Are heavy weights generally recommended?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle-aged woman here – I work out typically six days a week, Including varying forms of vigorous aerobics, HIIT, and weight lifting…but always lighter weights with reps up to fatigue. Should I add a heavy weightlifting class?

Yes. You should be able to do unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups.

A good goal squat is your body weight (in addition to the weight of your body).

A good goal deadlift is 150% of your bodyweight.

You will be fatigued when done; fear not!

Good form is critical. A class may or may not give you that.

I would call all those “upper-limit goals” not “good” (which implies they’re easily within reach for everyone). A pull-up/chin-up is a very lofty goal for most women. I have been lifting heavy for 5 months and am still not even close to getting an unassisted chin-up/pull-up, and I am not overweight. I’m almost able to deadlift my body weight and can squat 70% of my body weight.

I love lifting, but it takes a long time to build that kind of muscle, especially at my age (late 40s), where I have to progress slowly as to not injure myself.

I am 50. It took me five years, in my 20s, to get to these goals; now I maintain them and occasionally build on one or another.

5 months is not a meaningful duration for measuring strength improvement; most of the progress in that time is neurological.

Are these your max out weights? As in you can do this for one rep? Because I ageee this seems like a lot lofty goal for most women. And not a good goal for someone starting in their 40s unless they’re with a private trainer enforcing good form.

I started in my early 30s completely out of shape. I am now 43 and can deadlift 2x my body weight, squat 1.5x my BW and bench my body weight. I can also do 7-10 chin-ups or pull ups and would have no problem walking around with 60s in my hands at 150lbs. And no, I don’t live in the gym. I have a full time job and a kid. Those goals that were mentioned are not lofty at all. They should be easily achievable for a female who regularly works out following a program with progressive overload.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle-aged woman here – I work out typically six days a week, Including varying forms of vigorous aerobics, HIIT, and weight lifting…but always lighter weights with reps up to fatigue. Should I add a heavy weightlifting class?

Yes. You should be able to do unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups.

A good goal squat is your body weight (in addition to the weight of your body).

A good goal deadlift is 150% of your bodyweight.

You will be fatigued when done; fear not!

Good form is critical. A class may or may not give you that.

I would call all those “upper-limit goals” not “good” (which implies they’re easily within reach for everyone). A pull-up/chin-up is a very lofty goal for most women. I have been lifting heavy for 5 months and am still not even close to getting an unassisted chin-up/pull-up, and I am not overweight. I’m almost able to deadlift my body weight and can squat 70% of my body weight.

I love lifting, but it takes a long time to build that kind of muscle, especially at my age (late 40s), where I have to progress slowly as to not injure myself.

I am 50. It took me five years, in my 20s, to get to these goals; now I maintain them and occasionally build on one or another.

5 months is not a meaningful duration for measuring strength improvement; most of the progress in that time is neurological.

Are these your max out weights? As in you can do this for one rep? Because I ageee this seems like a lot lofty goal for most women. And not a good goal for someone starting in their 40s unless they’re with a private trainer enforcing good form.

I started in my early 30s completely out of shape. I am now 43 and can deadlift 2x my body weight, squat 1.5x my BW and bench my body weight. I can also do 7-10 chin-ups or pull ups and would have no problem walking around with 60s in my hands at 150lbs. And no, I don’t live in the gym. I have a full time job and a kid. Those goals that were mentioned are not lofty at all. They should be easily achievable for a female who regularly works out following a program with progressive overload.

I mean... these are "easily achievable" in the sense that with regular effort, many women can get there. But for someone who has not lifted at all, it's going to take years to get there. That's not what most people think of when they hear the word "easily."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle-aged woman here – I work out typically six days a week, Including varying forms of vigorous aerobics, HIIT, and weight lifting…but always lighter weights with reps up to fatigue. Should I add a heavy weightlifting class?

Yes. You should be able to do unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups.

A good goal squat is your body weight (in addition to the weight of your body).

A good goal deadlift is 150% of your bodyweight.

You will be fatigued when done; fear not!

Good form is critical. A class may or may not give you that.

I would call all those “upper-limit goals” not “good” (which implies they’re easily within reach for everyone). A pull-up/chin-up is a very lofty goal for most women. I have been lifting heavy for 5 months and am still not even close to getting an unassisted chin-up/pull-up, and I am not overweight. I’m almost able to deadlift my body weight and can squat 70% of my body weight.

I love lifting, but it takes a long time to build that kind of muscle, especially at my age (late 40s), where I have to progress slowly as to not injure myself.

I am 50. It took me five years, in my 20s, to get to these goals; now I maintain them and occasionally build on one or another.

5 months is not a meaningful duration for measuring strength improvement; most of the progress in that time is neurological.

Are these your max out weights? As in you can do this for one rep? Because I ageee this seems like a lot lofty goal for most women. And not a good goal for someone starting in their 40s unless they’re with a private trainer enforcing good form.

