How fast do women put on muscle?

PANZERIA

*insert a 'beating a dead horse' joke here*

fbmandy55

Wow - umm ok.... I don't have access to a gym nor do I have the money to get 100+ lbs in weights.... Do the weights have to be that high? I'm at 23.5% BF so I was trying mostly just help get the last of the fat off by introducing strength training instead of doing primarily cardio....

I have 5, 10 and 35lb weights! If you do enough reps, you will feel it with the 5 pounders!

erickirb

Wow - umm ok.... I don't have access to a gym nor do I have the money to get 100+ lbs in weights.... Do the weights have to be that high? I'm at 23.5% BF so I was trying mostly just help get the last of the fat off by introducing strength training instead of doing primarily cardio....

Do the weights have to be that high? Absolutely not. You can get lean and toned with lighter weights. You just have to do higher reps.

This is not correct, higher than 15-20 reps range is just for endurance and will not be that different than doing just cardio. If it appeared to work for you it was because you lost the fat over the muscle.

PANZERIA

Deleted

gxm17

Wow - umm ok.... I don't have access to a gym nor do I have the money to get 100+ lbs in weights.... Do the weights have to be that high? I'm at 23.5% BF so I was trying mostly just help get the last of the fat off by introducing strength training instead of doing primarily cardio....

Do the weights have to be that high? Absolutely not. You can get lean and toned with lighter weights. You just have to do higher reps.

This is not correct, higher than 15-20 reps range is just for endurance and will not be that different than doing just cardio. If it appeared to work for you it was because you lost the fat over the muscle.

I really don't want to get in a war of the studies, but:

"In a series of experiments, Burd and colleagues tweaked some resistance-exercise variables to see which had the greatest effect on building muscle mass. More repetitions with lighter weights can build muscle as well as heavier weights -- assuming they are done to the point of exercise-induced fatigue. And fatigue is the important point. That means even with light weight, the last two to three reps should be hard."

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20120427/high-reps-with-low-weights-builds-muscle-too

It's all good. Folks who want to lift heavy, can lift heavy. And the folks who want to lift light, can lift light. Have no fear of the lighter weight, higher rep workout, you will get results (although IMO it's harder than lifting heavy).

jacksonpt

I am going to start doing weights with my Jillian Michaels exercise videos but have a couple questions.

1. How long does it take a woman to put on one pound of muscle?
2. How long after strength training or how much muscle do you need to gain, for the new muscle to speed up your metabolism and start burning more fat faster?

Aslo- will 5 and 8 pound weights be enough to to tighten everything up?

Thanks for the help!

1 - WAAAY more slowly than most people want, or are willing to believe. .5lb per month is pretty good for most people. But as others have said, it depends on a ton of different factors - some you can control, some you can't.

2 - while it's true that muscle does require more cals to sustain itself than does fat, please don't think that by adding 5 or even 10 lbs of muscle you're suddenly going to turn your body into a calorie burning machine. The difference isn't that significant.

Lastly, Jillian DVDs isn't the best way to add muscle. Those DVDs are more cardio based than strength. With a good diet and good genetics, could you gain a little muscle? Sure... but by the sounds of things, you're not going to see the results you want.

waldo56

I put this in another thread as well, but here is a list of low-no equipment (pullup bar, smaller dumbbells, gymnastics rings for some of the really advanced stuff), strength training exercises that I put together (google should explain any of them) that should take anybody from easy to the equivalent of moving hundreds of pounds in the weight room:

Upper Body Horizontal Push:

Easy/Remedial: Wall Pushup, Knee Pushup, Incline Pushups, Pushups

Moderate: Decline Pushups, Diamond Pushups, Divebomber Pushups, Uneven Pushups, Typerwriter Pushups, Incline One Arm Pushups, Clap Pushups, Planche Lean, Tuck Back Lever

Difficult: One Arm Pushups, Decline One Arm Pushups, Pseudo Planche Pushups, Pseudo Maltese Pushups, One Leg Back Lever, Straddle Back Lever, Back Lever, Tuck Planche Hold/Pushups, Straddle Planche Hold/Pushups, Full Planche Hold/Pushups

Assistance: DB Flys, Crow/Frog Stand, Straight Arm Frog Stand, German Hang

Upper Body Vertical Push:

Easy/Remedial: PB Support

Moderate: DB OHP, Handstand, Dip, Weighted Dips, Bar Dip, Pike Pushup, Headstand Pushup, Headstand Press

Difficult: L-Sit, Freestanding Handstand, Handstand Pushup, Handstand Press, Human Flag Tuck/Full

Assistance: Headstand

Upper Body Multiplane Push:

Difficult: L-Sit to Handstand Press, 90 Degree Pushups

Upper Body Horizontal Pull:

Easy/Remedial: DB Rows, Inverted Rows

Moderate: Tuck Front Lever

Difficult: Tuck Front Lever Rows, One Leg Front Lever Hold/Rows, Straddle Front Lever Hold/Rows, Front Lever Hold/Rows, Victorian

Upper Body Vertical Pull:

Easy: Chair Assist Pullup/Chinup, Negative Pullup/Chinup

Moderate: Chinup, Pullup, Towel Pullups, Leg Assist Rope Climb, Rock Climbing

Difficult: Uneven Chinups, One Arm Chinup Negatives, One Arm Chinup, BW Curl, Arm Only Rope Climb

Assistance: Dead Hang, Inverted Hang, DB Curl

Upper Body Multiplane Pull:

Easy: Skin the Cat

Moderate: Bent Leg Middle Split Hold

Difficult: V-Sit, Middle Split Hold, Manna, Front Lever Pulls, Crank

Combined Upper Body:

Difficult: Muscle-Up, Elevator

Legs Vertical Force (Jump):

Easy/Remedial: Wall Sit, BW Squat, BW Lunge, DB Squat

Moderate: Jump Squat, Pistol Squat, Falling Tower, Weighted Lunges, DB Split Squat

Difficult: Shrimp Squat, DB Pistol Squat, Jumping Pistol Squat, Jumping Shrimp Squat, BW Leg Extensions

Assistance Exercises: DB Extension/Stall

Legs Horizontal Force (Run):

Easy/Remedial - BW Straight Leg Deadlift, Bridge, Straight Bridge, Bounding, Side Leg Lift

Moderate - BW One Leg Straight Leg Deadlift, DB One Leg Straight Leg Deadlift, One Leg Bridge, One Leg Straight Bridge, DB Hip Thrust, DB One Leg Hip Thrust, Assisted Glute-Ham Raise/Stall, BW Good Morning

Difficult - Glute-Ham Raise

All (difficulty scales) - Sprints, Hill Sprints, Stair Runs, Weighted Sprints, Sled/Car Pull/Push

Core Ab Dominant:

Easy - Crunch, Situp, Plank, Knee Lift

Moderate - Hanging Knee Lift, Incline Situp, Hollow Hold, Boat, Touch the Sky, Hanging Leg Lift, Bicycle Crunch, Bent Leg Straddle L, Tuck Dragon Flag, Floor Wipers

Difficult -L-sit, V-sit, Straddle L, Dragon Flag, Body Lever, Hanging Situp, Front Lever var.

Core Back Dominant:

Easy - Bridge, Straight Bridge (Reverse Plank)

Moderate - Superman Hold, Full Bridge, Elbow Lever

Hard - One Arm Elbow Lever, Stand to Stand Bridge, Bridge to Handstand, Back Lever var.

Core Oblique Dominant:

Easy - Side Bends, Twisting Yoga Poses (many)

Moderate - Floor Wipers, Side Plank

Hard - Human Flag Tuck/Full, Side Lever Pulls

..................................................................................
I'm sure I'm leaving off a lot of stuff, especially the easy and obscenely hard, but that is a pretty good overview of what is possible. Most people will never run out of resistance. Though heavy back squats and deadlifts are a nice addition. Most of the tough stuff is from gymnastics. In many ways men's gymnastics can be viewed as bodyweight powerlifting, iron powerlifters can move more total weight, gymnasts are stronger relative to their size. A lot of the tougher stuff is so tough that there is no record of a female actually being strong enough to perform.

