Women strength training... for real

stroutman81

More good discussion from my profile regarding this conversation:

I totally agree that most women need more or, at least that's what I gather from my uneducated survey of most cardio equipment at any gym I've ever been in. I was just bringing it up because I still don't understand how it all works. I've gotten pretty lean doing both but still don't fully understand the how and why. Thanks!

You're helping a lot of people by asking very reasonable and sensible questions. Here's another thought for you...

Leanness is entirely a function of fat loss. You could have the smallest base of muscle possible and with enough fat loss to expose that small base of muscle... you're going to be lean. Sure, you might look like a crackhead, lol... but you'd be lean. So that's sort of my entire point.

It's what's left over once the fat is gone (realizing that it's never really gone... women need quite a bit just to stay alive... known as essential body fat). Once it's gone... if you're happy with what's rocking in the mirror.... all the more power to you. And realize I'm not speaking to you directly... this goes for anyone reading it.

One way is to lift progressively and heavily to ensure you optimize the amount of muscle you're carrying for its eventual exposure once fat is lost.

Or the other way is to leave strength training out of the equation and focus on exercise that tends to help with fat loss via calorie expenditure and conditioning and leave the muscle mass up to a) your genetics primarily and b) your diet.

There's always a choice... my point is the former avenue tends to make the women I've worked with the most happy.

CommittohealthCHANGED

Wow thanks for sharing.

Articeluvsmemphis

Strength training doesn't make me bulky. Being fat does.

Though I love the video post, I love this probably even more, I laughed out loud.

stroutman81

Strength training doesn't make me bulky. Being fat does.

Though I love the video post, I love this probably even more, I laughed out loud.

I, too, loved the quote. There's a lot of truth to it.

stroutman81

And since it seems like this thread will grow in popularity... I want to share another thread that revolves around the same topic. In it, I talk in detail about selecting the right load for you and I think I even write a sample body weight routine you can do from home.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/276660-i-do-dvds-so-i-don-t-need-to-strength-train

somigliana

Amen to that. It took a lot of courage for me to start using the barbell, but I haven't looked back since. I will say that doing squats has changed the profile of my backside, haha

crisanderson27

I so needed to see this today! It just made me realize I'm not getting where I really want and I only have myself to blame...I have a personal trainer but he still is not really putting me in the weight room that much... I've been afraid to attempt it on my own, but this really encouraged me. Now I just need to get a good starting routine and work from there.

Thank you for posting!

What does your trainer have you doing? Don't be afraid to fire him! There are a lot of clowns in that profession. No intentions of throwing him under the bus... maybe he's great. I don't know enough to open my mouth. I just get fired up about people accepting the bad in this industry.

He spends a lot of time asking her about her hip flexors, and suggesting she part them =p.

I'm being sarcastic...but when she reads this she'll spit out her drink, cause it's truth lol =D.

Kara...my bodyweight regimen was VERY easy to adapt to a beginner weight training regimen, I'll be happy to share it if you like, to get you started hun.

Just let me know ok?

crisanderson27

If a certain threshold of tension isn't reached, no adaptations as far as strength/hypertrophy are going to take place. Sure, you can get a training effect. You might build muscular endurance. You might build cardiorespiratory fitness. But here's my real point...

Not everyone needs to pick up a heavy barbell to realize this tension overload. For beginners, simple calisthenics can provide enough of an overload to drive improvement. Hell, in the research, taking sedentary folks and starting them on a walking regiment was enough to add muscle to their legs. Their bodyweight was enough.

Exactly! Thus the 5x5 format. If you can complete more than 7 reps on your first set, you're not loading yourself enough, and you need to upgrade your exercise. I'll post my routine below (stolen shamelessly from Cheesedog at bodyweightculture.com lol)

And since it seems like this thread will grow in popularity... I want to share another thread that revolves around the same topic. In it, I talk in detail about selecting the right load for you and I think I even write a sample body weight routine you can do from home.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/276660-i-do-dvds-so-i-don-t-need-to-strength-train

Awesome post =D!

