I would STRONGLY SUGGEST checking out Oxygen Magazine. It is a great magazine with tons of helpful and reliable information. It's well-written and fun to read. Check it out online first and see what you think!

GorillaNJ

That's awesome you want to get more into lifting! It really is the key to having a toned/fit body (for so many reasons). I'm always amazed by how many women kill themselves on cardio machines but neglect the weights. Personally, I lift weights twice per week.

If you are looking to learn more about strength training, I would STRONGLY SUGGEST checking out Oxygen Magazine. It is a great magazine with tons of helpful and reliable information. It's well-written and fun to read. Check it out online first and see what you think!

My wife loves that magazine too... can't say that I dislike looking at the pictures also.

Even though you are doing cardio that "works your legs" it is not the same as doing squats and lunges. Since your leg muscles are the largest muscles in your body they are very important to strength train with. Especially if your goal is to use strength training to boost your metabolism and burn more fat!

MartiWillett

I am not great with free weights, but after I do cardio I use the weight machines. They are way easier to use than the free weights I think and very effective. Plus you can do it over three days. I focus on legs and shoulders one day, biceps and back one day and triceps and chest one day. I just do cardio the days in between strength training.

TateFTW

Most women who lift free weights waste their time. They use to little weight and too many reps. First and foremost, building strength and muscle is imperative to looking, feeling, and being strong. You build strength and muscle by pushing yourself. Start with weights you can do about 15 times (Not easily. I mean TOTAL 15 times to complete failure), and do reps in the 8-12 range. The next time you do that exercise, use MORE WEIGHT. Adding weight is a form of what we call progression, and progression is the only way to get your muscles to react and grow in size and strength. Progression can also be attained by adding reps, but for now stick to the 8-12 rep range and just add weight.

The first mistake women make is using too little weight and not adding more as they grow stronger, because of the completely irrational fear that they will wake up one day and look like a bodybuilder. People who's GOAL it is to look like a bodybuilder still work for years and years to attain that look. It won't sneak up on you, trust me.

The second mistake women make is using isolation exercises. It's a complete waste of time to only use isolation movements. Instead, focus on compound movements that use multiple muscles working together. Your free weight training should be anchored by these exercises;

legs-
squats (yes, with weight. It will hurt some at first as you get used to holding weight on your back. Go as LOW as humanly possible and don't let anyone tell you any different.)
lunges (with weight if possible)

chest-
bench press (barbell and dumbell)
pushups

shoulders-
overhead press (barbell and dumbell)
upright rows

back-
pull downs
bent over rows (barbell and dumbell)

You could use only these movements for the rest of your life and get great results. My wife has been training with me on these and other power/explosive type exercises (such as dips and the clean and press) with amazing results. She looks more fit and toned then ever, and doesn't look bulky whatsoever. We've even been going with a lower rep range, focussing on 5 reps total for each set, and she hasn't bulked up any more then enough to look tighter then before. She used to hate her arms, because they were really big just below the shoulder. Now the biggest part of her arms is right in the middle of the bicep, right where it should be.

The beauty of compound movements is that you don't have to waste time doing a seperate exercise for every single muscle. A typical workout might look like this;

(Z=a weight you can do approx. 15 times before failure. You shouldn't struggle too much the first session. Things will get tougher as you continue to add weight each week. Keep adding weight each session you do an exercise until you can't complete 8 reps, then stay with that weight until you can complete 10 reps before moving up again.)

1. squats
10xhalf of Z
10x3/4 of Z
10xZ
10xZ

2. barbell bench press
10xhalf of Z
10x3/4 of Z
10xZ
10xZ

3. Lat pulldowns
10xZ-20
10xZ-10
10xZ
10xZ

4. Dumbell overhead press
10xhalf of Z
10x3/4 of Z
10xZ
10xZ

You should rest approx. 60-90 seconds between each set. This whole body workout will only take 30 minutes. If you vary between both exercises and barbell and dumbell versions, you have 3 complete workout to do once a week each. This workout is just a suggestion, but the tips above can really help you more then any magazine. Magazines always want to make things easy and nice so they don't push readers away. The truth is you are going to have to push yourself some and really try to keep adding weight each time in order to reach your goals.

