Weight lifting for girls, beginner

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  • jesspen91
    jesspen91 Posts: 1,383 Member
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    Danp wrote: »
    I'll be honest I've never understood why there needed to be women specific beginner lifting programs.

    For all our differences, men and women have all the same muscle groups and bone structure so would to my completely untrained thinking would need and benefit from the same few compound movements from the generic programs (5x5, SS, etc).

    That said I'm far from an expert so there's a good chance that I'm missing something here.

    This is mostly true but I think the main difference is that men and women have different priorities when it comes to physique. I think both should definitely be doing compound lifts but in terms of accessories I would rather spend time working on my glutes and hamstrings than biceps and lats. A lot of traditional lifting programs seriously skimp on glute training!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    jesspen91 wrote: »
    Danp wrote: »
    I'll be honest I've never understood why there needed to be women specific beginner lifting programs.

    For all our differences, men and women have all the same muscle groups and bone structure so would to my completely untrained thinking would need and benefit from the same few compound movements from the generic programs (5x5, SS, etc).

    That said I'm far from an expert so there's a good chance that I'm missing something here.

    This is mostly true but I think the main difference is that men and women have different priorities when it comes to physique. I think both should definitely be doing compound lifts but in terms of accessories I would rather spend time working on my glutes and hamstrings than biceps and lats. A lot of traditional lifting programs seriously skimp on glute training!

    yeah but I would want to work my whole body so I wouldnt have any inconsistencies and my whole body will be stong and proportionate. if you dont work your biceps and lats its going to get harder and harder to lift heavy weights and progress to get those glutes and hamstrings stronger/larger.
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
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    I have been using this book since April. It's a solid program and after the small outlay for the book you can do it all at the gym. I lost 35lbs in the first 6 months and then switched to maintenance, which is also when the lifting got more serious so it was perfect for no longer eating at a deficit.

    There are plenty of other good programs. I see the sticky you were linked to has NROL for women, Strong is an updated program from the same authors.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
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    jesspen91 wrote: »
    Danp wrote: »
    I'll be honest I've never understood why there needed to be women specific beginner lifting programs.

    For all our differences, men and women have all the same muscle groups and bone structure so would to my completely untrained thinking would need and benefit from the same few compound movements from the generic programs (5x5, SS, etc).

    That said I'm far from an expert so there's a good chance that I'm missing something here.

    This is mostly true but I think the main difference is that men and women have different priorities when it comes to physique. I think both should definitely be doing compound lifts but in terms of accessories I would rather spend time working on my glutes and hamstrings than biceps and lats. A lot of traditional lifting programs seriously skimp on glute training!

    And conversely, I seem to be the sole woman on the planet who *doesn't* want to build her glutes and hamstrings. I like the build of my pancake *kitten*, and it's what fits with the physique that i want. I didn't *want* a giant booty. It's not flattering on me, and it's not the physique I strive for.

    I'm doing NROLFW, and one of the immediate things after I saw I was getting newbie gains precisely where I didn't want them was to swap out the deadlifts and squats for more bicep and lat work. I took a break from it for a while, but am back at it again, with the same modifications to focus away from glutes, and I'm very happy with the progress I'm making.
  • khcrmo
    khcrmo Posts: 40 Member
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    Yeah with the women thing it wasnt that i thought lifting would get me bulky automatically, just that some men shoot for and plan thier lifting around that goal. So i was just being clear about who i was so it didnt come off as someone wanting to start a lifting program woth bulk as the goal... Anyway

    The last two times i went to the gym i went to the weights section to work out! I felt so brave! A couple of the regular guys over there (the big scary looking ones 😉) helped me with how the equipment works and form on a couple of lifts. Thanks again for all the encouragement to make myself comfortable over there. I think its gonna push me a long way toward my goal!
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    collectingblues wrote: »
    jesspen91 wrote: »
    Danp wrote: »
    I'll be honest I've never understood why there needed to be women specific beginner lifting programs.

    For all our differences, men and women have all the same muscle groups and bone structure so would to my completely untrained thinking would need and benefit from the same few compound movements from the generic programs (5x5, SS, etc).

    That said I'm far from an expert so there's a good chance that I'm missing something here.

    This is mostly true but I think the main difference is that men and women have different priorities when it comes to physique. I think both should definitely be doing compound lifts but in terms of accessories I would rather spend time working on my glutes and hamstrings than biceps and lats. A lot of traditional lifting programs seriously skimp on glute training!

    And conversely, I seem to be the sole woman on the planet who *doesn't* want to build her glutes and hamstrings. I like the build of my pancake *kitten*, and it's what fits with the physique that i want. I didn't *want* a giant booty. It's not flattering on me, and it's not the physique I strive for.

    I'm doing NROLFW, and one of the immediate things after I saw I was getting newbie gains precisely where I didn't want them was to swap out the deadlifts and squats for more bicep and lat work. I took a break from it for a while, but am back at it again, with the same modifications to focus away from glutes, and I'm very happy with the progress I'm making.

    Nah, you’re not alone. I hit my glutes through compounds but don’t do anything to focus on them. I prefer shoulders and arms.

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