If you are a fairly small woman, what does "lift heavy" mean to you?

[Anonymous]

I'm in my 40s, fit, but looking to add muscle mass (or at least stem the loss of existing muscle). I know I need to "lift heavy" but I mostly workout at home. Curious what this means to people. I'm 5'4 and naturally slim -- narrow shoulders and hips, have hovered between 115 and 120 most of my adult life.

I have 5 and 8lb weights I use in workouts a lot. I've tried 10 lb weights and am trying to work to incorporate them more even though at the moment, I'm somewhat limited in what I can do with them (nothing overhead, mostly using them for rows and to add weight to squats and other lower body work). This doesn't sound that "heavy" to me but it's what I'm capable of right now. Even the 8 lb weights can be tough if I'm working overhead.

I do a lot of bodyweight exercises, though -- planks, pushups, and am working on getting pull-ups (right now can only do negatives but I used to be able to do them and I think I can get them back with some diligence). Does that count as "lifting heavy"? I'll be honest and say that planks and pushups are hard for me and I do sometimes take them at an elevated surface or drop my knees in order to maintain good form.

Anyway, I know I have work to do and am willing to do, just wondering what a realistic goal is for me. My DH said I should be looking to work up to 20-25 lb hand weights and that seriously sounds impossible to me. But he weighs 180 and as a man just has a lot more muscle mass in his upper body than I do, even without putting as much effort in. Is that a realistic goal or does "lifting heavy" for someone my size mean more like 12-15lb per side (so 24-30 total)?

[Anonymous]

Lifting heavy is doing classic weightlifting. High weight (much higher than 12-15 pounds) and low reps. More like half your body weight to your body weight depending on the lift.

[Anonymous]

I am 5'2, 48 and it is completely doable, but you prb won't be able to get there with dumbbells. They put a lot of stress on elbows and shoulder joints after a certain weight.

You need a bench or a machine and to work on large muscle groups-back, chest, legs. The strength in your shoulders and bi and tris will come.

[Anonymous]

Doing bodyweight exercise is not lifting heavy. It's basically the opposite.

I don't know if there is an actual definition, but I have a bar to add weights to, and just the bar is 40lbs. So I consider that the very start.

[Anonymous]

Bodyweight training is fantastic! Higher weight and low risk of injury.

[Anonymous]

I'm 5'2" and 120 lbs 51.

For me lifting heavy is anywhere from 20-28 lbs for chest press/fly/shoulders. Granted some days I'm at 15lbs for some of these exercises but 20-28 is heavy for me.

Deadlift is around 70-80 currently. Working on this. Squats -50ish depending on the day. I can leg press 180 for a few reps. Still working on lower body weights-I hate legs with a passion and it it shows.

Yes, you can up the weights considerably but it won't happen overnight. I've been working out since my 20's.

[Anonymous]

For me, heavy lifting is defined by my reps. I usually do 3 sets. Set 1 I aim for 8-10. Set 2, 6-8. Set 3, 4-6. By the last rep, I am struggling to keep my form in place.

[Anonymous]

I’m 43 and have been lifting for about 8 years. Currently I only have time for a dumbbell program but I have actually seen the most gains with this program. As in, visible abs and arm muscles, (and those are areas where I typically store fat, I’m not a pear shape). The reason is that I now repeat the same workout for 1-2 weeks at a time and progressively increase my weight or my reps over the course of each cycle. It doesn’t have to be huge amount of weights. But I’ve noticed consistent gains. Examples: from 8lbs to 12 lbs on bicep curls. From 15 lbs to 25 (each hand) on squats and lunges. From 15 to 20 (each hand) on chest press. The most challenging thing is to have heavy enough dumbbells for leg exercises but again there are ways to progressively overload, like increasing time under tension, that also work.

I have recommended her so many times I’m like a broken record but I highly recommend Lift with Cee on YouTube. She is 50, has amazing definition with just dumbbells, and promotes sustainable lifting and nutrition practices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m 43 and have been lifting for about 8 years. Currently I only have time for a dumbbell program but I have actually seen the most gains with this program. As in, visible abs and arm muscles, (and those are areas where I typically store fat, I’m not a pear shape). The reason is that I now repeat the same workout for 1-2 weeks at a time and progressively increase my weight or my reps over the course of each cycle. It doesn’t have to be huge amount of weights. But I’ve noticed consistent gains. Examples: from 8lbs to 12 lbs on bicep curls. From 15 lbs to 25 (each hand) on squats and lunges. From 15 to 20 (each hand) on chest press. The most challenging thing is to have heavy enough dumbbells for leg exercises but again there are ways to progressively overload, like increasing time under tension, that also work.

I have recommended her so many times I’m like a broken record but I highly recommend Lift with Cee on YouTube. She is 50, has amazing definition with just dumbbells, and promotes sustainable lifting and nutrition practices.

OP here and thank you for this. I see what people are saying about the limitations of dumbbells, but I don't see myself buying a bench or machine (my home is small and I don't want to buy a bunch of equipment I might not use) and I really, really prefer working out at home to the gym. I'll check out that YouTuber!

[Anonymous]

P.S And yes, it’s totally reasonable to start with 12-15 lbs. …always pick a weight that is right for you! So a weight where the last two reps of each set are really hard. If you are consistent you will get to 20lbs or more. I am 5 foot 1 and 110 lbs for reference and I can now work in that weight range with ease. But it takes time! Don’t rush or injure yourself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me, heavy lifting is defined by my reps. I usually do 3 sets. Set 1 I aim for 8-10. Set 2, 6-8. Set 3, 4-6. By the last rep, I am struggling to keep my form in place.

Interesting (OP again). Someone on Reddit told me that the key to lifting heavy was to go for the amount of weight that limited your reps, so that you could "work to failure." So basically if I can comfortably do 20 reps with 8lb weights, go to 10 and see how far I can go with those, then go to 12 and see how far I can go with those.

I think one issue with dumbbells is that you are dealing with stability (much easier to create stability pressing a 30 lb barbell, than two 15 lb dumbbells) but I wonder if there is benefit to this? I feel like there must be benefit to forcing my body to stabilize dumbbells through an overhead press and keep the motion smooth and even, since that would be easier with a barbell that is naturally more stable as it distributes the weight and holds it together at the same time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me, heavy lifting is defined by my reps. I usually do 3 sets. Set 1 I aim for 8-10. Set 2, 6-8. Set 3, 4-6. By the last rep, I am struggling to keep my form in place.

It’s this. It has nothing to do with the amount of weight itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:P.S And yes, it’s totally reasonable to start with 12-15 lbs. …always pick a weight that is right for you! So a weight where the last two reps of each set are really hard. If you are consistent you will get to 20lbs or more. I am 5 foot 1 and 110 lbs for reference and I can now work in that weight range with ease. But it takes time! Don’t rush or injure yourself

OP again, thank you for the encouragement! I will just keep working my way up. Impressed you can work with 20+ lb weights at your size, that's inspiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, heavy lifting is defined by my reps. I usually do 3 sets. Set 1 I aim for 8-10. Set 2, 6-8. Set 3, 4-6. By the last rep, I am struggling to keep my form in place.

It’s this. It has nothing to do with the amount of weight itself.

Can you expand on this? Surely the amount of weight matters a little? I mean I could do the above reps with 2 lb weights and I would not struggle with the last reps. So the amount of weight is relevant, yes?

[Anonymous]

I'm about the same size and mostly use 12-25lb weights. 5-8lbs is very light and mostly the 60yr old women are using those. It shouldn't take you too long to add more weight. I see women smaller than you lifting heavier at the gym and doing bicep curls with 25lb weights. So, it's possible.