weights with women.....less weight and more reps?

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Replies

  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
    I used to not want to lift but now it's my favorite part of going to the gym. I like lifting heavier weights but less reps. Feels like a good workout to me as opposed to a lot of reps but less weight.
  • pirate4hire
    pirate4hire Posts: 55
    Don't forget to increase your protein intake a bit too. Your muscles need the protein to rebuild themselves after you break them down with the weight lifting.
  • JamesBurkes
    JamesBurkes Posts: 382 Member
    There really isn't such a thing as "toning."

    I agree and disagree.

    While I agree that lifting light for high reps is useless "to get toned" (although it may have other benefits, such as building muscle endurance - if that's what you're after), I disagree that "there is no such thing as toning". That's one of those things that gets repeated so often that it has become "fact."

    Take a few weeks off from training then do several sets of heavy squats. After a couple of sessions of that, your glutes are firm to the touch, they're more rounded and seem to "hang" better. Have you built muscle? After two workouts? No! Nothing appreciable anyway. Have you lost fat? Again, no. But there is a noticeable difference in the feel and shape of the muscle. And THAT is "tone."

    I agree though that looking to tone is rather pointless as you lose it within a week or two of not working out. Better to lift heavy - get that tone then, over time, build some mass.
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
    I asked my daughter and she thought I was asking the question for me and she In theory it is called hypertrophy . But you have to have enough resistance to breakdown the muscle so it will grow bigger. If you are not doing any type of resistance training will produce results. Your legs will become stronger if you are lifting weights with a bar. My daughter trains about 6 hours a day 6 days a week since 2008. She lifts for strength not definition aka (bodybuilder) My daughter snatches 252 pounds and clean and jerks 330 pounds. Her legs are very strong and across her back is strong but she does not have defined triceps or biceps so you do not need to worry about that.
  • Ral263
    Ral263 Posts: 318 Member
    It's funny how people think they know me and my results. Everyone on here is giving their opinion. A lot of people doesn't like the fact that I'm against lifting heavy and I don't have to. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. That's why so many people go on ignore.

    People just have to look at your ticker, (which you put there) to see your success thus far....


    Sorry to hate, but gonna have to agree on this one.....

    I am also proof that lifting heavy does NOT mean you'll bulk up. I'll usually do 25lbs on each arm for upper body exercises like curls or deadlifts, 30 for lower body like squats or lunges. There is no such thing as "toning"-- you either gain muscle or you don't. Muscles look more "toned" when you lose fat and gain muscle, which is only going to happen if you lift heavy enough to do so.

    It drives me insane that women think that lifting is unnecessary or will cause bulk-- lifting is ABSOLUTELY KEY to weight loss and changing the shape to your body. Additionally, it burns more at rest than fat, and is so important for women since it helps decrease the risk of bone density issues later on.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    It's funny how people think they know me and my results. Everyone on here is giving their opinion. A lot of people doesn't like the fact that I'm against lifting heavy and I don't have to. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. That's why so many people go on ignore.

    People just have to look at your ticker, (which you put there) to see your success thus far....

    DRetel, you don't know me or why my ticker says what it does. But, since you want to be nosy, because you can't help yourself, I'm going to share with you why my ticker states what it's stating. I'm doing a challenge on here and my goal for the challenge is to lose 8 pounds of fat. Not scale weight, you do know the difference between scale weight loss and fat loss right? I know what I'm about to do, so don't bother trying to reply to me. Have a nice night.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    It's funny how people think they know me and my results. Everyone on here is giving their opinion. A lot of people doesn't like the fact that I'm against lifting heavy and I don't have to. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. That's why so many people go on ignore.

    People just have to look at your ticker, (which you put there) to see your success thus far....


    Sorry to hate, but gonna have to agree on this one.....

    I am also proof that lifting heavy does NOT mean you'll bulk up. I'll usually do 25lbs on each arm for upper body exercises like curls or deadlifts, 30 for lower body like squats or lunges. There is no such thing as "toning"-- you either gain muscle or you don't. Muscles look more "toned" when you lose fat and gain muscle, which is only going to happen if you lift heavy enough to do so.

