Heavy Lifters I have some questions
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amonkey794
Posts: 651 Member
Okay, so I read through a lot of posts on these boards. Most everyone in the group is still in the process of losing weight and changing their body composition so the advice and suggestions given to them are for that type of goal. That is not what I am aiming at.
I have reached both goal weight and composition before joining the group. I am here to fix the problem of my body maintaining at a very low intake. I have already decided that I am increasing my cals at 100/week. I pray it works...
Anyway. I am a avid gym user
Workout schedule: Mon-Fri 60min total workout
• Mon-Thur: 30 min stair master (while wearing ankle weights)
30 min upper body strength (still wearing ankle weights)
* strength usually consists of hand held/free weights with some body weight&machine exercise thrown in
•Fri: 40-45 min lower body (wearing ankle weights)
15-20 min core work (with ankle weights and possible upper body thrown in)
* strength mainly body weight exercise with some machine and hand held weights
Most people are still looking to either gain muscle or lose fat...I want to do neither. Even though my metabolism is a bit wack, I am very happy with my body and would like to keep it the same.
My questions are:
- How heavy do I want my weights and will I want to increase them over time still?
- What amount of rep and sets should I aim for?
- Is it about making it "intense"? (< not sure if that made sense)
Thats all I can think of off the top of my head
Thank you!
I have reached both goal weight and composition before joining the group. I am here to fix the problem of my body maintaining at a very low intake. I have already decided that I am increasing my cals at 100/week. I pray it works...
Anyway. I am a avid gym user
Workout schedule: Mon-Fri 60min total workout
• Mon-Thur: 30 min stair master (while wearing ankle weights)
30 min upper body strength (still wearing ankle weights)
* strength usually consists of hand held/free weights with some body weight&machine exercise thrown in
•Fri: 40-45 min lower body (wearing ankle weights)
15-20 min core work (with ankle weights and possible upper body thrown in)
* strength mainly body weight exercise with some machine and hand held weights
Most people are still looking to either gain muscle or lose fat...I want to do neither. Even though my metabolism is a bit wack, I am very happy with my body and would like to keep it the same.
My questions are:
- How heavy do I want my weights and will I want to increase them over time still?
- What amount of rep and sets should I aim for?
- Is it about making it "intense"? (< not sure if that made sense)
Thats all I can think of off the top of my head
Thank you!
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Replies
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Okay, so I read through a lot of posts on these boards. Most everyone in the group is still in the process of losing weight and changing their body composition so the advice and suggestions given to them are for that type of goal. That is not what I am aiming at.
I have reached both goal weight and composition before joining the group. I am here to fix the problem of my body maintaining at a very low intake. I have already decided that I am increasing my cals at 100/week. I pray it works...
Anyway. I am a avid gym user
Workout schedule: Mon-Fri 60min total workout
• Mon-Thur: 30 min stair master (while wearing ankle weights)
30 min upper body strength (still wearing ankle weights)
* strength usually consists of hand held/free weights with some body weight&machine exercise thrown in
•Fri: 40-45 min lower body (wearing ankle weights)
15-20 min core work (with ankle weights and possible upper body thrown in)
* strength mainly body weight exercise with some machine and hand held weights
Most people are still looking to either gain muscle or lose fat...I want to do neither. Even though my metabolism is a bit wack, I am very happy with my body and would like to keep it the same.
My questions are:
- How heavy do I want my weights and will I want to increase them over time still?
- What amount of rep and sets should I aim for?
- Is it about making it "intense"? (< not sure if that made sense)
Thats all I can think of off the top of my head
Thank you!
Regardless of whether you want to lose or maintain, I highly recommend New Rules of Weightlifting for Women by Lou Schuler. You'll find the answers to these questions and more there.0 -
My questions are:
- How heavy do I want my weights and will I want to increase them over time still?
- What amount of rep and sets should I aim for?
- Is it about making it "intense"? (< not sure if that made sense)
Thats all I can think of off the top of my head
Thank you!
i would second picking up NROLFW or meeting with a trainer at your gym. everyone is different and this will give you a starting place. I have been weight training for years, literally since high school (and i graduated in 1999...) and am not afraid of weights at all. i always change up my routine.