SHBoss1673

it completely depends on what your goals are. In order to give you suggestions on the type of routine, weight, reps, schedules, we need to know what you want to accomplish short and long term.

htimpaired

Oh trust me, I am not a beginner with weights. I know all about muscle fatigue, how to determine appropiate weight for x number of reps, proper form etc. I don't use the machines because I know it incorportates more muscles to use the free weights. My biggest thing is making sure I hit all the muscle groups so I get a thourough workout.

I will keep compound movements in mind, nice quick and efficient. :-)

SHBoss1673

Oh trust me, I am not a beginner with weights. I know all about muscle fatigue, how to determine appropiate weight for x number of reps, proper form etc. I don't use the machines because I know it incorportates more muscles to use the free weights. My biggest thing is making sure I hit all the muscle groups so I get a thourough workout.

I will keep compound movements in mind, nice quick and efficient. :-)

Compound moves aren't necessarily the best way to target muscles though. That's What I mean when I say we need to know what your goals are. If you want to work all your muscles in one session (not what I usually recommend by the way, it's difficult to hit every major group in one session, fatigue and boredom can be a problem as well.) then you're talking about an awful long session. Probably well over an hour to do it right if you want to hit each muscle group with both extension and contraction.

For most routines, compound exercises are good for muscle endurance, but not great for strength gains, and not great for cardiovascular endurance (I.E. they are hybrids).

If you're looking for muscle definition (I.E. what people call "tone") then you want to look for 12 to 15 rep sets to failure (as opposed to 4 to 8 rep sets to failure for volume). this will give you small volume gains and will increase muscle density and incorporation without adding much weight.

katzak729

A great resource is the book "The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess" by Lou Schuler, M.S., Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove. I've been following the plan and it has completely changed my body. I'm a full size smaller at this weight than I was 10 yrs ago (when I was at this weight last). I have noticeable muscle tone and feel strong. Another good one is "Female Body Breakthrough".

TateFTW

Oh trust me, I am not a beginner with weights. I know all about muscle fatigue, how to determine appropiate weight for x number of reps, proper form etc. I don't use the machines because I know it incorportates more muscles to use the free weights. My biggest thing is making sure I hit all the muscle groups so I get a thourough workout.

I will keep compound movements in mind, nice quick and efficient. :-)

Compound moves aren't necessarily the best way to target muscles though. That's What I mean when I say we need to know what your goals are. If you want to work all your muscles in one session (not what I usually recommend by the way, it's difficult to hit every major group in one session, fatigue and boredom can be a problem as well.) then you're talking about an awful long session. Probably well over an hour to do it right if you want to hit each muscle group with both extension and contraction.

For most routines, compound exercises are good for muscle endurance, but not great for strength gains, and not great for cardiovascular endurance (I.E. they are hybrids).

If you're looking for muscle definition (I.E. what people call "tone") then you want to look for 12 to 15 rep sets to failure (as opposed to 4 to 8 rep sets to failure for volume). this will give you small volume gains and will increase muscle density and incorporation without adding much weight.

Squats, deadlifts and bench presses aren't good for strength gains?!?!?

I'm not going to even touch on the rest of what you said. That statement alone is complete bs, and tells me you have no clue what your talking about, which puts you right alongside just about every other personal trainer I've ever heard.

God, I swear this forum brings out the worst in me.

htimpaired

"If you're looking for muscle definition (I.E. what people call "tone") then you want to look for 12 to 15 rep sets to failure (as opposed to 4 to 8 rep sets to failure for volume). this will give you small volume gains and will increase muscle density and incorporation without adding much weight. "

Yes, that puts it perfectly. I guess I'll just try doing what I know with the free weights and keep track on paper my reps/weights etc. I guess 20-30 min after my cardio isn't a bad goal, right?
Thanks for the feedback guys.