I started in my early 30s completely out of shape. I am now 43 and can deadlift 2x my body weight, squat 1.5x my BW and bench my body weight. I can also do 7-10 chin-ups or pull ups and would have no problem walking around with 60s in my hands at 150lbs. And no, I don’t live in the gym. I have a full time job and a kid. Those goals that were mentioned are not lofty at all. They should be easily achievable for a female who regularly works out following a program with progressive overload.

I would not say “easily” achievable. You have to put in the work week in and week out, year after year to get there.

I have been consistently lifting for years and I am not there yet. It’s not easy.

[Anonymous]

I was just diagnosed with osteopenia and my dr advised weight training with heavy weights specifically. So if bone density is an issue for you, heavy is definitely recommended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle-aged woman here – I work out typically six days a week, Including varying forms of vigorous aerobics, HIIT, and weight lifting…but always lighter weights with reps up to fatigue. Should I add a heavy weightlifting class?

Yes. You should be able to do unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups.

A good goal squat is your body weight (in addition to the weight of your body).

A good goal deadlift is 150% of your bodyweight.

You will be fatigued when done; fear not!

Good form is critical. A class may or may not give you that.

I would call all those “upper-limit goals” not “good” (which implies they’re easily within reach for everyone). A pull-up/chin-up is a very lofty goal for most women. I have been lifting heavy for 5 months and am still not even close to getting an unassisted chin-up/pull-up, and I am not overweight. I’m almost able to deadlift my body weight and can squat 70% of my body weight.

I love lifting, but it takes a long time to build that kind of muscle, especially at my age (late 40s), where I have to progress slowly as to not injure myself.

I am 50. It took me five years, in my 20s, to get to these goals; now I maintain them and occasionally build on one or another.

5 months is not a meaningful duration for measuring strength improvement; most of the progress in that time is neurological.

Are these your max out weights? As in you can do this for one rep? Because I ageee this seems like a lot lofty goal for most women. And not a good goal for someone starting in their 40s unless they’re with a private trainer enforcing good form.

I started in my early 30s completely out of shape. I am now 43 and can deadlift 2x my body weight, squat 1.5x my BW and bench my body weight. I can also do 7-10 chin-ups or pull ups and would have no problem walking around with 60s in my hands at 150lbs. And no, I don’t live in the gym. I have a full time job and a kid. Those goals that were mentioned are not lofty at all. They should be easily achievable for a female who regularly works out following a program with progressive overload.

I mean... these are "easily achievable" in the sense that with regular effort, many women can get there. But for someone who has not lifted at all, it's going to take years to get there. That's not what most people think of when they hear the word "easily."

PP you are responding to. Yes, that is what I meant. You can get there with consistent effort and a smart plan. Many women spend enough time in the gym to be able to achieve decent strength over time but because of the type of workouts they do, nothing changes. I think the “lofty” goals that were originally mentioned took me about a year to achieve coming from a complete couch potato. My current strength took longer and at this point it is difficult for me to improve on it further, but in general women can become much stronger than they think and quicker than they realize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Middle-aged woman here – I work out typically six days a week, Including varying forms of vigorous aerobics, HIIT, and weight lifting…but always lighter weights with reps up to fatigue. Should I add a heavy weightlifting class?

Obviously yes. Heavier the better if you want to prevent osteoporosis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle-aged woman here – I work out typically six days a week, Including varying forms of vigorous aerobics, HIIT, and weight lifting…but always lighter weights with reps up to fatigue. Should I add a heavy weightlifting class?

Yes. You should be able to do unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups.

A good goal squat is your body weight (in addition to the weight of your body).

A good goal deadlift is 150% of your bodyweight.

You will be fatigued when done; fear not!

Good form is critical. A class may or may not give you that.

I would call all those “upper-limit goals” not “good” (which implies they’re easily within reach for everyone). A pull-up/chin-up is a very lofty goal for most women. I have been lifting heavy for 5 months and am still not even close to getting an unassisted chin-up/pull-up, and I am not overweight. I’m almost able to deadlift my body weight and can squat 70% of my body weight.

I love lifting, but it takes a long time to build that kind of muscle, especially at my age (late 40s), where I have to progress slowly as to not injure myself.

I am 50. It took me five years, in my 20s, to get to these goals; now I maintain them and occasionally build on one or another.

5 months is not a meaningful duration for measuring strength improvement; most of the progress in that time is neurological.

Are these your max out weights? As in you can do this for one rep? Because I ageee this seems like a lot lofty goal for most women. And not a good goal for someone starting in their 40s unless they’re with a private trainer enforcing good form.

No—these are maintenance weights for me (so I could do a set of 10 at each of these, with good form).

My 1RMs are currently 175 for squat (a bit under 1.5x), 230 for DL (a bit under 2x). I can do unassisted pulls and chins (and push-ups).

Starting in your 40s is really a mental impediment more than a physical one. Again, five months is a VERY short time.

[Anonymous]

Read Dr Stacy Simms - she says to lift heavy

[Anonymous]

It’s been proven that lifting weights, any weights, but particularly heavier ones increase longevity and mobility as you age.

My mother and MIL are both in their early eighties. MIL has exercised via walking and jazzercise for most of her life but never lifted a weight over 5lbs. She still walks daily but struggles to carry a laundry basket or groceries up the stairs. My mother is even worse since she stopped working out at all years ago and never lifted weights. They’re both small women who cannot lift anything over a few pounds. My mother has osteoporosis and has shattered bones.

