How long to notice a difference from free weights?

electricmeow

I know this is a VERY broad question, but I am very curious. How long does it take to notice a difference in arm muscle if you are moderately challenging yourself with free weights five days a week? I would say I'm doing a pretty average routine for a female. It's exercise routine with 5lb weights that work each muscle group. I do the circuit three times. Altogether it takes 15 minutes. I have average, slightly thin arms with some muscle definition, so change will be noticeable.

Hopefully the factors are "average" enough to answer this broad question.

chickenpoppa

I would like the answer to this as well

starwhisperer

you won't be able to use a five pound weight for very long and get results. 5 days a week is too often to do one muscle group as well, you need a 24 hour rest period in between to let the muscles repair. How long have you been doing what you are doing?

UrbanRunner81

Not sure with that routine. But my experience I did 3 months of heavy lifting (3 times a week 30-45 minutes) and afterward I noticed my arms getting toner. I have been doing charlean extreme (beachbody) for almost a year now.

erickirb

Weeks or months would be my guess. You should start to get stronger almost right away and have to increase your weights. If you are not pushing yourself to your limit your results will be slow at best.

Jesung

You won't see much/any muscle growth if you don't progress in weights while eating at a calorie surplus.

tangal88

I lift much heavier weights, did Chalene Extreme, and P90X. Both program I did heavy weights 3 times a week, cardio on alternate days. Alternate muscle groups.

I usually can "feel" a difference in certain muscle within about 2-3 weeks. (push on them and feel more density)

But as far as visually "seeing" a difference, it depends on how much excess fat I am carrying at the time. As I lean out, i begin to "see" the muscle changes. If I don't lose much fat, then its hard to "see" a difference really.

I did already have some muscle, that had been "underused" for a number of years. So I was reconditioning some muscle I had, not rebuilding all from scratch.

Yanicka1

I saw a big difference in about 2 weeks. In the last 5 weeks I lost 6 inches total from strenght training. But that being said, My lowest weight I use is 15 pounds dumbbells. For exemple today I was able to squat 100 pounds. So I am really lifting heavy

juli3b2011

I use Chalean Extreme, too and I began noticing results within the second week of Push phase (approximately 6 weeks from starting). That's huge for me because I have a few layers to burn off...so for someone already being small, you would most likely see definition a lot quicker. CLX's concept is to lift heavier weights with fewer reps. I started off using 3 - 8lbs weights...and now up to 8 - 20lbs.

Rae6503

you won't be able to use a five pound weight for very long and get results. 5 days a week is too often to do one muscle group as well, you need a 24 hour rest period in between to let the muscles repair.

This.

bprague

Unless you're splitting your days to focus on different parts of the body you shouldn't be weightlifting 5 days a week. Three days a week allows for muscle rebuilding.

Anyway, to answer your question it took me about two weeks to see a difference but I lift hard- otherwise there is just no point.

In order to transition I lift my sets at a difficult level 15 reps and three sets or so. I should feel like I can't do any more by my 15th rep. THEN I would lift a level above that but only 4-8 reps (depending on how new I am to the weight). This seemed to help me immensly to transition from 10lbs to 15lb, and now I'm working at 20 lbs on my biceps.

Really, just lift to max out.

prdough

muscle can take a while to grow.

But my recomendation would be concentrating on heavier weights then 5lbs.

Warm up with small weights, then hit it HEAVY.

Also, if you aren't already, make sure you are getting a lot of protein (1 gram per lb of your goal body weight)

and don't just work out your arms. do pushups, pull ups, rows, etc. Then throw some curls with the heavy weights in there.

fteale

I do circuits twice a week with 5 lb weights and haven't seen any results muscle wise in 10 months. I do have a fairly muscular build in the first place, though.

bprague

I do circuits twice a week with 5 lb weights and haven't seen any results muscle wise in 10 months. I do have a fairly muscular build in the first place, though.

I can't say this enough: lift heavy. In order to grow muscle you need to teach your body that it NEEDS that muscle. 5lbs is a cop out with most workouts unless you have a medical issue.

bgredenbaugh

OK - I would first suggest you change your mindset. None of the "for a female" junk!! 5 pounds is not enough weight to make a difference. Period. All of the BS about getting too bulky or muscley, etc. is just that - BS. Unless you are doing hardcore, body-builder grade workouts with supplements and you somehow manage to produce a LOT more testosterone, you cannot get "bulky" by accident.

OK - mini rant over.

You should be using weights that actually push you. If you can do 12-15 reps with no problem, guess what? you're wasting your time!! The last rep should be almost impossible to complete. You need to greatly increase the amount of weight you are lifting, or you're really not going to accomplish a thing.

Sorry, but it's true. To really change a muscle, you have to stress the muscle, and 5 pounds won't do that.

Women and strong and powerful! Don't be afraid to the weights!!

electricmeow

Ha, I'm sorry you took my female specification the wrong way. I only said that incase there is a difference between how female and male muscle would grow. And for anyone who was wondering, I do figure I'm going to have to increase weight. That's why I said I will be "moderately challenging" myself, meaning, by the time I get to 8 out of 15 I would really like to stop!! But I push to keep going. 5lbs is all I have right now, and I'm just starting off. It will be hard to get heavier weights because I live in a city where I depend on the bus and my feet. I'm also taking 22 units along with volunteering, and a two hour outing to only get weights may not be total priority.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I will be sure to allow my muscles to rest.

alyssamiller77

OK - I would first suggest you change your mindset. None of the "for a female" junk!! 5 pounds is not enough weight to make a difference. Period. All of the BS about getting too bulky or muscley, etc. is just that - BS. Unless you are doing hardcore, body-builder grade workouts with supplements and you somehow manage to produce a LOT more testosterone, you cannot get "bulky" by accident.

OK - mini rant over.

You should be using weights that actually push you. If you can do 12-15 reps with no problem, guess what? you're wasting your time!! The last rep should be almost impossible to complete. You need to greatly increase the amount of weight you are lifting, or you're really not going to accomplish a thing.

Sorry, but it's true. To really change a muscle, you have to stress the muscle, and 5 pounds won't do that.

Women and strong and powerful! Don't be afraid to the weights!!

^ this

Your sets should be 8-12 reps and by the last rep of each set your target muscle group for that exercise should be burning and you should be just barely able to complete that rep. Then rest for 2 minutes (unless doing another exercise on a completely different muscle group) before you do your next set. 3 sets on each muscle group should do you well. The other way you can gauge that you're pushing yourself hard enough is that your heart rate should elevate. Just like "cardio" exercises, strength training also should elevate your hear rate. When I'm lifting not only does my pulse jump but I also sweat like crazy. So make sure you're pushing yourself hard if you want to see results.

slbeutler

I agree with most here, you need to go heavier. Read the book New Rules for Women and Lifting (or something like that). Just read the first chapter, you can preview it for free on Amazon. It will answer most of our questions about women, lifting and so forth. You can read the entire first chapter without purchasing if you click on the kindle preview. It will show up on your computer screen.

Just think, your purse probably weighs more than 5 pounds and you carry that around all day.

There are also some really good schedules for lifting that are free on bodybuilding.com.