Can anyone recommend any weight lifting pages and tips?

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Keepcalmanddontblink
Keepcalmanddontblink Posts: 718 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi! I am really wanting to get into lifting and my husband has a weight bench, barbell and weight plates. Can anyone recommend any sites that show good examples of a proper lift form?

Do women have to lift differently than a man or is it the same?

Also is it better for me to do lots of light reps, or go for heavier and less reps? (Did that even make sense? lol)

Which is better? Free weights or weight machines at a gym?

If I think of any more questions, I'll edit and add here. Thanks for any tips and advice you can offer. :flowerforyou:

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  • shirerose
    shirerose Posts: 116 Member
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    let's see what i can offer...
    good sites that show proper form... bodybuilding .com is a good one. i'm sure there are tons more too! or just try youtube and search for different lifts and how to do them properly.
    a lot of women i know have loved the program/book called The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess. It's pretty awesome from what i've seen!
    women do not have to lift differently! no way! we just tend to need to start with less heavy weights... naturally.
    i personally feel (and many others agree) that lifting as heavy as you can and doing as many reps you can manage is the better route to take. you will get better and faster results generally. don't hurt yourself or strain yourself! but definitely challenge yourself and keep trying to lift as heavy as you can. i usually try to do 2 to 3 sets with 8 to 12 reps per. but some people go really heavy and do 5 sets and 5 reps. just find what you like best. :)
    which is better... weight machines or free weights. the usual answer you will see will be free weights. you are able to do way more and work more muscles. weight machines aren't awful though... but it sounds like you have access to a weight bench and free weights at home... so that's awesome! i limit myself to only a couple machines at the gym. generally leg ones.
    i hope that helps! weight lifting is awesome and you are going to see great results! you're also going to be so sore and miserable haha! but work through it and also rest when your body needs it. :)
  • miss_phat_booty
    miss_phat_booty Posts: 117
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    No, women do not have to weight train differently than men. And there are tons of sites about weight lifting. Some of the more popular ones are:

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/ - which has a women's forum

    http://stronglifts.com/5x5/

    http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/nrol-for-women - the book is great

    http://bretcontreras.com/tag/strong-curves/ - i think there are a few women here who does this workout.

    Also you should look into some of the groups here on mfp like:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/119-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w-

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/12657-all-pro-s-beginner-intermediate-lifting-routines

    Good luck on your journey!
  • mitchiejo
    mitchiejo Posts: 179 Member
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    I really like the bodybuilding.com as well. They have videos for each lift showing you how to do it.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    Starting Strength. It's a book - shows you how to do the major freeweight lifts with good form and safely. It also contains a pretty kick-*kitten* programme. The author - Rippetoe - also has youtube videos of him coaching the main lifts that are a good watch to go along with the book. You have the equipment necessary to do it. Avoid machines if you have barbells available to you.

    Anyway, it's a programme/book designed for beginners and applicable to men or women. Even if you choose not to do the programme from the book (i.e. you do Stronglifts 5x5 or All Pro's SBR or some other beginners routine like Greyskull LP, for example) you will still want to own that book.
  • Keepcalmanddontblink
    Keepcalmanddontblink Posts: 718 Member
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    Thank you so much everyone! I'll check all the sites out and look into the books as well. :)

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