Lifting weights daily?

Cherimoose wrote: »

If it's low weight and high reps, it's not going to have much visible effect.

Women commonly store body fat on the back of the arm, and if that's what you're trying to "tone up", realize there is no way to target fat loss. For more on that, google "spot reduction myth". For strength training, it's best to follow a full-body program designed by a professional, not a self-designed program, and not selected body parts. If you work out at home, try the Nerd Fitness program. At a gym, try NROL4W.

Great advise. Waiting for my New Rules of Lifting For Women (book) to come in the mail. Thanks for "Nerd" suggestion too. I will definitely check that out also.

I would try heavier weights and fewer reps, with one rest day in between. And definitely eating at a calorie deficit. I agree, 2 pound weights are pointless. I'm sure you could do at least 10 pounds with each arm, if not more. I also advocate New Rules of Lifting for Women for you. Nothing wrong with working on arms, but you'll see more benefits with a full-body program.

sijomial wrote: »

Sorry but 2lb weights are pretty pointless.
You must lift heavier items in your daily life than that without any effort or strain.

Yep, about the only place 2 pound weights have is in a rehab setting.

I disagree with the 'down on the 2 pounders' folk. They are training tools that are great for getting extra resistance doing aerobics, zumba-style dance, power walking, etc. They have plenty of places in the fitness world, but for building muscle, unless you're just starting out, they aren't going to do much. For using them for resistance during aerobics, yes, absolutely you can do it every day if you want.
For real gain, though, you need to switch to heavier weights, used regularly with appropriate rest days.
If you don't like 'lifting weights', look into resistance bands or kettlebells- Find something that looks fun to you and see what you can do! You'll probably surprise yourself.

I too suggest heavier weights(as much as you can do with good form) and yes you should get adequate rest to let your muscles heal and recover. That amount of time will vary by individual but two to three days between is probably a good rule of thumb.

Do manual labourers get rest days? I don't think so. I don't see a reason why you should have designated rest days. Lift hard as often as you can and want to.

trjjoy wrote: »

Do manual labourers get rest days? I don't think so. I don't see a reason why you should have designated rest days. Lift hard as often as you can and want to.

That's apples and oranges though. If you are lifting weights to develop your muscles for aesthetic purposes, you want the most bang for your buck. And to get that, you need to give the muscles time to fully repair themselves, that is where muscle size and strength comes from, the resting, not the work.

Manual laborers are not doing their jobs with the primary purpose of improving their physique, they are doing it because it's their job. Muscle building is just something that happens.

If you are doing a full body routine, for best results you should have built in rest days. If you are working different body parts each day, you can lift every day. If you don't care about maximizing your results, and just love to pick up heavy things, then sure you can lift heavy every day. But OP is specifically asking about improving how her arms look, so one would assume she wants to do that a efficiently as possible.