Another Bodyweight Culture article, this one courtesy Cheesedog at:

http://www.bodyweightculture.com/forum/showthread.php?11058-Bodyweight-Strength-Training

Bodyweight Strength Training

People are always asking about strength training using only bodyweight. This is nothing new or revolutionary. I am borrowing HEAVILY from Rippatoe, Bill Starr, and lots of other great authors and trainers. This is your basic 5 x 5 template. (To clarify, 5x5 is 5 reps x 5 sets. The idea is to work at a difficulty level where you could only do maybe 7-8 reps on the first set, and are struggling to finish 5 reps on the last set). You would do strength training 3 times a week, say Monday-Wednesday-Friday with the weekends off. These are done "lazy circuits" style, with about 1 minute rest between each set.

Workout A
1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
1B. Horizontal push - 5 x 5
1C. Horizontal pull - 5 x 5
2A. Ab - flexion - 3 x 5
2B. Ab - static 3 x 30 seconds

Workout B
1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
1B. Vertical push - 5 x 5
1C. Hip dominant - 5 x 5
1D. Vertical pull - 5 x 5
2A. Ab - rotation - 3 x 5
2B. Grip and neck training - 3 x varies

Exercise Progressions - with regular weight training you can just add weight to the bar. With bodyweight progression is mostly about changing your leverage. These are just a few examples, I'm sure we could come up with dozens more if needed. You can always add resistance in the form of a weighted vest or backpack or resistance bands.

1. Knee Dominant -- squats, lunges, step-ups, bulgarian split squats, unilateral bent leg deadlift, partial one leg squat, one leg squat, box or stair pistols, full pistols.
2. Horizontal Push -- pushups, decline pushups, resistance pushups, side to side pushups, stair one arm pushups, negative one arm pushups, full one arm pushups.
3. Horizontal Pull -- body row, resistance body row, negative one hand row, incline one hand row, full one hand row.
4. Ab - flexion -- crunches, situps, resistance or incline situps, reverse situp, resistance or incline reverse situps, hanging knee or leg raise, hanging pikes, rollout from knees, rollout from feet, dragon flag. Also included are oblique moves like side lying crunches with or without resistance and side lying two leg raise.
5. Abs- static -- 4 point prone bridge, 3 point prone bridge, 2 point prone bridge, 4 point supine bridge, 3 point supine bridge.
6. Vertical Push -- pike pushup, hindu pushup, divebomber pushup, decline pike pushup, decline hindu pushup, decline divebomber pushup, one arm pike pushup, negative handstand pushup, handstand pushup with head touching floor, full handstand pushup.
7. Hip Dominant -- supine hip extension, good morning, one leg stiff leg deadlift, split one leg good morning, one leg supine hip extension, hyperextension, one leg hyperextension, natural glute-ham raise.
8. Vertical Pull -- jumping or assisted pullups, pullups, resistance pullups, side to side pullups, negative one hand pullups, one hand pullups. All these can refer to chinups or neutral grip pullups as well.
9. Ab - rotation -- twist crunches or situps, resistance or incline twist crunches or situps, russian twists, lying windshield wipers, standing rope rotations, hanging windshield wipers.
10. Grip and Neck Training -- for grip you can use handgrippers, deadhangs from a pullup bar (especially a fatbar or gripping a towel). For neck nothing beats wrestlers bridges. If you are involved in a striking martial art or sport, finger and fist pushups are very important also.

None of these lists have to end here. If you get strong enough you can always add resistance to your full range of motion one limb exercise. Or if you can do more than 5 one hand pushups do decline one hand pushups, or start working on one hand hindu and then eventually one hand dive bombers, and so on.

The nice thing about this routine is it scales dramatically depending on your fitness level. If you can't do even ONE regular pull up, you can scale it down and do assisted pull ups (legs on a chair), or ballistic pullups (where you jump to provide the initial momentum). It's actually easier to do properly when you're very unfit...because once you're healthy and strong...you're going to be searching for challenging enough exercises to only allow you 5 reps max by the finish of the 5 sets.

