Lifting Heavy?
futurestarz
Posts: 510
After reading so many posts about the importance of lifting heavy, I have decided to give it a try. The only problem is that I don't know where to start. What is considered lifting heavy for a woman? Right now I have ten pound weights and they feel pretty heavy to me when I am doing curls etc. Can anyone recommend some good exercises? Any other help or advice related to "lifting heavy" would be great! Thanks in advance.
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Replies
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New Rule of Lifting for Women.
Check it out0 -
New Rule of Lifting for Women.
Check it out
This absolutly....the best 15$ I ever spent. I was a total newbie and it was a great help.0 -
There is a group on here as well for NROL4W
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Check out "New Rules of Lifting for Women" or "Strong Lifts"
Either program will help you get started.
Heavy is a relative term - my definition of heavy will be different from yours. It's about lifting substantial weight that you are comfortable with. And then trying to increase it, slowly. So maybe you can only bench press 60lbs right now? That's fine....in a month or two, you could be up to 75. And just because I can bench press 105 right now, that doesn't invalidate your effort. Just do what you can and work from there.
The only thing not allowed are pink 5lb dumbbells :laugh:0 -
After reading so many posts about the importance of lifting heavy, I have decided to give it a try. The only problem is that I don't know where to start. What is considered lifting heavy for a woman? Right now I have ten pound weights and they feel pretty heavy to me when I am doing curls etc. Can anyone recommend some good exercises? Any other help or advice related to "lifting heavy" would be great! Thanks in advance.
You're going to need heavier weights or a gym pass. You need to focus on compound moves, not isolations. I'm going to sound like a broken record, but: deadlifts, squats, bench press, overhead press, rows, pull-ups. You can have some variation, throw in some extras, whatever makes you happy ... but you want big moves to see change.
I, personally, like Starting Strength and StrongLifts. NROLFW stage 1 is good, but I'm not a big fan of the other stages (they got too complicated/time-consuming for me).
Have fun!0 -
I do weight lifting. I enjoy it more then any other excersize as I see immediate results. It really is not the weight you lift but the reps you do and proper form. Women and men lift differently. It also depends on what muscle group your doing. The shoulder has three tiny muscles where small weights are better. Such as 10 lbs and reps of 10 x 4.
I work with a trainer so when we do shoulders and back that is all we focus on. I can do 35 lb curls but that is heavy for a woman and I do shorter reps.
Maybe take a look at the reason you wish to do weights. Mine is I want a very long line in the muscle. I do not wish to bulk. I am finding that I like the lines in my calves and my neck muscles have very good definition. Also with my shoulders. I see my biggest change with my weight loss is those areas.
Do I lose alot of weight. No. I really do not. I have 50 or so lbs to go. But I love the power of working with weights.
Barbara0 -
Thanks everyone!0
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Check out "New Rules of Lifting for Women" or "Strong Lifts"
Either program will help you get started.
Heavy is a relative term - my definition of heavy will be different from yours. It's about lifting substantial weight that you are comfortable with. And then trying to increase it, slowly. So maybe you can only bench press 60lbs right now? That's fine....in a month or two, you could be up to 75. And just because I can bench press 105 right now, that doesn't invalidate your effort. Just do what you can and work from there.
The only thing not allowed are pink 5lb dumbbells :laugh:
Completely agreed! Heavy means what is challenging for you and as long as you're pushing (safely) to move that number up then you're doing it correctly! Good luck! I think you're going to fall in love with it and the results!
ETA: I prefer Stronglifts over New Rules, both focus on big compound moves which gives you more bang for your buck but Stronglifts is more straight forward and a little less foo fooey!0 -
I do weight lifting. I enjoy it more then any other excersize as I see immediate results. It really is not the weight you lift but the reps you do and proper form. Women and men lift differently. It also depends on what muscle group your doing. The shoulder has three tiny muscles where small weights are better. Such as 10 lbs and reps of 10 x 4.
I work with a trainer so when we do shoulders and back that is all we focus on. I can do 35 lb curls but that is heavy for a woman and I do shorter reps.
Maybe take a look at the reason you wish to do weights. Mine is I want a very long line in the muscle. I do not wish to bulk. I am finding that I like the lines in my calves and my neck muscles have very good definition. Also with my shoulders. I see my biggest change with my weight loss is those areas.
Do I lose alot of weight. No. I really do not. I have 50 or so lbs to go. But I love the power of working with weights.
