Ladies (that lift heavy) any tips for a noob?

walkingmommy2014

I have literally been walking my a** off, but I am worried about all the loose skin that will be left behind. I have a terribly week core and can't even do 1 push up on my toes. I can manage dips, a 10lb. kettle bell, and 20lb. dumbbell rows. That is about it. I still have at least 30lbs to lose. I can't stand how flappy my arms are looking, the rolls on my back, and all the extra meat in my inner upper thighs (I am talking about tough fat I have been carrying around since being an obese, depressed teen). I think it might be time to start strength training (hard core). I want to be able to lift heavy and hopefully do pull ups within the next year. Any tips on how I should start out? :flowerforyou: Thanks

IllustratedxGirl

Stronglifts 5x5! It's am awesome program www.stronglifts.com

There is a group for women who do SL 5x5 here

walkingmommy2014

I should mention that I currently only own a 10lb kettle bell and (2) 20lb. Dumbbells.
Any tips on how to do this with minimal equipment (I am willing to buy easy to store items)?
Thanks

bonnyblackhare

I started working with a kettlebell and the changes in my body have been amazing. I picked the bell because your larger muscle groups are part of the posterior chain and they often times get ignored for the visible muscles, such as abs, biceps, etc... However, the more muscle you have in your body the quicker your resting metabolism is, so working the larger muscle groups made since to me.

I would practice learning the kettlebell swing to start (if you can find an instructor go that route) and once you have the swing down go up in weight with your bell and try other kettlebell exercises. The bell is great because as I said it works your larger muscle groups but it also works many of them simultaneously so you get more bang for your buck.

One thing I would like to mention because this tripped me up hard (I was in tears) was when you start working your muscles, you are most likely going to retain a lot of water while they repair themselves so if you have a scale (evil machines I threw mine away) you may see your weight go up, you may also notice your pants getting tighter, or a gain in your measurements. This is temporary and will go away to reveal a tighter body.

Either way which ever muscle building workout your set yourself on be sure that you get proper form down tight before you move on to heavier weights.

P.S. Kettlebells are a very easy to store item, I would suggest the CAP line, they are reasonably priced and have a very smooth handle so you're not tearing up your hands.

walkingmommy2014

I started working with a kettlebell and the changes in my body have been amazing. I picked the bell because your larger muscle groups are part of the posterior chain and they often times get ignored for the visible muscles, such as abs, biceps, etc... However, the more muscle you have in your body the quicker your resting metabolism is, so working the larger muscle groups made since to me.

I would practice learning the kettlebell swing to start (if you can find an instructor go that route) and once you have the swing down go up in weight with your bell and try other kettlebell exercises. The bell is great because as I said it works your larger muscle groups but it also works many of them simultaneously so you get more bang for your buck.

One thing I would like to mention because this tripped me up hard (I was in tears) was when you start working your muscles, you are most likely going to retain a lot of water while they repair themselves so if you have a scale (evil machines I threw mine away) you may see your weight go up, you may also notice your pants getting tighter, or a gain in your measurements. This is temporary and will go away to reveal a tighter body.

Either way which ever muscle building workout your set yourself on be sure that you get proper form down tight before you move on to heavier weights.

P.S. Kettlebells are a very easy to store item, I would suggest the CAP line, they are reasonably priced and have a very smooth handle so you're not tearing up your hands.

Thanks! :happy:

BombshellPhoenix

Also remember if you're eating in a deficit you will NOT be gaining any appreciable amount of muscle. Especially as woman, we're at a disadvantage, even in ideal conditions (gaining weight with proper protein and heavy lifting routine)..

You can gain quite a bit of strength from current muscle and retain what you have from it though, which is awesome!

I've never used kettlebells but they seem fun ;P another option for lacking equipment is body weight exercises like you are your own gym.