As far as programming, there aren't any good comprehensive systems out there that are friendly to all levels, this article is about as good of an overview of programming as it gets:
http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2010/3/the-fundamentals-of-bodyweight-strength-training/

waldo56

Wow - umm ok.... I don't have access to a gym nor do I have the money to get 100+ lbs in weights.... Do the weights have to be that high? I'm at 23.5% BF so I was trying mostly just help get the last of the fat off by introducing strength training instead of doing primarily cardio....

Do the weights have to be that high? Absolutely not. You can get lean and toned with lighter weights. You just have to do higher reps.

This is not correct, higher than 15-20 reps range is just for endurance and will not be that different than doing just cardio. If it appeared to work for you it was because you lost the fat over the muscle.

I really don't want to get in a war of the studies, but:

"In a series of experiments, Burd and colleagues tweaked some resistance-exercise variables to see which had the greatest effect on building muscle mass. More repetitions with lighter weights can build muscle as well as heavier weights -- assuming they are done to the point of exercise-induced fatigue. And fatigue is the important point. That means even with light weight, the last two to three reps should be hard."

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20120427/high-reps-with-low-weights-builds-muscle-too

It's all good. Folks who want to lift heavy, can lift heavy. And the folks who want to lift light, can lift light. Have no fear of the lighter weight, higher rep workout, you will get results (although IMO it's harder than lifting heavy).

Higher rep ranges are not self progressing. If you stay only in higher rep ranges you will not continue to get stronger and able to increase the weight. Higher rep ranges do cause faster growth, but cannot sustain that growth. Lower rep ranges are self progressing, but the growth is lower. Periodizing the two, either mixed or not, leads to the maximum mass gains, as you are gaining strength to continue to progress the weight in the higher rep ranges where size gains are the greatest.

This is why 6-10 reps is typically considered "hypertrophy". It is not ideal for size, strength, or endurance, but it is right in the sweet spot between all of them that it is the only rep range that will lead to moderate size, strength, and endurance gains.

Gains are greater though if the rep ranges are periodized, pretty much every good BBing program peirodizes high and low rep ranges.

islandmonkey

The only thing I disagree with is #3. You'll note that all the guys responding think that 5-8 lb weights aren't much - but as a female starting out, this is where you may need to be.

I've been doing Jillian Michaels for a few weeks with 5 lb weights (and the 30DS also has a lot of weight bearing activities for arms) and saw a difference within a week or two. I've already stepped it up to 8 lb weights though and am almost ready for 10 lbs....eventually you may need to increase your weights, but you can absolutely see some tightening starting with the 5-8 lbs.

That said...it really, really, really goes depend so much on your individual body for all the other questions. But the guys need to also remember, when answering the question re: 5-8 lbs, that their bodies are very different from a female body.

You asked short questions with a significant lack of detail, so I'm going to give you short answers:

1. There is no way to answer that question accurately.

2. There is no way to answer that question accurately.

3. No.

All of this depends WHOLLY on diet, intensity level, amount of weight and reps lifted, your own genetic makeup and hormonal patterns and about a dozen other things. However, I can assure you that you will never put any significant amount of stress on your muscles (except maybe your side delts for the first week) with only 5 and 8 lb weights.

MrDude_1

I wish I actually put on muscle as fast as women think they will bulk up if they lift heavy.....

Determinednoob

Bulking myths just won't die.

Neither will the "low weight high reps" myths

Determinednoob

I wish I actually put on muscle as fast as women think they will bulk up if they lift heavy.....

Indeed. I would love to suffer that prominent fear of going to bed normal one night and waking up yoked out

PANZERIA

Bulking myths just won't die.

Neither will the "low weight high reps" myths

They are my personal pet-peeve...I WISH I could go to bed one night and wake up completely shredded after just doing 50 reps with a couple of pink dumbbells. *sigh* Sadly, after two years of lifting between 20-30lbs, I'm only just starting to notice a difference. Makes me sad.

islandmonkey

Wow - umm ok.... I don't have access to a gym nor do I have the money to get 100+ lbs in weights.... Do the weights have to be that high? I'm at 23.5% BF so I was trying mostly just help get the last of the fat off by introducing strength training instead of doing primarily cardio....

I love that the people insisting that everyone is different because of body type, metabolism etc are the very ones saying you MUST use heavy weights.

I find that guys often forget that women can use much lighter weights than they do, and still have them be heavy enough to increase muscle mass.

