Lift heavy lose weight?

Curvygirly22

Hi
I'm always told to lift heavy and that it will burn more calories however.....
I already have but arms and now I'm starting to see them get defined and not get smaller...I want small lean arms not big jacked arms....( I know you can't spot reduce)
For someone losing weight is lifting heavy always good? Should it be limited? What's a good amount 2x a week, etc
Tanks for your help!

dad106

Ideally, lifting 2-3 times a week is recommended.

As far as getting smaller arms, you have to lose the fat.. which requires eating at a deficit. If you lose the fat, you will see smaller defined arms.. if you don't, then you will see big jacked up arms.. that simple.

MustBeTheRows

3-4 times a week.

You won't get bulky.

laddyboy

If you are affraid your going to get bulky I would suggest you get your testosterone levels checked. Unless you have testosterone of a man you will not get bulky. Lift heavy and you will lean out. Stick with 12-15 rep range.

MrsRipdizzle

I lift heavy and I don't have big jacked arms - they've gotten smaller as I've progressed, actually. Less fat, better definition. Still have a ways to go. YOu aren't gonna get jacked because 1. you don't have a bunch of testosterone and 2. you really gotta work HARD to get jacked while NOT eating in a caloric deficit AND getting PLENTY of protein. So, it's nonsense that lifting heavy will make you "jacked" if you don't have the rest of the equation in place. :flowerforyou:

steve1686

if only it were so easy to get jacked arms.

I guarantee you that you won't get jacked arms

poledancing_ninja

Your muscles retain fluid when they are repairing. They're probably just a little swollen

MustBeTheRows

If you are affraid your going to get bulky I would suggest you get your testosterone levels checked. Unless you have testosterone of a man you will not get bulky. Lift heavy and you will lean out. Stick with 12-15 rep range.

I'm going to disagree with this. If you can do 12-15 reps then you're not lifting heavy enough.

catpow2

Did you just start? In the past month or two? I felt the same way for awhile, meaning my arms seemed to be getting bigger, which is NOT what I was not looking for at all. Stick with it, be strict about diet, and you'll lose the fat over the muscles that are now becoming more pronounced.

erickirb

If you are affraid your going to get bulky I would suggest you get your testosterone levels checked. Unless you have testosterone of a man you will not get bulky. Lift heavy and you will lean out. Stick with 12-15 rep range.

You don't need the 12-15 rep range, you can go for the 4-6 if you wish. I would suggest the 5-8 rep range if increasing strength is one of your primary goals.

Rae6503

Muscular arms are sexy. You won't get "jacked" arms unless you do steroids. I lift as heavy as possible (3 sets of 5 reps).

beckyinma

If you are affraid your going to get bulky I would suggest you get your testosterone levels checked. Unless you have testosterone of a man you will not get bulky. Lift heavy and you will lean out. Stick with 12-15 rep range.

I'm going to disagree with this. If you can do 12-15 reps then you're not lifting heavy enough.

This. 2-4 sets 8-12 reps at your heaviest, nearly to failure should be sufficient.

READ NEW RULES OF LIFTING FOR WOMEN, for lots of insight and a good schedule to follow. it's a GREAT book, and a great program. You will NOT jack your arms, or legs, you will gain muscle, which in turn will burn more fat, more efficiently, and make your body look more defined, but certainly not jacked if you're a woman. If you think looking like a professional body builder will happen from 2-3 days at a gym per week, you need to look very closely at what the professionals do before a competition, and study their constant lifestyles.

Yanicka1

Lifting heavy for the last 11 months

DixiedoesMFP

When I first started lifting heavy, I thought my arms were getting bigger. They were just swollen and still fat. Now they are getting nice and lean as the fat goes away. You can see them in my profile pic. That's about four months of lifting with a lifetime to go.

