When to start lifting?

Start yesterday!

The good thing about weight training is that you do exercises at your level. You increase weight or reps as you go to make progress.

Today.

Look up the book New Rules of Lifting for Women. I bought it and it really helped, even though I don't follow their program (instead I do Stronglifts 5x5, another great beginning lifting program).

Start today!! Strength training is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and being a woman is great because it will give you womanly curves. Trust me, you will not get huge from weightlifting! My goal is to gain muscle mass and it's so hard being a woman just because of the lack of hormones we have in order to bulk in muscle.

What helped me start my weight lifting journey, and what really helped me learn A LOT is Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer on bodybuilding.com, here is the link:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html?searchterm=jamie eason livefit

Whether or not you follow her routine, you will find that reading some of what she has written and by watching the videos, she really empowers both men and women to find their own starting points and to build your base from there. I used her trainer and followed it twice instead of consulting a trainer, they can get very pricey and her information is as good or better than a lot of trainers out there.

No matter what you choose to do, always know that you should NEVER feel like you're making a fool of yourself for starting your journey to a healthier you. If you are in the gym or outside exercising, you are one step ahead of those who you think may be judging you so always know that.

Also a fun fact that I hope will inspire your weightlifting start, the more muscle your body has, the more your metabolism works to burn fat on your body. You will notice that missing a day or two of exercise won't be as detrimental than when you had very little muscle because your body is working harder to sustain bigger muscles. Strength training also burns more calories than cardio --yayyy for those that HATE cardio <me>. So start weightlifting now, or as soon as you feel ready.

I hope this helps!

Start lifting now, just make sure you start safely. Too much too fast is a surefire way to get injured. I like StrongLifts 5X5, which is a heavy lifting routine. You can also start with bodyweight exercises (like squats) to get your form solid.

I will say that lifting astronomically increases my appetite, especially as I get into heavier weights. Unfortunately, lifting does not burn that many calories, not like cardio. If you're struggling to keep within your calorie deficit now, before you start lifting, you may struggle more as you progress. Not a deterrent, just something to watch.

Start lifting now - don't over do it.

In order to get huge muscles or even kind of big muscles it requires the following: eating lots and lots of extra calories (look at that video about what The Rock eats every day to get an idea of how much food), years of dedicated training, and a testosterone. The approach that you take will depend on how your body adapts to lifting and your goals. Some people see better results from one method over the other. But, if you never lift heavy you will never be able to lift heavy. So, IMO, less weight/more reps does not get you the same power. You will build muscle mass, and you will burn fat either way. You will not get hypertrophic unless you are really really trying to. I'm a fan of heavy lifting because I have specific performance goals that require power, and who doesn't like to feel more powerful?

last week...

theycallmelinz wrote: »

Another question: I know that I won't get HUGE muscles without taking some kind of supplements, etc., but I still hear this debate about women lifting and doing lighter weight/more reps vs. more weight/less reps. Can anyone shed some light on this and why there's such a disagreement about this? Even my husband is "team less weight/more reps".


ETF spelling.

read this...

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

check out this supah bulky chick...



you'll see supah bulky Staci in the link above...

theycallmelinz wrote: »

Another question: I know that I won't get HUGE muscles without taking some kind of supplements, etc., but I still hear this debate about women lifting and doing lighter weight/more reps vs. more weight/less reps. Can anyone shed some light on this and why there's such a disagreement about this? Even my husband is "team less weight/more reps".


ETF spelling.

That might come from the training that dancers do with weights(Not sure if this is still the case as I've been out of the circuit for 4 years). I used to do competitive dance and the logic given for light weights/many reps was that we would be using that muscle repeatedly over long periods, but we wouldn't actually be lifting much with it(ie, baton, ribbons, maybe a flag). Whereas the guys lifted heavy weights with few reps, because they had to be able to lift us, but not very many times per routine. Coach always said to train for what you're going to be doing.

That said, I'm now in a position where I lift light-moderate weight(50 -80 lbs) for many reps, it hasn't made me look bulky, just very nicely defined in the areas I use most.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1096001-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky?page=13#posts-19366042

theycallmelinz wrote: »

Another question: I know that I won't get HUGE muscles without taking some kind of supplements, etc., but I still hear this debate about women lifting and doing lighter weight/more reps vs. more weight/less reps. Can anyone shed some light on this and why there's such a disagreement about this? Even my husband is "team less weight/more reps".


ETF spelling.

Start now...Strong lifts, NROLFW or starting strength.

As for the debate to be quite frank it comes from lack of education.

Adding muscle is not a bad thing...and unless you are taking actual steriods your muscles won't get huge ever.

I lift heavy...do I look huge???? no...I am a size 4 and can bench 130lbs, squat 200, DL 230 and OHP 98.5 (those are all my 1RM).

If you want to be strong, keep your muscle while losing fat and feel amazing...lift heavy barring that do some form of resistance training at least to keep the muscle and feel amazing...it won't make you that strong but it's something.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

Emilia777 wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1096001-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky?page=13#posts-19366042

theycallmelinz wrote: »

Another question: I know that I won't get HUGE muscles without taking some kind of supplements, etc., but I still hear this debate about women lifting and doing lighter weight/more reps vs. more weight/less reps. Can anyone shed some light on this and why there's such a disagreement about this? Even my husband is "team less weight/more reps".


ETF spelling.

Start now...Strong lifts, NROLFW or starting strength.

As for the debate to be quite frank it comes from lack of education.

Adding muscle is not a bad thing...and unless you are taking actual steriods your muscles won't get huge ever.

I lift heavy...do I look huge???? no...I am a size 4 and can bench 130lbs, squat 200, DL 230 and OHP 98.5 (those are all my 1RM).

If you want to be strong, keep your muscle while losing fat and feel amazing...lift heavy barring that do some form of resistance training at least to keep the muscle and feel amazing...it won't make you that strong but it's something.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

Whoa, those numbers… Nicely done!!

Thx...not quite 2 years in...my goals are triple diget OHP, bench body weight...the rest is all gravy.

SezxyStef wrote: »

Emilia777 wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1096001-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky?page=13#posts-19366042

theycallmelinz wrote: »

Another question: I know that I won't get HUGE muscles without taking some kind of supplements, etc., but I still hear this debate about women lifting and doing lighter weight/more reps vs. more weight/less reps. Can anyone shed some light on this and why there's such a disagreement about this? Even my husband is "team less weight/more reps".


ETF spelling.

Start now...Strong lifts, NROLFW or starting strength.

As for the debate to be quite frank it comes from lack of education.

Adding muscle is not a bad thing...and unless you are taking actual steriods your muscles won't get huge ever.

I lift heavy...do I look huge???? no...I am a size 4 and can bench 130lbs, squat 200, DL 230 and OHP 98.5 (those are all my 1RM).

If you want to be strong, keep your muscle while losing fat and feel amazing...lift heavy barring that do some form of resistance training at least to keep the muscle and feel amazing...it won't make you that strong but it's something.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

Whoa, those numbers… Nicely done!!

Thx...not quite 2 years in...my goals are triple diget OHP, bench body weight...the rest is all gravy.

Awesome - you’re not at all far from that! Though I for one gain upper body strength at a snail pace. I’ve gotten back into lifting for about 4 months now and it’s pretty much my favourite thing. Can’t wait to cross the 200lb DL barrier .

Anyway, I’m definitely not huge either (see profile pic). I actually want to do a bulk/cut cycle eventually to gain more mass. It’s such a shame that lifting myths for women are so pervasive.

Girls that lift heavy generally do not look manly/bulky etc. In time, they just look super fit, feminine and healthy (in my opinion). I think people are confusing this with girls that lift heavy and take steroids etc (The competition/stage look which is ridiculously hard to achieve anyway). That "toned" look that a lot of girls say that want/like is a result of resistance training, progressively heavy overload and a good diet. Don't worry girls, you will still look beautiful

if you really want to start lifting, a personal trainer is an excellent idea, they get you familiar with the equipment and comfortable walking around the gym. The ymca is always running 3 for $99 specials. Or if you want to start at home, bands are very versatile. they have some really thick ones that you can get quite a burn from. youtube some videos if there's not instructions with the bands. you can do biceps, triceps, even lat pull downs using bands. lunges and air squats will work until you build up strength to do more weights in your legs. drink lots of water to ward off soreness. take it slow, you may feel like you can do more and then realize the next day, you did too much.