Women Lifting Heavy - Low Reps. Is this the way to go.

[Anonymous]

If I am going with 5 reps, is it really important to rest 2 minutes between each of the 4 sets? I feel ready much sooner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I am going with 5 reps, is it really important to rest 2 minutes between each of the 4 sets? I feel ready much sooner.

Then you cold probably up your weight. I rest for about two mins because I need the recovery time...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Don't worry about getting "bulky". It's a common misconception and has not truth. Unless you're intentionally eating and lifting a certain way you won't just wake up one day and be like "oh shit I got huge". It's a progression and takes a lot of eating right and lifting a certain program.

Heavy sets will get you stronger and put muscle on for sure. You'll need to recover though as lifting heavy wreaks havoc on your CNS so don't do it multiple days in a row.

Heavy squats/deadlifts/bench press/OHP/ rows are good and 5x5 programs are a good start. Go for a cycle of a few weeks and see how it feels. If you're more advance add power cleans/front squat/power snatch to build the size/power.

Hope this helps

Not op, but curious about the wreaking havoc on your CNS. Can you please elaborate? I haven't heard about this. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I am going with 5 reps, is it really important to rest 2 minutes between each of the 4 sets? I feel ready much sooner.

As you get heavier it will be difficult. The idea is to lift as much as possible so out in max effort

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Don't worry about getting "bulky". It's a common misconception and has not truth. Unless you're intentionally eating and lifting a certain way you won't just wake up one day and be like "oh shit I got huge". It's a progression and takes a lot of eating right and lifting a certain program.

Heavy sets will get you stronger and put muscle on for sure. You'll need to recover though as lifting heavy wreaks havoc on your CNS so don't do it multiple days in a row.

Heavy squats/deadlifts/bench press/OHP/ rows are good and 5x5 programs are a good start. Go for a cycle of a few weeks and see how it feels. If you're more advance add power cleans/front squat/power snatch to build the size/power.

Hope this helps

Not op, but curious about the wreaking havoc on your CNS. Can you please elaborate? I haven't heard about this. Thanks!

I'm the PP. heavy lifting takes a toll on your CNS and imyiu need to recover. Squats and deadlift in particular. You'll notice you won't be as strong, feel worn out etc. Your synapses aren't firing correctly. It usually comes from overtraining and NOT recovering. Train hard but if you don't get sleep and calories you'll pay the price

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're trying to shape your legs I would mix low, med and hi reps since the legs make up a combination of slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. Incorporating TUT (time under tension) is another consideration besides how many reps to bust out for building muscles.

[Anonymous]

Pick up one of the new rules of lifting programs. Start with strong or supercharged. The workouts, including number of reps and sets, is outlined for you. I oscillate between different numbers of reps and sets and am getting fantastic results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is different. I'm a muscular person who needs to keep my metabolism up to control my weight. For me, this approach doesn't work. I end up bulky with no big improvement in my metabolism. For my pilates with resistance for looong periods of time has been my magic bullet. I end up strong but not bulky, and my metabolism has improved a lot.

Me too but I haven't noticed any issues with my metabolism. With heavier weights, I get bulkier and bulkier and little definition. I've always thought I could have been a great bodybuilder ~ 20 years ago. I have started incorporating lower weights higher reps and am now seeing result and definition I like.

[Anonymous]

Core people. Keep your tail tucked, ribs in and back flat while doing all of your heavy lifts. That's what will protect from injury. I personally like to max out at 10-15 reps these day's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:18:05 hit the nail on the head. Mindless high repetitions where you never sweat or feel challenged are pointless and a waste of time. Lifting heavy is the way to go. Also, there is no such thing as toning. Toning is a myth perpetuated by people so women aren't intimidated by weights. There is only building muscle and losing fat. That is it.

Exactly. "Tone" is muscle. I hear women complain all the time about how men lose weight so much easier, and while there's a lot of factors that go into that one of the biggest is that men work out like men. They lift heavy, don't do tons of cardio, and eat meat to recover. Thus, they build muscle, which helps to burn fat. Go big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I am going with 5 reps, is it really important to rest 2 minutes between each of the 4 sets? I feel ready much sooner.

I read somewhere (Mark's Daily Apple? Nerd Fitness? Some website like those that talks about fitness and lifting.) that women actually can deal with less recovery time than is recommended for men. I thought that was pretty cool, and it rang true for my n of 1. Even when I lift heavy (only 5 reps), when a minute's rest is over I'm ready to go again. If I'm not lifting heavy (so, like, 10 reps), I'm recovered in less than a minute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Increase the weight gradually:
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/6-tips-for-successful-weight-lifting-workouts?page=2

"look for whatever size allows you to do 12 to 16 repetitions. If you can't, they're too heavy...But if you can do more than 15 with good form, then the weight load is probably not quite challenging enough, Bryant says. "So look for something a bit heavier, or add on more resistance."

Form is important to save your joints also range of motion is important.

I know he is a guy, but Cress Williams has weightlifters hunchback:



Yes, he can probably lift a lot of weight but not properly.

This is the stupidest thing I've ever red. 12-16 reps is too light. Stench is built in the 3-5 rep range. Even when training "fast twitch" fibers you're still going 1-3 of max effort for a volume. Olympic lifters have both as they're needed for their lifts. They rarely if ever go above 5 reps and it's usually triples.

Yes OP, lift heavy in the 3-5 rep range for a cycle or program period, deload the decide where you want to go from there. You won't get hunch back or anything else. People speeding that crap are just too weak or too scared to put in real effort.

There is more than one way to skin a cat, PP. Doing 10-12 reps, of about 4 sets, with a challenging weight and working to FAILURE can be just as productive as 3-5 reps at trips. Also, you don't get as much as a metabolic burn at doing low reps. And finally, don't really care what Olympic lifters do since most of us aren't out there training that to a degree. There is a level of real world fitness that comes way before that.

[Anonymous]

I know a woman in her late 20s who dropped almost 50 lbs by dropping the typical scheme of high reps. She went on a powerlifting routine and decided to compete and is not in the 115-120 range to maintain weight class. She didn't start losing the weight until she did this. To boot, she added noticeable definition and strength. Key in on diet and a good routine and you'll be good.

[Anonymous]

Do be careful. Good form is more important than anything. I see so many people lifting heavy with bad form.