women lifting heavy/small reps=bulking up??

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redkingdogmom
redkingdogmom Posts: 1
in Fitness and Exercise
I love swimming, diving, and hiking. I do over an hour each day. Recently, a friend suggested doing heavy lifting to burn fat. I was a swimmer in college and lifted and don't want to get big. I need to lose fat and build muscle. Anyone have any ideas about women lifting heavier weights with shorter reps?

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  • SparkleShine
    SparkleShine Posts: 2,001 Member
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    I love swimming, diving, and hiking. I do over an hour each day. Recently, a friend suggested doing heavy lifting to burn fat. I was a swimmer in college and lifted and don't want to get big. I need to lose fat and build muscle. Anyone have any ideas about women lifting heavier weights with shorter reps?

    If you use the search button and type in -- Women Lifting Heavy, you will find hundreds of threads on it!:flowerforyou:
  • Booksandbeaches
    Booksandbeaches Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I used to lift 3-5 pound weights for 20-25 reps and I didn't see much of a difference. Then I started lifting heavier weights (I use my husband's dumbbells now). I started bench pressing, squatting, deadlifts. My body looks MUCH better now since I started heavy lifting. I don't look like a man at all. My legs are probably the most toned they've been. I even went down 2 jean sizes. If I go down 1 more jean size, I'll be in the same jean size I was back in college.

    Read the New Rules For Lifting For Women or better yet, join the Strong Lifts 5x5 group here. Go to the Group tab at the top and look for Strong Lifts.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    Just to add another book to the reading list as they each have a different perspective, my suggestion is "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. I think he does a very good job describing form and talks about training without getting into the women lifting sales job that TNROLFW does.

    As for getting "bulky," I'm not going to say it never happens, but I've personally never seen any pictures on here of women posters lifting heavy who were bulky and who had a low body fat percentage. The only woman I know IRL who is "bulky" is a former pro who "had some chemical help" as she politely put it to me. In any event, putting on muscle mass is difficult and you can always stop increasing the weight you lift if you ever do get to the point of saying "enough."
  • CrankMeUp
    CrankMeUp Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I have been lifting progressively heavier and have gotten smaller. I am 41. Do it.

    http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs

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  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
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    Just to add another book to the reading list as they each have a different perspective, my suggestion is "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. I think he does a very good job describing form and talks about training without getting into the women lifting sales job that TNROLFW does.

    As for getting "bulky," I'm not going to say it never happens, but I've personally never seen any pictures on here of women posters lifting heavy who were bulky and who had a low body fat percentage. The only woman I know IRL who is "bulky" is a former pro who "had some chemical help" as she politely put it to me. In any event, putting on muscle mass is difficult and you can always stop increasing the weight you lift if you ever do get to the point of saying "enough."

    ^This. Was coming to say more or less the same thing.
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
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    I lift weights that are heavy for me in the low rep range 4 x per week, eat in a caloric deficit, and all my measurements are decreasing.

    I used the Starting Strength method when I began. I have the NROLFW book that is mentioned, but prefer the simplicity of the Starting Strength programming and the incredibly in depth explanations of the exercises. I've never used the NROLFW programming. I don't think it's bad at all, it just seems unnecessarily complicated to me, and I knew I didn't need (no woman needs) "women specific" programming.

    On the other hand, I think if a woman is uncomfortable with the idea of lifting and feels she needs a book aimed at her based on the fact that she's a woman, then NROLFW is the one.

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