How Do We Dispell the "Pink Dumbell Theory"?

I sometimes get so frustrated when I go work out and hear the woman still touting the "small weight multiple reps" philosophy of weight training.  How do we "average Joanne's" who don't have "PT" behind our names tell these women NO!!  DON'T GO THERE!!!  Use those heavy weights - Use those Free Weights  USe those muscles!!!  YOu aren't going to be big and bulky and look like a weight lifter. 

I so want to say something but the one time I did comment to someone that her lifting 2lb weights at super fast reps wasn't really effective since alot of the movement was momentum but she was so closed to any suggestions and basically said because her boyfriend did weights I didn't know what I was talking about and she didn't want to get all buffed -- I walked away and just said ok

edit: I made this comment to this woman after a cardio mix class ( similar to "Cardio Blast" on Fittv) and she wasn't doing what the instructor was telling us to do - first doing slow counts and concentrated work and she was just swinging those darn 2 lbs weights around like flailing there was no "work" on the muscles it was all a waste of her time - and since she was standing in my line of sight from the instructor I just had to say something.

I am not saying I go around preaching to these women I let them do their thing I just wish more women would not fear the heavier weights.

So how do you if you do try to suggest to someone to toss those pink db's in the trash and go for the real weights??

Here's the thing--the group on this forum that lifts together using "The New Rules of Lifting For Women" seems to think that they know everything and that anything other than what they know is WRONG! I think I've made myself pretty clear in that learning different ways of working out and incorporating this and that is a better way to go.  Why do you think I talk about hiring or talking to professionals in the field?  You say you made many mistakes.  I'm trying to point out to women who are new to lifting to learn the correct way so that they do not make those mistakes.  We only have one body for life.  Do we want to take care of it or mess it up?  Someone just beginning cannot possibly know how to lift safely by reading a book, they need someone who knows what they are doing to show proper form and technique.  For some reason this group got really angry at the suggestion of hiring a professional to be taught proper form and techniique and has been spouting "hard science" and that they know everything and everything outside of what they spout is BAD!

 The funny thing is I haven't said anything against what they're doing other than it is not the only way! How can anyone dialogue with people who are saying things like "don't listen to her," she's wrong, blah, blah, blah. 

Some of the stuff posted here is quite amusing, such as water retention in the muscle?  Your muscles bulge after lifting because of the blood pumping to them.  And it only lasts a couple hours at most, not a month.  I don't care if you don't believe me, ask someone who gets paid to train.  My point is that if you really want to learn to reshape your body through weight training learn the correct technique so that you don't make mistakes with your precious body.  I'm 50 years old, started lifting a year ago with a professional, and I also started sprinting for the first time in my life and doing intervals.  I also do plyometrics.  If you want to talk specific weight, I leg press 225 lbs. and it's not that difficult.  I'll probably increase that once I get through ski season, but I can't do to much when I plan to ski the next day.  I lift and workout to keep strong for ski season.  I squat 115 lbs. in the sqaut rack--proper technique is important so that I don't hurt myself when I sqaut alone.  I deadlift 85-90 lbs.  I could destroy my back if I wasn't doing it correctly.  I don't plan on deadlifting much more because my hands can't hold anymore weight even though my body could easily deadlift more weight.  I have different workouts this time of year depending on whether I can get into the gym 1, 2, or 3 days a week.  The rest of the week I'm skiing, which is a tremendous workout! I usually lift for an hour to an hour and a half.  During the off ski season, I'm in the gym 5 days a week.  When I first started, I noticed big improvements in muscle gain and fat loss immediatley, within 1-2 weeks.  I did not start out with "pink dumbells."  Because of the fact that I had a professional with me, I started off with heavier weight appropriate to what I was able to do, which is way more than I would have thought and if I had attempted to do alone! I believe that that is why I noticed such quick improvements in my muscle tone.  I was unbelievably amazed at what I could do as a newbie!  With proper training, it doesn't take months to notice muscle gain!  I am still amazed at my muscle tone when I look in the mirror!  And the cool thing is it is accumulative--it gets better and better over time.  I have a better shaped body than I ever have and I normally would never tell this story, but this is why I am so excited about proper weight training:  I was in the mall a couple of weeks ago with my 21 year old daughter and her friend, 19 years.  A man came up and said,"excuse me, are you the mom?" He went on to say that because I was in such great shape that at first he thought that we were 3 girls the same age.  As we turned to walk away another man, who had overheard the conversation, came up and said, "I thought the same thing, you look like 3 sisters."  This had never happened before and I know it was only because of my trainer and her knowledge on how to properly train!  I will continue to lift until I'm dead after comments like that!  I would love to see more women have those kinds of improvements through their workout routines!

I posted in the first place to acknowledge that some people put a lot of effort into trying to help others.

