female legstrength

3dogsrunning

I just want to clarify a few things because my post keeps getting resurrected and causing controversy:

-I never said Staci can't lift that weight OR that her accomplishment wasn't impressive. She obviously can and she obviously is. At the time I posted that, she was unnamed and unsourced. Someone posted her picture and her numbers with nothing else.
-Recognizing someone's athletic accomplishment as elite or not-average is NOT an insult or a cop out. (How does this even need clarification?)

It's not okay to just put up random pictures (and by random I mean with no source or even a name) of someone who is not you on the internet and throw up some numbers. I had a good reason to doubt. People are forgetting that this post is from a year ago, and that the person my original post was in reference to subsequently told everyone who this person was. The original post I quoted had none of that information.

Furthermore, if you are a woman who weighs less than 150, can squat 200 5x5 or deadlift 300+ you are NOT average! You are fantastic, you are way way above average.

I don't blame you for doubting it, I would have to. I agreed with you already that I should have included it then. But when you did question it, I posted the info - last year when this thread was active. It was there when you posted again today.
I don't understand the huge issue with it. It should have been posted right away and it wasn't, but was shortly after. There is not much more I could have done at that point.

You still doubted it after that. Plus, I don't believe I ever said she was "average". My point was powerful women don't necessarily look it.

trisha986

I am fairly new to lifting heavy. been slowly increasing my weight since late February. Currently I squat/deadlift 90 lbs, 4 sets of 8-10 reps but lately its been getting easier so I think it's time to up the weight, maybe to 100lbs. Love when I get to increase the weights! But I'm wondering if I should go even heavier and do less reps. Opinions are welcome

Personal preference but up my weight every two weeks by about 5 lbs each time. If I find I can't do that, I go back to the previous week's weight loads. I usually do 5 reps and five sets. If I fail at four early on in the sets, I cut back. If I know I could push out a sixth or even a seventh, I go higher. Some weeks I just can't sustain a load that I could do the month prior, sometimes I feel like superwoman and get a new PR.

Something I learned recently regarding number of reps:
1- 5 = strength
5- 10 = hypertrophy
10-15 = endurance

Your rep range should be determined by your end goals.

Great tips, thanks so much! I am looking to build mass in my legs so I suppose strength (1-5) would be the way to go!

Strength =/= size of muscle/gains.

If you are looking for mass, then you are aiming for hypertrophy (aside from eating at a surplus). the 1-5 reps focuses on strength with little hypertrophy. 6-10/12 is focused on hypertrophy, then strength. Hypertrophy is what you aim for when you are going for aesthetics.

I see, my mistake. So I suppose I should stick to my 8-10 that I've been already doing in that case. And use the tip of adding weights every 2 weeks. I am currently on a calorie surplus, increasing cal's little by little. I have noticed small gains so far, excited to see more!

PikaKnight

I am fairly new to lifting heavy. been slowly increasing my weight since late February. Currently I squat/deadlift 90 lbs, 4 sets of 8-10 reps but lately its been getting easier so I think it's time to up the weight, maybe to 100lbs. Love when I get to increase the weights! But I'm wondering if I should go even heavier and do less reps. Opinions are welcome

Personal preference but up my weight every two weeks by about 5 lbs each time. If I find I can't do that, I go back to the previous week's weight loads. I usually do 5 reps and five sets. If I fail at four early on in the sets, I cut back. If I know I could push out a sixth or even a seventh, I go higher. Some weeks I just can't sustain a load that I could do the month prior, sometimes I feel like superwoman and get a new PR.

Something I learned recently regarding number of reps:
1- 5 = strength
5- 10 = hypertrophy
10-15 = endurance

Your rep range should be determined by your end goals.

Great tips, thanks so much! I am looking to build mass in my legs so I suppose strength (1-5) would be the way to go!

Strength =/= size of muscle/gains.

If you are looking for mass, then you are aiming for hypertrophy (aside from eating at a surplus). the 1-5 reps focuses on strength with little hypertrophy. 6-10/12 is focused on hypertrophy, then strength. Hypertrophy is what you aim for when you are going for aesthetics.

I see, my mistake. So I suppose I should stick to my 8-10 that I've been already doing in that case. And use the tip of adding weights every 2 weeks. I am currently on a calorie surplus, increasing cal's little by little. I have noticed small gains so far, excited to see more!

If your main focus is muscle gains over strength gains, then yes, stick to the 8-10.

holothuroidea

I don't blame you for doubting it, I would have to. I agreed with you already that I should have included it then. But when you did question it, I posted the info - last year when this thread was active. It was there when you posted again today.
I don't understand the huge issue with it. It should have been posted right away and it wasn't, but was shortly after. There is not much more I could have done at that point.

I know! I know!

It's just what happens when people respond to a post without reading the whole thread or the date it was posted.

Really I would love to let the issue just die but I'm getting responses like this one:

Don't belittle HER accomplishments because you aren't willing to work hard for yours.