1113cw

*BUMP*

Been trying to find out more on how to incorporate strength training into my workouts and this is a pretty informative thread.

zcosborne86

Great thread.

jae6704

Bump:) I need to find this thread tonight.

myofibril

I think there's a danger of missing the wood for the trees here:

I have nicked this table from Tom Venuto:

Rep range Percent of 1 rep max Training Effect Goal desired
1-5 reps 85-100% Neural Strength & power, little hypertrophy
6-8 reps 75-85% Neural & metabolic Strength & Hypertrophy
9-12 reps 70-75% Metabolic & Neural Hypertrophy & some strength
13-20+ reps 60-70% Metabolic local endurance, some hypertrophy, little strength

As you can see there is a continuum of adaptations which are triggered when working within certain ranges. You get some of each depending on what you are doing.

However, exercise selection, rep ranges etc are things which simply sit on top of certain key principles. These principles are the real things you should be keeping a close eye on. In the context of this discussion: specificity and intensity.

Specificity simply means choosing the right training tools for your desired goals.

Intensity is the big one here. This essentially means progressive tension overload. Sounds complicated but it isn't really. What you have to focus on is exposing your muscles to sufficient stress that they become overloaded whilst lifting. Your body then adapts to account for this overload post workout meaning you have to progressively increase intensity (by increased weights, sets, reps, what have you) to ensure you keep pushing those adaptations forward.

The reason that so many people recommend a lower rep range with a higher weight or work to failure is the tendancy for women in particular not to work with enough intensity. This means they are not getting the benefits they think they are from their routine. If fat loss is the goal then that means preserving strength and existing muscle as key drivers.

Again it is not so much exercise selection or rep range that is important. It is HOW you are performing those exercise and to what INTENSITY so it MATCHES your goals.

SHBoss1673

Oh trust me, I am not a beginner with weights. I know all about muscle fatigue, how to determine appropiate weight for x number of reps, proper form etc. I don't use the machines because I know it incorportates more muscles to use the free weights. My biggest thing is making sure I hit all the muscle groups so I get a thourough workout.

I will keep compound movements in mind, nice quick and efficient. :-)

Compound moves aren't necessarily the best way to target muscles though. That's What I mean when I say we need to know what your goals are. If you want to work all your muscles in one session (not what I usually recommend by the way, it's difficult to hit every major group in one session, fatigue and boredom can be a problem as well.) then you're talking about an awful long session. Probably well over an hour to do it right if you want to hit each muscle group with both extension and contraction.

For most routines, compound exercises are good for muscle endurance, but not great for strength gains, and not great for cardiovascular endurance (I.E. they are hybrids).

If you're looking for muscle definition (I.E. what people call "tone") then you want to look for 12 to 15 rep sets to failure (as opposed to 4 to 8 rep sets to failure for volume). this will give you small volume gains and will increase muscle density and incorporation without adding much weight.

Squats, deadlifts and bench presses aren't good for strength gains?!?!?

I'm not going to even touch on the rest of what you said. That statement alone is complete bs, and tells me you have no clue what your talking about, which puts you right alongside just about every other personal trainer I've ever heard.

God, I swear this forum brings out the worst in me.

were you talking about my quote? If yes, when did I mention squats, and bench presses? Or even intimate that those were not good for strength gains? I think you might have your terminology mixed up. Compound routines are routines that work 2 muscle groups with 3 exercises with no lapse between them, using the agonist trait and antagonist trait against themselves.
Maybe you're making the (very common) error of calling a multi-joint and multi-muscle exercise a compound exercise. The two terms are quite often interchanged when they should be differentiated.

I.E.
from the National Strength and Conditioning association's Strength Training manual

Using compound sets and super sets is a good way to increase the time efficiency during your workout. These terms are often used interchangeably, but the refer to two distinct techniques. For the purposes of this discussion, super sets are multiple sets of exercise in which a set that uses the antagonist muscle group is immediately followed by an exercise that uses the agonist muscle group (e.g., biceps curls followed by triceps pushdowns). Compound sets, on the other hand, are sets in which teh first set of the second exercise uses the same muscle group as the first exercise and is immediately followed by a third set of the first exercise (e.g., the triceps pushdown exercise would be followed by triceps extensions and then another round of triceps pushdown exercise).

I will say this though, the way you jumped down my throat without looking for an explanation kind of baffles me. What is that all about? Debate is great, but saying my statements are complete bs is a bit over the top if you ask me.

ukgirly01

BUMP: Im fairly new to strength training but loving it so far, just bumping to keep the info