New Female Weight Lifter!

wordena
wordena Posts: 177 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Any advice on weight lifting for females? I just started a few days ago. But I'm eventually trying to build myself up to heavy weights. (I'm just not strong enough right now.)
Here are my stats
Squat 95 pounds 3 sets with 20 reps
Pull? (Lifting off the floor) 45 pounds 3 sets of 10 reps (Cannot put this overhead yet)
Bench press 20 pounds 3 sets of 20, 15, then 10 reps (I got too weak.)

I know I'm particularly weak when it comes to bench pressing. I want to get up there with higher weights and eventually be able to do push ups. My sad 20 pounds may explain why even after lots of effort I can only go down but not up with push ups. But one day I'm gonna be a lifting beast! I feel I'm very unbalanced in my abilities here. Squating believe I could do far more if I did less reps. I'd really like to feel proportional in my lifting abilities.

Replies

  • wordena
    wordena Posts: 177 Member
    Oh and I've read the New Rules for weight lifting for women. Still not totally confident though.
  • ellieco
    ellieco Posts: 18 Member
    I'm a new female lifter too! I'd recommend trying a proper beginners program like Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5. Fairly high weight and low reps should help to build a good strength foundation. Also focus on doing the movements well (good form) in order to not set yourself up for an injury later on. Good luck!
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    Hi there!

    You're doing too many reps! I just started Stronglifts 5x5 after doing some of the NROLFW program. I love Stronglifts. You do 5 set of 5 reps of compound exercises (squat, dead lift, overhead press, barbell rows) and then I supplement my workout with other lifts that I enjoy. If you want to build up your weights, less reps! You'll be lifting heavier in no time. I try to add weight each time I lift, and it's worked so far.

    Also, what are you eating? Unless you're eating at a surplus, you're not going to build a whole lot of new muscle. You'll have newbie gains, but that's about it. I'm eating at a little under maintenance to strengthen the muscles I have, lose the fat and maintain my muscle mass.

    Cheers!
  • Evelyn6413
    Evelyn6413 Posts: 1 Member
    I signed up with a personal trainer at my gym about 4 months ago and my first goal was to be able to do 20 full body push ups because I couldn't do one even (like you, could get down but couldn't push up). I made that goal at 3 months and now, in the 3 months I have left with him, I am aiming to be able to do at least one unassisted chin up. I may not make it to that one as I feel that is a pretty lofty goal for me - never had the upper body strength for those EVER. But my trainer seems to think he can get me there.

    At any rate, I can't say enough about the benefits of having a personal trainer when starting out with weight lifting. You learn proper form, how to use all the equipment properly and safely and you will build up your stabilizer muscles that will allow you to lift more safely when you are on your own. If you can at all afford it, do check it out.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    There is absolutely no reason to lift more than 12-15 reps, ever. If you're able to do more reps then you're not lifting heavy enough.

    If you read the book "New Rules..." from cover to cover then you're ignoring everything the experts had to say and you're making the same mistakes many women make when it comes to strength training. Read the book again. Follow the advice. Load up that barbell!
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    Pretty much what everyone else is saying - "heavy" doesn't mean "x lbs. per lift", it means "what I can only lift maybe 5-12 times (depending on my goals) before my muscles stop working". If you can lift it 20 times, it's too light.

    This is a very helpful calculator: http://exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html , except that it doesn't even go up to 20 reps. Push up your weights, try again, and see if you can find that sweet spot.
  • Whart0603
    Whart0603 Posts: 92 Member
    I just finished the New Rules of Lifting for Men. She most likely is following the authors routines and is in the fat loss phase. The reason for the high reps isn't for hypertrophy or strength but for fat loss. Hypertrophy and strength come next which is much more closely in line with what all of you are telling her. I haven't started the program myself (yet) but just wanted to throw it out there to everyone telling her not to follow her program.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    what are your goals?

    i've been weightlifting for quite a while now (all my adult life) and different times i have different goals. back when i started i was underweight and needed to bulk for rugby as well as gain strength. back then i did a lot of olympic style lifts for power, 1 session a week where i worked on my 1 rep max strength and 2 sessions a week where i worked with 50-75% of my max weight and did more reps (yes even more than 15) and less sets. i also did a lot more isolation exercises like bicep curls, tricep kickbacks.


    now that i'm in the midst of losing a lot of weight, i mainly do a compound lifting program (strong lifts) to help me preserve as much muscle as possible while i lose weight.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    oh yeah bench pressing and push upping is different and engages your muscles differently. the only way to prepare for push ups is to do push ups because you're engaging your core and stabilizing muscle much more than you would in a bench press. the same goes for lat pulldowns vs pull ups
  • crazylovergrl
    crazylovergrl Posts: 97 Member
    bodybuilding.com is the best site for women bodybuilders. There are a ton of us out there! And we all have totally different goals. There is a "find a plan" tab where you can choose from a few custom plans for women, (I would recommend live fit trainer for a noob) But you can also look at inspirations and choose what model you want to look like and work out on their plan and peep their meal plan as well.
    I'm excited for you! I've been lifting for about 4 years or so. There is always room to grow, change your routine and lift heavier. You will learn what your body needs in time, but for now I would get a good plan and make sure your protein is at 1g per lb of lean mass and your fats are on par with mfp!

    Congrats and Good luck!!!

    :D
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    oh yeah bench pressing and push upping is different and engages your muscles differently. the only way to prepare for push ups is to do push ups because you're engaging your core and stabilizing muscle much more than you would in a bench press. the same goes for lat pulldowns vs pull ups

    I would say this is only partially true. I don't do pushups very much. I was doing some several months ago. Back then I could do maybe 20 or so on a first set. Now having increased the weight I can bench through benching, I recently did some just for kicks and could do 50.

    To the OP, it depends on what you are doing and what your goals are. Thinds like Stronglifts and Starting Strength get recommended a lot, and both are good (I would say SS is better and am currently running it myself), but programs like those or Greyskull LP or Reg Parks 5x5 or any "pure strength" beginner routines are more geared to very quickly blast the strength levels of someone who is eating a huge calorie surplus and willing to take some fat gain. If you want something more forgiving on less calories but still an excellent routine, check the one linked below. I would still recommend reading Starting Strength to learn the lifts though.

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=147447933
  • wordena
    wordena Posts: 177 Member
    Thanks for sticking up for me! I'm definitely trying the fat loss phase first.
  • wordena
    wordena Posts: 177 Member
    I forgot about bodybuilding.com, I'll definitely look that up. I not eating a surplus, because frankly I dont need the calories. However I'm eating at maintance, because I've discovered frankly I don't feel well at 1200 calories a day, headaches and body aches everyday can't be normal! Around 1400 plus some exercise calories. (I feel so much better now that I'm eating more.) Goals: well I haven't fined tuned anything yet, maybe some suggestions from the group? A definite goal of being able to do push ups and turning some of this fat into muscle.
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    This post has some common specific goals http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners
  • Whart0603
    Whart0603 Posts: 92 Member
    I forgot about bodybuilding.com, I'll definitely look that up. I not eating a surplus, because frankly I dont need the calories. However I'm eating at maintance, because I've discovered frankly I don't feel well at 1200 calories a day, headaches and body aches everyday can't be normal! Around 1400 plus some exercise calories. (I feel so much better now that I'm eating more.) Goals: well I haven't fined tuned anything yet, maybe some suggestions from the group? A definite goal of being able to do push ups and turning some of this fat into muscle.

    During the fat loss phases, focus on eating at a small deficit and hitting the weights. Once the fat loss phase is done, move onto hypertrophy. This is where you will start eating at a surplus and hitting the weights harder for building muscle. Since beginners tend to be able to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, you might build some muscle during the fat loss phase but don't count on it.

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