For the ladies who are afraid to lift weights...
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on a side note, I just recently was certified by the US Olympic weight lifting team on Olympic lift coaching (I'm now a certified level 1 coach). I really always avoided these lifts because they are so technically challenging, but I forced myself to take the course because it is in SUPER high demand from athletes and that's what I like training, and nobody has this cert (like maybe 500 people have it in the whole country).
I'll tell ya what though, you want a FAST development, compound exercise that really works your core (I.E. abs and lower back), thighs, hami's, butt, traps, shoulders, and pectorals, this is the one for you. Yes, it's technically difficult to do right, but once you do, 3 sets of 4 twice a week and I guarantee that in 1 month you'll have strength increases in pretty much every other exercise you do, you will noticeably lift your butt, trim down your thighs, become faster, have better agility, better posture, and have better balance.
they are THAT good.
The two lifts I'm talking about are the clean and jerk and the snatch. And all the associated moves that go with them (they both have a 4 step technical progression, learning them takes 2 to 4 sessions before you really use weight and do it for real, form is really important).
side note, learning this will basically teach you the correct form for a lunge, back squat, front squat, overhead squat, Romanian dead lift, overhead press, all standard weight training techniques that should be part of your weight lifting anyway, and many people do them badly (which is dangerous).
The struggle is finding someone that can show you proper form, as you said they're quite technically challenging and you can hurt yourself too easily to be throwing around a ton of weight
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I couldn't NOT lift. I do cardio every day and lift four times a week - I love it and know that I wouldn't be half as lean and toned as I am if all I did was cardio. Weights are our friends, ladies!0
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When I started lifting heavy I got smaller and tighter, gained a little weight and lost inches. It works wonders! I am involved in Crossfit which we do all sorts of lifting, overhead squats, lunges with plates, snatch, clean and jerk, power cleans, push press you name it I've probably done it. It has literally changed my body composition and how I look and feel. I will never go back to the "cardio bunny" days.0
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Wow. she looks awsome!0
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on a side note, I just recently was certified by the US Olympic weight lifting team on Olympic lift coaching (I'm now a certified level 1 coach). I really always avoided these lifts because they are so technically challenging, but I forced myself to take the course because it is in SUPER high demand from athletes and that's what I like training, and nobody has this cert (like maybe 500 people have it in the whole country).
I'll tell ya what though, you want a FAST development, compound exercise that really works your core (I.E. abs and lower back), thighs, hami's, butt, traps, shoulders, and pectorals, this is the one for you. Yes, it's technically difficult to do right, but once you do, 3 sets of 4 twice a week and I guarantee that in 1 month you'll have strength increases in pretty much every other exercise you do, you will noticeably lift your butt, trim down your thighs, become faster, have better agility, better posture, and have better balance.
they are THAT good.
The two lifts I'm talking about are the clean and jerk and the snatch. And all the associated moves that go with them (they both have a 4 step technical progression, learning them takes 2 to 4 sessions before you really use weight and do it for real, form is really important).
side note, learning this will basically teach you the correct form for a lunge, back squat, front squat, overhead squat, Romanian dead lift, overhead press, all standard weight training techniques that should be part of your weight lifting anyway, and many people do them badly (which is dangerous).
The struggle is finding someone that can show you proper form, as you said they're quite technically challenging and you can hurt yourself too easily to be throwing around a ton of weight
Ironically, if you use correct form, it's very difficult to be hurt doing these lifts, it's far easier to hurt yourself with lighter weight actually, because people get lazy with light weight (or dumbbells and such), the incident of injury with Olympic weight lifting is really really low believe it or not. But yeah, if you don't do it right, it's easy to hurt your self, then again, that's true with any high weight lifting techniques. Course it's much easier to hurt yourself from endurance stuff than this, because the injuries are usually not sustained all at once, and are usually far more long term (I.E. chronic injuries, arthritis, bursitis...etc. that you get from cardio stuff, far more common and are actually not only harder to stop once started, but usually cannot be easily removed). Really it's all about perception. Because it LOOKS challenging, people think it's harder, but once you get the form down, it's really pretty simple, note, simple does NOT mean easy.0 -
I love lifting heavy!! It's working for me so far! Thanks for the link!0
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That's how I want to look!! Thanks for posting!! :happy:
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on a side note, I just recently was certified by the US Olympic weight lifting team on Olympic lift coaching (I'm now a certified level 1 coach). I really always avoided these lifts because they are so technically challenging, but I forced myself to take the course because it is in SUPER high demand from athletes and that's what I like training, and nobody has this cert (like maybe 500 people have it in the whole country).