That's just downright hurtful and I feel like I had to say something.

ETA:

You still doubted it after that. Plus, I don't believe I ever said she was "average". My point was powerful women don't necessarily look it.

I did not still doubt it after I looked her up. It only appears that way because I was still fighting off all the negative responses to my original doubt.

The word "average" came in because I was pointing out the context of the thread, the OP was talking about the women at his gym. The implication was that the average woman at his gym (or all of them?) were outlifting him on lower body movements.

Your point is well taken, I already agreed with it and said I planned on being one of those small but powerful women some day.

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LolBroScience

That was cool, but somehow I just don't find deadlifts to be very impressive.

Do you?

No, I said I don't find deadlifts to be impressive. I also don't very often attempt deadlifts, at least not in the gym. I deadlift stuff all the time in real life. Just the other day I had to deadlift a planter pot full of dirt and carry it across the yard. It was a big pot by the way, had a small tree in it.

What isn't impressive about it?

Or, is it just that things you're not so good at you just label as lame?

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LolBroScience

Never said I wasn't good at it, just said I rarely do them in the gym.

I think I don't find them impressive because I don't do them and can't reference the weight the individual is lifting to what I lift so I just don't know if its really that good of a lift or not. Sometimes I hear someone say they lifted a certain weight and it sounds good, but then I go try it myself and find that even I can lift that weight, even though I'm not a particularly strong individual in weightlifting.
I will have to go attempt some deadlifts tomorrow in my workout and see if it really is that hard to move 313lbs in that limited motion. Deadlifts seem like pretty much the easiest way to lift the heaviest weights you are capable of moving.

Oh lawd... snap city.

JoRocka

That was cool, but somehow I just don't find deadlifts to be very impressive.

Do you?

No, I said I don't find deadlifts to be impressive. I also don't very often attempt deadlifts, at least not in the gym. I deadlift stuff all the time in real life. Just the other day I had to deadlift a planter pot full of dirt and carry it across the yard. It was a big pot by the way, had a small tree in it.

What isn't impressive about it?

Or, is it just that things you're not so good at you just label as lame?

Never said I wasn't good at it, just said I rarely do them in the gym.

I think I don't find them impressive because I don't do them and can't reference the weight the individual is lifting to what I lift so I just don't know if its really that good of a lift or not. Sometimes I hear someone say they lifted a certain weight and it sounds good, but then I go try it myself and find that even I can lift that weight, even though I'm not a particularly strong individual in weightlifting.
I will have to go attempt some deadlifts tomorrow in my workout and see if it really is that hard to move 313lbs in that limited motion. Deadlifts seem like pretty much the easiest way to lift the heaviest weights you are capable of moving.

perhaps you should do them instead of just giving an opinion on something you don't really do.

Seekerman

My GF can do 185lbs deep barbell squats for 8 to 10 reps and she ain't on Steroids. She got me beat. I can't squat more then 155 but I also never do barbell squats. She loves the darn things and I can't stand them. She got the legs and *kitten* to show for it. She got almost 20 years on me though. On the other hand her upperbody strength is not great, slim arms not much muscle but she can dead lift a fair amount. Most women never go that it long enough and hard enough to achieve bigger numbers. Most don't care about big numbers.

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LolBroScience

Oh but I do deadlift things everyday in real life situations. As I mentioned before I deadlifted this huge pot of dirt and walked it across my yard the other day without anything to really grip onto. My deadlifts are functional and useful in real life situations.

Uhm. wut?

I don't even know where to go with this one as I don't really understand the logic. Lifting a flower pot isn't anywhere near as difficult as moving something 2-3 x BW from a stationary position. What's difficult to grasp?

By the way....if you get more efficient at performing the deadlift.. you'll be more efficient at moving your flower pots across the yard. There's a carryover.

Whereas, if you practice moving your flowerpots, there won't be a carryover to your deadlift.

JoRocka

Oh but I do deadlift things everyday in real life situations. As I mentioned before I deadlifted this huge pot of dirt and walked it across my yard the other day without anything to really grip onto. My deadlifts are functional and useful in real life situations.

where's that nathon fillion gif.. I need that for this right here.


besides that's more of an atlas stone thing than a dead lift thing- i can't remember dead lifting and walking the bar anywhere in a long while.

except for farmers walks maybe.

iPlatano

Never said I wasn't good at it, just said I rarely do them in the gym.

I think I don't find them impressive because I don't do them and can't reference the weight the individual is lifting to what I lift so I just don't know if its really that good of a lift or not. Sometimes I hear someone say they lifted a certain weight and it sounds good, but then I go try it myself and find that even I can lift that weight, even though I'm not a particularly strong individual in weightlifting.
I will have to go attempt some deadlifts tomorrow in my workout and see if it really is that hard to move 313lbs in that limited motion. Deadlifts seem like pretty much the easiest way to lift the heaviest weights you are capable of moving.

Oh lawd... snap city.

^^This hahha!!!