Females only - lifting/weight training results?
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I'm only 1 month in (mostly kettlebell and body weight exercises) and I can see a difference in how my clothes fit already!! I work out at home so I don't have a ton of equipment. I have gained 3 lbs. this month but lost an inch and a half around my waist and hips and an inch around my arms!! I'm so glad I measured at the beginning because if I relied solely on my scale I would have been discouraged!!! I found this thread last night and I'm so glad I did; you ladies are all so inspiring!!
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quiksylver296 wrote: »I don't if I've posted in this thread before, or not. Still a work in progress, but six weeks of 5X5s...
WOW! That's just 6 weeks progress? That's amazing!! Keep it up!
This just boosts my motivation for getting in there and lifting heaving things 3x a week.0 -
I'm only 1 month in (mostly kettlebell and body weight exercises) and I can see a difference in how my clothes fit already!! I work out at home so I don't have a ton of equipment. I have gained 3 lbs. this month but lost an inch and a half around my waist and hips and an inch around my arms!! I'm so glad I measured at the beginning because if I relied solely on my scale I would have been discouraged!!! I found this thread last night and I'm so glad I did; you ladies are all so inspiring!!
There definitely a noticeable difference there! Keep it up!0 -
Awesome job!!!!0 -
very inspirational! thank you for motivating me to clean off the "clothes hanger/weight bench" & make it into a weight bench!0
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Looking good ladies keep up the good work0
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I already posted my results in the "lifting made me supah bulky" thread but here I am again. I'm 46, 5'2". Started in 2015 at 137-140ish currently 117.6lbs. I ate at a deficit and did Stronglifts 5x5 for a year. Now I'm doing PHUL an intermediate 4x/wk split program. Lifting is the best thing I've ever done for my body, no question.
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I highly recommend following a good progressive lifting program. SL 5x5 & NROLFW are great. Following a program ensures that you aren't aimlessly walking around the gym just trying stuff but not feeling like you are getting anywhere. Also, SL is simple and has an app for tracking data from your workouts.1
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For all the ladies that did Strong Lifts - I need some advice. I really enjoyed it but I found after a couple of months I just got stuck...I could not get my overhead press higher than 50lbs, squats over 125lbs etc. I was also eating at a slight deficit (1600 calories a day). I did lose about 8 lbs and several inches and looked "lean" but my strength gains stalled.
I'm now pregnant so have moved to just dumbbells but I would like to go back to SLs this summer.0 -
About two months worth of progress, so obviously newbie gains. But happy to see strength increasing.
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For all the ladies that did Strong Lifts - I need some advice. I really enjoyed it but I found after a couple of months I just got stuck...I could not get my overhead press higher than 50lbs, squats over 125lbs etc. I was also eating at a slight deficit (1600 calories a day). I did lose about 8 lbs and several inches and looked "lean" but my strength gains stalled.
I'm now pregnant so have moved to just dumbbells but I would like to go back to SLs this summer.
Since you'll be taking some time off with your pregnancy, you'll be able to get back to SLs and see some progress again. When you stall on lifts like you did previously, it is probably time to change programs. SLs is a beginner program, so you should look into a more intermediate program (Madcow, the Texas Method, PHUL, PHAT, etc.).1 -
Since my profile picture is so small, I am going to repost it in this comment. It covers the span of six years - overweight (180lbs), then weak and skinny fat by only using cardio to lose weight (~145lbs), and then now currently way stronger and more muscular from powerlifting (155lbs).
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Since my profile picture is so small, I am going to repost it in this comment. It covers the span of six years - overweight (180lbs), then weak and skinny fat by only using cardio to lose weight (~145lbs), and then now currently way stronger and more muscular from powerlifting (155lbs).
Fantastic results!!0 -
For all the ladies that did Strong Lifts - I need some advice. I really enjoyed it but I found after a couple of months I just got stuck...I could not get my overhead press higher than 50lbs, squats over 125lbs etc. I was also eating at a slight deficit (1600 calories a day). I did lose about 8 lbs and several inches and looked "lean" but my strength gains stalled.
I'm now pregnant so have moved to just dumbbells but I would like to go back to SLs this summer.
If you feel like you're stalling out, but maybe aren't ready to move to a more advanced program, you could try moving up in smaller weight increments. I bought a set of fractional plates (1.25 lbs each) from Rogue Fitness and instead of progressing in 5 lbs increments as prescribed by the original program, I go up 2.5 lbs each time (5 lbs for deadlift - still half of the original plan). I feel like this helps keep me from getting stuck, as it's a more gradual progression. If you don't want to buy fractional plates, there are lots of DIY solutions. Just google "diy fractional plate" and you'll see several options.0 -
jessiefrancine wrote: »For all the ladies that did Strong Lifts - I need some advice. I really enjoyed it but I found after a couple of months I just got stuck...I could not get my overhead press higher than 50lbs, squats over 125lbs etc. I was also eating at a slight deficit (1600 calories a day). I did lose about 8 lbs and several inches and looked "lean" but my strength gains stalled.
I'm now pregnant so have moved to just dumbbells but I would like to go back to SLs this summer.
