How many pounds is too much weight for dumbbell lifting?
Evasavealot1
Posts: 76 Member
Hello MFP members. I'm a girl currently doing 30 day shred Jillian michaels DVD but I'm considering going up weight from 5 pounds to 8 pounds each dumb bell. I don't want to get big or massive just lean. I'm Still trying to lose weight.
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Replies
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There is no too big!! This is a common thing most women think.. I'll get too bulking if I lift heavy NO No NO! NO :laugh:
Start with what works you..and build up up UP! The only way you will reshape your body is to push it..weight wise.. throwing around the same 8 pound dumbbell will not do it for you..
and the more muscle you have..the more you will burn just at rest..
I train with barbells now..power rack..etc. and I love every minute of it! And I love the changes in my body!
Dont be afraid!0 -
I use 12.0
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Go as heavy as you can...no such thing as too heavy!
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Points at Strong Lifts for Women (5x5) group...we are all here becoming more fit, but we train like demons. You can not get SUPER huge unless you intentionally take on a bodybuilding regimen (and diet) or use steriods/HGH. period /end of thread.0
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It's impossible for you to get too "big" or "massive" doing 30ds unless you intentionally want to bulk.
You need a high calorie/protein diet with heavy power lifting to achieve even a percent of what bulking is for a chick.
Your 8lb dumbbells will just make you a little more sore the next day.0 -
Ditto on what Feisty_Red said. Use the heaviest weights that you can manage: you will burn more calories, you will build enough muscle to increase your metabolism quite a bit, and I guarantee that you won't look bulky. It takes time to build muscles like that; you will see yourself in the mirror many, MANY times before that can happen. Many times during which you can switch to maintainance workouts, if you don't like what you're seeing.
I'm up to 10 kg (22 lbs) each side, 6-8 rep set, for dumbbell curls, and while my muscles are impressive, they hardly have me looking like a dude. Women simply lack the testosterone to bulk up like men do, and even the "bulkiest" of natural female bodybuilders have to work for years to look like they do (and most female bodybuilders who look especially manly are totally juicing).0 -
Hello MFP members. I'm a girl currently doing 30 day shred Jillian michaels DVD but I'm considering going up weight from 5 pounds to 8 pounds each dumb bell. I don't want to get big or massive just lean. I'm Still trying to lose weight.
No worries. You won't. If you eat in a slight calorie deficit while lifting, you should only continue to lose... not build muscle. And going from 5 to 8 lbs will never be enough to cause you to get big or massive. You have to progressively increase weight... "heavy weight" at that. Heavy means it's hard for you to finish about 8 reps with a particular weight.0 -
Too much is when you can't lift it anymore. Or when you can't lift it in the first place.
Did I really just have to explain that?0 -
Whenever you're doing reps - you should only stop when you physically fail. You should choose a weight that makes that failure occur at between 8 and 12 reps. That's the number you should be aiming for; those 5lb weights are doing practically nothing and moving to 8s won't make any real difference. In fact I would say that 30DS is pretty ineffective when compared to heavy lifting.0
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Hello MFP members. I'm a girl currently doing 30 day shred Jillian michaels DVD but I'm considering going up weight from 5 pounds to 8 pounds each dumb bell. I don't want to get big or massive just lean. I'm Still trying to lose weight.
I will provide a slightly different answer, and I do not know really what 30Ds is but have a good idea.
Going from 5 pounds to 8 pounds - that is an increase of 6 pounds as a total - 10/16 = 62.5% increase in mass to move. Now as daft as it sounds, very few people can handle that sort of weight increase, unless of course you have been working at way below your potential.
Yes, you can handle the increase but will you be able to work at the same intensity, hopefully you will not because you want the mass to make the resistance harder and therefore force your body to adapt to change. Just be sure that when you go up in weight that you can handle it mentally being harder to achieve both on a cardio level and on a resistance level i.e. Do not become dissapointed, you are making a huge jump in resistance.
I do a 25 rep over 12 different exercises and the weight was 25 kilos HIIT style full body program once a week. Total mass moved during the 25 kilo stage is 25*25*12 = 7500 kilos
Working weight now is 40 kilos and the adaptation period 4 months - 40*25*12 = 12000 kilos in the 25 minute session.
Heart Rate averages at 80-85% of MHR
I do other workout programs designed to build strength and condition the aerobic and anaerobic systems. 46, male, and I am not big or massive because I am not bulkiing nor getting the correct nutrition to bulk because I am losing weight and developing small increase in muscle mass - less than 1lb per month, I am getting lean with definition.
No need to run off to the Old rules of lifting or the Powerlifter wannabe of 5*5 - keep cardio exertion up whilst increasing resistance is the key to great weight loss.0 -
you could always use https://www.fitocracy.com/ a site like this one where you record and are helped to find goals for lifting and general fitness.0
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you can't get big from using 12 pound dumbbells.
you should be using challenging weights.0 -
How many pounds is too much weight for dumbbell lifting you ask... If you can't do your workout with proper form it's too much.0
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Go Heavy or Go Home!!!
Im a guy who lifts heavy weights 3 times a week, im still not massive :-(0 -
you can't get big from using 12 pound dumbbells.
you should be using challenging weights.