Barbara
Why do you think men and women have to lift differently?0 -
After reading so many posts about the importance of lifting heavy, I have decided to give it a try. The only problem is that I don't know where to start. What is considered lifting heavy for a woman? Right now I have ten pound weights and they feel pretty heavy to me when I am doing curls etc. Can anyone recommend some good exercises? Any other help or advice related to "lifting heavy" would be great! Thanks in advance.
You're going to need heavier weights or a gym pass. You need to focus on compound moves, not isolations. I'm going to sound like a broken record, but: deadlifts, squats, bench press, overhead press, rows, pull-ups. You can have some variation, throw in some extras, whatever makes you happy ... but you want big moves to see change.
I, personally, like Starting Strength and StrongLifts. NROLFW stage 1 is good, but I'm not a big fan of the other stages (they got too complicated/time-consuming for me).
Have fun!
I agree with every point made in this post! Excellent advice.0 -
The only thing not allowed are pink 5lb dumbbells :laugh:
What if 5 pounds is heavy!?! :sad:0 -
The only thing not allowed are pink 5lb dumbbells :laugh:
What if 5 pounds is heavy!?! :sad:
If 5lbs is heavy, I would hate to see how hard grocery shopping would be!
"Honey, can you please come pour me a glass of milk- I can't lift the 8lb gallon!"
*Disclaimer- I'm sure there are people that have specific conditions that make it difficult to lift 8-lbs, but they are exceptions to the rule. Most people can lift a gallon of milk.0 -
The only thing not allowed are pink 5lb dumbbells :laugh:
What if 5 pounds is heavy!?! :sad:
If 5lbs is heavy, I would hate to see how hard grocery shopping would be!
"Honey, can you please come pour me a glass of milk- I can't lift the 8lb gallon!"
*Disclaimer- I'm sure there are people that have specific conditions that make it difficult to lift 8-lbs, but they are exceptions to the rule. Most people can lift a gallon of milk.
Exactly this. My purse weighs more than 5lbs. Most of us lift and carry relatively heavy things all day long, without even thinking about it. We are stronger than we give ourselves credit for.
My point was simply that too many women buy into the idea of small weights, high reps to "tone" and only doing isolated exercises (like curls). In fact, they would see much better results if they tried compound lifts - which work the whole body. But women are scared of that, because they think they will bulk up. Which is next to impossible for women, especially while eating at a deficit.0 -
I do weight lifting. I enjoy it more then any other excersize as I see immediate results. It really is not the weight you lift but the reps you do and proper form. Women and men lift differently. It also depends on what muscle group your doing. The shoulder has three tiny muscles where small weights are better. Such as 10 lbs and reps of 10 x 4.
I work with a trainer so when we do shoulders and back that is all we focus on. I can do 35 lb curls but that is heavy for a woman and I do shorter reps.
Maybe take a look at the reason you wish to do weights. Mine is I want a very long line in the muscle. I do not wish to bulk. I am finding that I like the lines in my calves and my neck muscles have very good definition. Also with my shoulders. I see my biggest change with my weight loss is those areas.
Do I lose alot of weight. No. I really do not. I have 50 or so lbs to go. But I love the power of working with weights.
Barbara
Hoscience0 -
Bump.
Looking for info as well.0 -
Women and men lift differently. It also depends on what muscle group your doing. The shoulder has three tiny muscles where small weights are better. Such as 10 lbs and reps of 10 x 4.
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I do weight lifting. I enjoy it more then any other excersize as I see immediate results. It really is not the weight you lift but the reps you do and proper form. Women and men lift differently. It also depends on what muscle group your doing. The shoulder has three tiny muscles where small weights are better. Such as 10 lbs and reps of 10 x 4.
I work with a trainer so when we do shoulders and back that is all we focus on. I can do 35 lb curls but that is heavy for a woman and I do shorter reps.
Maybe take a look at the reason you wish to do weights. Mine is I want a very long line in the muscle. I do not wish to bulk. I am finding that I like the lines in my calves and my neck muscles have very good definition. Also with my shoulders. I see my biggest change with my weight loss is those areas.
Do I lose alot of weight. No. I really do not. I have 50 or so lbs to go. But I love the power of working with weights.
Barbara
This is nonsense. You are being swindled by your trainer and it will go on and on because you are never going to reach your goals.0 -
NROLW is great. I don't follow it myself, but it's a great program. Lots of my friends do it with great results.
I guess I'm the odd-woman out, but I DO like isolation exercises like curls, side laterals, yada yada. I use them in conjunction with big, compound power-moves like squats and deadlifts in a 5-day split routine. I don't mean to sound like a bi*ch, but my results the last 8 months speak for themselves, so I refuse to argue with people about this. To each their own.
OP, there's no reason you shouldn't lift like a man. I learned to lift mostly from my husband, who was a competitive bodybuilder for many years. Sometimes we work out together--we do the exact same stuff, just with different weights. You don't need to worry at all about "bulking"-- your measurements will ALL go down--the more you lift, the smaller you'll get. Guarantee it.0 -
I guess I'm the odd-woman out, but I DO like isolation exercises like curls, side laterals, yada yada. I use them in conjunction with big, compound power-moves like squats and deadlifts in a 5-day split routine. I don't mean to sound like a bi*ch, but my results the last 8 months speak for themselves, so I refuse to argue with people about this. To each their own.
I do isolation exercises too -- I just throw them in as add-ons. Personally, I was just saying that a routine should be built around the big lifts. (I really enjoy doing bicep curls, and I specifically train up my rear delts on their own because I have a strength imbalance I'm trying to fix).0 -
I guess I'm the odd-woman out, but I DO like isolation exercises like curls, side laterals, yada yada. I use them in conjunction with big, compound power-moves like squats and deadlifts in a 5-day split routine. I don't mean to sound like a bi*ch, but my results the last 8 months speak for themselves, so I refuse to argue with people about this. To each their own.
When you are at that level of fitness that you are, sure....I intend to start isolation exercises when I start bulking. I still think they are a waste of time for beguiners that need to build everything.0 -
I do weight lifting. I enjoy it more then any other excersize as I see immediate results. It really is not the weight you lift but the reps you do and proper form. Women and men lift differently. It also depends on what muscle group your doing. The shoulder has three tiny muscles where small weights are better. Such as 10 lbs and reps of 10 x 4.
I work with a trainer so when we do shoulders and back that is all we focus on. I can do 35 lb curls but that is heavy for a woman and I do shorter reps.
Maybe take a look at the reason you wish to do weights. Mine is I want a very long line in the muscle. I do not wish to bulk. I am finding that I like the lines in my calves and my neck muscles have very good definition. Also with my shoulders. I see my biggest change with my weight loss is those areas.
Do I lose alot of weight. No. I really do not. I have 50 or so lbs to go. But I love the power of working with weights.
Barbara
Hoscience
Word. You can't change the length of your muscles. They're a fixed length, attached to bone at either end. If your trainer is telling you you can get "long" muscles, you should probably ask him/her for a program that will make you taller- it's equally as likely a result. Women and men don't need to train differently- it's an idea that is created and perpetuated by magazines and fitness companies that want to increase profits by selling femme-specific stuff- DVDs, programs, supplements, whatever. It behooves these companies to sell you different stuff than your man- there's simply no money to be made from good nutrition and a good compound lifting program. Save your money and buy nice feminine workout clothes that can make you look cute while lifting like a badass!
And for the isolation lifts- if you like them and you're at a point in your training where you understand what they're really doing for you- I don't hate them. I just think they're a waste of time for someone who's a beginner and needs a simple program for strength and fat loss. You can spend the same amount of time doing bicep curls or squats, but the squats work a ton of big muscle groups where the curls work just your biceps. It's simply inefficient for most people's goals on here.0 -
I guess I'm the odd-woman out, but I DO like isolation exercises like curls, side laterals, yada yada. I use them in conjunction with big, compound power-moves like squats and deadlifts in a 5-day split routine. I don't mean to sound like a bi*ch, but my results the last 8 months speak for themselves, so I refuse to argue with people about this. To each their own.
I do isolation exercises too -- I just throw them in as add-ons. Personally, I was just saying that a routine should be built around the big lifts. (I really enjoy doing bicep curls, and I specifically train up my rear delts on their own because I have a strength imbalance I'm trying to fix).
lol-ok ok ladies. I AGREE 100% that a routine should be built around the big lifts. No disagreement there AT ALL!! Hugs and *kitten*-grabs for everyone!!
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Oh, btw OP, I in no way meant to imply that a 5-day split is appropriate for you when you're starting out, because it is NOT. I agree with the others that NROLW is a fantastic and very informative place to start!! Best wishes :flowerforyou:0
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I do weight lifting. I enjoy it more then any other excersize as I see immediate results. It really is not the weight you lift but the reps you do and proper form. Women and men lift differently. It also depends on what muscle group your doing. The shoulder has three tiny muscles where small weights are better. Such as 10 lbs and reps of 10 x 4.
I work with a trainer so when we do shoulders and back that is all we focus on. I can do 35 lb curls but that is heavy for a woman and I do shorter reps.
Maybe take a look at the reason you wish to do weights. Mine is I want a very long line in the muscle. I do not wish to bulk. I am finding that I like the lines in my calves and my neck muscles have very good definition. Also with my shoulders. I see my biggest change with my weight loss is those areas.
Do I lose alot of weight. No. I really do not. I have 50 or so lbs to go. But I love the power of working with weights.
Barbara
This is nonsense. You are being swindled by your trainer and it will go on and on because you are never going to reach your goals.
Totally. Have a look at the women here who are toned, who have obvious muscle and who don't pay those Personal Trainer's @ some gym's who have done a 20 week online fitness course. There is sooooo much stuff online. Buy an Olympic bar or use one at the gym. I prefer home.0 -
I just wanted to clarify, I do not think isolation exercises are a waste of time. They are valuable for sure. The bits I was calling nonsense was the muscle lengthening and the women need to train differently than men.0
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I just wanted to clarify, I do not think isolation exercises are a waste of time. They are valuable for sure. The bits I was calling nonsense was the muscle lengthening and the women need to train differently than men.
Agree 100% :bigsmile:0 -
I do weight lifting. I enjoy it more then any other excersize as I see immediate results. It really is not the weight you lift but the reps you do and proper form. Women and men lift differently. It also depends on what muscle group your doing. The shoulder has three tiny muscles where small weights are better. Such as 10 lbs and reps of 10 x 4.
I work with a trainer so when we do shoulders and back that is all we focus on. I can do 35 lb curls but that is heavy for a woman and I do shorter reps.
Maybe take a look at the reason you wish to do weights. Mine is I want a very long line in the muscle. I do not wish to bulk. I am finding that I like the lines in my calves and my neck muscles have very good definition. Also with my shoulders. I see my biggest change with my weight loss is those areas.
Do I lose alot of weight. No. I really do not. I have 50 or so lbs to go. But I love the power of working with weights.
Barbara
This is nonsense. You are being swindled by your trainer and it will go on and on because you are never going to reach your goals.
I agree being swindled by your trainer. What 'three little muscles' are you referring to? Can you name them? I'm interested.
*waits* :glasses:0 -
I just wanted to clarify, I do not think isolation exercises are a waste of time. They are valuable for sure. The bits I was calling nonsense was the muscle lengthening and the women need to train differently than men.
Good information here.
I was hoping somebody would pick up on the 'women need to train differently from men' statement because I've had my wife training with me for the last few months and we do exactly the same lifts with exactly the same form. We obviously have to swap the plates around a fair bit but other than that - same routine
She's getting good results now too0 -
"heavy" is relative... just pick a weight that u can do no more than 15 repititions.. just start there. and its true that if you dont lift "heavy" then u wont have enough muscle stimulation to cause muscle growth.0
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Hey it will take a bit of trial to find what is heavy for you, and then it will constantly change as you get stronger! It's all part of the fun!
If you can work out your max for 1 rep and then take 75% of it then that is sweet, that doesn't work for me though as I feel I'd need to work with someone professional to find my max 1 and I'm not in that position at the moment!
For me I am currently doing a 5 x 5 programme. So I lift a weight 5 times for 5 sets. Then on the next workout I add 5lb to that weight. If I fail to do 5 X 5 (e.g. I might do 5, 5, 5, 4, 3) then I stay at the current weight until I do 5 X 5, then I increase again.
For me this means I am always ""lifting heavy" (because sometimes it is too heavy to lift!) and I am always pushing forward and clearly tracking progress.
When I started off doing this I picked a baseline to start with based on previous experience. When I did my first set of bench presses I only managed 5, 5, 4, 3, 3 so I lowered that weight a bit next time so I was starting realistically.
Another good technique I use sometimes is if after doing the full set of work with a weight (e.g. a full 5 X 5 or a 12 x 3 or however you do your weights) if you can do one more set (another 5 or 12) then the weight can be heavier
Agree with the others re compound movements. Personally I love the barbells; squat, deadlift, bench, row, overhead press. Te standard Stronglifts programme.
Good luck! Great start on lifting weights I'll just say I started doing my first serious work a few months ago and I can't beleive the effect it's had on my body! x0
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