I started lifting heavy and pyramiding my weights 1st set 10 reps, increase weight, 2nd set 8 reps.... i have recently switched to a more functional training routine doing heavy weights that use the body together- clean and press/ squats/ pushups with rows/ deadlifts... i always change it up and make sure to hit each body part once a week, i also do a lot of bodyweight exercies, and VERY rarely work any muscle in isolation.
so yea- i would recommend NROLFW, or you can check out bodybuilding.com they have a lot of different workout programs that are good- i hear jamie easton (?) has a good program on that site, or stronglifts 5x5. also careful with those ankle weights- they put weird pressure and tension on your knees- you should look for a weighted vest or just do HIIT instead 0 -
You want to strive for a rep range 8-12 and sets 3-4 per exercise. Now that sets and reps are established, how much weight to use will be determined by your reps. You want the weight heavy enough to hit the range and no more. So, if you start out with weight and hit 10-12 reps for all 3-4 sets you want to make sure you can't squeeze out another rep beyond that. Once you are consistently hitting the 12 rep range then you INCREASE the weight enough to eek out 8 reps. Stay here until you are hitting 10-12 again and repeat the process by increasing weight. Continue repeating this process until you are satisfied with your strength levels.0
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I defnitely will look into some online articles
The thing is that I am not afraid to lift heavy. I quite enjoy it, but I would love to continue it without gaining and more definition or lose anymore fat (accordiding to the fat2fitradio military BF calculator I am estimated around 14% BF). I am happy with how I look so I just want increase my strength and endurance without changing my composition.
(Sorry late reply. Out last evening)0 -
Terrific job on reaching your goal!
And yes, read NROLFW as well 0 -
How much should you lift? As much as you can, 8-12 reps 4 sets is standard. However if you're just wanting to lift heavy then you can always do a warmup set and do 4-8 rep max, 2 sets. I don't see that done a lot though.0
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Okay well it's good to know that I'm doing fairly well on the sets and reps. I usually do 10-12 sometimes 15 for 3 sets. I know they keep telling people in the weight loss process "lift as heavy as you can and then increase weight when it becomes easier" is that still what I want to do? I'm not looking for fat loss or muscle gain. Maybe an increase in strength and endurance would be nice. That's what I am confused on.0
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I just want to say that it totally rocks to see a heading for "heavy lifters" and think "oh, thats me!" I have nothing to add to the advice as everyone beat me to it, lol.0
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Okay, well classes are about to start up again so I don't really have time to sit and read out a book. Should I just continue what I am doing without increasing any weight? Or do I still want to increase weight?0
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Increase the weight enough to bring down your reps to 8 - if you are looking to increase strength. As mentioned in previous posts continue with this cycle. Once it becomes easy enough to do 12 reps, increase weight again until you struggle to get 8 reps. This approach will give you strength and endurance. It's more difficult to bulk up than you think. You would need to increase calorie intake to feed the growth of muscle alongside a very rigorous strength training regimen. In short, keep it simple; 3-4 sets 8-12 reps, increase weight accordingly. Once satisfied with strength then maintain rep range at 10-15 with 3-4 sets per exercise.0
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Increase the weight enough to bring down your reps to 8 - if you are looking to increase strength. As mentioned in previous posts continue with this cycle. Once it becomes easy enough to do 12 reps, increase weight again until you struggle to get 8 reps. This approach will give you strength and endurance. It's more difficult to bulk up than you think. You would need to increase calorie intake to feed the growth of muscle alongside a very rigorous strength training regimen. In short, keep it simple; 3-4 sets 8-12 reps, increase weight accordingly. Once satisfied with strength then maintain rep range at 10-15 with 3-4 sets per exercise.
Okay thank you so much everyone! 0 -
It's more difficult to bulk up than you think. You would need to increase calorie intake to feed the growth of muscle alongside a very rigorous strength training regimen.
And just to clarify, to bulk up you would need to eat *above* maintenance. You already mentioned that you're planning on slowly increasing your calories, which is a very good plan.
If you really enjoy your current cardio, which doesn't look too excessive, keep it up. But you might consider cutting it back a bit otherwise (maybe 2x/week instead of 4). For one thing, heavy lifting requires a bit more rest between sessions. And to get the most out of it, do your strength training before your cardio session.0 -
If you don't have time to read NROLFW, the Jamie Eason program someone mentioned upthread is a good one, and it's free:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html0 -
If you don't have time to read NROLFW, the Jamie Eason program someone mentioned upthread is a good one, and it's free:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html
Thank you! I'll read that!
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I just want to say that it totally rocks to see a heading for "heavy lifters" and think "oh, thats me!" I have nothing to add to the advice as everyone beat me to it, lol.
ME TOOOO!!!
And another vote for NROL4W here!!:drinker:0
