How to get started with weight lifting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

[Anonymous]

When I started, I used “New Rules of Lifting for Women.” It was really helpful and had great pictures.

[Anonymous]

I like kettlebells. And, you don’t have to rush it. I’ve spent a year building up strength through bodyweight exercises and kettlebells. Now I’m ready to lift heavier. (Currently max out at 30lbs.) But I do think you should invest in a trainer to design the program for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

No. I said this was terrible advice and I meet all of the standards you put out there. I just really don't think it's for everyone, and if you read the thing you linked to you would see that the speed with which you got to intermediate levels of strength is atypical.

Women who want to do powerlifting should. I think it's great. But it's not the only way. And putting that out there like it is discourages women from going other perfectly good routes. I got started with machines. It was great. It got me much stronger. And none of the reasons why I switched to barbells are likely to be at all relevant to OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

Do you know why squats are the king of all weight lifting exercises? Because you work your core. Do you know why pullups are fantastic? Because you work your core. You have no idea what you're talking about, and that's why a base of building your strength on pullups/bench/squats is sooooooooo good. Because they're compound movements that work many muscle groups at once. You also require all sorts of muscle groups for stabilizing when you're using free weights and body weight movements like pullups.


You don't need to spend a year to make progress using those 3 exercises. Spoken like a true poo pooer doing 100000 arm curls with 10 lbs. Have fun making almost no progress. Stop acting like making any progress with the above exercises would require elite strength. Go look up the standard chart for the levels of strength/fitness that everyone uses. Benching/squatting your own weight and 5-10 pullups makes you no where near elite. You're just making excuses to weasel your way out of 'hard' exercises. They're not hard if you put time into it (which is literally a matter of only a few weeks/months).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

Do you know why squats are the king of all weight lifting exercises? Because you work your core. Do you know why pullups are fantastic? Because you work your core. You have no idea what you're talking about, and that's why a base of building your strength on pullups/bench/squats is sooooooooo good. Because they're compound movements that work many muscle groups at once. You also require all sorts of muscle groups for stabilizing when you're using free weights and body weight movements like pullups.


You don't need to spend a year to make progress using those 3 exercises. Spoken like a true poo pooer doing 100000 arm curls with 10 lbs. Have fun making almost no progress. Stop acting like making any progress with the above exercises would require elite strength. Go look up the standard chart for the levels of strength/fitness that everyone uses. Benching/squatting your own weight and 5-10 pullups makes you no where near elite. You're just making excuses to weasel your way out of 'hard' exercises. They're not hard if you put time into it (which is literally a matter of only a few weeks/months).

Plenty of women can’t do a single pull-up - so what then? and again, three exercises on repeat is extremely boring. Depending on squats and pull-ups for your core strength is a recipe for shoulder and knee injury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

Do you know why squats are the king of all weight lifting exercises? Because you work your core. Do you know why pullups are fantastic? Because you work your core. You have no idea what you're talking about, and that's why a base of building your strength on pullups/bench/squats is sooooooooo good. Because they're compound movements that work many muscle groups at once. You also require all sorts of muscle groups for stabilizing when you're using free weights and body weight movements like pullups.


You don't need to spend a year to make progress using those 3 exercises. Spoken like a true poo pooer doing 100000 arm curls with 10 lbs. Have fun making almost no progress. Stop acting like making any progress with the above exercises would require elite strength. Go look up the standard chart for the levels of strength/fitness that everyone uses. Benching/squatting your own weight and 5-10 pullups makes you no where near elite. You're just making excuses to weasel your way out of 'hard' exercises. They're not hard if you put time into it (which is literally a matter of only a few weeks/months).

Plenty of women can’t do a single pull-up - so what then? and again, three exercises on repeat is extremely boring. Depending on squats and pull-ups for your core strength is a recipe for shoulder and knee injury.

JFC, have you ever used a gym in your life? Just hang off the damn bar to increase your grip strength for starters. You can then work on doing negatives with the assistance of a step stool. Also hang as long as possible. Use bands for assistance. Literally a million videos exist on how to build up strength to get to just 1 pull-up.

