Heavy Lifting - ??

dargytaylor

I am trying to incorporate lifting (with the machines to start) into my life. Day 2

When I hear (or see) people talk about 'heavy lifting' what does this mean for women? For instance, I just read in another post a women lift 225 with the leg press......while when I did it yesterday I was only at 110 :embarassed:

This is what I did yesterday...........1 mile cardio on the treadmill (combo of brisk walking and running)
Chest Press: 50 lbs / 1 rep of 7
Lat Pulldown: 70 lbs / 1 rep of 8
Seated Row: 30 lbs / 1 rep of 8

Leg Press: 110 lbs / 1 rep of 8
Leg Extension: 70 lbs / 1 rep of 8
Seated Leg Curl: 50 lbs / 1 rep of 8
Hip Abductor: 150 lbs / 1 rep of 10
His Adductor: 110 lbs / 1 rep of 10

and a bunch of abs to get up to 100 (roman chair, leg lifts, crunches, etc)

Today: 2 miles on treadmill, including brisk walking, running and incline - 30 minutes
Shoulder Press: 30 lbs / 1 rep of 7
Bicep Curl: 40 lbs / 1 rep of 8
Tricep Press: 70 lbs / 1 rep of 8

and again a bunch of abs

Please don't criticize me, I am SLOWLY learning. Should I be doing more reps? I am going to up my weigh on the leg exercises, but my legs are sore today...so not sure if I should?!?

Thanks for your help and support :flowerforyou:

Vipecap

Everyone starts somewhere and "heavy" will be relative to your size, experience, etc. so don't worry if you can only do "x" so much right now, keep at it. Generally if you are lifting heavy reps are going to be on the low end say 4-6 reps, even down to 1 or 2 reps depending on exactly what kind of program you are following and how much of your one-rep max you are doing. Try looking up Stronglifts 5 x 5 or New Rules of Lifting for Women as some information that may help you on what you wanna do with regards to lifting.

seekingstrengthX2

Your weight seems to be good, I would focus on more sets of fewer exercises each time. Meaning, yesterday you did 1 set each of 8 different exercises. I would suggest narrowing that down to 3-5 exercises and doing THREE sets of each. If you are at the right weight, the 3rd and final set of each exercise should be a struggle to complete.

Ash_76

heavy lifting is the max you can rep(it does not matter how much the person next to you lifts), a spotter is required and muscle failer beings around rep 5, and spotter will help complete the 8 were needed,

my week is like this; monday chest and biceps, tuesday, legs, wednesday, shoulders (including traps) triceps, thursday, no weights
friday, lats and back, sat/ sun no weights

after warm up reps i hit my max for 1 set rest for 3-5 min go up in weight aim to hit 4 rep( usually manage 1 or 2 on my own), i then drop weight below my max and do 2 sets, i do 3 different exercises on each muscle group, and alway push till muscle failer, rest between sets are important,,,, also when i start hitting 5/6 reps on heavier than max set, that weight then becomes my max and the process starts again
cardio i do 30 min, 5 times aweek and abs twice a week

try to stick to free weights were possible

RunHardBeStrong

Your weight seems to be good, I would focus on more sets of fewer exercises each time. Meaning, yesterday you did 1 set each of 8 different exercises. I would suggest narrowing that down to 3-5 exercises and doing THREE sets of each. If you are at the right weight, the 3rd and final set of each exercise should be a struggle to complete.

Completely agree with this!

chachita7

You have to work yourself to it... don't try to do too much too soon because all you could end up is with an unwanted injury...

Lifting - you want to make sure that the last 2 of each set (2 to 3 sets of each exercise) are a bit of a struggle... 8-10 (12-15 is what most woman would try to go for) if you start with 20lb and you are flying thru the set you are def. not lifting enough weight to challenge your muscles...

getsveltEagain

Your weight seems to be good, I would focus on more sets of fewer exercises each time. Meaning, yesterday you did 1 set each of 8 different exercises. I would suggest narrowing that down to 3-5 exercises and doing THREE sets of each. If you are at the right weight, the 3rd and final set of each exercise should be a struggle to complete.

Completely agree with this!

DITTO!!!

Everyone starts somewhere... make the weight heavy enough that the last one or two reps are a struggle with perfect form. Once those are no longer a struggle move to a heavier weight :winK:

lizard053

You are at a good starting point! Remember to give your muscles a day to rest in between each workout. Work lower body one days, upper the next. Abs one day, back the next. Or something along these lines. Or even full body one day, rest the next.

