Tips for starting serious strength training

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  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    You will NEVER build muscle like male body builders do. There is NO such thing as 'toning' up. Buy and read The New Rules of Lifting for Women. It explains all this and will help you get stared. Or do a search. Lots of posts on here just like yours.

    Funny because I read that book, and it explains what toning up actually means, which I suspect, is what the OP desires.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    You will NEVER build muscle like male body builders do. There is NO such thing as 'toning' up. Buy and read The New Rules of Lifting for Women. It explains all this and will help you get stared. Or do a search. Lots of posts on here just like yours.

    Lol, well i meant i wouldn't want to look like a female such as jillian michaels completely...i want to be just 'toned'

    Body builders have very very low body fat. To get significant (relative) muscle you need to eat at a cr*p ton of food and train intensively.

    ^^ Exactly

    If your body fat stays around 20% to 24%, you will still be at a healthy body fat, but without your muscles showing through, so that you look toned, but not "muscley."
  • nexangelus
    nexangelus Posts: 2,080 Member
    Hmm, I do compund lifts for serious strength training...started off with 12 weeks of stronglifts 5 x 5, madcow for the upper body stalls and now onto Wendler's 5/3/1 for a slower build...I am on cycle 2, week 2 of Wendler's on a deficit and loving it...not losing strength and still steadily losing the body fat...feeling fab!
  • Fight2bFiT
    Fight2bFiT Posts: 48 Member
    Starting off 2x a week should be a good start. Upper and lower days. Then you can break it down to muscle groups when you are more comfortable and have a good idea of what you are doing. It's important to do cardio after a weight training session due to the energy that you need should be expended on the weights, not the cardio.
    Eating should be more protein intake and more carbs therefore more calories. This scares most ppl. We need the carbs to expend during weight training sessions and you know what the protein is for:). Your not eating tons of more cals. But you are focusing more on the macros and this time rather than the calorie count. Losing weight and Doing tons of cardio is COMPLETELY different than weight training and toning up. You can't get big unless you take the "juice" (yes most women take it even in figure level of competing) and without eating tons of protein ad carbs (like 2000 or more) so don't worry about bulking. Do the weights and do them 65% of max with 12-15reps and 3-4 sets. So basically half of the most weight you can lift and the last 2 reps should be hard. If not go up in weight. Don't e afraid of the weights. They don't bulk you. I squat over 400 and curl more than 40 but I don't look like a dude in any way.
    Hope this helps?

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