I don’t want to go out that way so I’m lifting heavy things as long as I can.

[Anonymous]

Lift heavier weights. If you’re at the end of your third set of 12 and it’s easy, your weight is too light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle-aged woman here – I work out typically six days a week, Including varying forms of vigorous aerobics, HIIT, and weight lifting…but always lighter weights with reps up to fatigue. Should I add a heavy weightlifting class?

Yes. You should be able to do unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups.

A good goal squat is your body weight (in addition to the weight of your body).

A good goal deadlift is 150% of your bodyweight.

You will be fatigued when done; fear not!

Good form is critical. A class may or may not give you that.

I would call all those “upper-limit goals” not “good” (which implies they’re easily within reach for everyone). A pull-up/chin-up is a very lofty goal for most women. I have been lifting heavy for 5 months and am still not even close to getting an unassisted chin-up/pull-up, and I am not overweight. I’m almost able to deadlift my body weight and can squat 70% of my body weight.

I love lifting, but it takes a long time to build that kind of muscle, especially at my age (late 40s), where I have to progress slowly as to not injure myself.

I am 50. It took me five years, in my 20s, to get to these goals; now I maintain them and occasionally build on one or another.

5 months is not a meaningful duration for measuring strength improvement; most of the progress in that time is neurological.

Are these your max out weights? As in you can do this for one rep? Because I ageee this seems like a lot lofty goal for most women. And not a good goal for someone starting in their 40s unless they’re with a private trainer enforcing good form.

I started in my early 30s completely out of shape. I am now 43 and can deadlift 2x my body weight, squat 1.5x my BW and bench my body weight. I can also do 7-10 chin-ups or pull ups and would have no problem walking around with 60s in my hands at 150lbs. And no, I don’t live in the gym. I have a full time job and a kid. Those goals that were mentioned are not lofty at all. They should be easily achievable for a female who regularly works out following a program with progressive overload.

I mean... these are "easily achievable" in the sense that with regular effort, many women can get there. But for someone who has not lifted at all, it's going to take years to get there. That's not what most people think of when they hear the word "easily."

These are not easily achievable for a middle aged woman. At all. Huge achievement and lots of work. Congrats PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle-aged woman here – I work out typically six days a week, Including varying forms of vigorous aerobics, HIIT, and weight lifting…but always lighter weights with reps up to fatigue. Should I add a heavy weightlifting class?

Yes. You should be able to do unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups.

A good goal squat is your body weight (in addition to the weight of your body).

A good goal deadlift is 150% of your bodyweight.

You will be fatigued when done; fear not!

Good form is critical. A class may or may not give you that.

I would call all those “upper-limit goals” not “good” (which implies they’re easily within reach for everyone). A pull-up/chin-up is a very lofty goal for most women. I have been lifting heavy for 5 months and am still not even close to getting an unassisted chin-up/pull-up, and I am not overweight. I’m almost able to deadlift my body weight and can squat 70% of my body weight.

I love lifting, but it takes a long time to build that kind of muscle, especially at my age (late 40s), where I have to progress slowly as to not injure myself.

These goals are within reach for everyone. 5 months is not a lot of time at all, that's why you're not close. Have you ever seen someone play any sport for only 5 months and thought "wow that person is good?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle-aged woman here – I work out typically six days a week, Including varying forms of vigorous aerobics, HIIT, and weight lifting…but always lighter weights with reps up to fatigue. Should I add a heavy weightlifting class?

Yes. You should be able to do unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups.

A good goal squat is your body weight (in addition to the weight of your body).

A good goal deadlift is 150% of your bodyweight.

You will be fatigued when done; fear not!

Good form is critical. A class may or may not give you that.

I would call all those “upper-limit goals” not “good” (which implies they’re easily within reach for everyone). A pull-up/chin-up is a very lofty goal for most women. I have been lifting heavy for 5 months and am still not even close to getting an unassisted chin-up/pull-up, and I am not overweight. I’m almost able to deadlift my body weight and can squat 70% of my body weight.

I love lifting, but it takes a long time to build that kind of muscle, especially at my age (late 40s), where I have to progress slowly as to not injure myself.

These goals are within reach for everyone. 5 months is not a lot of time at all, that's why you're not close. Have you ever seen someone play any sport for only 5 months and thought "wow that person is good?"

I agree 5 months isn’t long enough, but the quoted weightlifting goals are arbitrary. The important thing is to lift heavy and to keep progressing from wherever you are currently. Not to hit some target.

[Anonymous]

For those that say “lift heavy,” what would a heavy bicep workout weight be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those that say “lift heavy,” what would a heavy bicep workout weight be.

It’s what’s heavy for you. The point is the last rep should be hard to complete -without sacrificing form. When that stops happening, you increase your weight or reps (but generally no more than 12)

So if you’re lifting 15 lb weights and 3x12 and that gets easy, change to 20 lbs 3x8, when that gets easy, do 3x12 and when that gets easy, increase your weight again