MoonMyst3

I would like to incorporate strength training into my workouts. Currently, I'm just doing cardio via the elliptical. My plan for September is to run 4 days at week (9-10 km or about 25 minutes). I've read that you should strength train on the same day as your cardio with a day off in between and I've also read that you should alternate your strength training days with your cardio days. Now I'm a little confused. Also, is strength training 3 days a week enough when striving for a change in your body composition or should it be more often? Thanks for opening up this discussion and for any advice you can provide.

stroutman81

If a certain threshold of tension isn't reached, no adaptations as far as strength/hypertrophy are going to take place. Sure, you can get a training effect. You might build muscular endurance. You might build cardiorespiratory fitness. But here's my real point...

Not everyone needs to pick up a heavy barbell to realize this tension overload. For beginners, simple calisthenics can provide enough of an overload to drive improvement. Hell, in the research, taking sedentary folks and starting them on a walking regiment was enough to add muscle to their legs. Their bodyweight was enough.

Exactly! Thus the 5x5 format. If you can complete more than 7 reps on your first set, you're not loading yourself enough, and you need to upgrade your exercise. I'll post my routine below (stolen shamelessly from Cheesedog at bodyweightculture.com lol)

And since it seems like this thread will grow in popularity... I want to share another thread that revolves around the same topic. In it, I talk in detail about selecting the right load for you and I think I even write a sample body weight routine you can do from home.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/276660-i-do-dvds-so-i-don-t-need-to-strength-train

Awesome post =D!

Another Bodyweight Culture article, this one courtesy Cheesedog at:

http://www.bodyweightculture.com/forum/showthread.php?11058-Bodyweight-Strength-Training

Bodyweight Strength Training

People are always asking about strength training using only bodyweight. This is nothing new or revolutionary. I am borrowing HEAVILY from Rippatoe, Bill Starr, and lots of other great authors and trainers. This is your basic 5 x 5 template. (To clarify, 5x5 is 5 reps x 5 sets. The idea is to work at a difficulty level where you could only do maybe 7-8 reps on the first set, and are struggling to finish 5 reps on the last set). You would do strength training 3 times a week, say Monday-Wednesday-Friday with the weekends off. These are done "lazy circuits" style, with about 1 minute rest between each set.

Workout A
1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
1B. Horizontal push - 5 x 5
1C. Horizontal pull - 5 x 5
2A. Ab - flexion - 3 x 5
2B. Ab - static 3 x 30 seconds

Workout B
1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
1B. Vertical push - 5 x 5
1C. Hip dominant - 5 x 5
1D. Vertical pull - 5 x 5
2A. Ab - rotation - 3 x 5
2B. Grip and neck training - 3 x varies

Exercise Progressions - with regular weight training you can just add weight to the bar. With bodyweight progression is mostly about changing your leverage. These are just a few examples, I'm sure we could come up with dozens more if needed. You can always add resistance in the form of a weighted vest or backpack or resistance bands.

1. Knee Dominant -- squats, lunges, step-ups, bulgarian split squats, unilateral bent leg deadlift, partial one leg squat, one leg squat, box or stair pistols, full pistols.
2. Horizontal Push -- pushups, decline pushups, resistance pushups, side to side pushups, stair one arm pushups, negative one arm pushups, full one arm pushups.
3. Horizontal Pull -- body row, resistance body row, negative one hand row, incline one hand row, full one hand row.
4. Ab - flexion -- crunches, situps, resistance or incline situps, reverse situp, resistance or incline reverse situps, hanging knee or leg raise, hanging pikes, rollout from knees, rollout from feet, dragon flag. Also included are oblique moves like side lying crunches with or without resistance and side lying two leg raise.
5. Abs- static -- 4 point prone bridge, 3 point prone bridge, 2 point prone bridge, 4 point supine bridge, 3 point supine bridge.
6. Vertical Push -- pike pushup, hindu pushup, divebomber pushup, decline pike pushup, decline hindu pushup, decline divebomber pushup, one arm pike pushup, negative handstand pushup, handstand pushup with head touching floor, full handstand pushup.
7. Hip Dominant -- supine hip extension, good morning, one leg stiff leg deadlift, split one leg good morning, one leg supine hip extension, hyperextension, one leg hyperextension, natural glute-ham raise.
8. Vertical Pull -- jumping or assisted pullups, pullups, resistance pullups, side to side pullups, negative one hand pullups, one hand pullups. All these can refer to chinups or neutral grip pullups as well.
9. Ab - rotation -- twist crunches or situps, resistance or incline twist crunches or situps, russian twists, lying windshield wipers, standing rope rotations, hanging windshield wipers.
10. Grip and Neck Training -- for grip you can use handgrippers, deadhangs from a pullup bar (especially a fatbar or gripping a towel). For neck nothing beats wrestlers bridges. If you are involved in a striking martial art or sport, finger and fist pushups are very important also.