I started with 5 lb weights doing the 30DS, have progressed to mostly using 8 lbs weights, and am almost ready for the 10 lbs. My arms and shoulders look amazing after only a few weeks! I found with 30 DS that all the weight-bearing arm exercises (lots of things done in pushup or plank position) made me feel the burn and developed muscle mass that most definitely didn't exist before.

QueenGorgo

Hey what part of Texas are you in? I have absolutely nothing to contribute to this post..just being nosy :happy:

Determinednoob

Wow - umm ok.... I don't have access to a gym nor do I have the money to get 100+ lbs in weights.... Do the weights have to be that high? I'm at 23.5% BF so I was trying mostly just help get the last of the fat off by introducing strength training instead of doing primarily cardio....

Do the weights have to be that high? Absolutely not. You can get lean and toned with lighter weights. You just have to do higher reps.

This is not correct, higher than 15-20 reps range is just for endurance and will not be that different than doing just cardio. If it appeared to work for you it was because you lost the fat over the muscle.

I really don't want to get in a war of the studies, but:

"In a series of experiments, Burd and colleagues tweaked some resistance-exercise variables to see which had the greatest effect on building muscle mass. More repetitions with lighter weights can build muscle as well as heavier weights -- assuming they are done to the point of exercise-induced fatigue. And fatigue is the important point. That means even with light weight, the last two to three reps should be hard."

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20120427/high-reps-with-low-weights-builds-muscle-too

It's all good. Folks who want to lift heavy, can lift heavy. And the folks who want to lift light, can lift light. Have no fear of the lighter weight, higher rep workout, you will get results (although IMO it's harder than lifting heavy).

Higher rep ranges are not self progressing. If you stay only in higher rep ranges you will not continue to get stronger and able to increase the weight. Higher rep ranges do cause faster growth, but cannot sustain that growth. Lower rep ranges are self progressing, but the growth is lower. Periodizing the two, either mixed or not, leads to the maximum mass gains, as you are gaining strength to continue to progress the weight in the higher rep ranges where size gains are the greatest.

This is why 6-10 reps is typically considered "hypertrophy". It is not ideal for size, strength, or endurance, but it is right in the sweet spot between all of them that it is the only rep range that will lead to moderate size, strength, and endurance gains.

Gains are greater though if the rep ranges are periodized, pretty much every good BBing program peirodizes high and low rep ranges.

Yep and then we get into discussions about myofibrillar vs sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, all of which is supefluous for any beginner. The difference between training for strength and training for size is greatly overstated for beginner trainees. Lift at max effort with progressive overload preferably on a well know beginner lifting routine with a built in progression scheme and measureable\trackable results somewhere in the 5-12 rep range and you will get bigger and stronger. Oh, and with calorie surplus of course.

BAMFMeredith

5-8 pound dumbells are perfect for starting Jillian Michaels workouts. You may not bulk up for a body building competition, but you will certainly add defitition and get nice and firm. As you progress through her worlouts you can always add more weights.


Good luck!

I must be ready for body building competitions given the amount of weight I lift regularly! AWESOME!

MrDude_1

I love that the people insisting that everyone is different because of body type, metabolism etc are the very ones saying you MUST use heavy weights.

thats because the sentence you say after what I quoted is wrong.

if anything women need to follow bodybuilding/strongman/etc advice MORE strictly then men... because they dont have the hormonal benefit helping them.

think about it.. its HARDER for women to make muscle.... for the best results, they should be following the best advice possible...

but whatever.

PANZERIA

5-8 pound dumbells are perfect for starting Jillian Michaels workouts. You may not bulk up for a body building competition, but you will certainly add defitition and get nice and firm. As you progress through her worlouts you can always add more weights.


Good luck!

I must be ready for body building competitions given the amount of weight I lift regularly! AWESOME!

:drinker:

BAMFMeredith

It honestly doesn't matter how much weight you use, technically you can tighten EVERYTHING up just by using your own body weight! If you're looking to be tight and lean then you want low weight high reps )
If it's bulk you're looking for then you want high weight low reps.

Add me if you want, I'm here for support and to answer any questions you have!

Face. Palm.

If low weight/high reps made you "tight and lean" I wouldn't even need to be on MFP.