I'll tell ya what though, you want a FAST development, compound exercise that really works your core (I.E. abs and lower back), thighs, hami's, butt, traps, shoulders, and pectorals, this is the one for you. Yes, it's technically difficult to do right, but once you do, 3 sets of 4 twice a week and I guarantee that in 1 month you'll have strength increases in pretty much every other exercise you do, you will noticeably lift your butt, trim down your thighs, become faster, have better agility, better posture, and have better balance.
they are THAT good.
The two lifts I'm talking about are the clean and jerk and the snatch. And all the associated moves that go with them (they both have a 4 step technical progression, learning them takes 2 to 4 sessions before you really use weight and do it for real, form is really important).
side note, learning this will basically teach you the correct form for a lunge, back squat, front squat, overhead squat, Romanian dead lift, overhead press, all standard weight training techniques that should be part of your weight lifting anyway, and many people do them badly (which is dangerous).
The struggle is finding someone that can show you proper form, as you said they're quite technically challenging and you can hurt yourself too easily to be throwing around a ton of weight
Ironically, if you use correct form, it's very difficult to be hurt doing these lifts, it's far easier to hurt yourself with lighter weight actually, because people get lazy with light weight (or dumbbells and such), the incident of injury with Olympic weight lifting is really really low believe it or not. But yeah, if you don't do it right, it's easy to hurt your self, then again, that's true with any high weight lifting techniques. Course it's much easier to hurt yourself from endurance stuff than this, because the injuries are usually not sustained all at once, and are usually far more long term (I.E. chronic injuries, arthritis, bursitis...etc. that you get from cardio stuff, far more common and are actually not only harder to stop once started, but usually cannot be easily removed). Really it's all about perception. Because it LOOKS challenging, people think it's harder, but once you get the form down, it's really pretty simple, note, simple does NOT mean easy.
I agree, when I started learning snatches (my Crossfit instructor is also a certified Olympic weightlifting trainer) she gave me a 45lb bar which I thought was way hard. I had only done one armed snatches in the past (which I find easier). It turns out once I added weight to that it was way easier, because I actually had to use the power jump and shrug instead of trying to make my shoulders bear/pull all of the weight up...once you "understand" the form it is easier to do more weight and they are pretty awesome! I'm up to 65lbs now.0 -
Lift like a man, LOOK like a woman....That's by Alicia Harris who is in the some of the same magazines as Jamie.
I can't see myself not doing WEIGHTS, they are a Godsent!0 -
great post! I have been lifting since I was 16 (18 now) and I'm not bulky at all. Although, I admit that I have done too many dumbbell pec flys so the muscle by my armpit is super toned. (A bit more than I would like but at least I look good in a tank top since it's better than flab haha)
Also, don't judge us ladies with 5, 10 or 15 pound dumbbells! I'm using them because that's what I can currently lift not because I don't want to get "bulky" just sayin haha :P0 -
I hear you my man....my wife has the perfect build for lifting weights and she is naturally strong as an ox. But she just won't lift, won't go to the gym with me, stays far away from any strength trainig. Her excuse is exactly that. She does not want that "type" of body. I tell her she is wrong all of the time, but it doesn't do me any good.
Maybe I will show her this thread and hopefully her mind will eventually change.0 -
Jaime Eason is kinda totally my idol! I'd be proud to be like her any day!!0
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I love doing weight training! I do it 3 times a week and cardio for warm up and off days if the weather is good. Its helped me soooo much. Plus I think that doing all that cardio is so boring and harder. Weight training almost feels like cheating because its not that bad. I surprise myself with how much weight I go do all the time!0
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That statement "But I don't want to end up huge and bulky, like a man!" makes me cringe, every time I hear it.
I always want to reply "Well, you won't, given the fact that you have boobs and aren't a man."0 -
My husband is totally in love with Jamie, so yeah, I'm familiar with her. :grumble:
I'm kidding. She looks great and I don't blame the husband. Hell. I might be in love with her too. :flowerforyou:0 -
I looooove my strength training routines. I know I won't bulk up and have no problem doing this type of workouts 3-4 times a week. My arms and legs look absolutely amazing.0
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HaHa! Your someone who "gets it"! lol I try to convince my wife of that every time she complains about needing to get rid of the flab around her arms. I think I have her convinced now and she is willing to give it a try. She is visiting family now but when she returns she wants to speak with one of the female trainers at the gym.She looks great! I try to convince many ladies of this very fact, but many don't believe me and say they don't want to bulk up.. even when I tell them that they won't because they lack testosterone. Oh well. They'll be envious when I look like Jamie and they don't.
Good for her at least being willing to give it a try. That is the first step.
I try to tell women that it's not muscle that bulks them up, it's fat. 
Maybe one day they will listen. Oh, and that weights that weigh less than their purse won't help them out much.
Didn't I give you that line about purses :P
As to this topic in general it really gets on my nerves when I see women lifting weights that even they know are light and being like I'm trying to build muscle. GRRR
Edit: for further example of how good muscle can look on women check out ladies that do CrossFit...just like look up the games and look for female competitors or something. I wouldn't mind having their abs >_<0 -
I am not afraid to strength train and I workout on a bowflex every other day right now. I am going to have the body that i always dreamed of since i was in my 20s and in my teens. I am also getting a membership at the Y soon so i can start on free weights.0
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She looks amazing!!! I actually love doing weights!0
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The two lifts I'm talking about are the clean and jerk and the snatch. And all the associated moves that go with them (they both have a 4 step technical progression, learning them takes 2 to 4 sessions before you really use weight and do it for real, form is really important).
power cleans are my favorite exercise. there's just something awesome about the move. it's so quick and fluid. i don't have perfect form (i taught myself from watching videos and reading online) but i did start light (95 lbs) and once you get the movement down you can progress your weight up pretty quickly. now i'm stalled at 225 lbs though so any tips you have would be great.
side note....i don't understand the point of crossfit style cleans and snatches. what's the point of doing high reps on olympic lifts with basically no weight?!?!0 -
oh, by the way here's a link for you newbie weight trainers, some good tips I give on weight training to failure.
http://bankshealth.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/weight-training-for-the-beginner-exerciser-and-technical-failure/0 -
I take Bodypump at my gym ~ i mix it with spin classes and just regular cardio on the elliptical and I am toning amazingly! I'm no longer afraid to pick up a barbell ha!0
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The two lifts I'm talking about are the clean and jerk and the snatch. And all the associated moves that go with them (they both have a 4 step technical progression, learning them takes 2 to 4 sessions before you really use weight and do it for real, form is really important).
power cleans are my favorite exercise. there's just something awesome about the move. it's so quick and fluid. i don't have perfect form (i taught myself from watching videos and reading online) but i did start light (95 lbs) and once you get the movement down you can progress your weight up pretty quickly. now i'm stalled at 225 lbs though so any tips you have would be great.
side note....i don't understand the point of crossfit style cleans and snatches. what's the point of doing high reps on olympic lifts with basically no weight?!?!
We don't do high reps or light weight...usually there is a standard weight (something like 155# for men and 95# for women) which is the "RX" (recommended), what we strive to work up towards. I will get there some day.