None of these lists have to end here. If you get strong enough you can always add resistance to your full range of motion one limb exercise. Or if you can do more than 5 one hand pushups do decline one hand pushups, or start working on one hand hindu and then eventually one hand dive bombers, and so on.

The nice thing about this routine is it scales dramatically depending on your fitness level. If you can't do even ONE regular pull up, you can scale it down and do assisted pull ups (legs on a chair), or ballistic pullups (where you jump to provide the initial momentum). It's actually easier to do properly when you're very unfit...because once you're healthy and strong...you're going to be searching for challenging enough exercises to only allow you 5 reps max by the finish of the 5 sets.

Great contribution to the thread, Cris. Thanks! I've actually seen that program before. Not far off from how I'd set things up for a beginner in fact. I'd change a few things but still... it's a very decent setup.

stroutman81

I would like to incorporate strength training into my workouts. Currently, I'm just doing cardio via the elliptical. My plan for September is to run 4 days at week (9-10 km or about 25 minutes). I've read that you should strength train on the same day as your cardio with a day off in between and I've also read that you should alternate your strength training days with your cardio days. Now I'm a little confused. Also, is strength training 3 days a week enough when striving for a change in your body composition or should it be more often? Thanks for opening up this conversation and for any advice you can provide.

If your cardio is high intensity (think max effort sprinting) then yes, you should likely do these on the same days that you strength train. Reason being... in your "body's mind" their of the same type of stimulus. A stimulus that I'll call CNS-intensive... meaning it's work that requires a lot of effort and focus.

This type of work requires more recovery than lower intensity work. So by consolidating them on like days, you open up more room for recovery across the week.

Since it doesn't sound like you're doing that sort of conditioning though... I wouldn't worry about it much.

And if you're currently in a calorie deficit... you could rock great benefits from doing a full body strength training routine 2-3 days per week.

foodforfuel

THANK YOU. I get so riled up about this...

"I don't want to lift too much and accidentally get bulky," they say.

That's ridiculous. That's like saying, 'I don't want to drive to much and accidentally become a race car driver'.

:laugh:
and bump to read later.

achampionsheart

Amen to that. It took a lot of courage for me to start using the barbell, but I haven't looked back since. I will say that doing squats has changed the profile of my backside, haha

i do squats and lunges (along with other exercises) and i PROMISE that my butt has lifted......i know its changed because my pants are baggy in the butt and the thighs (ive lost 12 inch. from my thighs, 6 each leg)

crisanderson27

Great contribution to the thread, Cris. Thanks! I've actually seen that program before. Not far off from how I'd set things up for a beginner in fact. I'd change a few things but still... it's a very decent setup.

Thanks =D. The results were pretty incredible. 37lbs in about 3 months...even though for 6 weeks I bounced between 192 and 189lbs lol. I lost a significant amount of bodyfat overall though...from something over 30% (probably high 30's), to about 18% now.

As I mentioned above, I use a modified form of this same workout for my weight training. I haven't lifted weights with any seriousness since high school, and was totally lost when I joined my gym. So I thought to myself...'well, this routine is working...lets see what I can do to just add resistance to it'. I do things like dumb bell shoulder presses for the verticle press, regular presses for the horizontal press, etc. I wear a Polar FT7 to the gym, and don't let my heart rate drop below 140 for the entire workout, and only let it drop 5pts between sets (meaning...if my heart rate is 157 after set 2 of shoulder presses, I'll let it drop to 152, then begin set 3. After set 5, I'll let my heart rate drop no lower than 140 before beginning the next exercise). I'm burning about 500cal in 40ish minutes...and use that specific number (whatever it ends up) as a thumbnail guide to the intensity of that specific workout...meaning that as I get healthier (lower heart rate per the same effort), my intensity has to increase to keep the same or better numbers.

