Advice for body recomposition? Ladies?

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  • casuzyq
    casuzyq Posts: 6 Member
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    Someone else recommended New Rules for Lifting for Women... I just purchased it and find it to be an very easy read and it clearly explains how many of the things we do to loose weight are really undermining our ability to get to a healthy weight. Check it out!
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,375 Member
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    I would pick up a copy of New Rules of Lifting for Women, or Starting Strength (I haven't read that one, but I see a lot of recommendations). Then start an established routine, either one of those, or All Pro: A Beginner's Routine, for example. If you decide on New Rules, there's a group here called NROL4W, and on their home page, there's a link to pre-filled worksheets with all of the exercises laid out, so it's a lot less confusing. Watch form videos on youtube, or bodybuilding.com, and if you can afford a session or two with a trainer to help you out, that would be good, too.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    I am hoping you will get some more technical replies. That said, you already said you are not overweight, so eating at a deficit is not what you want to do. It sounds to me like you need to eat more food and lift heavier weights.

    +1
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    Wow thanks so much for all the replies, you beautiful people!! Keep up the amazing work, you guys are so inspiring :)

    I've adjusted my goals to be eating at maintenance and starting to lift weights. This will be my first time in the weights section at my gym so... here goes nothing! Could anyone give some advice as to what a COMPLETE BEGINNER should start out with?

    Thanks a bunch! xoxo
    Jessica

    I just started Stronglifts 5x5 and I quite like it. Here's the link. It has lots of info and even videos on proper form, etc.

    http://stronglifts.com/5x5/

    There's also an app you can download on your smart phone.

    Really, there are lots of programs out there, I just happen to find this one user friendly.
  • KaterinaTerese
    KaterinaTerese Posts: 345 Member
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    I would pick up a copy of New Rules of Lifting for Women, or Starting Strength (I haven't read that one, but I see a lot of recommendations). Then start an established routine, either one of those, or All Pro: A Beginner's Routine, for example. If you decide on New Rules, there's a group here called NROL4W, and on their home page, there's a link to pre-filled worksheets with all of the exercises laid out, so it's a lot less confusing. Watch form videos on youtube, or bodybuilding.com, and if you can afford a session or two with a trainer to help you out, that would be good, too.
    ^^ This.

    There's also a beginner-friendly program called StrongLifts, which you can google. The site has video tutorials, but getting one of these books can be super helpful as well.

    So glad there are such great answers for you here! Here's to the educated female lifter! :drinker:
  • Rogiefreida
    Rogiefreida Posts: 567 Member
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    Glad to see you're going to try weight training OP. You won't be sorry. Lifting heavy will change your body, just give it time. I definitely would wait to cut, if you cut at 118 lbs you'll end up looking super skinny and sickly. Build some muscle and cut after if needed.

    For whoever said that lifting heavy makes you bulky, you're just wrong. I'm the leanest that I've ever been in my adult life even though I lift heavy.

    Also, don't be too afraid of the scale during the recomp process. I weigh 145 but wear a size 4 (I'm 5'5"), I weighed 140lbs 2 years ago when I got married and was a size 6-8.

    New Rules of Lifting for Women is what helped me get into heavy lifting.
  • jessicaliujiexin
    jessicaliujiexin Posts: 27
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    Glad to see you're going to try weight training OP. You won't be sorry. Lifting heavy will change your body, just give it time. I definitely would wait to cut, if you cut at 118 lbs you'll end up looking super skinny and sickly. Build some muscle and cut after if needed.

    For whoever said that lifting heavy makes you bulky, you're just wrong. I'm the leanest that I've ever been in my adult life even though I lift heavy.

    Also, don't be too afraid of the scale during the recomp process. I weigh 145 but wear a size 4 (I'm 5'5"), I weighed 140lbs 2 years ago when I got married and was a size 6-8.

    New Rules of Lifting for Women is what helped me get into heavy lifting.


