question on lifting weights

kdiamond

This is a girl who lifts heavy weights (Jamie Eason)...tell me she doesn't look amazing?

ItsCasey

Resistance bands are fine for certain exercises, but ultimately, nothing beats lifting something really heavy if you're trying to add muscle. If you're not ready to make an investment in weights (and they're not as expensive as you may think), then go with the bands for now and think about the weights some more.

I do suggest that when/if you decide to make the jump to weights, do NOT get fixed weight dumbbells unless they are really heavy ones that you'll be able to use for a while. Nobody is going to add muscle or get lean by lifting 5 or 10 lbs. You may want to start with a low weight like that just to learn proper form (form is of the utmost importance in weight lifting), but you should advance beyond that very quickly. So I reccomend getting yourself some adjustable dumbbells and a barbell that you can add plates to as your strength improves.

If your a woman 5 - 10 lbs is all you need plus your body weight

Not true at all. Lifting 5 to 10 lbs is a waste of time, even for a small woman, and I am a small woman. If you're totally new to weight training, that small amount of weight is okay for learning proper form, but if you want to get rid of fat and get stronger, you have to stop using the excuse that "I'm a chick, so I can't lift heavy weights."

Have you seen the new issue of SHAPE with Vanessa Hudgens on the cover? She got that body lifting really heavy weights in preparation for Sucker Punch. Read how much she deadlifts. It'll blow your mind if you think 5 to 10 lbs is all a woman needs.

bmontgomery87

Just going to add something: ladies should NOT be afraid of heavy resistance training. Pre-baby and pre-marriage I was 128 - 132 lbs and 5'8" --- so very lean --- but strong as he!! because I weight trained to exhaustion with heavy weights. Best shape of my life... and I obviously didn't look like the incredible hulk! lol.

Very good point.
A lot of people say they don't want to "bulk up" without realizing it takes years to build those big bulky muscles.
And if you aren't eating over maintenance and trying to build that muscle, it's not going to happen.


AND THANK YOU FOR POSTING JAMIE EASON.Quite possibly one of the most attractive girls on the planet. THAT is exactly the body guys dream of.

shaunshaikh

You should be doing no more than sets of 12 reps, aka heavy lifting. Resistance bands are a suitable replacement for free weights, granted that the resistance is high enough so that 3 sets of 12 or less repititions leads you to failure (or close). You may need to do some research to find a good set of resistance band exercises though.

For those who said resistance bands wouldn't work -- a force is a force, whether it's caused by gravity or the elastic force of a band. I agree if she could bang out 30 reps on a certain band then she shouldn't be doing it for strength training, but if the band is strong enough to only allow you to do 8-12 reps then you're fine.

The calorie burn you get from lifting weights is highly dependent on the nature of your workout. The best calorie burn you can get DURING your weight lifting workout is when you are using multiple muscle groups at the same time and you are using some kind of circuit in order to minimize rest inbetween sets. For example, you could combine a squat and a shoulder press with dumbells in one motion for one of your sets and alternate that with weighted lunges. Your heart rate will certainly be up and if the weight is right you will be breaking down your muscles, too. In 30 minutes of lifting weights, you could burn as little as 50 calories or as high as 400 probably. MFP does have a cardio category for strength training that can give you an estimate, but it's hard to trust.

Girls won't get bulky unless they take horomones. Pretty much nobody will gain muscle mass while they are dieting and have a calorie deficit, unless they shock their body by starting a weight program forthe first time or something. Usually the weight gain associated with a new weight program is just water weight which is related to the body's process for rebuilding muscle.

The reasons strength training is good for anybody trying to lose weight are;
1. It helps preserve your muscle while you lose weight so you focus on losing fat and improving your body composition.
2. Most of us really don't have a goal weight, we have a "goal body", and that can only be achieved through lifting weights
3. Preserving muscle also will help keep your metabolism high throughout your weight loss. One of the contributors to "starvation mode" is that over time if you only do cardio and have really low calorie diets that you burn too much muscle during yoru weight loss and it kills your metabolism.
4. The function of repairing your muscles after a strength training exercise actually does burn calories, which is why people say you continue to burn extra calories throughout the day AFTER your strength training.

