Calling all Women Lifters

guardup

Meghan, Nice arms!!

Thank you.

Had an awesome workout today. My friends from the fire dept. and police dept were there and we talked while lifting. We all ride motorcycles so its fun to complain about the New England weather while waiting for spring.

Finally over my injured shoulder/chest muscle. Did sets of 50 push ups and 15 chin ups as well as lots of oblique work. Went home with that excellent post workout buzz.

I sometimes imagine that when I retire I will just be a gym rat. I'll spend 3 hours a day at the gym every morning. And then start my day doing whatever it is I want to do in retirement.

That would be life. :happy:

sbilyeu75

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Finally over my injured shoulder/chest muscle. Did sets of 50 push ups and 15 chin ups as well as lots of oblique work. [/quote]

SETS OF 50???? **** the bed Charlie Brown. I've just been proud to be able to do sets of 10. I have yet to be able to do a chin up.

guardup

Finally over my injured shoulder/chest muscle. Did sets of 50 push ups and 15 chin ups as well as lots of oblique work. [/quote]

SETS OF 50???? **** the bed Charlie Brown. I've just been proud to be able to do sets of 10. I have yet to be able to do a chin up.
[/quote]

Keep at it and you will get there. Build up slowly to it. Ironically, my chin ups and push ups drastically increased when I took a break from doing them and focused on training just the muscle groups involved in those activities.

I used to bench press my body weight regularly. Now I just stack on 115lbs and do sets of 12-15. I rotate in 45lb. dumbbells once a week to make sure I'm not cheating one side (easy to do with barbells).

Not only have I gotten more definition, by my ability to do pushups skyrocketed. I am going to switch them up because 50 reps is too time consuming. So I am going to start with my palms closer to my rib cage to engage the triceps more. Can only do 12 or so reps of these. They burn like mad.

If you have a Gravitron machine or other pull up / chin up / dip assist machine, use it! It's very good as long as you keep yourself challenged... set the assist so that you are reaching failure by the 10th rep.

sbilyeu75

If you have a Gravitron machine or other pull up / chin up / dip assist machine, use it! It's very good as long as you keep yourself challenged... set the assist so that you are reaching failure by the 10th rep.

We have an assisted chinup/dip machine at the gym, but I found I cheated with it. I believe my NROL4W will get into chin ups. I'll probably start with the 1/2 chin ups.

I've not benched in awhile. I was only at 75lbs. The last time I did it.

guardup

At the gym, I sometimes have women come over and ask me how they can get as much muscle and definition as I have. I try to give them some simple advice. But when they walk away, I feel like they don't really get it.

Definition is simple: Lower Body Fat.

Muscle is simple: Train to failure.

It is very rare for me to see another woman at the gym train to failure. I generally see them come in, grab some weights, and do 15 or so reps... barely breathing hard... do a few exercises... and walk out in under 45 minutes.

The woman who are a little more serious are breaking a sweat. But they are not getting to failure.

To better explain this for people new to lifting: Failure is when you are doing your last rep and you CANNOT lift the weight any further without assistance. I do not mean that you don't *want* to lift the weight and further - we all experience that about 2-3 reps before failure - I mean that not matter how hard you push and COMMAND your body to lift the weight, it cannot. NOTE: Don't do this without a spotting partner unless you are on a machine that has a safety mechanism for failure.

THIS is what triggers significant muscle growth.

And then, after you have reached total failure, have you Spotter help you do reverses. For example, in Pull Ups, the spotter would help lift you up to the pull up flex position and you lower your body under your own control.

Doing this to failure will send major signals to your body.

Note that working to failure means MUSCLE PAIN the next few days. You should not work that muscle group until the muscle pain is lessened. Some say to not work it until the pain is gone. Since I am over the age of 40, that would mean working a muscle group about once a month.

Stretch and massage after working to failure. Stretch and massage again each day after.

The funny thing is how often I have women ask me how to get muscle and definition... but they don't want to "bulk up" or get "too much muscle". I have to smile at this statement. It takes TONS OF WORK and an extremely high level of determination, ferocious focus and PAIN to get to the size of the women they are thinking about. That's kind of like saying that you don't want to take up jogging because you don't want to be able to run a marathon in under 2.5 hours.

Trust me, getting that kind of muscle is NOT achieved by going to the gym and working a hard sweat 3-4 times a week for an hour or so.

Don't worry about it. Get in there. Train hard and eat smart. You'll get the body you want.

sbilyeu75

I completely agree. When I started going to the gym, I was doing the 12-15 reps. I started looking into the Max-OT program but I wasn't really confident in myself to do the exercises. I did not start showing change until I started lifting in the 4-6 rep range.

I definately need to lose body fat, but that's more diet than anything.

guardup

I completely agree. When I started going to the gym, I was doing the 12-15 reps. I started looking into the Max-OT program but I wasn't really confident in myself to do the exercises. I did not start showing change until I started lifting in the 4-6 rep range.

I definately need to lose body fat, but that's more diet than anything.

One thing to note is that you want to use Periodization with your weight lifting routine so that you do not reach Adaptation - which is where your body adapts to the load you are using and your gains level out.

This means that you want to do heavy weights with low reps for 4-6 weeks and then swap out with higher rep loads for a period. Also, within a given week, I go from 3 rep max sets one day to 10-12 rep sets on the same muscle group later in the week.

Change up your routine regularly and you will maximize your results.

taradyan08

I've starting The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I've found I have most problems with my grip. I thought about getting Versa Gripps but they are awfully pricey. I tried some straps but they just seemed to make it worse.

I'm having the most problems getting into a 40-30-30 ratio. I'm always over on carbs and under on protein. That's just something I'm going to have to refine.

I use VersaGripps. Yeah, they are pricey. But they are AMAZING. They are so simple to grab the bar... just slip the leather under and your hand over.. grab the leather... and lift. No wrapping or adjusting or smelly cotton. And I've had the same pair for over a year now with no significant signs of wear and tear. That's impressive considering the amount of lifting I do.

I would suggest doing a protein supplement if you are having problems with protein. I do a 25% ratio for protein because after research I discovered that my body size simply cannot absorb more than 150 grams a day. Even at my lifting routine, I stick to 120 grams. I do whey protein... Jarrow all natural. Would love to find a Whey Protein Isolate that is all natural because I am lactose intolerant.

I also do a lot of chicken, salmon, tuna and soy products for extra protein.

Have You tried All Natural Elite Isolate by Dymatize? no artificial flavors, sweetners or colors plus its an isolate!! The whole Elite brand taste amazing even better than Syntha-6 or Muscle Milk and way healthier!!

aprilshowers13

I definately need to lose body fat, but that's more diet than anything.

Same here. I say that I'm dieting but I'm not. I'm always over on cals. I don't remeber it being this hard when I first started.

sbilyeu75

I've starting The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I've found I have most problems with my grip. I thought about getting Versa Gripps but they are awfully pricey. I tried some straps but they just seemed to make it worse.

I'm having the most problems getting into a 40-30-30 ratio. I'm always over on carbs and under on protein. That's just something I'm going to have to refine.

I use VersaGripps. Yeah, they are pricey. But they are AMAZING. They are so simple to grab the bar... just slip the leather under and your hand over.. grab the leather... and lift. No wrapping or adjusting or smelly cotton. And I've had the same pair for over a year now with no significant signs of wear and tear. That's impressive considering the amount of lifting I do.

I would suggest doing a protein supplement if you are having problems with protein. I do a 25% ratio for protein because after research I discovered that my body size simply cannot absorb more than 150 grams a day. Even at my lifting routine, I stick to 120 grams. I do whey protein... Jarrow all natural. Would love to find a Whey Protein Isolate that is all natural because I am lactose intolerant.

I also do a lot of chicken, salmon, tuna and soy products for extra protein.

Have You tried All Natural Elite Isolate by Dymatize? no artificial flavors, sweetners or colors plus its an isolate!! The whole Elite brand taste amazing even better than Syntha-6 or Muscle Milk and way healthier!!

I've tried the Elite version. It was ok, but it had a chemical after taste. Check for Acesulfame Potassium or Acesulfame K in the ingredients. That is how they sweeten the Elite version.

sbilyeu75

I definately need to lose body fat, but that's more diet than anything.

Same here. I say that I'm dieting but I'm not. I'm always over on cals. I don't remeber it being this hard when I first started.

I'm right there with you.

guardup

Have You tried All Natural Elite Isolate by Dymatize? no artificial flavors, sweetners or colors plus its an isolate!! The whole Elite brand taste amazing even better than Syntha-6 or Muscle Milk and way healthier!!

I had done some research and came across this brand. It has pretty good reviews... and they sweeten with Stevia - my preferred sweetener since it is all natural (comes from a plant leaf) and 0 calories.

