Lifting heavy? Woman - advice please
ClairBears84
Posts: 531 Member
I have just started lifting
I currently do 12 reps for 3-4 sets, on starting weights
should i lift heavier for shorter reps or lower for more reps?
I currently do 12 reps for 3-4 sets, on starting weights
should i lift heavier for shorter reps or lower for more reps?
0
Replies
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I have just started lifting
I currently do 12 reps for 3-4 sets, on starting weights
should i lift heavier for shorter reps or lower for more reps?
I think it's lift heavier with lower reps for more bulk, lower weight more reps for lean. But even the lower weights have to give some resistance or its not going to do much anyway. There are others here who are much more knowledgeable than me, but I think that's the generalization. And of course correct diet as well0 -
See i still want to loose weight not just drop inches/cm. so I am not sure what to do, i eat at 1400 / day, i have muscle in most places its just hidden under fat
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Higher reps don't lean/tone muscles. That's one of the biggest myths in bodybuilding. Your muscles get leaner when you do.
If you want to lose inches you need to lose fat. Simple as. So to slim down keep lifting and keep eating fewer calories than your body needs.
Your rep scheme is all based on your goals. If you're looking for strength, you should be lifting heavier weights with lower rep ranges. If you're looking for hypertrophy then you should be looking at higher rep ranges.0 -
hypertrophy - what is this?Higher reps don't lean/tone muscles. That's one of the biggest myths in bodybuilding. Your muscles get leaner when you do.
If you want to lose inches you need to lose fat. Simple as. So to slim down keep lifting and keep eating fewer calories than your body needs.
Your rep scheme is all based on your goals. If you're looking for strength, you should be lifting heavier weights with lower rep ranges. If you're looking for hypertrophy then you should be looking at higher rep ranges.0 -
hypertrophy - what is this?
Haha, sorry. It's basically a fancy bodybuilding term for size.0 -
ok i dont want to be big i want to be strong but lean0
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hypertrophy - what is this?Higher reps don't lean/tone muscles. That's one of the biggest myths in bodybuilding. Your muscles get leaner when you do.
If you want to lose inches you need to lose fat. Simple as. So to slim down keep lifting and keep eating fewer calories than your body needs.
Your rep scheme is all based on your goals. If you're looking for strength, you should be lifting heavier weights with lower rep ranges. If you're looking for hypertrophy then you should be looking at higher rep ranges.
Trophy in the body means growth.
Muscle growth come from rep ranges 8-12 for a lot of people altho studies I've shown that going to failure at around 20-25 can be just as conducive.0 -
hypertrophy - what is this?
Haha, sorry. It's basically a fancy bodybuilding term for size.
nooooo dont want to have bigger muscle want to preserve what there is and get strong and lean0 -
I would recommend reading New Rules of Lifting for Women and/or Starting Strength. Even if you do not follow the program it will give you a good foundation of knowledge and understanding about lifting and nutrition.
You will not get "big" unless you eat at a calorie surplus (i.e. above maintenance/TDEE) for an extended period of time and/or take steroids. Women cannot get bulky without trying very hard to do so.
There is also lots of good information for beginners to lifting in this thread:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners0 -
heavier with reps of between 4-8 - builds strength and as your eating in a calorie deficit will burn fat0
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hypertrophy - what is this?
Haha, sorry. It's basically a fancy bodybuilding term for size.
nooooo dont want to have bigger muscle want to preserve what there is and get strong and lean
This is not going to happen however heavy you lift as you are only eating 1400 cals.0 -
hypertrophy - what is this?
Haha, sorry. It's basically a fancy bodybuilding term for size.
nooooo dont want to have bigger muscle want to preserve what there is and get strong and lean
5-8 rep range would be good0 -
Sounds like for what you want to do you should be in the 4-8 rep range/set.
Though 12 reps per set is good for building muscle, you also need a caloric surplus for that. and as a woman it is hard to bulk up even in a surplus with plenty of protein due to the low levels of testosterone.0 -
hypertrophy - what is this?
