WOMEN - WEIGHT TRAINING?

I have been lifting for 2 years....whole body....you cannot spot train so you need full body. I started light and now lift pretty heavy. Its very difficult for a girl to get bulky, but you will get sculpted, defined muscles that keep burning fat after you are done working out. I would never have it any other way and am happy I started doing this day one! :-)

I have been lifting for 2 years....whole body....you cannot spot train so you need full body. I started light and now lift pretty heavy. Its very difficult for a girl to get bulky, but you will get sculpted, defined muscles that keep burning fat after you are done working out. I would never have it any other way and am happy I started doing this day one! :-)

So how long did it take for you to see results when you started?

To build muscle, you also need more calories than your "maintence level" amount. It takes energy to build muscle so dieting (calorie defecit) and muscle building don't really work well together.

I like to break it up into a 6 day schedule. chest/arms, legs, rest, back/shoulders, rest, rest. I've heard you really don't need to (and shouldn't as rest is also important for muscle growth) work out the same group more than once every 36-48 hours.

It has been a long time since I've gotten any advice, though, so I'm sure somebody more knowledgable will be around shortly!

Have fun!

Totally agree with that quote!!!! It is so true! Good job!

I recommend the book "The New Rules of Lifting for Women". It has 6 months of plans for you to follow.

My wife used to lift and now does indoor rock climbing. She has never bulked up at all. She complains about sore arms after alot of climbing but that's about it.

It takes a lot to bulk up. Hugh Jackman had to eat a meal every 3 hours and then burn off that meal so that he could put on extra bulk for the Wolverine movie. Even then, he lost that extra muscle quickly when he went back to his old routine. Adding significant bulk requires a drastic change to eating and workout.

Exercises with weights is proven to burn more fat than cardio alone. If you are concerned about bulk, then go for more repetition with lighter weights instead of heavier weights. Lightweight resistance bands are surprisingly handy.

Hi, I'm a guy just dropping in to say congrats to all you ladies for doing strength training. There are many benefits to strength training beyond weight loss, such as increasing bone density. Most of you are probably too young to be thinking much about it but in years to come you will be glad that you began strength training early. Aging is lousy, but being feeble and brittle is (largely) avoidable. So congrats to you all; keep up the good work!

You have to eat above maintenance levels to put on muscle mass. You will not bulk up. It's incredibly difficult for women to gain significant muscle mass due to lower testosterone levels (to oversimplify things).

Do you want to get stronger? Lift heavy weights @ 3-5 sets for 3-5 reps
Gain muscle mass? Do 3-4 sets @ 9-12 reps
Muscular endurance? 2-3 sets @ 12-20 reps

You may look "bulky" if you've still got fat to lose and you're not careful with you calories. If you're eating at a surplus you may put on muscle underneath the fat.

exrx.net is my go-to for planning workouts, along with Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (Tom Venuto's e-book).

I'd advise doing full-body workouts over a split routine for now. Hit the following muscle groups every workout: chest, back, abs, shoulders, arms, glutes, legs.

I.e: pick one exercise from each muscle group:
Chest - push ups, bench press, incline press
Back - pull up, chin up, bodyweight row, seated row
Abs - sit-ups, side crunch, v-up, crunch on bakk
Shoulders - Arnold press, lateral raise, overhead press, bent-over row
Arms - tricep dip, tricep pushdown, bicep curl, preacher curl
Glutes & legs - good morning, deadlift, squat, lunge

I prefer to do multi-joint exercises over a single joint whenever possible because it'll burn more calories. Chin-ups work your back, shoulders, and arms (versus just doing a bicep curl). Then again, if you're aiming for strength gains you'll probably want to do concentration curls for your biceps.

Hope this helps :-)

I recommend the book "The New Rules of Lifting for Women". It has 6 months of plans for you to follow.

I just bought this book - it's coming in the mail today!

Bodybuilding.com is where I go to makeup my workouts!!

I do the BodyPUMP class at my gym 2-3 times per week. It's a 60 minute class that focuses on different muscle groups at a time using barbells and free weights. If you go to a gym with classes, they will most likely have it or something similar. I think it's a good way to strengthen your muscles and it can teach you a few things to do on your own! I've been doing this for about a month and I feel so much stronger!

"Pump's main focus is muscle endurance, not muscle growth as this is demonstrated by the sheer amount of repetitions you do in each track. Pump's will build lean muscle tough as every class will have a certain amount of muscle hypertrophy."

If you don't want to do classes, try getting a session or two with a trainer just so they can set you up with a routine to do on your own and show you the correct techniques. It's amazing how many people there are with horrible technique at the gym! A little knowledge in the gym is important, especially when it comes to weight lifting!

Bump...need to read this when I have more time