Lmao, keep making excuses for not doing good exercises. You have no idea what you're talking about. I can get injured walking down the street or running too by rolling my ankle, lol. How many more excuses you going to make?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

Do you know why squats are the king of all weight lifting exercises? Because you work your core. Do you know why pullups are fantastic? Because you work your core. You have no idea what you're talking about, and that's why a base of building your strength on pullups/bench/squats is sooooooooo good. Because they're compound movements that work many muscle groups at once. You also require all sorts of muscle groups for stabilizing when you're using free weights and body weight movements like pullups.


You don't need to spend a year to make progress using those 3 exercises. Spoken like a true poo pooer doing 100000 arm curls with 10 lbs. Have fun making almost no progress. Stop acting like making any progress with the above exercises would require elite strength. Go look up the standard chart for the levels of strength/fitness that everyone uses. Benching/squatting your own weight and 5-10 pullups makes you no where near elite. You're just making excuses to weasel your way out of 'hard' exercises. They're not hard if you put time into it (which is literally a matter of only a few weeks/months).

Plenty of women can’t do a single pull-up - so what then? and again, three exercises on repeat is extremely boring. Depending on squats and pull-ups for your core strength is a recipe for shoulder and knee injury.

JFC, have you ever used a gym in your life? Just hang off the damn bar to increase your grip strength for starters. You can then work on doing negatives with the assistance of a step stool. Also hang as long as possible. Use bands for assistance. Literally a million videos exist on how to build up strength to get to just 1 pull-up.

Lmao, keep making excuses for not doing good exercises. You have no idea what you're talking about. I can get injured walking down the street or running too by rolling my ankle, lol. How many more excuses you going to make?

I’m a 46 year old woman who works out 6x/week. But thanks for demonstrating you have zero clues about women’s fitness. “Just do pullups and bench your weight!” lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

Do you know why squats are the king of all weight lifting exercises? Because you work your core. Do you know why pullups are fantastic? Because you work your core. You have no idea what you're talking about, and that's why a base of building your strength on pullups/bench/squats is sooooooooo good. Because they're compound movements that work many muscle groups at once. You also require all sorts of muscle groups for stabilizing when you're using free weights and body weight movements like pullups.


You don't need to spend a year to make progress using those 3 exercises. Spoken like a true poo pooer doing 100000 arm curls with 10 lbs. Have fun making almost no progress. Stop acting like making any progress with the above exercises would require elite strength. Go look up the standard chart for the levels of strength/fitness that everyone uses. Benching/squatting your own weight and 5-10 pullups makes you no where near elite. You're just making excuses to weasel your way out of 'hard' exercises. They're not hard if you put time into it (which is literally a matter of only a few weeks/months).

Plenty of women can’t do a single pull-up - so what then? and again, three exercises on repeat is extremely boring. Depending on squats and pull-ups for your core strength is a recipe for shoulder and knee injury.

JFC, have you ever used a gym in your life? Just hang off the damn bar to increase your grip strength for starters. You can then work on doing negatives with the assistance of a step stool. Also hang as long as possible. Use bands for assistance. Literally a million videos exist on how to build up strength to get to just 1 pull-up.

Lmao, keep making excuses for not doing good exercises. You have no idea what you're talking about. I can get injured walking down the street or running too by rolling my ankle, lol. How many more excuses you going to make?

I’m a 46 year old woman who works out 6x/week. But thanks for demonstrating you have zero clues about women’s fitness. “Just do pullups and bench your weight!” lol.

Lol, keep making excuses. Goes to the gym for show.....big whoop. Halle Barre is 50+ and would routinely do pull-ups as a core part of her fitness regimen for John Wick. You prob spend more time picking out fashionable workout clothes and shoes than actually trying to move weights that would get you in good shape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

Do you know why squats are the king of all weight lifting exercises? Because you work your core. Do you know why pullups are fantastic? Because you work your core. You have no idea what you're talking about, and that's why a base of building your strength on pullups/bench/squats is sooooooooo good. Because they're compound movements that work many muscle groups at once. You also require all sorts of muscle groups for stabilizing when you're using free weights and body weight movements like pullups.