LC458

Obviously I don't know the setup of your house but I hide my weight set behind my couch. Any extra closet space may work too. I only say that cause I started out as you, with kettle and minimal weights but my body didn't improve beyond a particular point. I got my weight set of Craigslist for $85 and it came with quite a bit. I follow different people on YouTube, bite sized fitness is one girl I recommend. She's small but built. As far as push ups go I couldn't do them either so I started doing as many "girl" push-ups as much as possibly could to build that type of strength. I can still only do up to 20 push-ups but it's quite an accomplishment for me as others have suggested find a good program to follow and you'll be well on your way. Best of luck

RECowgill

My protip is you don't have to worry about genderification of lifting. Just do lifting, it will make you a healthier human being.

There is no male or female training, there is just training.

And its true a person who starts lifting will gain weight to start. Your bones are getting denser, your body is holding onto water. Your bones react to the weight training by strengthening themselves. Your muscles demand water for hydration. These are very good kinds of weight gain, its what you want! Don't let that trip you up, ignore the scale. Take measurements and photos of your progress, that's a better way to go.

Do tons of research, don't stop learning. Keep searching and researching and learning, its a never ending process. Improve your knowledge and come to your own conclusions. Youtube is very helpful when you have questions on a lift. Just do searches.

Food is more important than exercise, and exercise without proper rest is wasted. Be flexible, find the right balance for you. You must be willing to experiment, because this is ultimately about what works best for you. That means you have to try different things, sometimes waste time and effort, and be willing to do that. You have to learn to listen to your body. Find what your real limits are and challenge yourself safely.

HeidiMightyRawr

It doesn't matter where you start, or how much you can lift in the beginning. What matters most is finding out what you CAN do, and improving from there.

If you have limited equipment, my best advice would be to go for bodyweight training, or programs you can use with the kettlebells. I don't know an awful lot about either but you should be able to find some good routines on youtube or google. Just don't listen to anything that advises staying away from heavy weights to "tone" or suggests that you should train differently as a woman because as RECowgill said, there is no male and female training, just training. There are also adjustments you can make to certain bodyweight exercises to make them do-able for a beginning, such as push ups on your knees or pull ups with the help of a chair, or bands.

As you progress, you may find you need to expand on the equipment you have. Dumbells and kettlebells are great, but having such limited range of weights will mean a lot of great exercises could be missed out on because they're too heavy, or benefits not got from them because they're too light. There's only so many reps you can add to an exercise before it becomes less like lifting and more like cardio. I'd expect though over time, if you don't want to join a gym (although it might work out cheaper for you) that you can build up more range of weights and equipment to suit your abilities and strength levels.

Also, research good form/technique for the exercise that you're doing. Youtube is quite good for this.

BigLifter10

When I started, my first step was to find a trainer who was lifting and also met with some power lifters in town (I wanted to get as much info as possible and condense it to what I needed/was looking for). Best thing to do is get the right techniques so you lessen any chance of injury. Doing weighted squats correctly, versus doing weighted squats incorrectly can make a huge difference in what happens with your body.

shor0814

When I started, my first step was to find a trainer who was lifting and also met with some power lifters in town (I wanted to get as much info as possible and condense it to what I needed/was looking for). Best thing to do is get the right techniques so you lessen any chance of injury. Doing weighted squats correctly, versus doing weighted squats incorrectly can make a huge difference in what happens with your body.

This is probably the best advice. Get your form right or you will have to stop and fix it or get hurt in the process.

If I had to do it over again I would not have used a PT for learning technique. It sounds harsh but most of the PT's in my gym can't teach a proper squat if they had to. Half squats, bar resting on the neck, wrists cocked, head in the wrong position..... I had to seek out a real lifter to correct my form and should have done that from day 1.

You don't have to change gyms but find a gym where the real lifters hang out. You will know it because they will encourage chalk, have more plates than you can count, will have loud music going, chains on the bars, and noisy lifters who are concentrating on lifting. Ask around that gym for coaching. Then you can go back to your gym if you want.

Your experience may vary and your PT's might be lifters in that case you can ignore what I said.