Women Who Lift Heavy- How did you start?

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  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
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    only thing- my experience has NOT been that the people at the gym are "happy to spot" or "happy to give pointers".. I've actually only experienced high pressure sales from the "trainers" around the gym- and I question if they even know how to train a woman to lift honestly.

    Here's the thing:

    There is no difference in training good form to women versus men. Good is form is exactly that, regardless of gender.

    If the "trainers" at your gym are not helpful, I suggest studying via YouTube. Mark Rippetoe is excellent at explaining the how and why of good form. Yes he can be a bit dull, but his info is spot on.

    Practice. Start with just the bar, and don't add weights until you are comfortable & confident with your form. I spent the first month in the gym using just the bar. Now I am (almost) deadlifting #240 (#225 for sure).

    I have found that the bros who lift (the ones who REALLY lift, not the ones who pick up one thing and then pose the rest of the day) have turned out to be some of the nicest guys. Ask for help from someone you observe and KNOW to have good form based on the research you have done thus far.

    And did I mention practice?
  • savemama
    savemama Posts: 105 Member
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    I started by taking a Les Mills body pump class. It taught me correct form and gave me the confidence to do free weights. I also have the new rules of lifting for women. Taking the weights class has been the best thing ever, it has changed my body shape faster than anything. Good luck.

    That is a really good idea. Sad to say- did not occur to me that my gym might have one of those. All the classes I see are Zumba, Yoga etc... But because you posted this I checked- and they DO offer this once a week. Sign me up!
  • ScientificExplorerGirl
    ScientificExplorerGirl Posts: 535 Member
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    Picked a program (AllPro Beginners)
    Bought set of dumbbells.
    Bought rubber floor mats for basement floor.
    Watched a ton of youtube videos for proper form.
    Started.
    Ask my MFP friends who lift lots of stupid questions.
    Follow the Eat, Train, Progress and NROLFW groups on MFP for tips/advice I can apply to my situtation.

    I am now into my Third Round on AllPro and love it :-)
  • savemama
    savemama Posts: 105 Member
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    only thing- my experience has NOT been that the people at the gym are "happy to spot" or "happy to give pointers".. I've actually only experienced high pressure sales from the "trainers" around the gym- and I question if they even know how to train a woman to lift honestly.

    Here's the thing:

    There is no difference in training good form to women versus men. Good is form is exactly that, regardless of gender.

    You know, I hear that. And I'm a newbie so who knows, perhaps I will eat my words one day! But I *feel* like there is a difference in the emphasis of the muscle groups they want to focus on, the strength they assume in certain muscle groups (and weakness in others). The weight load itself. And especially lower body posture/stance.

    Maybe I'm just a delicate flower. lol...

    And maybe one day I'll eat my words. But I would sure feel better getting women-specific advice for the time being. But enough people have said this- so there must be truth to it.
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
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    LONG ago, I started with the body sculpting bible for women. Lots of isometric plans in it. I liked it and saw results with it. This time around I started with it again, but quickly switched to Stronglifts 5x5 for the ease of the program and time savings.

    If your gym offers a Body Pump or similar class, it could be the best way to get comfortable with the movements, just remember that it is more about endurance and cardio than strength training....as in you won't progress in how much you can lift very often, if at all for some moves. That being said, it can be a great confidence builder and introduction into some of the more common lifting moves. I took it for about 6 months when I first got back into the gym and I felt like it gave me a good base to jump off of when I got back into training for strength.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
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    I started by doing the pully weights in the gym until I was comfortable in my skin and the workout area. Once I realized I wasn't getting the results I wanted, I started reading as much as I could. Bodybuilding.com is a great website to learn what's going on. I then bought NROL4W. I read the entire book before I even attempted it. If I couldn't figure out what a lift was, I'd youtube it. I made a chart so I could log all my lifts and how much I was lifting, and I walked into the free weight section with a purpose. I also do yoga in between lifting days, the stretching feels so good, and delayed onset muscle soreness can derail you if you don't take care of yourself.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    1 - my wife joined the gym

    2 - she started out with Starting Strength as that was the program I was doing at the time. she read the entire book cover to cover before she joined me in the weight room. in addition to her reading, she watched YouTube videos for proper form so that she would be better prepared.