And if you're currently in a calorie deficit... you could rock great benefits from doing a full body strength training routine 2-3 days per week.

This is truth. I work out 3 days a week, 30-45 minutes...and the results have been incredibly motivating!

MoonMyst3

If your cardio is high intensity (think max effort sprinting) then yes, you should likely do these on the same days that you strength train. Reason being... in your "body's mind" their of the same type of stimulus. A stimulus that I'll call CNS-intensive... meaning it's work that requires a lot of effort and focus.

This type of work requires more recovery than lower intensity work. So by consolidating them on like days, you open up more room for recovery across the week.

Since it doesn't sound like you're doing that sort of conditioning though... I wouldn't worry about it much.

And if you're currently in a calorie deficit... you could rock great benefits from doing a full body strength training routine 2-3 days per week.

Thanks for the informative reply. I'm definitely not going to be sprinting the whole 25 or so minutes but I will be pushing it. I sometimes do HIIT for 15 minutes during my run. I alternate between going as hard as I can for 1 minute and going at a slower, recovery pace for 1.5 minutes. I read this was a good way to burn visceral fat. I assume that even when I'm working out this way, I would still fit into the 'wouldn't worry about it much' category as I'm not sprinting the whole time and could strength train on either the same or alternate days. If this is incorrect, please let me know; otherwise I look forward to rocking the benefits!! Thanks again for the advice.

deninevi

bump

sweebum

http://www.bodyweightculture.com/forum/showthread.php?11058-Bodyweight-Strength-Training

Bodyweight Strength Training

People are always asking about strength training using only bodyweight. This is nothing new or revolutionary. I am borrowing HEAVILY from Rippatoe, Bill Starr, and lots of other great authors and trainers. This is your basic 5 x 5 template. (To clarify, 5x5 is 5 reps x 5 sets. The idea is to work at a difficulty level where you could only do maybe 7-8 reps on the first set, and are struggling to finish 5 reps on the last set). You would do strength training 3 times a week, say Monday-Wednesday-Friday with the weekends off. These are done "lazy circuits" style, with about 1 minute rest between each set.

Workout A
1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
1B. Horizontal push - 5 x 5
1C. Horizontal pull - 5 x 5
2A. Ab - flexion - 3 x 5
2B. Ab - static 3 x 30 seconds

Workout B
1A. Knee dominant - 5 x 5
1B. Vertical push - 5 x 5
1C. Hip dominant - 5 x 5
1D. Vertical pull - 5 x 5
2A. Ab - rotation - 3 x 5
2B. Grip and neck training - 3 x varies

Exercise Progressions - with regular weight training you can just add weight to the bar. With bodyweight progression is mostly about changing your leverage. These are just a few examples, I'm sure we could come up with dozens more if needed. You can always add resistance in the form of a weighted vest or backpack or resistance bands.

1. Knee Dominant -- squats, lunges, step-ups, bulgarian split squats, unilateral bent leg deadlift, partial one leg squat, one leg squat, box or stair pistols, full pistols.
2. Horizontal Push -- pushups, decline pushups, resistance pushups, side to side pushups, stair one arm pushups, negative one arm pushups, full one arm pushups.
3. Horizontal Pull -- body row, resistance body row, negative one hand row, incline one hand row, full one hand row.
4. Ab - flexion -- crunches, situps, resistance or incline situps, reverse situp, resistance or incline reverse situps, hanging knee or leg raise, hanging pikes, rollout from knees, rollout from feet, dragon flag. Also included are oblique moves like side lying crunches with or without resistance and side lying two leg raise.
5. Abs- static -- 4 point prone bridge, 3 point prone bridge, 2 point prone bridge, 4 point supine bridge, 3 point supine bridge.
6. Vertical Push -- pike pushup, hindu pushup, divebomber pushup, decline pike pushup, decline hindu pushup, decline divebomber pushup, one arm pike pushup, negative handstand pushup, handstand pushup with head touching floor, full handstand pushup.
7. Hip Dominant -- supine hip extension, good morning, one leg stiff leg deadlift, split one leg good morning, one leg supine hip extension, hyperextension, one leg hyperextension, natural glute-ham raise.
8. Vertical Pull -- jumping or assisted pullups, pullups, resistance pullups, side to side pullups, negative one hand pullups, one hand pullups. All these can refer to chinups or neutral grip pullups as well.
9. Ab - rotation -- twist crunches or situps, resistance or incline twist crunches or situps, russian twists, lying windshield wipers, standing rope rotations, hanging windshield wipers.
10. Grip and Neck Training -- for grip you can use handgrippers, deadhangs from a pullup bar (especially a fatbar or gripping a towel). For neck nothing beats wrestlers bridges. If you are involved in a striking martial art or sport, finger and fist pushups are very important also.