BTW, I haven't really lost much weight but I'm getting smaller. So lift heavy.....get smaller

John2347

you should lift heavy to get 12-15 repetitions in. this will help you keep defined arms but not make them bulk up. the heavier the weights you go the less repetitions you are able to perform and the bulkier you will look. Think of runners legs, distance runners have lean thin legs where as sprinters have big muscular legs. The distance runners are doing distance (many repetitions), where as the sprinter is doing a short distance (few repetitions). As for someone losing weight, lift to where you feel the burn at 12-15 repetitions for 2-3 sets. For the amount of days lifting, it all depends what you are doing on the days lifting. Are you doing the same thing every time? Are you splitting up the days to chest and back, arms and shoulders?

Curvygirly22

My calorie deficit is the one MFP gives you right?

sthrnchick

"I'm going to disagree with this. If you can do 12-15 reps then you're not lifting heavy enough."[/quote]


I agree with him too!! I try to go for 8-10...I also increase my weights with each new set.

bizgirl26

I started lifting heavy a while ago and the inches are falling off faster than they did with just cardio for sure. You will not get bulky. I love my results. Oh and I agree that if you can do 15 reps the weight isnt heavy enough. I aim for 8-10 reps ( maximum 12) When I start to be able to do 12 easily I bump up my weight so I can only do closer to 8 reps and go from there

sandiki

I personally don't care how jacked I might end up looking as long as I look great naked. That and less wiggle in my jiggle. Can I get an amen!

half_moon

Lean, "skinny" arms - small weights, a LOT of repetitions

Defined arms (what I'd call bulky for women, in MY opinion, but a lot of women like muscly arms): Heavy weights, a lot of repetitions.

LindaCWy

If you are "lifting heavy" and eating 1400 calories... you are probably doing it wrong.

I'm lifting heavy right now and eating at maitenence...thank god too cause if you are doing it right you get effin hungry!

I am still slowly losing weight (crossing fingers its pure fat).

One of two things; either lifting heavy isn't for you and you should stick to cardio and compound body movements and continue to eat at deficit or lifting is for you and you need to increase calories.

It's not fair to ask your body to lose 2 pounds a week, weight lift and do cardio.

LindaCWy

I personally don't care how jacked I might end up looking as long as I look great naked. That and less wiggle in my jiggle. Can I get an amen!

amen!

lukergm

In my experience, any weight lifting with serious exertion, lifting that raises the heart rate, will burn calories. At the same time, the amount of calories and fat burned most likely depends on the person's metabolism and body type. If the heart increases at least to the anabolic threshold and then recovers, you should burn fat and calories. I usually lift light-to-medium weights and see how may reps I can do above or at my target rep number.

poledancing_ninja

http://www.livestrong.com/article/423065-what-does-it-mean-when-your-arm-swells-up-after-you-lift-weights/

JenaePavlak

I lift super heavy (I bench 60lb dumbbells, traditional squat 200lbs, etc) and I'm not bulky! You don't have the testostorone in your body to produce "man" muscles.. The huge body builder chicks use hormone therapy and/or steroids....

So LIFT!!

I run 4-5/week for 20-25min
I lift 4-5/week for 45-75 min

=D

JenaePavlak

I personally don't care how jacked I might end up looking as long as I look great naked. That and less wiggle in my jiggle. Can I get an amen!

amen!

AMEN!!

laddyboy

if only it were so easy to get jacked arms.

I guarantee you that you won't get jacked arms

I'll go one step further than Steve. I'll give you a money back guarantee...LOL

Sheila_Ann

I lift 2x a wk with a trainer and my reps are normally 5-8. I go heavy with less reps. You can see my transformation on my profile pic. For me personally, I want the muscles to show when I wear tank tops. Proud of my hard work.

good luck on your journey! :flowerforyou:

Curvygirly22

So much controversy on how many reps :ohwell:

laddyboy

I personally don't care how jacked I might end up looking as long as I look great naked. That and less wiggle in my jiggle. Can I get an amen!

amen!

AMEN!!

Amen!

Sheila_Ann

:laugh:

if only it were so easy to get jacked arms.

I guarantee you that you won't get jacked arms

I'll go one step further than Steve. I'll give you a money back guarantee...LOL

:laugh: