FAT TO FIT, WOMEN WEIGHT LIFTING

congrats on ur weightloss how did u lose your weight ?

I would recommend the new rules of weight lifting for women book. Its great for a beginner.

To be honest simply calorie counting. I lost a large bit of weight by cutting out soda and fast food. When I started MFP I was 170 pounds and lost it all by calorie counting at 1200 cals a day. I bumped up my cals to 1300 when I was working a very active job. Weight stayed the same for almost 4 months 1200/1300 was too low. I try to aim for 1300-1500 calories a day. Started a low carb diet to jump start losing weight with it and have so far lost 4 pounds this week low carbing. I understand some of that was water of course. I am doing a ketosis diet. Very happy with it. Just looking to get toned and muscular (not like a male body builder though lol!)

don't worry, that isn't going to happen by accident

No woman who trains 'naturally' (i..e without drugs) will ever look like a male bodybuilder - they just don't have the testosterone flooding around their bodies.

If you train hard, you'll get toned, a little more defined and build a little muscle, but you'll never look like Arnold Shwarzennegger :-)

My advice as always lol check out bodybuilding.com some great weight lifting plans and advice for woman and teens as well as men.
Really moticational and gets you set in the right direction:)
x

I would recommend the new rules of weight lifting for women book. Its great for a beginner.

Agree! I have never seen my body transform so fast until I started weight training. I am only on stage 1, but I am already able to lift up to 90lbs on some exercises. I was always a weakling before who could barely carry in the groceries!

I have gone from 180ish range down to currently 152 pounds. I need about 6 more pounds till I am considered to be in the "normal" weight range for my height.

I am interested in weight lifting, however I know absolutely nothing about it. If any women out there have gone from being extremely overweight/obese to lean, toned, and fit, I would be very interested to see their progress pictures and before shots.

I am 5'3 and 3/4.. Almost 5'4. I'm very hour glass shaped but have some flab on my arms, thighs, and stomach area, that's about it.

So if you are a shorter girl who went from being overweight to lean by weight lifting, please feel free to post your pictures. Very interested to see transformations and get advice on different exercises and lifts to do with the weights.

I'm interested in going the same route as you are, I'm 5'4", with big chest and hips, very hourglass but a bit TOO hourglass lol, I'm about 173lbs.

I have back problems and have been doing pilates to strengthen my core, and also watching my calories, I'm not very good at sticking to anything atm, but I'm going on a back rehabilitation program and after I've done that I hope to start training more efficiently and learning how to do weights properly.

Well done you with watching your calories and on the weight you've lost so far!

I also believe that pilates as well as weight training would be an excellent combination to try.

Great responses I appreciate every one of them. Now I can't afford gym membership, as the prices here are assinine, but would a simple weight bench be okay off Craigslist? Jogging a few times a week? Would like to know how to get started and what weights/machines are worth investing used.

If you have a place to store the weights you can certainly strength train at home. I started out with 3, 5, 8 lb dumbbells at home doing 2-3 different Jillian Michaels workouts ( i hear turbo fire and Chalean Extreme are great as well). Now this didn't build a ton of muscle but it did help build strength and tone up my body. It really helped with endurance. Over time I am adding to my weights and equipment at home. I use the gym for the bigger weights because I don't have a place to store them. You can also check with some gyms and recreational centers as they have by the day prices so you can do the gym a couple times a week if you can afford it.

Brazilian Butt Lift is also a good workout. I do it for toning the butt and it also has a nice 18 minute ab workout( it is killer as well).
If your not on instagram you should be, there are some HIGHLY motivational people on there that share their workouts, recipes, progress pics and so on.

Btw I also bought and read the New rules of Lifting for Women. It helped me get started and comfortable with the weight room and then I chose to create my own workout. But the book is really great.

I'm currently on week 5 of a chalean extreme/turbofire hybrid. It's incredible. For weight lifting, i've always used either resistance bands or free weights (i much prefer free weights). I do ALL of my exercising at home (never seen the inside of a gym) and I've never had a trainer. It works for me.

Jamie Eason's 12 week LiveFit is a great start for weightlifting as well (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html). I have always done some sort of exercise, but for years, it has been cardio. Last year, I went through insanity, but after so much cardio/plyometrics (and awesome results!), I was a little burned out and wanted to switch things up a lot. I used workouts from a trainer for 3 months, and then started LiveFit with a friend. I have been through LiveFit twice now. It starts out easy, but by phase 3, it is definitely a tough workout!

Bodybuilding.com has videos to help you see form - great for visual people like me - and her program will help you become familiar with basic lifts, and confident in the weights section of the gym. I started Laura Bailey's muscle building program today and am already so impressed by it! Just lifting for the last 5-6 months alone, I feel so much stronger than I ever have in my life. I do it at the gym most days, but also have a weight bench, barbell and some weight plates, along with 5, 10 and 20lb dumbbells that we picked up at a garage sale. With just those, I can do everything at my house, with just a little variation.

Good luck!

Tricep kickbacks,one arm dumbell rows, lunges, and squats have done wonders for me and my trouble spots (hips, thighs and flabby arms). I am not following any kind of formal program, just trying out different things and mixing it up every month. I love the flexibility of creating my own program and seeing results. I have doubled my lifting weight in three months and lost inches so I must be doing something right:)

Do you have Cablevision as your cable provider? They offer free videos that you can do, some are actually really good! If you don't, there's always the internet... tons of stuff online. You can buy a cheap set of weights from TJMAXX, they usually have them at a much lower cost then going to a sports store. Start there and when you are ready to move forward maybe invest in some heavier weights if you find you like using them.

Great thread, I want to try weights, too. I've lost 17 lbs counting calories, and I'm ready to step it up.
I am 5'4" and I am worried about building my leg muscles. My leg muscles are HUGE under my fat (from carrying my heavy self around.) I do NOT want to build any muscle there.

A lot of body weight exercises can be done at home and are simple for a beginner's way into lifting weights. Pushups, squats, lunges, planks, pullups (you need a bar, and you can work your way up to them). I'd recommend a pullup bar, exercise ball, and medicine ball to start. Weights should come after you've mastered the basic movements without weights.

^^^^I agree with this!! :flowerforyou: