Do you sleep 8 hours a night?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy adjustable dumbells up to 50 pounds. Do squats with 50 in each hand. Deadlifts with 30 in each hand. Most of your largest muscles will be worked with these two exercises.

Do pushups and pullups and chinups with body weight and you will be strong in a few months. Probably will gain 5 pounds of beginners muscle but your body will be smaller, leaner. This is what the OP is looking for.

How would a woman do deep squats with 50 pounds in each hand? I’m male and my squat work sets are at 275 right now, and I don’t know how I’d squat with 50 pound dumbbells. I could goblet squat with a 100lb dumbbell, but most women new to lifting couldn’t.

Why not just use a barbell?

I’m a man and when gyms were closed in the early days of covid, all I had were dumbbells up to 50 lbs. Holding a dumbbell in each are like for a farmer’s carry and doing sets of 10 became a staple of my workouts for a while.

I’ll have try this. I feel like it would be hard to balance, but I’ve never done it. Maybe next week when my kid is home and I have to break down the squat rack I put up in his room while he’s been at college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. You need to start lifting, and lifting heavy.

You don't need to lift heavy. Reading op, hypertrophy does not seem like the goal. Light with high reps will tone and build muscle if OP hasn't been lifting and will help.

Muscle tone, in a physiological sense, is apparently a neurological thing that’s fixed. So saying you want to “tone” doesn’t really mean anything.

What we can control is lean muscle mass and fat. When people say they want to tone, they usually really mean some fat loss and some muscle hypertrophy. The first you get from diet, the second from lifting.

Based on the research, it seems to be true that you can use lighter weights and higher reps to build muscle, but context is important —- that doesn’t mean 5lb dumbbells for sets of 25. If you talk to women who have really changed their appearance, posture, and body composition, I think most will tell you that they do barbell lifts in a gym — squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, hip thrusts. I’d urge you to look at how female athletes lift.

NP - I see the bolded all the time: what does it mean? Is there fat muscle mass? Why not just call it muscle mass?

OP, yes, to have visible definition you need at least some size to your muscles. IME, as a woman who builds muscle easily and has lifted all kinds of ways, looking "toned" is far more about fat loss than muscle growth. The latter is more important for your health, of course.

But it is really hard to lose fat and not also lose muscle at the same time. Unless you are lifting heavy while dieting and eating tons of protein. But it is still a challenge as those goals are opposing

Right, which is why many serious lifters go through bulking and cutting cycles.

Still not sure what "lean muscle mass" is.

They probably meant lean body mass which is weight minus fat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. You need to start lifting, and lifting heavy.

You don't need to lift heavy. Reading op, hypertrophy does not seem like the goal. Light with high reps will tone and build muscle if OP hasn't been lifting and will help.

Muscle tone, in a physiological sense, is apparently a neurological thing that’s fixed. So saying you want to “tone” doesn’t really mean anything.

What we can control is lean muscle mass and fat. When people say they want to tone, they usually really mean some fat loss and some muscle hypertrophy. The first you get from diet, the second from lifting.

Based on the research, it seems to be true that you can use lighter weights and higher reps to build muscle, but context is important —- that doesn’t mean 5lb dumbbells for sets of 25. If you talk to women who have really changed their appearance, posture, and body composition, I think most will tell you that they do barbell lifts in a gym — squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, hip thrusts. I’d urge you to look at how female athletes lift.

NP - I see the bolded all the time: what does it mean? Is there fat muscle mass? Why not just call it muscle mass?

OP, yes, to have visible definition you need at least some size to your muscles. IME, as a woman who builds muscle easily and has lifted all kinds of ways, looking "toned" is far more about fat loss than muscle growth. The latter is more important for your health, of course.

But it is really hard to lose fat and not also lose muscle at the same time. Unless you are lifting heavy while dieting and eating tons of protein. But it is still a challenge as those goals are opposing

Right, which is why many serious lifters go through bulking and cutting cycles.

Still not sure what "lean muscle mass" is.

Anonymous wrote:I know for a fact I am mildly hypothyridic, at least I was a few years ago. I imagine its gotten worse. How does one remedy this for weight loss?

Keeping in mind Im not overweight, 135 and 5'6, I just want to be under 130 for clothing purposes.

With medication, OP. Not supplements. You go to your doctor, do bloodwork, and get Synthroid adjusted to your hypothyroidism. If you have currently become quite hypo, then you will lose weight once your body adjusts to the meds. Please DO NOT overmedicate yourself to lose weight, because hyper-thyroidism (too much thyroid hormones) causes bone loss and other long-term medical issues.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. You need to start lifting, and lifting heavy.

You don't need to lift heavy. Reading op, hypertrophy does not seem like the goal. Light with high reps will tone and build muscle if OP hasn't been lifting and will help.

Muscle tone, in a physiological sense, is apparently a neurological thing that’s fixed. So saying you want to “tone” doesn’t really mean anything.

What we can control is lean muscle mass and fat. When people say they want to tone, they usually really mean some fat loss and some muscle hypertrophy. The first you get from diet, the second from lifting.

Based on the research, it seems to be true that you can use lighter weights and higher reps to build muscle, but context is important —- that doesn’t mean 5lb dumbbells for sets of 25. If you talk to women who have really changed their appearance, posture, and body composition, I think most will tell you that they do barbell lifts in a gym — squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, hip thrusts. I’d urge you to look at how female athletes lift.

NP - I see the bolded all the time: what does it mean? Is there fat muscle mass? Why not just call it muscle mass?

OP, yes, to have visible definition you need at least some size to your muscles. IME, as a woman who builds muscle easily and has lifted all kinds of ways, looking "toned" is far more about fat loss than muscle growth. The latter is more important for your health, of course.

But it is really hard to lose fat and not also lose muscle at the same time. Unless you are lifting heavy while dieting and eating tons of protein. But it is still a challenge as those goals are opposing

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy adjustable dumbells up to 50 pounds. Do squats with 50 in each hand. Deadlifts with 30 in each hand. Most of your largest muscles will be worked with these two exercises.

Do pushups and pullups and chinups with body weight and you will be strong in a few months. Probably will gain 5 pounds of beginners muscle but your body will be smaller, leaner. This is what the OP is looking for.

How would a woman do deep squats with 50 pounds in each hand? I’m male and my squat work sets are at 275 right now, and I don’t know how I’d squat with 50 pound dumbbells. I could goblet squat with a 100lb dumbbell, but most women new to lifting couldn’t.

Why not just use a barbell?

I think the person who wrote about using DB was talking about things to do at home. Having adjustable DBs at home is a lot easier than having a barbell and rack. Barbell squats also take more weight lifting proficiency than dumbbells.

For most women starting out DBs will be sufficient. This is coming from a women who lifts at the gym with a barbell all the time.

This is all well and good, but beginners do not have the grip strength nor the core strength to safely squat 100 pounds. Honestly I think holding two DBs that are in the 10-15 pound range would be far more effective to get the proper form, give OP a sense of accomplishment that she can get through the movements, and less likely to injure herself right out of the gate. Once she’s more comfortable with it and finds that weight easy, she can increase the load. Remember that excessive soreness/DOMS can hinder a lot of beginners (or those just returning to a program) and discourage them from continuing. You want to ease newcomers into it if you want them to stick with it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. You need to start lifting, and lifting heavy.

You don't need to lift heavy. Reading op, hypertrophy does not seem like the goal. Light with high reps will tone and build muscle if OP hasn't been lifting and will help.

Muscle tone, in a physiological sense, is apparently a neurological thing that’s fixed. So saying you want to “tone” doesn’t really mean anything.

What we can control is lean muscle mass and fat. When people say they want to tone, they usually really mean some fat loss and some muscle hypertrophy. The first you get from diet, the second from lifting.

Based on the research, it seems to be true that you can use lighter weights and higher reps to build muscle, but context is important —- that doesn’t mean 5lb dumbbells for sets of 25. If you talk to women who have really changed their appearance, posture, and body composition, I think most will tell you that they do barbell lifts in a gym — squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, hip thrusts. I’d urge you to look at how female athletes lift.

NP - I see the bolded all the time: what does it mean? Is there fat muscle mass? Why not just call it muscle mass?

OP, yes, to have visible definition you need at least some size to your muscles. IME, as a woman who builds muscle easily and has lifted all kinds of ways, looking "toned" is far more about fat loss than muscle growth. The latter is more important for your health, of course.

62 year old woman here.

Lift weights and build up to lifting heavy.

You will lean out.

I can eat pretty much anything I want and don't gain weight.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy adjustable dumbells up to 50 pounds. Do squats with 50 in each hand. Deadlifts with 30 in each hand. Most of your largest muscles will be worked with these two exercises.

Do pushups and pullups and chinups with body weight and you will be strong in a few months. Probably will gain 5 pounds of beginners muscle but your body will be smaller, leaner. This is what the OP is looking for.

How would a woman do deep squats with 50 pounds in each hand? I’m male and my squat work sets are at 275 right now, and I don’t know how I’d squat with 50 pound dumbbells. I could goblet squat with a 100lb dumbbell, but most women new to lifting couldn’t.

Why not just use a barbell?

I’m a man and when gyms were closed in the early days of covid, all I had were dumbbells up to 50 lbs. Holding a dumbbell in each are like for a farmer’s carry and doing sets of 10 became a staple of my workouts for a while.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy adjustable dumbells up to 50 pounds. Do squats with 50 in each hand. Deadlifts with 30 in each hand. Most of your largest muscles will be worked with these two exercises.

Do pushups and pullups and chinups with body weight and you will be strong in a few months. Probably will gain 5 pounds of beginners muscle but your body will be smaller, leaner. This is what the OP is looking for.

How would a woman do deep squats with 50 pounds in each hand? I’m male and my squat work sets are at 275 right now, and I don’t know how I’d squat with 50 pound dumbbells. I could goblet squat with a 100lb dumbbell, but most women new to lifting couldn’t.

Why not just use a barbell?

I think the person who wrote about using DB was talking about things to do at home. Having adjustable DBs at home is a lot easier than having a barbell and rack. Barbell squats also take more weight lifting proficiency than dumbbells.

For most women starting out DBs will be sufficient. This is coming from a women who lifts at the gym with a barbell all the time.

Anonymous wrote:Buy adjustable dumbells up to 50 pounds. Do squats with 50 in each hand. Deadlifts with 30 in each hand. Most of your largest muscles will be worked with these two exercises.

Do pushups and pullups and chinups with body weight and you will be strong in a few months. Probably will gain 5 pounds of beginners muscle but your body will be smaller, leaner. This is what the OP is looking for.

How would a woman do deep squats with 50 pounds in each hand? I’m male and my squat work sets are at 275 right now, and I don’t know how I’d squat with 50 pound dumbbells. I could goblet squat with a 100lb dumbbell, but most women new to lifting couldn’t.

Why not just use a barbell?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. You need to start lifting, and lifting heavy.

You don't need to lift heavy. Reading op, hypertrophy does not seem like the goal. Light with high reps will tone and build muscle if OP hasn't been lifting and will help.

Muscle tone, in a physiological sense, is apparently a neurological thing that’s fixed. So saying you want to “tone” doesn’t really mean anything.

What we can control is lean muscle mass and fat. When people say they want to tone, they usually really mean some fat loss and some muscle hypertrophy. The first you get from diet, the second from lifting.

Based on the research, it seems to be true that you can use lighter weights and higher reps to build muscle, but context is important —- that doesn’t mean 5lb dumbbells for sets of 25. If you talk to women who have really changed their appearance, posture, and body composition, I think most will tell you that they do barbell lifts in a gym — squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, hip thrusts. I’d urge you to look at how female athletes lift.

Anonymous wrote:Buy adjustable dumbells up to 50 pounds. Do squats with 50 in each hand. Deadlifts with 30 in each hand. Most of your largest muscles will be worked with these two exercises.

Do pushups and pullups and chinups with body weight and you will be strong in a few months. Probably will gain 5 pounds of beginners muscle but your body will be smaller, leaner. This is what the OP is looking for.

This is good advice but, OP, if that sounds intimidating or unpleasant, check out kettlebell workouts. Thee are some I think would be a good fit for someone who likes peloton.

Buy adjustable dumbells up to 50 pounds. Do squats with 50 in each hand. Deadlifts with 30 in each hand. Most of your largest muscles will be worked with these two exercises.

Do pushups and pullups and chinups with body weight and you will be strong in a few months. Probably will gain 5 pounds of beginners muscle but your body will be smaller, leaner. This is what the OP is looking for.