Hey!!

[*Sexy&IKnowIt*]

Hey! I've never been out of shape. Never really worked out. Been going to the gym with my husband past few months. I can easily lift the weights. Im just not sure what weights are good or impressive for a woman to lift compared to what guys lift. Thank you!!

 

[REDDOG309]

 

[REDDOG309]

Pics wouls certainly help the guru's around here point you in the right direction........Just sayin

 

[Swfl]

Hey! I've never been out of shape. Never really worked out. Been going to the gym with my husband past few months. I can easily lift the weights. Im just not sure what weights are good or impressive for a woman to lift compared to what guys lift. Thank you!!

It's always impressive when a woman out lifts the average guy...

 

[dieseljimmy]

Pics wouls certainly help the guru's around here point you in the right direction........Just sayin

^^^^
ahead of his time.
reddog, swfl and myself will never steer you wrong... Trust us were not creeps or anything

 

[gettinthere]

A woman can lift as much or as little as she likes! There are no limits........... depends on what you want to get out of it. If you like to hold your own or outlift the guys, go for it. I've been lifting for a while now, and definitely outlift most of the guys............ not my goal. My goal is to lift for me. Go to the gym and enjoy!

 

[*Sexy&IKnowIt*]

I really haven't even pushed myself yet when I lift. My husband is the biggest man in the gym so everyone else looks tiny!! He had me do deadlifts & I got a few sets in at 135lbs. I didn't think anything of it till after we left gym & he was saying how awesome it was. Sorry no pics. Not ready yet. Not cut yet or tanned. Few more mths till summer.

 

[dieseljimmy]

135 deadlift for a lady is pretty impressive. Particularly if its not something that is often done in your workout.

 

[jadean]

Her first deadlift session ever i believe and she hit 135 for a couple very impressive.

 

[dieseljimmy]

I think the only ladies I have seen deadlift 135 are serious trainers. That's not pedestrian.

 

[SheriV]

copied and pasted from leangains because it has a good outline for the major lifts of where you should be "not enhanced"

For women in the 115-155-lb range, the corresponding advanced strength goals are 0.9 x body weight bench, 1.1 x body weight chin-up, 1.5 x body weight squat and 1.8 x body weight deadlift. Relative to men, women have much less muscle mass around the chest area and shoulder girdle (men have much higher androgen-receptor density in this particular area), but the lower body is comparativly strong to the upper body.

A 135-lb woman that has been training consistently for 5-10 years should then be expected to:

Bench press 120-125 lbs.
Do 4-5 chin-ups with body weight or do one with an extra 10-15 lbs hanging from her waist.
Squat 200-205 lbs.
Deadlift 225-230 lbs.

I

 

[SheriV]

it shouldn't be whats impressive or flashy, it should be progressive for YOU

 

[jadean]

Good points everybody did I mention it was only her third time ever going to the gym. Seriously I was like hot dam!

 

[SheriV]

thats really excellent for a new lifter <3

 

[*Sexy&IKnowIt*]

Thanks for the info. I guess I was wording of wrong. I just don't know any of the ladies at the gym to ask them what kind of weight I should lift to see results. Going to the gym again today. Not sure what our workout is today. Maybe legs not sure lol.

 

[SheriV]

progressing 5 lbs a week from your starting point is a great way to build up

just add 2.5 lb weights on either side every week
I started my teenage daughters on bare bars to nail form then assessed where they were at...if it felt super easy and their form literally broke apart from throwing the bar around I threw ten lbs on till it got to be a bit of a struggle, then backed it up about 25% of where it got really difficult for them


I also crippled my oldest with a legs day so maybe I'm too pushy

 

[SheriV]

you'll notice in what I posted from the leangains site that outlines 5-10 yrs of lifting experience
Martin tends to gear all of his articles towards experienced lifters and people with at least a basic understanding of nutrition and all of its tweaks

for being new you're at a great starting point
some info you can look over with some guidance is "starting strength" and "stronglifts"

good barbell work info
I am also partial to Martin Berkhan's info (and all free) even if he is perhaps a bit full of himself but not everyone agrees with all of that stuff
I also really like Precision Nutrition because they have a focus on figuring out everything all together that works for you individually but that's something you can save for later on down the road...they do have lots of free info too.