    Sounds good, and congrats on your success!! I've conquered my fear of becoming bulky from lifting - just from all the research and success stories it would seem for a person in my situation, weights are the way to go. During the recomp process though, will I look bigger and bulkier from the new muscle AND the fat layer on top? Thank you!
  • Crowhorse
    Crowhorse Posts: 394 Member
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    Hi Jessica,

    I've been lifting heavy weights at the gym for the past year and eating at maintenance. I try to eat a gram of protein per pound of weight so am aiming for 130 grams of protein a day. I weightlift 2-3 times a week, and I try to lift as heavy as I can.

    I weigh more than you do and am 5'4". I've added some pictures below; I weigh the same amount (~130 pounds) in the middle and right pictures, but as you can see my body has changed a fair amount over the past year. I have more muscle, look more toned, and feel great.

    1_zps14437a55.png

    Good luck on your journey, there's a book called New Rules of Lifting for Women that I found helpful to get my head wrapped around this strength training business.

    Emma

    That last pic is my goal. Great job. I only hope I'll be able to achieve that.
  • tammy3me
    tammy3me Posts: 4 Member
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    Loving all this!
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
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    I'm going through a re-comp right now. I'm 5'1" and got down to 105 with just cardio and yoga. Super light/thin, and unfortunately skinnyfat.

    I dove right in to recomp and started eating right over maintenance and lifting heavy 3-4 times a week. I gained to 115, more when I'm carrying around some water. Crazy thing is my clothes all still fit, and are actually all getting lose in the waist now. This was over a 6 month period.

    I'm now in my first cut, which is a little more difficult. Trying to stay in that sweet spot where you're retaining muscle and burning fat.
  • losingforgood120
    losingforgood120 Posts: 94
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    I find this group is helpful:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    I am not so fond of weight training. I prefer Yoga and stretching because I want a lean long body, not a bulky one.

    There is a lady on PBS Miranda Esmond White who does a morning routine, which helps me very much and I am much older than you but the same size.

    http://classicalstretch.com/miranda.htm

    Resistance training does not make you bulky. If you get too muscular for personal tastes, you can back off the progression or increase body fat. Gaining muscle is very hard for women, and takes time and progressive lifting.

    OP: I would get on a progressive lifting routine. It can be body weight, but at a preliminary glance, Blogilates is not a good choice. If you do not have access to a gym or weights, look into You Are Your Own Gym or Convict Conditioning. If you do have access a good routine to start with is Strong Curves by Brett Contreras.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Glad to see you're going to try weight training OP. You won't be sorry. Lifting heavy will change your body, just give it time. I definitely would wait to cut, if you cut at 118 lbs you'll end up looking super skinny and sickly. Build some muscle and cut after if needed.

    For whoever said that lifting heavy makes you bulky, you're just wrong. I'm the leanest that I've ever been in my adult life even though I lift heavy.

    Also, don't be too afraid of the scale during the recomp process. I weigh 145 but wear a size 4 (I'm 5'5"), I weighed 140lbs 2 years ago when I got married and was a size 6-8.

    New Rules of Lifting for Women is what helped me get into heavy lifting.


    Sounds good, and congrats on your success!! I've conquered my fear of becoming bulky from lifting - just from all the research and success stories it would seem for a person in my situation, weights are the way to go. During the recomp process though, will I look bigger and bulkier from the new muscle AND the fat layer on top? Thank you!

    When you recomp, you basically gain some muscle and lose some weight - so you do not get bigger. If you find yourself getting bigger, just cut the calories a little.
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
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    I've been lifting heavy weights at the gym for the past year and eating at maintenance. I try to eat a gram of protein per pound of weight so am aiming for 130 grams of protein a day. I weightlift 2-3 times a week, and I try to lift as heavy as I can.

    Emma, do you mind me asking how much, if any, cardio you do?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I am not so fond of weight training. I prefer Yoga and stretching because I want a lean long body, not a bulky one.

    There is a lady on PBS Miranda Esmond White who does a morning routine, which helps me very much and I am much older than you but the same size.

    http://classicalstretch.com/miranda.htm

    Weight training isn't going to make a woman bulky. Sorry.