Good luck.

bmontgomery87

^^ I like how you don't have a weight goal.
That is uncommon to see but appreciated.

Nice seeing someone working for a goal BF percentage and an ideal body instead of a number that means very little.

NikkiDerrig386

Resistance bands are fine for certain exercises, but ultimately, nothing beats lifting something really heavy if you're trying to add muscle. If you're not ready to make an investment in weights (and they're not as expensive as you may think), then go with the bands for now and think about the weights some more.

I do suggest that when/if you decide to make the jump to weights, do NOT get fixed weight dumbbells unless they are really heavy ones that you'll be able to use for a while. Nobody is going to add muscle or get lean by lifting 5 or 10 lbs. You may want to start with a low weight like that just to learn proper form (form is of the utmost importance in weight lifting), but you should advance beyond that very quickly. So I reccomend getting yourself some adjustable dumbbells and a barbell that you can add plates to as your strength improves.

If your a woman 5 - 10 lbs is all you need plus your body weight

Not true at all. Lifting 5 to 10 lbs is a waste of time, even for a small woman, and I am a small woman. If you're totally new to weight training, that small amount of weight is okay for learning proper form, but if you want to get rid of fat and get stronger, you have to stop using the excuse that "I'm a chick, so I can't lift heavy weights."

Have you seen the new issue of SHAPE with Vanessa Hudgens on the cover? She got that body lifting really heavy weights in preparation for Sucker Punch. Read how much she deadlifts. It'll blow your mind if you think 5 to 10 lbs is all a woman needs.

1. Do you even know what a dead lift is? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs-wOHN5tdw

That involves your back, legs, arms, core etc. not just your arms. Write her a letter and ask her if she could go into a bicep curl from there? HELL NO is the answer I would put money on! 30 the most and either way she would have started low and worked her way up! Also a person just starting to lift weights cant just go into heavy weights, its physically impossible (depending on the exercise); the bridge formation of the sacromeres in the muscle fibers have to adjust over a period of time. If you were one of the woman who could lift haevy weights then kudos to you but most people esp women cant. Have you seen a personal trainer hand a woman anything more than a 12-15 weight. I havent! If you have she didnt start with them.

2. I am not using any excusses!! I have been working out for years and I have never gone past 10 pounds and I dont mean to toot my own horn but my arms look fantastic. They are toned and have little fat with the help of LIGHT weights and bands. So this chick is just fine with out heavy weights!!

bmontgomery87

1. Do you even know what a dead lift is? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs-wOHN5tdw

That involves your back, legs, arms, core etc. not just your arms. Write her a letter and ask her if she could go into a bicep curl from there? HELL NO is the answer I would put money on! 30 the most and either way she would have started low and worked her way up! Also a person just starting to lift weights cant just go into heavy weights, its physically impossible (depending on the exercise); the bridge formation of the sacromeres in the muscle fibers have to adjust over a period of time. If you were one of the woman who could lift haevy weights then kudos to you but most people esp women cant. Have you seen a personal trainer hand a woman anything more than a 12-15 weight. I havent! If you have she didnt start with them.

2. I am not using any excusses!! I have been working out for years and I have never gone past 10 pounds and I dont mean to toot my own horn but my arms look fantastic. They are toned and have little fat with the help of LIGHT weights and bands. So this chick is just fine with out heavy weights!!

I agree that deadlifts are a full body exercise.
But, heavy is a relative term. 5 to 10 lbs isn't going to be enough for all excercises. Those weights will work for tons of exercises, but a 10 pound dumbbell isn't going to be very useful for squats or deadlifts or other important lifts.
It's a start, but saying thats all she'll need because she's a woman is wrong.

dad106

I work out a with a personal trainer and he has me lift between 10 and 12 pounds for squats, lunges, squat/press and bi-cep curls.
Right now my body looks the best its ever looked and I'm not lifting tons of heavy weights.
I think it all depends on what the person can do and if they lift to heavy too soon, they are going to get injured.

Lanfear

LOL we seem to have opened a can of worms a little with the whole poundage-of-weight being lifted thing!

I did a Turbo Fire toning class this morning with the middle band of the set I got, and I could see the muscles working. I think I'll complete the Turbo Fire course (12 weeks) and in that time I will be saving up to get a set of adjustable dumbells - and then I'll be moving onto the Chalean Extreme. I did the Burn Circuit yesterday, just with my little 2.2kg weights, and I know of some of those exercises she's lifting 20+lbs.