I may try it out... but it is much more expensive than Jarrow: $22.50 for 28 servings of Dymatize as opposed to $16.89 for 39 servings of Jarrow. Granted, Dymatize has 24 grams of protein per serving instead of 18 for Jarrow. But Jarrow is about .43 a serving and Dymatize is about .80 a serving. So if you increased your powder serving in Jarrow to meet Dymatize for grams of protein, you would still see about a 22% savings.

That may not mean much to others, but I go through a lot of this stuff... such that I buy it by the case.

I have found that microwaving a small amount of Silk Light Chocolate Soy Milk for about 45 seconds and then mixing the Jarrow in until it dissolves (very quick with warm milk) and then adding more soy milk (about a total volume of 1.5 cups) makes for a yummy shake.

Since Jarrow is high filtered, it actually digests well enough for me. I may test some Dymatize after I finish the case of Jarrow in my pantry.

guardup

I definately need to lose body fat, but that's more diet than anything.

Same here. I say that I'm dieting but I'm not. I'm always over on cals. I don't remeber it being this hard when I first started.

I'm right there with you.

It's the pub that gets me. Not the beer... I drink Stout which is rather low in calories. It's the INCREDIBLE food! And the fact that since I introduced me friends to this pub, everyone wants to go there all the time now.

I find that its easy to not cheat for my first 3 meals of the day. It gets harder for the last 3 meals... especially the last one.

So I have set up certain habits to help out. When I know I am going into a "high temptation zone" like the pub, I plan my meal ahead of time and make sure I am not going over. I always leave room for at least 1/2 of a dessert.

At night, after I have had my last meal, I immediately floss and brush my teeth. The argument for me is that its a pain in the *kitten* to do that all over again... so its easier to not eat any more.

I also drink a TON of raw chocolate and cinnamon. This feeds my snack cravings as well as my taste buds for less than 50 calories.

Lastly, I have a lot of low calories options at my house. And I keep the decadent desserts for when we go out. If the kids make some cookies or brownies, I make myself go walk laps to earn the treat first.

It isn't easy. But then again, what good goals are?

kdiamond

I plan on following this thread. I love lifting heavy weights. I'm an avid Crossfitter who wants to make some serious improvements, especially any overhead lifts. Joined this site to work on my nutrition, but can't figure out how to log my Crossfit workouts. Guess it's not that important, but I'd love to be able to do it. I LOVE seeing women who aren't afraid to lift!

I also do CF 3x a week and love it! I often wonder how much we burn during those workouts...it has to be a ton. I usually log it as "calesthentics" for lack of better information. I agree my overhead lifts are the hardest!!! Overhead squats kill me. We had to do a workout the other day that we did 30 walking lunges (3 rounds of) with a 35 pound plate held over our head...I practically fell over several times lol. That takes some serious core/legs/shoulder strength to do!

ceebs9

Nice! I'd have probably had to modify that to a 25# plate. My legs are strong enough, but damn those shoulders! Overhead squats are my nemesis. As are snatches, although I'm getting better. I guess at 45 (almost years old) I just need to be happy I haven't resigned myself to being a frumpy house wife.

Someone suggested trying a BodyBugg to see how many calories we burn during a typical WOD. I think I'd get laughed out of my gym if I wore one in there. But it would be fascinating to know.

edorice

Nice! I'd have probably had to modify that to a 25# plate. My legs are strong enough, but damn those shoulders! Overhead squats are my nemesis. As are snatches, although I'm getting better. I guess at 45 (almost years old) I just need to be happy I haven't resigned myself to being a frumpy house wife.

Ha, you got that right.

guardup

Someone suggested trying a BodyBugg to see how many calories we burn during a typical WOD. I think I'd get laughed out of my gym if I wore one in there. But it would be fascinating to know.

Why would you be laughed out of your gym? I hear of more and more pro body builders using BodyBugg and other calorie counters to help them achieve their desired body fat percentage. HRM simply isn't accurate enough when you get down into the teens (or lower for men).

ceebs9

Because Crossfitters are a strange breed.

edorice

I actually plan to get Body Media soon

guardup

A most awesome day at the gym. 3 hours of back exercises... 625 calories earned. I've reached almost all of my nutrient goals and have 1245 calories left. I expect to eat about 600 more in chicken wings and popcorn tonight for the Patriots game. I'll take the rest as a deficit.

I LOVE the weekend and long mornings of lifting.