Your weights are higher than some I do, and I've been pushing the weights on my legs for 3 weeks now!

dargytaylor

thanks for your replies!!

so starting tomorrow, I will be upping my reps.......but my weight is good for now (except maybe the legs). I am keeping track of what I have lifted, and will "try" to up it by 5 every week or everyother.

also will be doing less sets, or rather breaking them up on different days........

Thanks again

getsveltEagain

thanks for your replies!!

so starting tomorrow, I will be upping my reps.......but my weight is good for now (except maybe the legs). I am keeping track of what I have lifted, and will "try" to up it by 5 every week or everyother.

also will be doing less sets, or rather breaking them up on different days........

Thanks again

You are at a good number of reps... try doing another set of those reps: 2 sets of 7 reps

aj_gettingfit

I started a few weeks ago and your weights are very similar to mine right now. I do at least 3 sets though. I usually do sets of 10 or 12 or if I go heavier then I try for 4 sets of 8.

dargytaylor

thanks for your replies!!

so starting tomorrow, I will be upping my reps.......but my weight is good for now (except maybe the legs). I am keeping track of what I have lifted, and will "try" to up it by 5 every week or everyother.

also will be doing less sets, or rather breaking them up on different days........

Thanks again

Set is what I meant :laugh: total newbie!!

You are at a good number of reps... try doing another set of those reps: 2 sets of 7 reps

clickmaster

Your weight seems to be good, I would focus on more sets of fewer exercises each time. Meaning, yesterday you did 1 set each of 8 different exercises. I would suggest narrowing that down to 3-5 exercises and doing THREE sets of each. If you are at the right weight, the 3rd and final set of each exercise should be a struggle to complete.

Completely agree with this!

I disagree with "more sets". Ideally a strength trainee should do ONE set per exercise. The reason is simple. After one properly executed** set, the muscle(s) cannot lift the same weight the same number of reps and therefor cannot make further in-roads into muscle trauma to stimulate additional adaptation. More sets of the same exercise only waste time and energy.

Ref --> http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=18

For an example of a properly done exercise routine, watch this video --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVhhbC51_3k&feature=related

Instead of doing multiple sets per muscle group, it's best to do multiple exercises per muscle group for the reason given above. An example would be incline, decline, and flat bench press.

** Refers to working muscles to absolute failure one time with 10 second concentric and eccentric phases and a time under load of 45-90 seconds (no cheating, strict form).

Good luck and good health!!

♠

clickmaster

I am trying to incorporate lifting (with the machines to start) into my life.

If you want to optimize for success, study. Don't rely on internet websites. Do your research in the library or buy this book --> http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=18

I know it's difficult to believe but there are few good trainers and most of the information about strength training on the internet is bad information. For example, it's much better to record your set duration instead of counting reps. Reps become meaningless when you're doing "fractionals" or "shorties" or "partial reps" because muscle fatigue disallows one more full rep. High intensity yields the greatest benefits but demands that you work the muscle under load for the longest possible time. In short, keep building the burn until the muscle is paralyzed. CAUTION - Be sure to work up to muscle failure slowly to prevent soreness. Baby steps. Walk before running.

There's much to learn but strength training is superior to aerobics and muscle is the best metabolic investment you can make. However, you have one body, it has to last a lifetime, and it can only follow your brain. It has no other choice. So, dig into books and lean the basics of anatomy, kinesiology, physiology, nutrition, etc. Here are some good websites.

• MY FIRST CHOICE http://www.usa.gov
• ALL ABOUT DIET DRUGS: http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/PDFs/Prescription_Medications.pdf
• ANAEROBICS http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html
• SCOOBY YOUTUBE http://www.youtube.com/user/scooby1961#g/u
• BODY BY SCIENCE http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=18
• A MUST FOR DIETERS http://www.freedieting.com/
• BEST FOODS FOR YOU http://www.choosemyplate.gov/index.html
• NUTRITION DOT GOV http://riley.nal.usda.gov/
• FOOD DATABASE http://nutritiondata.self.com/
• US NIH WEBSITE http://nih.gov/
• BEST HEALTH WEBSITE http://health.discovery.com/
• MAYO CLINIC ON FITNESS http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fitness/MY00396
• ALL ABOUT HEALTH http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/
• DIETARY GUIDELINES 2010 http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm
• DIET TIPS FOR FAT LOSS http://www.examiner.com/diets-in-phoenix/jennifer-ferniza
• EMOTIONAL EATING http://www.youtube.com/user/josielenore#g/u
• MORE CALCULATORS http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php
• EZ CALCULATORS http://www.calculator.net/weight-loss-calculator.html


Good luck and good health!!

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