The resistance band provided quite a good workout this morning and there are 5 in the set, so I can mix it up and go a bit heavier if I need to

thkelly

"lifting heavy" needs to be thought of as a rep range imo

to me it means using weights that i can get 5-8 good reps in per set with my final set being a struggle to get 8 reps finished with good form.
obviously a person isn't going to be using the same weight for bicep curls or lateral raises as they will for shoulder presses, bench press, etc.

once a person (male or female) has the proper form down pat they shouldn't be afraid to throw in some 'heavy' days.

also lifting heavy doesn't apply to all exercises either. squats, deadlifts, power cleans are examples of compund exercises where lifting heavy can be a benefit, but i wouldn't be doing 5 rep sets of lateral raises or upright rows.

bmontgomery87

also lifting heavy doesn't apply to all exercises either. squats, deadlifts, power cleans are examples of compund exercises where lifting heavy can be a benefit, but i wouldn't be doing 5 rep sets of lateral raises or upright rows.

Agreed. I'll do 5x5 of squats, bench, or deads.
But I'm not gonna do 5 reps of front raises, or arnold presses or something like that.

YeaILift

2. I am not using any excusses!! I have been working out for years and I have never gone past 10 pounds and I dont mean to toot my own horn but my arms look fantastic. They are toned and have little fat with the help of LIGHT weights and bands. So this chick is just fine with out heavy weights!!

Just because it worked for you doesn't mean it is optimal. Plenty of exercises work, but that doesn't mean there isn't a more efficient way of going about it. The same goes for dieting.

FrodoB

2. I am not using any excusses!! I have been working out for years and I have never gone past 10 pounds and I dont mean to toot my own horn but my arms look fantastic. They are toned and have little fat with the help of LIGHT weights and bands. So this chick is just fine with out heavy weights!!

I'm sure your arms look great. You don't "need" heavy weights to build muscle. Look at the upper bodies of swimmers or the legs of soccer players. They didn't get those physiques from lifting weights, they got them from spending hours and hours using their limbs. In order to look like Michael Phelps, you don't you have to life heavy, all you have to do is spend six hours a day in the pool like he does.

However, an option to lots of reps is adding weight. You "need" to add weight, but it is a tool. If you want to truly gain strength then going heavy is essential.

Mayor_West

In order to look like Michael Phelps, you don't you have to life heavy, all you have to do is spend six hours a day in the pool like he does.

However, an option to lots of reps is adding weight. You "need" to add weight, but it is a tool. If you want to truly gain strength then going heavy is essential.

Actually, Phelps lifts heavy, too.

http://www.mensfitness.com/bodyfortress/training-advice-from-michael-phelps

bmontgomery87

I'm kinda surprised by that. I guess he's just not big because he can't eat enough to grow. I read an article one day that had his diet and it was outrageous what he ate. He burns so much in the pool

mikeyml

I'm kinda surprised by that. I guess he's just not big because he can't eat enough to grow. I read an article one day that had his diet and it was outrageous what he ate. He burns so much in the pool

Very true. He eats on average 12,000 calories per day but it's still not enough haha.

His breakfast is insane. He calls it the breakfast of champions. 3 fried egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions, mayo; a 5 egg omelet, a bowl of grits; 3 slices of french toast; and 3 chocolate chip pancakes.

Lunch is a pound of pasta; 2 ham and cheese sandwiches; and 1000 calories worth of energy drinks

Dinner is an entire pizza and another pound of pasta, followed by 1000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Totally insane lol.

(sorry for side tracking the thread with this post)

corpus_validum

No matter what many of us here know to be optimal for muscle/strength gains, no amount of empirical evidence is going to get a lot of women to incorporate heavy weights in their exercise regime. There's just some emotional/psychological aversion to it for many women (notice I didn't say all). For those that do get past that , as indicated several times above in this thread, a lot have achieved great results. For those that can't, oh well...they'll still achieve some decent results.

bmontgomery87

1000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Totally insane lol.

this is what i read. I was wondering if he was serious, or if Red Bull paid him out the *kitten*. lol