women and weight training (Pic heavy)

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Replies

  • hazelovesfood
    hazelovesfood Posts: 454 Member
    I see so many beginners here, particularly women who are scared of the weights! DON'T BE! And don't stay in your comfort zone of 5lb-10lbers! Push yourself! I promise you'll love the results. Also, do it before your cardio and it will boost your calories lost. I wish I had known this when I first started losing weight. I focused pretty strictly on cardio and calisthenics to lose the weight. But started adding some dumbbell routines as I went along. When I finally joined the gym, I met some great people (including my current amazing boyfriend) who have taught me proper techniques and new workouts to better myself and my body. I also recently started taking whey protien as well and have already seen a difference! I think women assume that if they touch a dumbbell they're going to turn into a she-hulk, but without proper nutrition and the right drugs it doesn't happen like that: this is what happens

    Starting with just cardio:
    7068229073_e0ca3daf34.jpg
    Workout progress by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people
    /kristinamoser/]Khrystina the Ninja[/url], on Flickr

    Then I started learning bit by bit at a gym. Had terrible form, and limited equipment at my parents resort (yes, resort gym -_- haha)
    Eventually they said I could no longer workout there unless I wanted to spend nearly a thousand dollars a month for my own membership 0_0
    7557970336_91972e9c29.jpg
    learning. by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr
    7600109072_ca78fa19d2.jpg
    wrar? by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr
    7843135926_23d3777613.jpg
    arms by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr

    Then I joined LA Fitness and started really amping it up!
    7876860826_ee32aba1df.jpg
    Beast Mode by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr
    A MONTH after that photo was taken I took this one
    7990340806_c1f0304cbc.jpg
    0914121528 by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr
    My training buddy Tony has taught me so much about weight training and pushing my limits. None of those fake squats anymore
    8176531576_3cd7686f63.jpg
    IMG950557 by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr.
    Shoulder routine
    8258909756_57c9f055b2.jpg
    shoulder day by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr
    8258904780_6230b34e60.jpg
    Snapshot_20121207 by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr
    8406549143_e11c41a516.jpg
    triceps and shoulders by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr
    8519125146_2c177fccca.jpg
    POV abs by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr

    Take my word for it ladies, once in a while it's ok to join the big boys in the back of the gym. Don't be intimidated. The results don't lie! I've never been more confident in my body my whole life! I'm not stick thin, I'm fit! I weigh a bit more than I did in high school and yet I feel like I have a better body for it! And all those nay-sayers who claim that you'll look "Manly" with muscles....they can bite me ;-)
    8518092045_2941701907.jpg
    DSCN8386 by Khrystina the Ninja, on Flickr
    wow love the end pic, you look gorgeous. I asked my trainer at the gym if it made any difference if cardio came first and he said no.
  • hazelovesfood
    hazelovesfood Posts: 454 Member
    I LOVE your arms!!!
    Amazing work.
    yeah gotta agree, great arms!!!!!!!!!!
  • justjenny
    justjenny Posts: 529 Member
    Awesome thread! Thanks for posting! :) You look amazing!
  • MissJJ74
    MissJJ74 Posts: 111 Member
    As someone who is trying to get back where I was 10 years ago when I was kickboxing and boxing heavily, thank you for this! I have lost count of how many times I have had to tell women that weight training does not make you manly.

    Another thing as a newly diagnosed diabetic, weight training helps burn sugar and carbs off faster than cardio does and it boosts the calories burned in cardio. After 6 weeks I've now been able to up my weights, and while the progress is slow, I know I will get back to the weights I used to be able to do.

    And there are PLENTY of men that can appreciate an athletic, muscular build on a woman, trust me. I used to wrestle plenty of them.
  • smilebhappy
    smilebhappy Posts: 811 Member
    great post!!!
  • kaitlink9
    kaitlink9 Posts: 27 Member
    Bumping this for motivation later.

    Good on ya girly. Keep picking things up and putting them down.

    Sincerly,

    A fellow lover of weights. <3
  • nachodman
    nachodman Posts: 29 Member
    Very inpsiring photos...keep up the great work. You look AWESOME!
  • iWILLbeFit062012
    iWILLbeFit062012 Posts: 97 Member
    Wow, you look stunning! Congrats on your progress!
  • tinak33
    tinak33 Posts: 9,883 Member
    This is what I want to do!!! Starting this month, I want to start weight/strength training at the gym!
    Thanks for inspiring me!!

    And yeah, I told my bf I wanted to start lifting, and his first words were "you are going to get big and bulk up".
    hahaha I should show him this..... :wink:
  • rachietuk
    rachietuk Posts: 308 Member
    I want to be a she-hulk like the OP :wink:

    Amazing! I just don't really know where to start. I go to the gym at the university where I work and the kids who work there, well, I'm not sure how much help they'd be. I can't afford a personal trainer. Would the book New Rules of Lifting for Women be helpful if I'm totally starting from scratch? I've only ever used the weight machines - never the free weights.

    I was in the same place as you. I read that book. I am now 8 weeks in and loving it. I suggest this book to anyone and everyone.
  • TygerTwoTails
    TygerTwoTails Posts: 108 Member
    Thank you so very much for sharing! I am about to start doing the workouts in New Rules of Lifting for Women next week and I couldn't be more excited about it! You look amazing!!! (hopefully I will too someday)
  • xMonroeMisfit
    xMonroeMisfit Posts: 411 Member
    BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP
  • TygerTwoTails
    TygerTwoTails Posts: 108 Member
    I want to be a she-hulk like the OP :wink:

    Amazing! I just don't really know where to start. I go to the gym at the university where I work and the kids who work there, well, I'm not sure how much help they'd be. I can't afford a personal trainer. Would the book New Rules of Lifting for Women be helpful if I'm totally starting from scratch? I've only ever used the weight machines - never the free weights.

    I was in the same place as you. I read that book. I am now 8 weeks in and loving it. I suggest this book to anyone and everyone.

    I'm starting on Monday! I've read the book, love it and can't wait to actually start lifting!
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    Fantastic work!
  • melissafawnw
    melissafawnw Posts: 67 Member
    What an inspiration, thanks for sharing!! I have never known where to start aside from tiny dumbbells, but I would love to learn. You look beautiful and happy!!!
  • mimiyo1980
    mimiyo1980 Posts: 37 Member
    Love this! Going to start lowering my squats, saw a girl in the gym tonight using a step box behind her and going low enough for her butt to touch it on the squats. Great story, thanks for the inspiration.
  • 1brokegal44
    1brokegal44 Posts: 562 Member
    Fantastic job!
  • JennC831
    JennC831 Posts: 628 Member
    YOU LOOK AMAZING!!!! Love your dress at the end, gorgeous! I love lifting heavy and can't wait until I start to get some great definition like you!!! Love it!!
  • wants2lift
    wants2lift Posts: 40 Member
    True inspiration!
  • filthyfit12
    filthyfit12 Posts: 80
    You look amazeballs! :)
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Love your lifting pics. You kick *kitten*!!! :drinker:
  • maddiequinlan
    maddiequinlan Posts: 46 Member
    This is awesome
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
    you look GORGEOUS! thank you for posting!
  • Lugemachine
    Lugemachine Posts: 21
    The dress pic is a total "oh my gawd!" pic! I love watching the progression from overweight to sort of skinnyfat, then you start to REALLY kick *kitten* and get totally buff and hot! Fantastic work! Take it from an old bastahd... don't EVER stop.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    Awesome!! You look fantastic! :love:
  • ash8184
    ash8184 Posts: 701 Member
    You look GREAT! Thanks for the reminder that it's not so much about what the scale says as how we feel. Awesome motivation!
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
    YOU are a freaking rockstar!!
  • Ivian_
    Ivian_ Posts: 276 Member
    You look AMAZING!!!
  • andreae13
    andreae13 Posts: 239 Member
    Love your attitude! When I first started this journey all I wanted to be was skinny...then I discovered lifting and was hooked. Screw skinny, I want to be STRONG!!!!
  • RobertHendrix
    RobertHendrix Posts: 98 Member
    wow love the end pic, you look gorgeous. I asked my trainer at the gym if it made any difference if cardio came first and he said no.

    This really depends on what your long term goals are, if you are training for endurance (marathon, triathlon, etc) then you would want to probably start with cardio first so you can concentrate you efforts on cardio training. But if you are wanting to burn more fat I would recomend lifting first followed by 30-45 minutes of cardio.


    To burn more fat, you ideally want your body to use your stored fat as fuel for exercise, and to do this, you need to burn off your glycogen stores first. Weight training is high intensity, which means it uses solely glycogen as fuel. If you do your weight training first, you can burn the majority of your glycogen stores, meaning that when doing cardio, you will burn predominantly fat.


    After a workout, your body continues to burn calories for up to 48 hours. This is known as excessive post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), and it occurs because your body needs to use energy to repair your muscles, deliver nutrients around the bloodstream and reset its hormone levels. The effect of EPOC is much higher after weight training than it is after cardio, which means it may be beneficial to put more effort into weight training. If you do your cardio first, then you won't have much energy left for your weight training and may not have a productive or intense session, thus preventing most of the EPOC effect.



    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/501547-is-it-better-to-do-cardio-before-or-after-lifting/#ixzz2MKHMysEp

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