If you feel like you're stalling out, but maybe aren't ready to move to a more advanced program, you could try moving up in smaller weight increments. I bought a set of fractional plates (1.25 lbs each) from Rogue Fitness and instead of progressing in 5 lbs increments as prescribed by the original program, I go up 2.5 lbs each time (5 lbs for deadlift - still half of the original plan). I feel like this helps keep me from getting stuck, as it's a more gradual progression. If you don't want to buy fractional plates, there are lots of DIY solutions. Just google "diy fractional plate" and you'll see several options.
fractional plates are one option (and suggested as 5lb is a higher % for 100lb then it is for 200lb), but if you are following SL5x5 and want to continue the same program the suggestion is after you have to deload a couple times move to 3x5, then 3x3, then 1x3. Or, move on to another program like Madcow 5x5 or 5/3/1.
My squats stalled at 240lb with 5x5 and then I switched to 3x5 and got up to 270lb before I injured my shoulder and while I can still squat the weight without shoulder pain I'm just going easy all over until it is healed.0 -
Beautifulreflections wrote: »bump...going to watch this thread grow...need the inspiration!
I tried New Rules for women and got through the first bit fine but moving on to step two was almost twice the time in the gym and not do-able on my lunch hour.
Have done SL 5X5 (for a short time) and have considered going back, mainly because the lifts are easy to remember. But I can't possibly see results like these with just those compound lifts...
Would love to know the type of lifts/exercises you ladies are doing.
Im actually seeing really great results from the SL 5x5
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This is how I calculated all that:
A pound of fat has about 3500 calories, and a pound of muscle has about 600 calories. So, if you know your weight loss and calorie deficit from TDEE, you can calculate the amount of muscle and fat that are gained or lost. There is only 1 way for the calorie deficit to make both the weight loss and calorie deficit work. So (3500 x lbs of fat) + (600 x lbs of muscle) will equal the total calorie deficit. And the (lbs of fat lost) + (lbs of muscle lost) has to equal the total weight loss. So then you have two equations. If X = lbs of fat lost and Y = lbs of muscle lost, you know ( 3500x + 600y = total calorie deficit ) and ( x + y = total lbs loss ) You can then solve those two equations to find where they are both true at the same time, giving your amount of each that were lost.
For example, here is my equation for this month:
I lost 8.4 pounds. My calorie deficit is 34199 (which is my TDEE - net calories)
x+y=8.4 and 3500x+600y=34199
x (fat)= 10.0548
y (muscle)= -1.65483
So I lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 1.6 pounds of muscle this month. But again, do whatever you feel comfortable with!
Except calorie counting is still highly inaccurate no matter how perfect we try to be. Packages are allowed to be off 10%, so unless you ate only fruits, vegetables and lean meat that you weighed perfectly you have a 10% margin of error (assuming you weigh and measure every bite, lick and taste too). TDEE is an estimation, even if you are using a Fitbit or other tracking device.
Also, for a woman to gain 1.6 pounds of muscle in a month on a deficit is nearly unheard of. I managed to gain 1.5 in a month while bulking and training hard. Unless you were using an accurate method to determine body fat your calculation is wrong. Even then, gaining lean mass does not mean you gained muscle because some methods of body fat calculation end up counting water as lean mass.
Worry more about the tape measure and mirror.
Ok you guys are confusing the hell out of me, I am eating at a deficit, I lift weights, I can clearly see that I have built muscle, and lost fat (my weight has been nearly the same thing for about 6 months but my clothes are all looser and such. I am actually trying to determine what to do next in order to actually make the scale move some as well.......0 -
JenniferIsLosingIt wrote: »Beautifulreflections wrote: »bump...going to watch this thread grow...need the inspiration!
I tried New Rules for women and got through the first bit fine but moving on to step two was almost twice the time in the gym and not do-able on my lunch hour.
Have done SL 5X5 (for a short time) and have considered going back, mainly because the lifts are easy to remember. But I can't possibly see results like these with just those compound lifts...
Would love to know the type of lifts/exercises you ladies are doing.
Im actually seeing really great results from the SL 5x5
SL 5x5 is one of the best beginner lifting programs around. You can definitely get great results from it.0 -
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This is probably going to sound stupid, but are these results also possible with nothing except body weight exercises?0
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chrysalis2015 wrote: »
Fantastic results!!
Thanks!!0 -
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@xcalygrl @jessiefrancine @nordlead2005 thanks for the advice! I feel like as I didn't even get my squat and deadlift up to my bodyweight (135) that I probably wasn't done with the program. I will look into purchasing fractional plates and the other programs as well for the future.0
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amyrebeccah wrote: »What you need is progressive training of the muscles, increasing the difficulty as you go (so not just increasing repetitions, for example). It can be done (so instead of adding five more pushups, you might start increasing the difficulty by elevating your feet). So it is possible, but many say more difficult, to increase the progressive load on the muscle without weights.
Is there some reason that you're not interested in weight training?
I'm interested in both, but still exploring options. Honestly, progressive bodyweight training I find absolutely fascinating, but with my medical limitations, I might be better off with the lifting. Certain angles and positions are out for me (mainly anything laying less than 15 degrees from horizontal or past horizontal with the head lower than everything else). How many lifting exercises require lying down? I'm just trying to figure out what I can do for me. All the women in this thread look amazing!
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Can you do heavy lifting without a gym membership! These photos are so inspiring!0
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Susiepoop345 wrote: »Can you do heavy lifting without a gym membership! These photos are so inspiring!
A lot of us lift at home. Check out this group-
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women1 -
Susiepoop345 wrote: »Can you do heavy lifting without a gym membership! These photos are so inspiring!
Yep. I have everything I need in my garage. It does require some upfront investment, but it can be done.0
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