    3 - after a few months she switched over to Wendler's 5/3/1 program...probably too soon but she liked the way the program looked vs. SS

    4 - she ultimately went in her own direction and is doing New Rules...she's almost done with it and will be switching back to Wendler's 5/3/1 in another month or so as she prefers the power lifting focus.
  • sjbtiger
    sjbtiger Posts: 105 Member
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    Great topic! I'm in the starting phase myself and constantly second-guessing myself. I am almost finished with Starting Strength and have a plan, but my gym only has 45 lb bars, which I definitely can't bench press at this point! I'm using dumbbells for a lot of things and hope to gain enough strength to use the barbells for squats, bench press, power clean, press, and deadlift.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    only thing- my experience has NOT been that the people at the gym are "happy to spot" or "happy to give pointers".. I've actually only experienced high pressure sales from the "trainers" around the gym- and I question if they even know how to train a woman to lift honestly.

    Here's the thing:

    There is no difference in training good form to women versus men. Good is form is exactly that, regardless of gender.

    You know, I hear that. And I'm a newbie so who knows, perhaps I will eat my words one day! But I *feel* like there is a difference in the emphasis of the muscle groups they want to focus on, the strength they assume in certain muscle groups (and weakness in others). The weight load itself. And especially lower body posture/stance.

    Maybe I'm just a delicate flower. lol...

    And maybe one day I'll eat my words. But I would sure feel better getting women-specific advice for the time being. But enough people have said this- so there must be truth to it.

    There is no "man" lifting and "women" lifting....a strength program is the same for a woman as it is for a man...a hypertrophy program is the same for a woman as it is for a man...etc, etc, etc, etc.

    Give this a good read...

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
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    I started by joining a gym and buying the book "The New Rules of Lifting for Women." Changed my life and transformed by body. I don't have the space to buy all kinds of equipment.
  • juliewatkin
    juliewatkin Posts: 764 Member
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    I pretty much jumped in after doing a bit of reading on-line. Books and programs are nice to have but don't wait to get Starting Strength or New Rules to begin. I think much of it won't make sense until you're doing it. Many people do very little because they are overcome with analysis paralysis and the need to understand everything on paper. Real comprehension comes with practice.

    This is a site I found early on and it was invaluable to me: http://www.stumptuous.com/

    Go to your gym with a plan in mind and do it. Practice at home if you like.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    only thing- my experience has NOT been that the people at the gym are "happy to spot" or "happy to give pointers".. I've actually only experienced high pressure sales from the "trainers" around the gym- and I question if they even know how to train a woman to lift honestly.

    Here's the thing:

    There is no difference in training good form to women versus men. Good is form is exactly that, regardless of gender.

    You know, I hear that. And I'm a newbie so who knows, perhaps I will eat my words one day! But I *feel* like there is a difference in the emphasis of the muscle groups they want to focus on, the strength they assume in certain muscle groups (and weakness in others). The weight load itself. And especially lower body posture/stance.

    Maybe I'm just a delicate flower. lol...

    And maybe one day I'll eat my words. But I would sure feel better getting women-specific advice for the time being. But enough people have said this- so there must be truth to it.

    I think you'd find that the trainers focusing on 'women-specific' lifting are more likely to be the ones who don't know what they're doing. The forms for lifting really are the same for everyone (with mods to get around injuries, unusual physical structure, that sort of thing).

    A good trainer should not be assuming anything about your strength to start. He/she should be starting you out at some 'beginner weight' and then modify based on your actual performance. He/she should also not be assuming that they should focus on muscle groups X and Y without seeing you perform. Everything should be based on where you are now, where you want to go, and how motivated you are to get there. Not your gender.

    For the record, I'm starting out with StartingStrength and doing just fine. It didn't need modification for me because I'm female - I followed the instructions, found my 1 rep max for each exercise and figured out my starting weights from there. No help from a trainer needed. Just a lot of research :)
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
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    Research
    Access to weights (either gym or home)
    Research
    Trial and error
    Research
    Research
    Research....

    As another poster mentioned - bodybuilding.com is great. It has video demonstrations for both men and women.
  • BeanQueen3000
    BeanQueen3000 Posts: 161
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    I'm actually just a few weeks into it myself.

    I bought and read Starting Strength, casually practicing some of the postures along at home. I also read (okay, skimmed) Stronglifts 5x5 and a few other programs and ideas before ultimately hiring a trainer from my gym, just to help get me started and offer perspective on some of the research I've been doing so far. The first guy I booked was not super helpful, but I talked to my gym and found someone who I worked a little better with. This morning was my second week, and it was AWESOME.

    Financially, it's quite a stretch for me sometimes to even maintain my gym membership (let alone personal training sessions), but the help i've gotten so far has been invaluable. TREAT YO'SELF
  • savemama
    savemama Posts: 105 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your input- it's already helping :)

    I've ordered NROLFW and its coming from Amazon. I found a lifting class at my gym to get me started (thought they only did cardio).

    I'm gonna hit those websites you all mentioned and start watching videos. Research, I can DO!

    So excited- thanks!

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