A workout that includes clean and jerk for example would be something like:
5 rounds of
7 clean and jerks
14 ring rows
21 knees to elbows
So essentially you would be doing 35 of the moves all together (heaviest weight you can do, probably 70% of max), but spread out to incorporate a certain amount of rest. We definitely do not do high reps with those kind of exercises.0 -
bump0
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Dont knock the purse/weight combo! LOL! Some of our purses weigh about as much as the weights at the gym! LOL!
HaHa! Your someone who "gets it"! lol I try to convince my wife of that every time she complains about needing to get rid of the flab around her arms. I think I have her convinced now and she is willing to give it a try. She is visiting family now but when she returns she wants to speak with one of the female trainers at the gym.She looks great! I try to convince many ladies of this very fact, but many don't believe me and say they don't want to bulk up.. even when I tell them that they won't because they lack testosterone. Oh well. They'll be envious when I look like Jamie and they don't.
Good for her at least being willing to give it a try. That is the first step. I try to tell women that it's not muscle that bulks them up, it's fat. Maybe one day they will listen. Oh, and that weights that weigh less than their purse won't help them out much.0 -
The two lifts I'm talking about are the clean and jerk and the snatch. And all the associated moves that go with them (they both have a 4 step technical progression, learning them takes 2 to 4 sessions before you really use weight and do it for real, form is really important).
power cleans are my favorite exercise. there's just something awesome about the move. it's so quick and fluid. i don't have perfect form (i taught myself from watching videos and reading online) but i did start light (95 lbs) and once you get the movement down you can progress your weight up pretty quickly. now i'm stalled at 225 lbs though so any tips you have would be great.
side note....i don't understand the point of crossfit style cleans and snatches. what's the point of doing high reps on olympic lifts with basically no weight?!?!
tips huh?
1) Well, of course form is vital when you get up near your upper thresholds, so I would say drop down a bit and use a mirror (I do form drills with a dowel or just the bar, it's actually harder to get form right which makes it a better tool), do enough so that you find it comfortable before putting weight on.
2) Don't over train with power cleans, because of all the stabilizer muscles involved, many people don't recognize when they are fatigued, and that leads to injury. 3 or 4 set of 2 to 6 reps is about all you should ever do with any weight above 70% of your 1RM, if you're going for a heavy week, you could do 3 sets of 2 to 3 reps at like 90 or 95% 1RM.
3) before you make another pull, make sure you've learned how to miss correctly. Since you can't spot an Olympic lift (that's very dangerous), learn how to be comfortable dropping the bumpers behind you as well as in front. Many people try to hold a lift that is out of center, that's a mistake that can get you hurt, if you're not dead center perfect over your shoulders, drop it in what ever direction it's motion is flowing in. I would do this a few times on purpose with 1/4 or 1/3 weight for better control so you get the feel. It's REALLY important to miss correctly. Hey, we all miss sometimes, but the ones who get hurt are the ones who try to recover a bad pull.
As far as getting over a plateau, that's tough to help with without knowing your routine and program. Usually I give out a 12 week cycle with 4 week sets, but that is for people training to lift competitively, so it would probably be a shorter cycle for you. If you want, pm me your program and I'll see what I can tweak on it to get you over your plateau.
If anyone wants to see a correctly performed Olympic lift. I'll try to find some video. The Americans, the Iranians, and the Ukrainians all do it very well. IMHO the Japanese and some of the western Europeans are sketchy (not all, but some) and I haven't seen all of them. Usually Women have better form than men too, as they are usually far more flexible under the bar, especially in the snatch.0 -
Can you give me some advice? I can only lift 10 lbs max due to heart problems.. when I become 'used' to lifting 10lbs and I can't lift higher will my arms muscles continue to be lean, as long as I am lifting 3 times a week? I have gotten the ok to do kickboxing so I will be doing that too. Thanks for any advice!
Laura0 -
We don't do high reps or light weight...usually there is a standard weight (something like 155# for men and 95# for women) which is the "RX" (recommended), what we strive to work up towards. I will get there some day.
