The New Rules of Lifting for Women

beedifferent

has anyone here tried this? I have been working out for a few months now, and really have been feeling I need to start getting serious with both diet and exercise.

I have been very frustrated in trying to figure out what a weight work out looks like for me. I am a 49 year old female that has 70 lbs to lose. I am pretty committed to working out as i meet my sister 6 days a week at 5:45 am at the Y. We swim three days a week. For the other three days we do some sort of cardio and then weights, but not a regimented program. For instance for a few weeks we ran/walked for 30 minutes then did a very haphazard weight work out. This past week we did a spin classes then weights.

I have read some reviews on this book and am very interested, but just think it might not be doable for me.

thanks for reading.

clothes_of_sand

Well, one thing I would suggest is consulting your doctor; he or she might be able to help you figure out how much your body is capable of tackling right now. Another thing I would suggest is reading several sources about weight-lifting, not just the one, since there are a lot of myths floating around about weight-lifting (especially where it concerns women).
However, pretty much anyone can lift weights. You just have to ease into it. Start where you are comfortable and move up from there. Also, make sure you know the proper techniques for whatever weight exercises you're doing. Wouldn't want to get injured.

Another thing to remember is that if you do weights, you need to train your whole body. If you work the biceps and not the triceps, for example, that could cause strain and injuries. Also, if you work your abs you also need to work your back, etc etc. A book I would suggest would be The Men's Health Guide to Peak Conditioning. I know it's for men, but it has a lot of good exercises in there with the proper forms detailed, and it also contains a lot of information that applies to both men and women. Sorry I can't comment on the book you asked about; I've never read it.

xraychick77

i think i've browsed through that book at barnes and noble once. there is also weight lifting for dummies. what i cant stand is this whole for men for women thing. I bodybuild. And let me tell you there is no difference in how men lift as to how women should lift. Its all the same, since mechanically our bodies are the same. Sure, we dont have as much testosterone or bulk to us, and wont get as many muscles, but the techniques and exercises are the same. I dont have any books, since there is a plethora of info about body building online. My favorite site is bodybuilding.com. Its pretty much the authority. They have listings of every type of weight lifting exercise you can think of. Dont be afraid to pick up heavy weights and sweat a bit. The rule is if you can do 15 reps with a weight then its too light. you should do around 6-12 reps. Just get in there, pick up a weight and start lifting, if its too light get a heavier one. If you go to the Y like me, they have people there who will help you with machines or free weights, just ask. ask them to see if you are doing the exercise correctly, have the right form.

My workout is like this..its called HST

Deadlifts
Cable curls
seated quad machine
seated hamstring machine
chest press
over head press
tricep pull down
bent over rows
lateral shoulder raises
calf machine
abs (captians chair)

On my next HST round, i'll switch up the exercises a bit.