You don't need to spend a year to make progress using those 3 exercises. Spoken like a true poo pooer doing 100000 arm curls with 10 lbs. Have fun making almost no progress. Stop acting like making any progress with the above exercises would require elite strength. Go look up the standard chart for the levels of strength/fitness that everyone uses. Benching/squatting your own weight and 5-10 pullups makes you no where near elite. You're just making excuses to weasel your way out of 'hard' exercises. They're not hard if you put time into it (which is literally a matter of only a few weeks/months).

Plenty of women can’t do a single pull-up - so what then? and again, three exercises on repeat is extremely boring. Depending on squats and pull-ups for your core strength is a recipe for shoulder and knee injury.

JFC, have you ever used a gym in your life? Just hang off the damn bar to increase your grip strength for starters. You can then work on doing negatives with the assistance of a step stool. Also hang as long as possible. Use bands for assistance. Literally a million videos exist on how to build up strength to get to just 1 pull-up.

Lmao, keep making excuses for not doing good exercises. You have no idea what you're talking about. I can get injured walking down the street or running too by rolling my ankle, lol. How many more excuses you going to make?

I’m a 46 year old woman who works out 6x/week. But thanks for demonstrating you have zero clues about women’s fitness. “Just do pullups and bench your weight!” lol.

Lol, keep making excuses. Goes to the gym for show.....big whoop. Halle Barre is 50+ and would routinely do pull-ups as a core part of her fitness regimen for John Wick. You prob spend more time picking out fashionable workout clothes and shoes than actually trying to move weights that would get you in good shape.

you know I’d let it go, but d*cks like you intimidate women out of the gym. stfu.

OP, hire a trainer (online or in person) who can design a program for you. I have an online trainer. I think the harder part is designing the progressive program than actually doing the lifts. I’ve found that I feel confident with my form with just sending some video clips. Make sure the trainer understands your goal is to design a program you can do on your own, not someone supervising or “training” you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

Do you know why squats are the king of all weight lifting exercises? Because you work your core. Do you know why pullups are fantastic? Because you work your core. You have no idea what you're talking about, and that's why a base of building your strength on pullups/bench/squats is sooooooooo good. Because they're compound movements that work many muscle groups at once. You also require all sorts of muscle groups for stabilizing when you're using free weights and body weight movements like pullups.


You don't need to spend a year to make progress using those 3 exercises. Spoken like a true poo pooer doing 100000 arm curls with 10 lbs. Have fun making almost no progress. Stop acting like making any progress with the above exercises would require elite strength. Go look up the standard chart for the levels of strength/fitness that everyone uses. Benching/squatting your own weight and 5-10 pullups makes you no where near elite. You're just making excuses to weasel your way out of 'hard' exercises. They're not hard if you put time into it (which is literally a matter of only a few weeks/months).

Plenty of women can’t do a single pull-up - so what then? and again, three exercises on repeat is extremely boring. Depending on squats and pull-ups for your core strength is a recipe for shoulder and knee injury.

JFC, have you ever used a gym in your life? Just hang off the damn bar to increase your grip strength for starters. You can then work on doing negatives with the assistance of a step stool. Also hang as long as possible. Use bands for assistance. Literally a million videos exist on how to build up strength to get to just 1 pull-up.

Lmao, keep making excuses for not doing good exercises. You have no idea what you're talking about. I can get injured walking down the street or running too by rolling my ankle, lol. How many more excuses you going to make?

I’m a 46 year old woman who works out 6x/week. But thanks for demonstrating you have zero clues about women’s fitness. “Just do pullups and bench your weight!” lol.