A workout that includes clean and jerk for example would be something like:
5 rounds of
7 clean and jerks
14 ring rows
21 knees to elbows
So essentially you would be doing 35 of the moves all together (heaviest weight you can do, probably 70% of max), but spread out to incorporate a certain amount of rest. We definitely do not do high reps with those kind of exercises.
now, I've never seen the crossfit version of a clean and jerk (so I assume it's a full split jerk as opposed to a power jerk which are less stable), but doing 35 to me would mean you're doing muscular endurance more than power and strength building. I don't know what a ring row is, but I'll assume it's a ring pull up. Knees to elbows, I assume would be a modified power clean from the 1 position(above the knees), either that or just a straight upright row maybe?
Is this the only routine you guys do? I could see doing this once a week, but not every time I think. Again, I've watched 1 or 2 crossfit sessions (never one with Olympic lifts though), but I'm no expert at it, that's why I ask. 7 lifts in one set usually means you don't have enough weight IMHO, 4 to 6 is about as much as I ever recommend, and if you can do 6 for 2 sets I'm upping your weight by 10 lbs. I know that the difference between 6 and 7 reps is no biggie for most lifting, but for this type of full body routine, it's a big deal IMHO.0 -
Can you give me some advice? I can only lift 10 lbs max due to heart problems.. when I become 'used' to lifting 10lbs and I can't lift higher will my arms muscles continue to be lean, as long as I am lifting 3 times a week? I have gotten the ok to do kickboxing so I will be doing that too. Thanks for any advice!
Laura
It would definitely not be ethical of me to offer specialized medical based advice without first speaking with your doctor and/or a physical therapist trained to speak with you. That's a Personal Trainer no no and could get me sued. Plus I don't have a lot of special population training and wouldn't be the right person to speak to on that.0 -
We don't do high reps or light weight...usually there is a standard weight (something like 155# for men and 95# for women) which is the "RX" (recommended), what we strive to work up towards. I will get there some day.
A workout that includes clean and jerk for example would be something like:
5 rounds of
7 clean and jerks
14 ring rows
21 knees to elbows
So essentially you would be doing 35 of the moves all together (heaviest weight you can do, probably 70% of max), but spread out to incorporate a certain amount of rest. We definitely do not do high reps with those kind of exercises.
now, I've never seen the crossfit version of a clean and jerk (so I assume it's a full split jerk as opposed to a power jerk which are less stable), but doing 35 to me would mean you're doing muscular endurance more than power and strength building. I don't know what a ring row is, but I'll assume it's a ring pull up. Knees to elbows, I assume would be a modified power clean from the 1 position(above the knees), either that or just a straight upright row maybe?
Is this the only routine you guys do? I could see doing this once a week, but not every time I think. Again, I've watched 1 or 2 crossfit sessions (never one with Olympic lifts though), but I'm no expert at it, that's why I ask. 7 lifts in one set usually means you don't have enough weight IMHO, 4 to 6 is about as much as I ever recommend, and if you can do 6 for 2 sets I'm upping your weight by 10 lbs. I know that the difference between 6 and 7 reps is no biggie for most lifting, but for this type of full body routine, it's a big deal IMHO.
We have so many different routines, in my 9 almost 10 months of doing Crossfit 3-4x a week we might repeat once a month.
Actually before we do the main workout (example of what I posted) we usually do a strength routine which varies between a push press, chest press, overhead squat, back squat, split jerk, dead, etc.. They usually follow the 5-5-3-3-1 pattern (1 being max weight of course). Then we do the main workout, which you're correct, a lot of it is endurance training, though I feel the weight they recommend is heavy enough to build muscle as well (as I have definitely seen).
Clean and jerk can be done either way (split or power depending on the individual's abilities), we use all rubber weights and she teaches the correct methods of dropping as you mentioned. Ring rows are basically pullups on the (hanging) rings, knees to elbow would be a deadhang from a bar and pulling your knees up to your elbows. So we incorporate strength with plyos and cardio. Its pretty good stuff.0
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