How long to look strong?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is depressing.

I lift heavy 3x a week and I am over 50, thin and don't build muscle easily. I will keep doing it for health reasons but I guess I have to accept that I may never "look" strong.

Ugh I hear you, building muscle is so hard as we age, especially for females. Keep plugging away and make sure you balance your meals with protein to give you the best shot! And also remember you are trying to not lose muscle and that is more important now than gaining more. Lee maintaining if you want to remain mobile in elderly age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1 year..

There are not fast ways. You need to put in the work..

Of course you plateau. Then it takes even harder work. You can't poo poo around for 3 weeks an expect results. only after 16-18 weeks can you barely see results..after 1 year you start to get strong. After 2 really, really strong.

This is extreme. 1 year is a really long time, and a timeline I have not personally experienced - I'm a woman over 50. We're all genetically different, and there are way too many variables involved to give a reliable answer. If your diet is in check, if you're getting good sleep, and if you're lifting heavy enough and often enough it will take a lot less than 1 year to "get strong".

It's not extreme. OP asked about 'looking' strong. Eeeeevryone makes huge gains with strength after they first start out lifting weights. It's very easy to make rapid gains when you first start, but if you've never hit a plateau you haven't strength trained long enough. Too look diesel easily takes a year or longer, because it can take many weeks and months to break plateaus. All of the sudden gains will stop coming once you go long enough, then you need to exercise even more and switch routines and programs.

[Anonymous]

For me it was about a month. I wish we could post pics here. When covid started I quit running because the trails were so crowded and gyms were closed and everyone on the trails were so stressed about breathing near one another (remember that?!?). One day I decided to give online yoga a try, this was in February. By early March my body was totally transformed. My arms, shoulders and back are toned so shockingly nicely that now I wear short sleeves and tanks all the time. Give yoga a try, I did Core Power which includes small hand weights inn some of the classes, but even without weights you'll notice a difference if you're anything like me. Even my leg muscles are way more defined than they were when I was a runner (pretty good runner at that, my PR in the marathon was 3:09).

[Anonymous]

I am 44 and one thing I wish I did was start weight lifting as a teen. I was stuck in the “treadmill workout” and that’s all I did for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me it was about a month. I wish we could post pics here. When covid started I quit running because the trails were so crowded and gyms were closed and everyone on the trails were so stressed about breathing near one another (remember that?!?). One day I decided to give online yoga a try, this was in February. By early March my body was totally transformed. My arms, shoulders and back are toned so shockingly nicely that now I wear short sleeves and tanks all the time. Give yoga a try, I did Core Power which includes small hand weights inn some of the classes, but even without weights you'll notice a difference if you're anything like me. Even my leg muscles are way more defined than they were when I was a runner (pretty good runner at that, my PR in the marathon was 3:09).

Yup. You will see results in as early as a month.

If you are looking for a complete and total body transformation, then sure, a year.

But you will see a difference early, and it will motivate you to keep going. It’s quite exciting to see the progress.

My only warning is don’t stop because it goes away and it goes away fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s two things: lifting weights AND losing fat to see the muscle. Strong and fat just looks big.

That is not the case at all if you are looking at how people move and not just at their outlines. IJS.

[Anonymous]

I think many women do not eat enough to really build muscle and specifically eating enough protein.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look there’s people on this board who claim you can see differences in a week or two. You cannot. To BUILD MUSCLE to the point you actually look strong and incredibly defined is at least a year. I have been diligently lifting weights and progressively increasing the difficulty of my workout routine since I turned 30, I just turned 38, and it is a process of growth each year. Each year there is more and more definition or an increase in strength. I am sure I noticed small differences a couple months in, and it was probably clear to others that I routinely worked out at the one year mark, but the kind of “what do you do to get your arms to look like that” comments I get from even men - that took years of work.

What weight lifting program do you follow?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me it was about a month. I wish we could post pics here. When covid started I quit running because the trails were so crowded and gyms were closed and everyone on the trails were so stressed about breathing near one another (remember that?!?). One day I decided to give online yoga a try, this was in February. By early March my body was totally transformed. My arms, shoulders and back are toned so shockingly nicely that now I wear short sleeves and tanks all the time. Give yoga a try, I did Core Power which includes small hand weights inn some of the classes, but even without weights you'll notice a difference if you're anything like me. Even my leg muscles are way more defined than they were when I was a runner (pretty good runner at that, my PR in the marathon was 3:09).

Yup. You will see results in as early as a month.

If you are looking for a complete and total body transformation, then sure, a year.

But you will see a difference early, and it will motivate you to keep going. It’s quite exciting to see the progress.

My only warning is don’t stop because it goes away and it goes away fast.

If PP is a 3:09 marathoner, chances are she has a much slimmer build and lower body fat, naturally, than do most women. That plays a *huge* role in muscular definition. The vast majority of women do not get "shockingly" toned from a month of yoga.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1 year..

There are not fast ways. You need to put in the work..

Of course you plateau. Then it takes even harder work. You can't poo poo around for 3 weeks an expect results. only after 16-18 weeks can you barely see results..after 1 year you start to get strong. After 2 really, really strong.

This is a crazy crazy generalization. I have an athletic build. I build muscles very very easily. I can do push ups for 3 weeks and my arms start to look sculpted. It takes me no time to start showing muscle. I don’t even have to work out hard for it at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1 year..

There are not fast ways. You need to put in the work..

Of course you plateau. Then it takes even harder work. You can't poo poo around for 3 weeks an expect results. only after 16-18 weeks can you barely see results..after 1 year you start to get strong. After 2 really, really strong.

This is a crazy crazy generalization. I have an athletic build. I build muscles very very easily. I can do push ups for 3 weeks and my arms start to look sculpted. It takes me no time to start showing muscle. I don’t even have to work out hard for it at all.

Well, bully for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1 year..

There are not fast ways. You need to put in the work..

Of course you plateau. Then it takes even harder work. You can't poo poo around for 3 weeks an expect results. only after 16-18 weeks can you barely see results..after 1 year you start to get strong. After 2 really, really strong.

This is a crazy crazy generalization. I have an athletic build. I build muscles very very easily. I can do push ups for 3 weeks and my arms start to look sculpted. It takes me no time to start showing muscle. I don’t even have to work out hard for it at all.

This shows that answering this question is impossible. How quick one looks visibly strong or athletic depends on genetics. Some people are very strong and don’t look it. Some people build muscle with very little effort.

[Anonymous]

Saw this article today and thought it was inspiring (before and after photos if someone else knows how to post pics)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/fitness/article-12338199/america-weight-loss-denise-kirtley-fitness-tips-california-diet-hacks.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saw this article today and thought it was inspiring (before and after photos if someone else knows how to post pics)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/fitness/article-12338199/america-weight-loss-denise-kirtley-fitness-tips-california-diet-hacks.html

I’ve seen her on Instagram. This just shows that you can do it if it becomes your life. It’s a constant commitment and daily work. It’s way more than just lifting weights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have ways to look stro:k\ng if you don’t have a home gym? Like body weight moves?

Pilates
Love Maria Khoreva. This changed my arms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lILZ2VxmHQc