Heavy Lifting for females

leishamaree
leishamaree Posts: 62 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi All,

So I have heard a lot of talk about heavy lifting lately, but I'm not entirely sure what constitutes heavy?

I do kettlebell swings with an 8kg kettlebell (17ish lbs), Bent Rows with 7kg each end of the bar (30ish lbs all up) and shoulder presses with the same. (I'm not 100% sure my terminology is correct!)

This doesn't seem at all heavy to me, but I have only been doing it a few weeks.

What do you do? What should I aim for? Is there some reading material out there?

Thanks so much!

Replies

  • leishamaree
    leishamaree Posts: 62 Member
    .
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
    It wouldnt at all be for me, but since you are beginning, possibly.
  • rick_po
    rick_po Posts: 449 Member
    The weight you can handle will vary enormously from person to person, depending on your coordination, your weight, age, genetics, how much training you've done in the past, and probably another thousand factors.

    If you're just starting out, what's heavy for you today is not the same as what will be heavy for you two months from now. You might even double the amount of weight you can lift in just a few months. So coming up with what you "should" be lifting is almost impossible to say with any accuracy. Lifting heavy really means how ever much you can lift for low reps, like 5 reps.

    There are some "average" strength standards.

    http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

    If you're just starting out, you're considered "untrained". The numbers in these tables are for one-rep sets. Subtract 15% for 5 reps, 25% for 10 reps. But remember, these are just averages, and there are huge differences among people. Don't push yourself if a weight is obviously too heavy. Always stop if you feel yourself losing good form, and reduce the weights if you need to.
  • SadFaerie
    SadFaerie Posts: 243 Member
    Hi All,

    So I have heard a lot of talk about heavy lifting lately, but I'm not entirely sure what constitutes heavy?

    I do kettlebell swings with an 8kg kettlebell (17ish lbs), Bent Rows with 7kg each end of the bar (30ish lbs all up) and shoulder presses with the same. (I'm not 100% sure my terminology is correct!)

    This doesn't seem at all heavy to me, but I have only been doing it a few weeks.

    What do you do? What should I aim for? Is there some reading material out there?

    Thanks so much!
    We're all different and adapt to resistance training differently, so it's nearly impossible to tell how much precisely you should be lifting. The rule of thumb is: If it doesn't feel heavy anymore, it's time to increase weight. The weight should be challenging, yet you should be still able to perform every rep with correct form. (Personally, I never go to failure, because I believe that's how injuries happen.)

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