    It drives me insane that women think that lifting is unnecessary or will cause bulk-- lifting is ABSOLUTELY KEY to weight loss and changing the shape to your body. Additionally, it burns more at rest than fat, and is so important for women since it helps decrease the risk of bone density issues later on.

    I'm the only woman that can speak for my body. I know what I'm about to do.
  • hoosier_red
    hoosier_red Posts: 57
    Unless you are taking steroids or testosterone in IV form, there is no way you can bulk up from weightlifting. Seriously -- your body simply isn't built that way. Low weight and high reps do bubkes -- you have to throw that iron around with a vengeance to get lean and toned. A really good website for women who want to lift weights is http://www.stumptuous.com -- it's run by Krista Scott-Dixon, who is funny, brilliant, and knows her stuff when it comes to weightlifting.
  • Shyloh1
    Shyloh1 Posts: 422 Member
    It's funny how people think they know me and my results. Everyone on here is giving their opinion. A lot of people doesn't like the fact that I'm against lifting heavy and I don't have to. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. That's why so many people go on ignore.

    Ugh...nevermind.

    To each their own. Do what works for you.
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
    Tickers mean nothing I change mine to 0 every 24 pds or quarterly which ever comes first. You can put anything on your ticker. There sure are a lot of snarky people here.Unless you are qualified to give advice with some type of degree, and or license the advice you give is only a opinion.
  • stubsy1968
    stubsy1968 Posts: 165 Member
    A great site I've found some fabulous info on:

    http://www.simplyshredded.com/the-ultimate-female-training-guide.html

    Hope this will also give you some insight. Results depend on what you want to achieve and how your body reacts to your chosen weights and of course nutrition.

    Keep your diet clean, minimise or eliminate processed foods to drop body fat. This is where you will start to see definition and not before.

    "Abs are made in the kitchen"

    Good luck!

    Kathy
  • stubsy1968
    stubsy1968 Posts: 165 Member
    Tickers mean nothing I change mine to 0 every 24 pds or quarterly which ever comes first. You can put anything on your ticker. There sure are a lot of snarky people here.Unless you are qualified to give advice with some type of degree, and or license the advice you give is only a opinion.

    Agree totally. No use giving negative/narkly feedback I think. We're all here for a common cause - aren't we?
  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
    Another vote for lifting heavy and New Rules and nerdfitness. And, ya, def Staci the superhero.

    Also, if you don't yet want to lift heavy, but don't want to lift light, here's another option. I got a lot out of not-light-dumbbells with Nike Training Club, an awesome ipod app.
  • eurohim
    eurohim Posts: 1
    Topic Resurrection!

    Women and men should lift the same way. Muscles can get only bigger or smaller. Low reps like 3 sets of 5 (or fewer) with progression once you are able to complete 3x5 is more strength-oriented (you can increase the weight and lower the reps for more strength-to-size, but the risk of injury increases). Sets of 8-12 are considered more geared towards size gain. More than 12 is endurance and can actually start burning your muscle away.

    As a woman, you'll have a hard time getting bigger to any large degree. On top of that you'll need to eat a lot more to really gain any size. If you stay at the maintenance for the size you want, you'll get a good chunk of the strength and very little of the size.

    "Toning" is your body fat percentage. Your muscles pop more when you make them bigger as well. So, if you want more tone, do whatever strength training you choose at 12 rep sets or fewer based on the strength-size ratio you prefer (3x5 for strength in your case) and drop your body fat by decreasing your calories no more than enough to average a loss of 2lbs per week maximum. If you drop your calories too much, your body will have to start burning lean muscle mass just to keep you alive. You will lose some muscle on a cut (diet to drop body fat), but you can maintain a good amount of it if you make sure it is less than 2lbs a week and you maintain a heavy rep range (3x5). Don't start going light on the weights during a cut.
  • JoJo__Fit
    JoJo__Fit Posts: 258 Member
    I do Both!
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Bump because I saw a beast of a woman at the gym!! And I don't want to turn into that!!

    Statements like these amuse me. If you don't want to look like the woman at the gym, it's very unlikely that you would put in the work to get that way in the first place. It doesn't accidentally happen. They don't look in the mirror and go, "Oh noes! I am so muscley now, what have I done?!"
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