None of these lists have to end here. If you get strong enough you can always add resistance to your full range of motion one limb exercise. Or if you can do more than 5 one hand pushups do decline one hand pushups, or start working on one hand hindu and then eventually one hand dive bombers, and so on.

The nice thing about this routine is it scales dramatically depending on your fitness level. If you can't do even ONE regular pull up, you can scale it down and do assisted pull ups (legs on a chair), or ballistic pullups (where you jump to provide the initial momentum). It's actually easier to do properly when you're very unfit...because once you're healthy and strong...you're going to be searching for challenging enough exercises to only allow you 5 reps max by the finish of the 5 sets.

This is an excellent start for those of us without equipment! :bigsmile:

All this is done with bodyweight?

youngmum

that video is truly inspiring, thanks for the link

Jennyisbusy

Ugh -this video struck a nerve - they may as well be aliens. Beautiful hot badass aliens, but not like me. It feels like too big of a task. Even as I write that I know it's a lie. If I can hang a 100lb fat suit over my frame and survive I can do almost anything right?

???

?

crisanderson27

This is an excellent start for those of us without equipment! :bigsmile:

All this is done with bodyweight?

Yes, bodyweight only. I mean, you can add a weighted vest (I've a 20lb vest I never used), etc...but this is all designed for no weight.

When I started, I was doing regular pushups for the horizontal press. When I ended, I was doing decline wide grip 90/10 (weight distribution) one leg pushups lol. When I started I was doing a modified pike pushup for the vertical press. When I ended, I was doing a full 5x5 extended range of motion (pushup stands) hand stand pushups. When I started, I was doing ballistic pullups (jumping to get your initial lift to the bar). Now, I can do the full 5x5 in pullups.



It definitely...works.

missa1982

Love this topic. I've started strength training this last month and although I don't see any results yet, I feel much stronger and fitter. Plus I enjoy it alot more than cardio, there's something very satisfying when it comes to lifting weights and pushing yourself to do one last rep or increase your weights. The women in the video all have the type of body I am aspiring to achieve - lean and defined and I know that weights will get me there eventually! Thanks for the post.

rachmaree

Always enjoy your posts, Steve! I love lifting weights. When I finally started focusing my workouts more over Summer, I really noticed a big change in my body. Just a couple of days ago someone at work saw me point at something and said 'do you lift weights? you have Madonna arms,' which I thought was a nice compliment

Rockin23

Omg! That girl Jen Comas Keck looks like me!! Body wise of course. Lol cool video. I'll lift heavy once I'm at it.

stroutman81

As I mentioned above, I use a modified form of this same workout for my weight training. I haven't lifted weights with any seriousness since high school, and was totally lost when I joined my gym. So I thought to myself...'well, this routine is working...lets see what I can do to just add resistance to it'. I do things like dumb bell shoulder presses for the verticle press, regular presses for the horizontal press, etc. I wear a Polar FT7 to the gym, and don't let my heart rate drop below 140 for the entire workout, and only let it drop 5pts between sets (meaning...if my heart rate is 157 after set 2 of shoulder presses, I'll let it drop to 152, then begin set 3. After set 5, I'll let my heart rate drop no lower than 140 before beginning the next exercise). I'm burning about 500cal in 40ish minutes...and use that specific number (whatever it ends up) as a thumbnail guide to the intensity of that specific workout...meaning that as I get healthier (lower heart rate per the same effort), my intensity has to increase to keep the same or better numbers.

