weights with women.....less weight and more reps?

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minisears
minisears Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
What is more effective for women? I am not trying to bulk, but to tone and increase strength. Is is better for women to do less reps with higher weight, or less weight and more reps? I am confused!
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  • beckie4442
    beckie4442 Posts: 132
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    More weight less reps is meant to be better. Unless you take steroids or testostorone you will NEVER bulk up. Try reading the new rules of lifting for women. I found this book very informative. Good luck.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    What is more effective for women? I am trying increase strength. Is is better for women to do less reps with higher weight, or less weight and more reps? I am confused!

    The weight should be heavy regardless of rep count. Naturally, what you can lift for five reps will be less that what you can do for eight.

    Also, I fixed it for you.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    Heavy! Lift heavy weights! You cannot get bulky just by strength training, and the term 'toning' is kind of misleading. If you want to look 'toned', you'll need to do a combination of good, heavy strength training and a little cardio (In my ever-so Humble Opinion).
  • minisears
    minisears Posts: 5
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    thanks for the tips, guys. I have been really confused. Maybe I need to do some more research on what it means to "tone". I can see how that is a misleading term for sure.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    a lot of women here are having a lot of success with the book "new rules for lifting for women." it destroys all those misconceptions that women have about lifting with heavy weights.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    It takes time for a man and a woman to bulk up, but yes a woman can bulk up. You don't even have to lift weights to tone up. You can use your own body bka body weight or you can even use resistance bands. I don't lift heavy, I don't believe in lifting heavy.

    What kind of workouts are you doing or looking to do?
  • stronglikebull
    stronglikebull Posts: 402
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    go to:
    stumptous.com
    stronglifts.com

    read:
    starting strength
    the new rules of lifting for women
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
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    Unless you're injecting your self with testosterone you're not going to get bulky. It's hard enough for men to get bulky let alone women. I would suggest you read something like 'New Rules of Lifting for Women'. It'll explain all about that.
  • catherine4211
    catherine4211 Posts: 944 Member
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    I noticed a difference in my arms after switching from 10lb to 12.5 weights to do my bicep curls. I cannot wait to move up to the 15's!!!
  • tangal88
    tangal88 Posts: 689
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    My most dramatic results in losing inches, fat loss, and a tight lean composition came when I switched to lifting with heavier weights, lower reps, and added in some intense cardio.

    Lower weights many reps, resistance bands, did do "some" but workouts took me twice as long, and results were much less dramatic, both in body tightness, overall leanness, fat loss, and less jiggles..

    I did lower weights, more reps for years, body weight only, cardio only - never was happy with the results, even when I did lose weight. Still was not tight, still had jiggle....

    Heavy weights, made a hugh difference in results, and appearance overall.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    It takes time for a man and a woman to bulk up, but yes a woman can bulk up. You don't even have to lift weights to tone up. You can use your own body bka body weight or you can even use resistance bands. I don't lift heavy, I don't believe in lifting heavy.

    What kind of workouts are you doing or looking to do?

    Fishing?
  • gtwin
    gtwin Posts: 290 Member
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    Please don't believe the myth of "light weight, high reps." And there really isn't such a thing as "toning." 5 lb dumbbells and 30 reps isn't going to do much to reshape your body. Go as heavy as possible while maintaining good form and try working with the rep scheme: 12, 10, 8, 6. On compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, and bench....a 5 x 5 rep/set routine has worked best for me when trying to increase strength and build muscle. On assisting exercises for tri's/bi's...that's when I do the 12, 10, 8, 6.
  • vs1023
    vs1023 Posts: 417 Member
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    Lifting heavy, low reps is the way to go. You will not bulk up. Also diet is a big factor if you are looking to drop body fat %.
  • kittyninja
    kittyninja Posts: 118
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    There is no such thing as "tone". You either gain muscle, or you maintain/strengthen what muscle you have. Heavy weights are the only way to go. And by heavy, I don't mean as much as you can possibly lift at one time. I mean heavy enough that almost can't complete the last rep in a set of 8-12 reps. Generally, you should be doing that much weight, 3 sets of 8-12 reps, and a full-body (by full body, I mean 2 exercises for each muscle group) workout 3 times per week.
    Read these- all of them, or find the parts in them you want to learn about. Most accurate info I've ever heard.
    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/building-muscle.php
    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/weight-loss.php#section15
  • aquapussy
    aquapussy Posts: 112
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    Everyone already said it,, but I am proof lifting heavy does not "bulk you up". I have done about 10 months of heavy free weight routine.

    Just don't expect to make great gains in the muscle department while on a calorie deficit. It's mainly for maintaining your muscles.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    Toning does exist. A person doesn't have to lift heavy.
  • 2012x
    2012x Posts: 149 Member
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    Heavy!
    Im getting my 13kg kettlebell next week :)
  • dana815
    dana815 Posts: 9
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    yes please google it bc everyones opinion is diff...for me what ive learned n used over the years n lost 90lbs is not "heavy" but not light...example 3sets of 10-12reps of a acceptable weight to where by the 10-12 rep it is hard...rest for a min theb do next set...by 3rd set u r really pushing....after time ull b strengthened n used to that weight so thenu can add more reps or a smaller bit mire weight. just me personally, ive never used more than 30 on biceps n triceps....legs r diff...i like my curves n want more muscle mass there so i do heavier weights, plus usually womens legs r stronger than their arms. make sure u do a little in each area to get tone all over. :) happy workouts!
  • jetscreaminagain
    jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
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    Compare the results of the people advocating lifting heavier for shorter lifts (I am one of the many in mfp land) with the results of the one person advocating differently. Lots of advice around here gotta weigh credibility. Do a search in the forums for women lifting heavy or strength training for real or "ginormous man muscles " that'll give you a ton of motivation and inspiration. Also. Nerdfitness.com look for Staci your new super hero or something like that. Or you can do tae bo for more than a decade and get results like the person who advocates that a women don't need to lift heavy to tone.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    yes please google it bc everyones opinion is diff...for me what ive learned n used over the years n lost 90lbs is not "heavy" but not light...example 3sets of 10-12reps of a acceptable weight to where by the 10-12 rep it is hard...rest for a min theb do next set...by 3rd set u r really pushing....after time ull b strengthened n used to that weight so thenu can add more reps or a smaller bit mire weight. just me personally, ive never used more than 30 on biceps n triceps....legs r diff...i like my curves n want more muscle mass there so i do heavier weights, plus usually womens legs r stronger than their arms. make sure u do a little in each area to get tone all over. :) happy workouts!

    Google will also give you a variety of opinions.
    And what you are describing is exactly what people are saying to do when they are talking about lifting heavy.

    This is the link on stacey Jetscreaming is talking about
    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

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