Haha, sorry. It's basically a fancy bodybuilding term for size.
nooooo dont want to have bigger muscle want to preserve what there is and get strong and lean
This is not going to happen however heavy you lift as you are only eating 1400 cals.
This is true. only 1400 calories a day isn't going to get anyone big.
Then again, I'll never understand why women are afraid of gaining muscle.0 -
My goal is to continue to lose body fat and maintain the muscle mass that I have. I currently lift as heavy as I can manage while still keeping good form for 4 sets of 8-12 reps. Some exercises and/or sets I can only manage 8 reps and some I can do 12. I always make sure it is as challenging as I can do while still doing it properly. I eat at a 250 calorie deficit per day and I have seen my body fat dropping slowly but steadily and my muscle mass going up slowly but steadily as well.
I am trying to maintain my weight but redistribute the way I look. I have been doing this for 4 months now. It's a slow process, but definitely worth it for me.
My advice would be to definitely try to challenge yourself with your weights and to lift barbells/ free weights if possible instead of the machines. I saw much better results when I switched to heavier weights and barbells/free weights. I don't think that I am bulky at all.
Good luck and great job on choosing to start lifting! :-)0 -
ok i dont want to be big i want to be strong but lean
WIll not happen.
The rule of thumb is heavy weights, small sets for strength and lighter weight, more reps for growth and endurance. But as a female it's almost impossible for you to get "bulky" as you lack sufficient quantities of the required hormone Testosterone to do so. Also unless you are new to strength training, or have taken a very long break from it, you will not build muscle at a calorie deficit.0 -
I second reading New Rules of Lifting for Women. It has you start out with 2 sets of 15 reps for 5 or 6 different exercises that you do 3X per week. Eventually you reduce reps and increase # of sets and weights and switch up exercises over 6 months. The nutrition part of the book guides you on how to eat to lose fat and provides lots of recipes.
I finished the book and did my first workout last night and it was amazing! It was pretty awesome being back in the weights section with the big boys
I'm really looking forward to my next workout tomorrow. Give it a shot! I think the book was like $12-15 on Amazon. 0 -
Thanks, I know that I wont get bulky and I am definitley not scared of building muscle, i just don't want too much muscle, I have alot as it is, i dont want to make those bigger I just want to keep them while loosing weight.
I think i shall up my weight and drop my rep and give that a go?
Does this sound like a good plan?0 -
I have just started lifting
I currently do 12 reps for 3-4 sets, on starting weights
should i lift heavier for shorter reps or lower for more reps?
I think it's lift heavier with lower reps for more bulk, lower weight more reps for lean. But even the lower weights have to give some resistance or its not going to do much anyway. There are others here who are much more knowledgeable than me, but I think that's the generalization. And of course correct diet as well
This is not true. Lifting low weight for more reps does nothing. Lift heavy for low reps. As a woman, you do not have enough testosterone to "bulk up". I am a woman who lifts heavy and I do not look bulky.0 -
I have just started lifting
I currently do 12 reps for 3-4 sets, on starting weights
should i lift heavier for shorter reps or lower for more reps?
I think it's lift heavier with lower reps for more bulk, lower weight more reps for lean. But even the lower weights have to give some resistance or its not going to do much anyway. There are others here who are much more knowledgeable than me, but I think that's the generalization. And of course correct diet as well
This is not true. Lifting low weight for more reps does nothing. Lift heavy for low reps. As a woman, you do not have enough testosterone to "bulk up". I am a woman who lifts heavy and I do not look bulky.
Thank you, I am not worried about being bulky i know this is a myth and you need to eat ALOT to do this, I think i should change to higher weight and lower reps0 -
I've read the NRFWLFW and modified their workouts - i have medical issues that I need to tailor around and lack of some equipment. I start at my "lowest" weight for 12-14 reps, then up the weight by 5 pounds while dropping the rep by 2-4 for 3-4 sets.
My lowest weight is comfortable, but not easy - IE: it will let me get 12-14 reps with my arms/legs shaking at last rep.
