What's considered "heavy" lifting for women?

mialonghorn
mialonghorn Posts: 23
in Fitness and Exercise
What's considered "heavy" lifting? I just started weight training using the machines at the gym. I'm starting off at about 15-25 lbs for arm type of machines and about 150 lbs for the quads. What should I strive for?

Replies

  • jemc5958
    jemc5958 Posts: 2 Member
    You should strive for using the free weights and building up your lifts with good form little by little each time you go in. You're not really going to see any results with the machines. They're actually pretty misleading, especially for leg exercises as the machine is doing a lot of the work for you.

    Also, you're not going to get bulky lifting free weights. You're just not doing much of anything with the machines. :\
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    Free weights not machines.


    And heavy is relative.
    One of my friends here deadlifted 240# last night. That's heavy for her.
    One of my other friends is competing in a lifting comp soon and I'm fairly certain 240# is her warmup.
    And for me, my heaviest deadlift is 145#.
    But for someone else, heavy to them is 60#
  • W31RD0
    W31RD0 Posts: 173 Member
    You should strive for using the free weights and building up your lifts with good form little by little each time you go in. You're not really going to see any results with the machines. They're actually pretty misleading, especially for leg exercises as the machine is doing a lot of the work for you.

    Also, you're not going to get bulky lifting free weights. You're just not doing much of anything with the machines. :\

    I agree with most of this. OP should learn to use free weights (please see a personal trainer to get your technique down, and avoid injury). To clarify "doing the work for you" that jemc is talking about, is that machines have a set direction they go in. When you lift a dumbbell, you will find that it kinda tries to go all over the place. By training with freeweights, not only do you activate the main muscles for the exercise (which machines will still do) but you also gain finer muscle control in smaller fibers at the edge of the muscles.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    Heavy lifting for women is the same as heavy lifting for men: lifting using a weight that only allows you to complete the movement (in good form) at a low number of reps. Some people will omit "in good form" and say it's a weight you can't lift at all after the given number of reps. Different people will have different ideas of what constitutes a low number of reps, although I think most would agree 4-6 is a low number of reps, and some would consider 8 reps to still be a low number of reps. Once you can lift a given weight the max number of times (for all of your sets) that you consider to be the top end of "low reps," you move on to a higher weight.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Heavy lifting for women is the same as heavy lifting for men: lifting using a weight that only allows you to complete the movement (in good form) at a low number of reps. Some people will omit "in good form" and say it's a weight you can't lift at all after the given number of reps. Different people will have different ideas of what constitutes a low number of reps, although I think most would agree 4-6 is a low number of reps, and some would consider 8 reps to still be a low number of reps. Once you can lift a given weight the max number of times (for all of your sets) that you consider to be the top end of "low reps," you move on to a higher weight.

    this.


    I would add as a rule of thumb
    0 reps = too heavy
    1-5 = heavy- strength only- no cardio
    5- 10 = heavy- works really well for those with hypertorphy in mind
    10-15 muscle endurance- minimal strength gains
    15+ all cardio- no strength gains.

    this is applicable to both men and women- but there are programs who run difference- this is a guide ONLY.
  • fooninie
    fooninie Posts: 291 Member
    I'm a free-weight enthusiast (like most who have posted before me). I will say that 20-25 lbs for arms is a gross generalization. What part of the arms? Biceps? Shoulders? Triceps? Forearms?

    For example, I use 30lbs for one of my tricep exercises and 55 for another, 40-60 for my biceps (depending on isolation or not) and 50 for my shoulders.

    I (romanian) deadlift 100+lbs and squat 115lbs. No machines (unless I am really sore or injured). Just barbell, plates and dumbells.

    I also do 8. Always. 5 is never enough, in my opinion. Anything over 10 is great for endurance, but too light for strength.

    Form is key. New exercises take me time to get right, but I keep at it as long as it takes to get proper form, you need to understand what exercise works each muscle group and learn to feel the right muscles working. Too many people have poor form and it is dangerous and a waste of energy.

    If you are interested in learning, the New rules of lifting series is really good. There is one for men and one for women. They are the same concept in both books, really.

    Good luck!!

    Edited to add reps...
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Good advice so far, but I would add that you should follow a program like Stronglifts or Starting Strength. Build a strength base. Machines have their place in a workout, but most are only isolation exercises. Do compound lifts that get your whole body involved, and once you have a strength base down the line, then you can do isolation work.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    You should strive for using the free weights and building up your lifts with good form little by little each time you go in. You're not really going to see any results with the machines. They're actually pretty misleading, especially for leg exercises as the machine is doing a lot of the work for you.

    Also, you're not going to get bulky lifting free weights. You're just not doing much of anything with the machines. :\

    +1
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    "Lifting Heavy" is generally referenced when talking about strength training...which is also an often misused term in that people tend to refer to any form of resistance training as "strength" training...in reality, "strength training" is very much it's own specific thing and you lift "heavy" to do it.

    Heavy is more in reference to the rep range as well as the types of lifts to be performed. When people strength train and lift "heavy", this is generally in reference to free weights and predominately compound lifts (squats, bench press, dead lift, over-head press and cleans...many people substitute rows). The rep range tends to be in the 1 - 5 rep range at roughly 80% or more of your max...generally a 1 rep would be right around 95% of your max for example...and 5 reps might be 80 - 85%.

    The actual weight being used is going to vary depending on an individuals experience and current level of strength. 95% of my 1 RM on squats is obviously "heavy" for me...but it's jack **** to a seasoned power lifter to be sure.

    I would further add that most beginner strength programs have little in the way of isolation movements...so little use of machines and doing arm curls and things of this nature. Isolation/assistance lifts are usually added as a lifter becomes more seasoned and intermediate to advanced. Isolation/assistance lifts are more prevalent in hypertrophy programs...thus, while most hypertrophy programs also emphasize compound lifts at the foundation, they also tend to use more machines, etc.

    Regardless of your training goals, I would suggest that free weight compound movements be the foundation of your training, not machines and isolation work. You get far more bang for your buck with compound lifts. That said, if all you can do is machines, it is better than doing no resistance work at all.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    uuuggh i hate that terms.

    it's basically used by women who want to say they are progressively overloading the muscles by increasing the weights they lift on a consistent basis. you can "lift heavy" with anything it doesnt just have to be free weights. justthink of it in terms of progressively overloading the muscle so that you are always trying to get it to grow back stronger.

    so just as an example, instead of increasing weight on an exercise every 4-6 weeks you'd increase it every workout until you got to a point where you couldnt and would then adjust the number of sets and reps
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    Is it hard after 5 and impossible after 8?

    Then it's heavy. Good form of course is crucial.
  • mialonghorn
    mialonghorn Posts: 23
    I used to do free weights on my own but then decided to hire a trainer. She's the one that got me into the machines and that's all we've been doing for the past month. Should I ask her to switch to free weights?
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    I used to do free weights on my own but then decided to hire a trainer. She's the one that got me into the machines and that's all we've been doing for the past month. Should I ask her to switch to free weights?

    Are you at a point where you can lift at least 44 pounds? That's how much the olympic bar weighs with no weights.

    I started with machines, and body bars (weights pre-attached) because I wasn't strong enough for barbells yet. Maybe she's trying to transition you, but yeah...I would ask.

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