Well just for anyone's reference who might try the routine you posted... here are the changes that I'd make:

*Instead of starting with a knee dominant exercise both days... I'd have one day emphasizing a knee dominant movement and the second day emphasizing a hip dominant movement.

*On the day that's knee dominant, I'd have an accessory hip dominant movement that focuses on unilateral training (single leg). Think single led dumbbell romanian deadlifts or single leg hip thrusts.

*On the day that's hip dominant, I'd have an accessory knee dominant movement that focuses on unilateral training. Think step ups or reverse lunges.

*I'd put the pulling movements ahead of the pushing. And depending on the person's posture, I'd likely have more volume to pulling than to pressing.

That's about it.

And as for how you used HR to gauge intensity.... I think that's perfectly fine way of blending strength work with conditioning. Especially seeing as how your initial goal was to shed body fat.

Just for completeness though... I want people to understand that when the primary goal increasing strength/muscle... I'm of the opinion that strength and conditioning work should be separated. When they're combined... there's a "watering down" effect. Not that you won't get improvements in both muscle and conditioning. It's just that when the primary goal is muscle based... you need all the help you can get - especially women who don't have the hormonal profiles to build muscle.

Put differently, for optimal strength/muscle training... you want a large majority of that fatigue to dissipate before your next set. You don't want fatigue to get in the way of intensity. You mentioned intensity and you're really referring to intensiveness. Intensiveness is how hard something feels. And you're right... when you're moving weights in a fatigued state with your heart rate jacked up... it does feel hard.

But intensity, as used in science, refers to the load on the bar - the proximity of the weight being used to one's maximum ability. Which relates back to the tension threshold I spoke about earlier in this thread. Load on the bar translated to tension in the muscle. So if fatigue limits the load on the bar, you're limiting the tension in the muscle.... or the real intensity, which, in many cases, can be counterproductive depending on the goals.

Hopefully that made some sense.

stroutman81

If your cardio is high intensity (think max effort sprinting) then yes, you should likely do these on the same days that you strength train. Reason being... in your "body's mind" their of the same type of stimulus. A stimulus that I'll call CNS-intensive... meaning it's work that requires a lot of effort and focus.

This type of work requires more recovery than lower intensity work. So by consolidating them on like days, you open up more room for recovery across the week.

Since it doesn't sound like you're doing that sort of conditioning though... I wouldn't worry about it much.

And if you're currently in a calorie deficit... you could rock great benefits from doing a full body strength training routine 2-3 days per week.

Thanks for the informative reply. I'm definitely not going to be sprinting the whole 25 or so minutes but I will be pushing it. I sometimes do HIIT for 15 minutes during my run. I alternate between going as hard as I can for 1 minute and going at a slower, recovery pace for 1.5 minutes. I read this was a good way to burn visceral fat. I assume that even when I'm working out this way, I would still fit into the 'wouldn't worry about it much' category as I'm not sprinting the whole time and could strength train on either the same or alternate days. If this is incorrect, please let me know; otherwise I look forward to rocking the benefits!! Thanks again for the advice.

Actually, if you're doing true HIIT where you the work portion of the intervals are as hard as you can... then I'd likely insert them on your lifting days.

I also wouldn't recommend relying solely on HIIT while dieting. It's just not necessary and in many cases can be counterproductive. I know "hard and intense" feels right. People like the idea of beating their bodies into submission. But that doesn't always pan out so well in the real world.

If HIIT is to be used... in my folks I'll limit it to 1-2 sessions per week. And yes, it's consolidated with the strength work. Then there will be a handful of lower intensity conditioning and active rest stuff thrown into the off days.

Oh, and that whole visceral fat thing... I wouldn't worry about that. Visceral fat is the first fat to go... it's the subcutaneous fat that takes longer to tap into for reasons we won't dive into here.

stroutman81

Love this topic. I've started strength training this last month and although I don't see any results yet, I feel much stronger and fitter. Plus I enjoy it alot more than cardio, there's something very satisfying when it comes to lifting weights and pushing yourself to do one last rep or increase your weights. The women in the video all have the type of body I am aspiring to achieve - lean and defined and I know that weights will get me there eventually! Thanks for the post.

Stronger and fitter are results.