But I'm not worried about bulking, that much I don't care. I'm trying to enhance my fat/weigh loss (cardo/weights/cardo)0 -
I've read the NRFWLFW and modified their workouts - i have medical issues that I need to tailor around and lack of some equipment. I start at my "lowest" weight for 12-14 reps, then up the weight by 5 pounds while dropping the rep by 2-4 for 3-4 sets.
My lowest weight is comfortable, but not easy - IE: it will let me get 12-14 reps with my arms/legs shaking at last rep.
But I'm not worried about bulking, that much I don't care. I'm trying to enhance my fat/weigh loss (cardo/weights/cardo)
This also sounds good..... mmmmmm0 -
hypertrophy - what is this?
Haha, sorry. It's basically a fancy bodybuilding term for size.
nooooo dont want to have bigger muscle want to preserve what there is and get strong and lean
The best way to do that is lift heavy while losing weight. End of story. You're not going to turn into a bodybuilder. Your muscles won't get bigger while you lose weight0 -
I would recommend reading New Rules of Lifting for Women and/or Starting Strength. Even if you do not follow the program it will give you a good foundation of knowledge and understanding about lifting and nutrition.
You will not get "big" unless you eat at a calorie surplus (i.e. above maintenance/TDEE) for an extended period of time and/or take steroids. Women cannot get bulky without trying very hard to do so.
There is also lots of good information for beginners to lifting in this thread:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners
^^^This!0 -
[/quote]
Thank you, I am not worried about being bulky i know this is a myth and you need to eat ALOT to do this, I think i should change to higher weight and lower reps
[/quote]
:flowerforyou: I'm in the same boat, shame u have to answer your own question to quell the firestorm of 'you will not get bulky' :laugh: talk about knee jerk! Testing reflexes here is crazy easy :ohwell:0 -
Thank you, everyone has been great!
I am gonna change my routine and do 2 sets lower weight for 8-12
then
UP the weight and drop the reps for 3 sets
What do you think?0 -
Thank you, I am not worried about being bulky i know this is a myth and you need to eat ALOT to do this, I think i should change to higher weight and lower reps
[/quote]
:flowerforyou: I'm in the same boat, shame u have to answer your own question to quell the firestorm of 'you will not get bulky' :laugh: talk about knee jerk! Testing reflexes here is crazy easy :ohwell:
[/quote]
hahahahaha, answer based on advice. :blushing:0 -
Thank you, everyone has been great!
I am gonna change my routine and do 2 sets lower weight for 8-12
then
UP the weight and drop the reps for 3 sets
What do you think?
Tough to say without even knowing what kind of work you're doing. You should really do light weight warm up sets, and increase the weight to a working set where you go as heavy as you can go for 5-10 reps.
I suggest you follow one of the traditional strength training programs, such as Starting Strength or Stronglifts, that focuses on 5 main lifts: the squat, the deadlift, the bench press, the overhead press, and the row. Doing these exercises with a barbell is the simplest, most efficient, and most versatile way because you can increase in increments of 5 lbs instead of 10 lbs as with dumbbells.0 -
Thank you, everyone has been great!
I am gonna change my routine and do 2 sets lower weight for 8-12
then
UP the weight and drop the reps for 3 sets
What do you think?
Tough to say without even knowing what kind of work you're doing. You should really do light weight warm up sets, and increase the weight to a working set where you go as heavy as you can go for 5-10 reps.
I suggest you follow one of the traditional strength training programs, such as Starting Strength or Stronglifts, that focuses on 5 main lifts: the squat, the deadlift, the bench press, the overhead press, and the row. Doing these exercises with a barbell is the simplest, most efficient, and most versatile way because you can increase in increments of 5 lbs instead of 10 lbs as with dumbbells.
Thank you this is most helpful :flowerforyou:0 -
What i have been doing
UPPER:
bench - rack
side raises - free weights
Wide grip pull down
barbell curl
hammer curl
lying dumbell extension
LOWER:
Squat
leg press
lying leg curls
standing calf raises / seated calf raises
leg lifts0
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