I said this was terrible advice and I'm sticking to it. But if you want to do pull-ups, you really can - although my advice would have been to use the assisted pull-up/dip machine + negatives. Women who are of a normal weight and who train for pull-ups will get them. (Benching your own weight is a lot harder.) I assume most women aren't really interested, which is fine, too. Even the women at my gym who I see lifting heavy when it comes to lower body stuff mostly don't bench or do pull-ups and my guess is that they don't want the upper body development that comes with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

Do you know why squats are the king of all weight lifting exercises? Because you work your core. Do you know why pullups are fantastic? Because you work your core. You have no idea what you're talking about, and that's why a base of building your strength on pullups/bench/squats is sooooooooo good. Because they're compound movements that work many muscle groups at once. You also require all sorts of muscle groups for stabilizing when you're using free weights and body weight movements like pullups.


You don't need to spend a year to make progress using those 3 exercises. Spoken like a true poo pooer doing 100000 arm curls with 10 lbs. Have fun making almost no progress. Stop acting like making any progress with the above exercises would require elite strength. Go look up the standard chart for the levels of strength/fitness that everyone uses. Benching/squatting your own weight and 5-10 pullups makes you no where near elite. You're just making excuses to weasel your way out of 'hard' exercises. They're not hard if you put time into it (which is literally a matter of only a few weeks/months).

Plenty of women can’t do a single pull-up - so what then? and again, three exercises on repeat is extremely boring. Depending on squats and pull-ups for your core strength is a recipe for shoulder and knee injury.

JFC, have you ever used a gym in your life? Just hang off the damn bar to increase your grip strength for starters. You can then work on doing negatives with the assistance of a step stool. Also hang as long as possible. Use bands for assistance. Literally a million videos exist on how to build up strength to get to just 1 pull-up.

Lmao, keep making excuses for not doing good exercises. You have no idea what you're talking about. I can get injured walking down the street or running too by rolling my ankle, lol. How many more excuses you going to make?

I’m a 46 year old woman who works out 6x/week. But thanks for demonstrating you have zero clues about women’s fitness. “Just do pullups and bench your weight!” lol.

Lol, keep making excuses. Goes to the gym for show.....big whoop. Halle Barre is 50+ and would routinely do pull-ups as a core part of her fitness regimen for John Wick. You prob spend more time picking out fashionable workout clothes and shoes than actually trying to move weights that would get you in good shape.

you know I’d let it go, but d*cks like you intimidate women out of the gym. stfu.

OP, hire a trainer (online or in person) who can design a program for you. I have an online trainer. I think the harder part is designing the progressive program than actually doing the lifts. I’ve found that I feel confident with my form with just sending some video clips. Make sure the trainer understands your goal is to design a program you can do on your own, not someone supervising or “training” you.

Good lord, cry about it more.

Asks about weight lifting and then gets advice they don't like because the exercises proposed might be 'hard'. Then whines about 'intimidation'. You work harder at making excuses not to challenge yourself than the amount of actu effort you spend on doing the best weight lifting execises that exist to build a solid set of strength at levels that are novice to intermediate at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on

* Pullups
* Bench press
* Squats


Don't waste time on other stuff until you've built up enough strength so that you can do at least 8-10 pullups unassisted, can bench press nearly your body weigh, and can squat your body weight (barbell).

They're the best, because they're compound movements. Once you have a solid base of strength you can move on to isolating more specific groups.

This is terrible advice. That represents years of training and a very high level motivation level for most women. You do not need to be at that level to benefit from strength training. That's like saying, don't bother with rowing or an elliptical for cardio, you need to be running sub-5 hour marathons before you think about anything else. And you didn't even say anything about how to actually get there.

OP, you will get the health and aesthetic and functional benefits of strength training from using machines. That something is a compound movement does not make it "the best" for everyone's set of goals. If you want to get started on powerlifting, that is always an option.

Also, for a woman, bench pressing a weight that is close to your squat isn't all that realistic. Women tend tohave more of a differencce in their lower and upper body strangth than men do. I squat more than 1.5x my body weight but only bench <75% of my weight.

Nonsense. Bench pressing your body weight as a woman only puts you roughly between an intermediate level to advanced strength. Squatting your own weight as a woman puts you around below a novice as a woman. Being able to do 5 pullups as a woman puts you less than an intermediate level.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/lb#standardsFemale


I love itt how all the responses are from a bunch of poo pooers in the gym who use crappy machines and light weights. Women need to stop being afraid to lift actual weights with progressive overload like the poster above mentioned. It will do wonders for your muscle definition compared to lifting a bunch of light weights many more times. Go heavier for less reps. Squats, pullups, and bench press are the best exercises to build a standard base of strength. You can progress very rapidly if you put work in. I started with bring able to do zero pullups without assistance, then was able to do 5 in about a month and a half. I was able to get up to 12 in less than 6 months. Same kinds of progress for squats and bench. Bring able to bench and squat your body weight and do 5-10 reps of pullups puts you no where near a high or advanced level of fitness/strength. You'd only be at novice to intermediate levels.

That’s really antediluvian. no core exercises? And how is a lone woman in the gym going to know the proper form? And what if she can’t do any pull-ups right now? your plan is for a 19 year old bro, not a mature woman (assuming OP is in her 30s just based on DCUM demographics.) Also, your plan is boring. who wants to spend a year doing only three exercises?

Do you know why squats are the king of all weight lifting exercises? Because you work your core. Do you know why pullups are fantastic? Because you work your core. You have no idea what you're talking about, and that's why a base of building your strength on pullups/bench/squats is sooooooooo good. Because they're compound movements that work many muscle groups at once. You also require all sorts of muscle groups for stabilizing when you're using free weights and body weight movements like pullups.


You don't need to spend a year to make progress using those 3 exercises. Spoken like a true poo pooer doing 100000 arm curls with 10 lbs. Have fun making almost no progress. Stop acting like making any progress with the above exercises would require elite strength. Go look up the standard chart for the levels of strength/fitness that everyone uses. Benching/squatting your own weight and 5-10 pullups makes you no where near elite. You're just making excuses to weasel your way out of 'hard' exercises. They're not hard if you put time into it (which is literally a matter of only a few weeks/months).

Plenty of women can’t do a single pull-up - so what then? and again, three exercises on repeat is extremely boring. Depending on squats and pull-ups for your core strength is a recipe for shoulder and knee injury.

JFC, have you ever used a gym in your life? Just hang off the damn bar to increase your grip strength for starters. You can then work on doing negatives with the assistance of a step stool. Also hang as long as possible. Use bands for assistance. Literally a million videos exist on how to build up strength to get to just 1 pull-up.

Lmao, keep making excuses for not doing good exercises. You have no idea what you're talking about. I can get injured walking down the street or running too by rolling my ankle, lol. How many more excuses you going to make?

I’m a 46 year old woman who works out 6x/week. But thanks for demonstrating you have zero clues about women’s fitness. “Just do pullups and bench your weight!” lol.

I said this was terrible advice and I'm sticking to it. But if you want to do pull-ups, you really can - although my advice would have been to use the assisted pull-up/dip machine + negatives. Women who are of a normal weight and who train for pull-ups will get them. (Benching your own weight is a lot harder.) I assume most women aren't really interested, which is fine, too. Even the women at my gym who I see lifting heavy when it comes to lower body stuff mostly don't bench or do pull-ups and my guess is that they don't want the upper body development that comes with it.

Oh yeah, I totally agree that women can do pullups! It’s more the question of how to get there and whether it is an appropriate goal for all women. my shoulders wouldn’t be able to take it - absolutely no reason for me to put them through that stress. That said maybe I will reconsider now that I have a better strength base - pullups do look badass!

[Anonymous]

Here's a bunch of women with zero strength who train to do pullups. Look how much progress and toned physique they get from training. Of course it's hard when you start, but that's the point. You need to challenge yourself.

And there are plenty of middle aged women who do things like rock/wall climbing as a hobby, which requires similar types of strength/movement.