I know sheet metal workers who use 3lb hammers all day and they are pretty big in the arms and shoulders and they do not do weight lifting.0 -
you can't get big from using 12 pound dumbbells.
you should be using challenging weights.
I know sheet metal workers who use 3lb hammers all day and they are pretty big in the arms and shoulders and they do not do weight lifting.
Is she going to do 30DS all day long? Does she have testosterone levels like a man?0 -
I don't know if I should laugh or cry. The misinformation that is given to women makes me sick.Hello MFP members. I'm a girl currently doing 30 day shred Jillian michaels DVD but I'm considering going up weight from 5 pounds to 8 pounds each dumb bell. I don't want to get big or massive just lean. I'm Still trying to lose weight.0 -
I don't think a lot of people here are even reading your question correctly.
Because you are using the weights during 30DS, I would make sure to use a size that still allows you to complete the DVD. On Jillian's DVDs there are varying exercises and you may want to keep a couple different sizes nearby depending on the exercise that she's having you do since you'll be able to go heavier on some than others.
As far as "too heavy" in general... as long as you can still lift it and keep PROPER FORM then the weight is not too heavy. Proper form is very important so that you don't injure yourself.
Way to go!!! 30DS is a lot of work and that's awesome that you're bumping up your weights!0 -
Hello MFP members. I'm a girl currently doing 30 day shred Jillian michaels DVD but I'm considering going up weight from 5 pounds to 8 pounds each dumb bell. I don't want to get big or massive just lean. I'm Still trying to lose weight.
No worries. You won't. If you eat in a slight calorie deficit while lifting, you should only continue to lose... not build muscle. And going from 5 to 8 lbs will never be enough to cause you to get big or massive. You have to progressively increase weight... "heavy weight" at that. Heavy means it's hard for you to finish about 8 reps with a particular weight.
With Good Form. If you cannot do the reps with good form, lighten up.0 -
I agree with this, as long as you can use proper form completing the exercise then the dumbell weight is up to you. But be careful, when I did the 30 day shred almost a year ago I used 5 pound weights on the jumping jack portion of level three and ended up with a tear in my rotator cuff.0
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you can't get big from using 12 pound dumbbells.
you should be using challenging weights.
I know sheet metal workers who use 3lb hammers all day and they are pretty big in the arms and shoulders and they do not do weight lifting.
Is she going to do 30DS all day long? Does she have testosterone levels like a man?
You miss the point and I never said the sheet metal workers were men. Perhaps you should read my original post to this topic before you get your lecture on.0 -
Use a heavy enough weight that your muscles get fatigued and they feel "almost" too heavy, but not so heavy that you're using bad form or are going to hurt yourself. You will not bulk up - women don't have enough testosterone.
Keep up the good work!0 -
YES - do NOT jump with weights0
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I agree with this, as long as you can use proper form completing the exercise then the dumbell weight is up to you. But be careful, when I did the 30 day shred almost a year ago I used 5 pound weights on the jumping jack portion of level three and ended up with a tear in my rotator cuff.
Good point about injury, plyometric exercises with the addition of weight changes the amount of force on the small stabiliser muscles (like the Fab Four in the rotator cuff) by a ridiculous factor. Like Plyometric Squats with a bar, much different to just squatting.0 -
There is no too big!!
This. Lift as heavy as you want. You won't end up looking like a female body builder. And it will help you lose weight.0 -
I don't know if I should laugh or cry. The misinformation that is given to women makes me sick.Hello MFP members. I'm a girl currently doing 30 day shred Jillian michaels DVD but I'm considering going up weight from 5 pounds to 8 pounds each dumb bell. I don't want to get big or massive just lean. I'm Still trying to lose weight.
But she is asking, not assuming that she can't use heavier weights.
I understand you're frustrated that women often don't understand that they won't bulk up without certain diets and years of work, but it would have been more helpful if someone like you who does understand weight lifting would have answered her question instead posting the equivalent of *headdesk*.0 -
you can't get big from using 12 pound dumbbells.
you should be using challenging weights.
I know sheet metal workers who use 3lb hammers all day and they are pretty big in the arms and shoulders and they do not do weight lifting.
Is she going to do 30DS all day long? Does she have testosterone levels like a man?
You miss the point and I never said the sheet metal workers were men. Perhaps you should read my original post to this topic before you get your lecture on.
This was not a lecture. I was simply pointing out that it's not likely analogous to the OP's situation, and given that she expresses concern about the possibility of getting big and bulky if she uses heavier weights, potentially misleading.0 -
I do not use dumbbells lighter than 25 pounds...........I do not look bulky.0 -
If you can grow a beard, you can concern yourself with getting 'bulky'. If not, you will NOT build any appreciable amount of muscle on a calorie deficit.0
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I do want to stress, as a few others have, that when you are doing a program such as 30 Day Shred that incorporates weights into a cardio workout, there is such a thing as too heavy for safety. What the OP is talking about here is not straight-up lifting.
OP, how long have you been doing the program? Do you no longer feel much of a burn in your muscles at the end of a session using the 5-lb dumbbells? If so, you might consider going up to 8. But there's going to be an upper limit to how much weight you can use safely doing this sort of thing.0
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