    Sigh that thing again. I disagree. It depends on everyone's opinion about what 'bulky' is. I find my arms and legs too bulky, heck I keep getting comments about how muscular my legs look, and I'm probably still around 23% body fat (mostly on my hips, some on my back, some in my belly maybe under all the loose skin).. IMO it has more to do with genes than anything and some women *will* 'bulk'.
  • butterbear1980
    butterbear1980 Posts: 234 Member
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    Make sure to take photos and measurements once a month. Also expect to gain 6# of glycogen/water as you bump up your cals and start lifting. Don't freak out about this or think your bulking etc its a normal part of the process of uppung cals to maintnence. Also expect at first to feel very full on maintnence, after a few weeks you'll be wicked hungry, and then your appetite should stabilize.
  • butterbear1980
    butterbear1980 Posts: 234 Member
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    I am not so fond of weight training. I prefer Yoga and stretching because I want a lean long body, not a bulky one.

    There is a lady on PBS Miranda Esmond White who does a morning routine, which helps me very much and I am much older than you but the same size.

    http://classicalstretch.com/miranda.htm

    Weight training isn't going to make a woman bulky. Sorry.

    Sigh that thing again. I disagree. It depends on everyone's opinion about what 'bulky' is. I find my arms and legs too bulky, heck I keep getting comments about how muscular my legs look, and I'm probably still around 23% body fat (mostly on my hips, some on my back, some in my belly maybe under all the loose skin).. IMO it has more to do with genes than anything and some women *will* 'bulk'.

    Really? Take some photos of yourself, keep lifting and eat at a slight deficit, your own photos will prove you wrong after a couple years.
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
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    eat at maintainance, lift very heavy weights. wait. and wait. it will eventually happen.

    Look.... I weighed in at a 150 lbs this morning and am a size 6. I started two years ago at 156 and a size 12. (I just finished a bulk where I gained 10 lbs, but I recomped before this)

    It's totally possible, and some people will advise you to cut, and then bulk, but I think recomping is just fine. It just takes a while.

    Good luck. Send me a PM if you have questions.

    Exactly this. I started in March at 153, size 7/8 pants/dress & medium in shirts, am now 159 (lol) size 5/6 pants/dress & small in shirts. I lift heavy, eat all my protein and am patient. Eventually I am going to look exactly the way I want to, the scale number is whatevs.
  • journalistjen
    journalistjen Posts: 265 Member
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    JC Deen (website or Facebook) has some good information about your topic.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I am not so fond of weight training. I prefer Yoga and stretching because I want a lean long body, not a bulky one.

    There is a lady on PBS Miranda Esmond White who does a morning routine, which helps me very much and I am much older than you but the same size.

    http://classicalstretch.com/miranda.htm

    Weight training isn't going to make a woman bulky. Sorry.

    Sigh that thing again. I disagree. It depends on everyone's opinion about what 'bulky' is. I find my arms and legs too bulky, heck I keep getting comments about how muscular my legs look, and I'm probably still around 23% body fat (mostly on my hips, some on my back, some in my belly maybe under all the loose skin).. IMO it has more to do with genes than anything and some women *will* 'bulk'.

    Really? Take some photos of yourself, keep lifting and eat at a slight deficit, your own photos will prove you wrong after a couple years.

    I think bulky is a subjective word really...we all attach different meanings to it.

    I have been told my legs are muscular...very muscular and that my shoulders are too broad and muscled for sleevless/spagetti straps...

    I don't see it but others feel that way....to each their own one women's bulkiness is anothers dream....

    as for the recomp I know for me this summer eating almost at maitenance (I thought it was maitenance) and still lifting I have over the last 6 weeks lost 1.7lbs (this shows me I am not at maitenance) I have gone down 1/2 size (jeans I have on today are a bit big) and I just bought them at the start of the summer and they were "tight"...and I am getting a tonne of comments on how "toned" I am looking now...

    Have I built muscle...probably a bit (will have to get some pics done on my 1 year lifting anniversary)...but I could do this for a year...or two...it's been great...

    Eating food and lots of it, sometimes I wonder if I can get it all in, and lifting (which is one of my fav things to do) and doing a good thing for my body....apparently I am a patient person.

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