 

[sassy69]

The lifting that promote progress / "show results" is the lifting that is the following:

- makes you work. The definition of "work" is relative - but I tend to use the following as my guidance for selecting the weight I'm lifting:
-- For whatever type of lifting you're doing (this can be if you're going low rep / heavier weight or higher rep / lower weights) - define what is a "working" number of reps for you and use that to determine more or less. Here's my example if I say 12 reps is my base set:
--- if I can lift around 8 reps w/ clean form, but no more than 8-9, on my next set, I will stay there or maybe even drop the weight a bit and do my reps.
--- if I can do 12 reps , I will probably stay at that weight for my next set.
--- if I can do 15 reps and keep form, time to up the weight.

- you don't break form to lift - if your form falls apart, its too heavy.
- consistency - 2 days/week in the gym isn't going to produce much in the way of "results" in the near term. Needs to be consistent.

- Diet supports your training goals. If you're training regularly but not eating enough, you're negating your results. If you're eating too much - this is great if your goal is pure hypertrophy and strength - but depending on how much you're eating and the quality of those calories, you'll also gain fat.

- good quality recovery time supports your goals.

- managing injuries (This is obvious, but I think people frequently get so focused or caught up in reaching one particular goal or one particular approach and forget to balance things before an injury from too much weight, sloppy form, repetitive motion, etc.) "Fitness" is made up all of all sorts of "cycles" of growth time and recovery time.

The overall point is to always work towards improvement in some area - more reps, better reps, different exercise, whatever it is. Making your body work, stimulating it versus letting it adapt to what you are doing will produce results.

 

[SheriV]

^^^ very in depth and informative for the new lifter

 

[*Sexy&IKnowIt*]

Thank you sassy & sheri for the tips & info. Im definatly here to learn & in the gym to "work" my muscles. Went to the gym Wednesday & Thursday this past week with my husband. Im still sore in my legs! Thanks again. Happy Easter!!

 

[Valkyrie]

I really haven't even pushed myself yet when I lift. My husband is the biggest man in the gym so everyone else looks tiny!! He had me do deadlifts & I got a few sets in at 135lbs. I didn't think anything of it till after we left gym & he was saying how awesome it was. Sorry no pics. Not ready yet. Not cut yet or tanned. Few more mths till summer.

When I start with a new girl I am always very proud of her when she pics up the 135 for the first time. It can take a few months to get there depending. Its a baby milestone and he was right that is GREAT for your first time lifting.

Here is the way I like and get the most out of lifting, its called progression. Everytime you go in try to do a bit better than you did before. So put a little more weight on that bar or pick it up for a few more reps. Etc. There are no girls at my gym anywhere close to as strong as I am. But I have girlfriends on the internet that blow my lifts out of the water. Whats important to me is chasing my own PRs.

 

[*Sexy&IKnowIt*]

Well continuing to go to the gym with my hubby. I'm still learning all the names of the workouts he tells me to do. So far I'm noticing my own results. Thank you for all the advice & tips. I can do a few things on my own while hes busy. Gym again later. Idk how he goes 4 times a week every week for almost a year!!

 

[dabubblebutt]

Hey! I've never been out of shape. Never really worked out. Been going to the gym with my husband past few months. I can easily lift the weights. Im just not sure what weights are good or impressive for a woman to lift compared to what guys lift. Thank you!!

anything more than what i can lift is impressive.....

 

[jadean]

shes doing so good! arms monday, shoulders and legs on wed, back yesterday and were hitting chest and calves saturday, her form is very solid and her endurance is excellent. just need to pick up some good headphones for her.

 

[SheriV]

good headphones and an excellent playlist are a must for sure