I am all for the sharing of ideas, I don't think anyone should ever be flogged for it. Personally, I have found working out has calmed me, made me more centred, not so prone to outbursts. I guess it's just me.....

melkor, spirochete, and susiecue (and amethyst girl) thanks for yours posts :)

sticksandberries, sorry if I flogged you!  I agree that this should be for sharing ideas and not saying that I'm right and your wrong.  I will say that from what you said about your muscles "hiding" that you may want to search for a new workout, because if you're working out correctly, and eating properly, the muscle would not be "hiding."  Good luck! 

to clarify, I was attempting to interject some humour...my bad.

I do actually have muscles and at 43 yo I can tell you I've had my share of male attention like yourself. That however is absolutely not my motivation. I only have myself to blame or to prove things to, depends on how you view it.

When I said I would heed advice if it were coming from someone qualified to give it, I meant that. I know of "personal trainers" that are overweight. I know of nurses that smoke. I know of addiction counsellors that drink too much. I know of....etc. etc.

I simply don't believe that having PT after your name somehow provides you with magical abilities. I would much rather take advice from someone that is an obvious practitioner of what they preach, and I would judge this by their physical appearance and their knowledge base, not by their business card. Would you hire an interior designer that wore stripes and plaid together??? (whoops, sorry, tryin to be funny again)

I respect everyones opinion and if by seeing my mistakes helped someone else learn, I would be thrilled.

I complimented Spirochette and Melkor but there are many others that offer their experience and opinions and I respect each and every one of them. Nothing I say is ever intended to be inflammatory. I thought this thread was a great debate because there is a lot of misinformation out there, and this sharing of ideas is what helps some people sort thru.

thus endeth my rant.

Hey, I totally agree with you!  I said earlier in a post that many trainers in gyms are not that knowledgeable!  I pointed out that to find someone you need to look at their body and see if it is a body that you aspire to have.  Then you need to question them to find out what their background is, and whether they have weight training knowledge to take you to the level you want to go.  I personally think that most women (myself included, until I started this process) have no idea what they can achieve with proper weight training!  2 years ago I would have laughed at the suggestion of the workout that I do now!

I think what happened is that the group I was referring to got really upset that I even suggested hiring a professional and everything was taken out of context! Anybody who claims to know everything most likely, knows nothing!  I certainly don't know everything about this subject.  But, I will say that you cannot argue with results, and I have seen incredible results!

Thus, endeth my own rant! 

Christ smoothedout relax. I'm impressed you found a half decent personal trainer because frankly anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes at the gym knows most of them are terrible at best, downright dangerous at worst. The biggest offenders of the "pink dumbbell syndrome" are the trainers. I watch them toddle their clients around doing bicep curls and swiss ball wall squats then stick them on  the treadmill at "crawl" pace while they gab with their friends.

I lift more than many men at my gym. I don't need some trainer trying to sell me lessons during my workout and I especially don't need the same guy I saw yesterday showing a woman how to "tone" her triceps with 5lb weights to come interrupt me when I have 200lbs on a damn bar.

Your idea of the "New Rules for Lifting" crowd is sorta hilarious, by the way. It's a great book that encapsulates what all the studies show: lift heavy. Sorry it gets your vagina all bent out of shape because you want to use machines or whatever you said

Looks like vagina was unwadded while I was posting. I will unwad mine as well

Original Post by spirochete:

Looks like vagina was unwadded while I was posting. I will unwad mine as well

  wiping tears

Oh God, even I can laugh at that!!!!!!

this thread has been awfully quiet :)

I guess everyone now knows about the pink dumbell syndrome and how to avoid it!

:-P j/k

Original Post by fatanr11:

this thread has been awfully quiet :)

I guess everyone now knows about the pink dumbell syndrome and how to avoid it!

:-P j/k

I'm crossing my fingers that they do :)

I had always thought that heavy weightlifting was for women who wanted big muscles...until very recently, actually.

My husband and I joined a gym last Sunday and my first appointment with my personal trainer was yesterday. I was SHOCKED that he based almost my entire routine on REAL lifting. He explained that the most effective way to burn fat is by building muscle...and it makes total sense. He also explained that it would be nearly impossible for me to "accidentally" build so much muscle that I would look like a body builder (something about some hormone decreasing with age - I'm 38).

So, I'm trusting my PT...and all of you...and going for it! AND looking very forward to the quick results that he promised me!!

Sounds like you found a pretty awesome personal trainer.  Good luck!

I AM A FIRM BELIEVER THAT IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S HOW YOU SAY IT..

Original Post by ldazil:

I AM A FIRM BELIEVER THAT IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S HOW YOU SAY IT..

then how come yer yellin??? JK

Your right!!

I think this needed to be bumped again.

Last post was 6/3/09. It is 9/30/09.

BUMPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

I just picked up some weights at a Play it Again Sports last night and they had weights from 1lb to 100+.  Now what would I seriously do with 1lb dumbells?  Finger curls?

I picked up the 6lb set since I'm a beginner and that seems to be a good starting point.  What did you guys start with?  I hope to soon be well on my way to joining some of you in the heavy lifting category.