Improvements in strength tend to happen much sooner than changes to muscle mass. And if you're in a calorie deficit, than you might not even realize muscle changes. At which point some people ask, "then why do it?" And the answer to that question is so that when you lose your fat... you're left with enough muscle to be happy about your physique.

Granted... many people do realize *some* concurrent body composition changes. It's just not something that should be expected nor is it something that will be hugely appreciable.

TakeOne

BUMP

AZackery

I don't lift heavy weights. I don't like the muscular look. There's a difference between a woman having a bodybuilder's look and a woman having the muscular look. Example: Chyna the wrestler (Bodybuilder's look) and Jackie Warner (Muscular look).

It's not easy for a man or woman to bulk up. But, both genders can get a muscular look by strength training.

A bodybuilder, no matter if it's a man or woman, they don't get that body without help and no, I'm not talking about steroids.

I'm more a cardio person. I strength train to tone and that's all.

dawnmichelea

Thanks for the post!!!! And nokittyno, AWESOME article!!!

crisanderson27

Well just for anyone's reference who might try the routine you posted... here are the changes that I'd make:

*Instead of starting with a knee dominant exercise both days... I'd have one day emphasizing a knee dominant movement and the second day emphasizing a hip dominant movement.

*On the day that's knee dominant, I'd have an accessory hip dominant movement that focuses on unilateral training (single leg). Think single led dumbbell romanian deadlifts or single leg hip thrusts.

*On the day that's hip dominant, I'd have an accessory knee dominant movement that focuses on unilateral training. Think step ups or reverse lunges.

*I'd put the pulling movements ahead of the pushing. And depending on the person's posture, I'd likely have more volume to pulling than to pressing.

That's about it.

And as for how you used HR to gauge intensity.... I think that's perfectly fine way of blending strength work with conditioning. Especially seeing as how your initial goal was to shed body fat.

Just for completeness though... I want people to understand that when the primary goal increasing strength/muscle... I'm of the opinion that strength and conditioning work should be separated. When they're combined... there's a "watering down" effect. Not that you won't get improvements in both muscle and conditioning. It's just that when the primary goal is muscle based... you need all the help you can get - especially women who don't have the hormonal profiles to build muscle.

Put differently, for optimal strength/muscle training... you want a large majority of that fatigue to dissipate before your next set. You don't want fatigue to get in the way of intensity. You mentioned intensity and you're really referring to intensiveness. Intensiveness is how hard something feels. And you're right... when you're moving weights in a fatigued state with your heart rate jacked up... it does feel hard.

But intensity, as used in science, refers to the load on the bar - the proximity of the weight being used to one's maximum ability. Which relates back to the tension threshold I spoke about earlier in this thread. Load on the bar translated to tension in the muscle. So if fatigue limits the load on the bar, you're limiting the tension in the muscle.... or the real intensity, which, in many cases, can be counterproductive depending on the goals.

Hopefully that made some sense.

That actually makes complete sense...and gives me a few clues as to where to tone back the intensiveness, and increase the actual intensity...as explained in your post. Perhaps I'll start making my Wednesday workout an actual intensity based workout, rather than intensive. My main goal is still to shed body fat...but there are places I'd like to start building now also. Wider shoulders will of course be stronger (which is my main goal...applicable strength), but they also make for a smaller looking waist...as does a distinct V in your lats, etc.

Loving this topic =D.

I don't lift heavy weights. I don't like the muscular look. There's a difference between a woman having a bodybuilder's look and a woman having the muscular look. Example: Chyna the wrestler (Bodybuilder's look) and Jackie Warner (Muscular look).

It's not easy for a man or woman to bulk up. But, both genders can get a muscular look by strength training.

A bodybuilder, no matter if it's a man or woman, they don't get that body without help and no, I'm not talking about steroids.

I'm more a cardio person. I strength train to tone and that's all.

Here's the thing. If you want to shed fat QUICKLY...lift the weights!! It's not like you have to maintain that body shape when you're done, or that level of 'muscularity'. Having that extra muscle will burn the fat exponentially more quickly. When you're happy with your body fat percentage...stop lifting at that intensity. The muscle will melt with lack of use, and you'll be right where you want to be...MUCH more quickly than you would have otherwise.