Getting started with weights (for women)

beegirl

Hi all,

I want to get started on a good weights workout as I have read the many benefits on the stickies here :-)

One thing I noticed is that people seem to be debunking the myth that women should use light weights and do lots of reps - so my question is, how heavy should they be, and how many reps should I do?

I started doing this in the gym recently and got a programme from one of the instructors - however he said something about 'light weights and not bulking up' which worries me... that is the opposite of what the stickies say?!?

Anyway here it is...

Shoulder press - 10kg, 3 sets of 12 reps
Lat pulldown - 15kg, 3 sets of 12 reps
Squats - 3 sets of 12
Lunges - 3 sets of 12
Ab crunch - 3 sets of 15
Twisty ab crunch (can't remember what he called it!) - 3 sets of 15


All of that doesn't take me very long and although I would be a bit sore after that I feel like I could definitely do a lot more - ideally I would like a resistance workout that takes 30 to 40 minutes.

Do people have any suggestions on what I should do or what I could add to the above? The gym won't let members use free weights without training first but at least if I find out what I should be doing I can go in and just ask them to show me!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions :-)

d'Oracle

beegirl wrote: »

I started doing this in the gym recently and got a programme from one of the instructors - however he said something about 'light weights and not bulking up' which worries me... that is the opposite of what the stickies say?!?

Hey.

Good work.
http://www.stumptuous.com/lies-in-the-gym

Good site about women and fitness in general.

BossArky

This is an interesting site for info on female weight training.

This is a good exercise & muscle directory.

Take a look at the following female fitness logs here for ideas: Malteaster!, Green Athene, g'em, wasabi, Oryx, etc

If you are just starting out then take a couple of weeks to get familiar with the programme the instructor gave you.

Once you're up and running you could probably try constructing a program around these free weight exercises:

Lower ish
squat
deadlift / stiff leg deadlift
lunges

Upper ish
bench press
shoulder press
lat pull down (aiming to build up to to chin ups/pull ups)
bent over barbell row / one arm row

Abs
hanging leg raise (first thighs parallel to ground, second knees to chest, third ankles to hands)
ab pull down
running / cycling / eating the stickies

What are your goals? Loose weight, get fit, stay fit, etc?

What weight, height, age, etc?

edit - gradually increase the weight and bring the reps down from 3x15 to 3x8. This may cause longer recovery periods.

celestial

Not a bad routine you've got, throw in some of BossArky's exercises too, e.g. the bench press, as you don't have a chest exercise. No way are you going to get bulky - any trainer who even suggests that doesn't know what they're talking about.

My bet is the weights you are using are too light. As mentioned, increase the weight safely and gradually until 3 sets x 8 reps is enough to tire you out.

beegirl

Thanks to everyone for the advice - the exercise suggestions are great BossArky, ta very much.

BossArky wrote: »

What are your goals? Loose weight, get fit, stay fit, etc?

What weight, height, age, etc?

Yes that's them exactly! Lose weight, get fit and look toned - not muscly just defined. I was reading Tom Venuto's BFFM e-book and he said if people saw the lengths bodybuilders go to in order to get 'bulky', we would never need to worry about it just happening to us by accident. So I am definitely not worried about getting too big just by doing a few weights! It's funny that everybody still thinks that though...

Anyway I am currently 148lbs and 5'6" and I think my BF% is around 32% :eek: So I would like to lose the BF more than anything else... hoping to lose 16lbs and 8% BF by the end of the year! And then more BF next year... I did loads of running last year when I was training for a half marathon and I lost a couple of pounds but my body fat stayed nearly the same - so I am hoping more weights is a good way to shift it? I am getting back into the training running-wise now again, as well as the weights workouts... Hopefully I will see better results this time!

celestial

beegirl wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for the advice - the exercise suggestions are great BossArky, ta very much.



Yes that's them exactly! Lose weight, get fit and look toned - not muscly just defined. I was reading Tom Venuto's BFFM e-book and he said if people saw the lengths bodybuilders go to in order to get 'bulky', we would never need to worry about it just happening to us by accident. So I am definitely not worried about getting too big just by doing a few weights! It's funny that everybody still thinks that though...

Anyway I am currently 148lbs and 5'6" and I think my BF% is around 32% :eek: So I would like to lose the BF more than anything else... hoping to lose 16lbs and 8% BF by the end of the year! And then more BF next year... I did loads of running last year when I was training for a half marathon and I lost a couple of pounds but my body fat stayed nearly the same - so I am hoping more weights is a good way to shift it? I am getting back into the training running-wise now again, as well as the weights workouts... Hopefully I will see better results this time!

Well you are in for a treat because weights/resistance training will give you that hot bod!! Seriously, you won't look back once you see the results - your metabolism will increase and you will get that 'toned' look - not the flat skinny look runners get - losing weight and looking worse!