Weight Lifting

I'm a woman, age 22 and I've heard a mixture of things and I'm not sure which is correct.

When you are doing your weight lifting, do you want to use a high amount of weight-doing 6-10 reps or do you use a light weight and do many reps like 25-30?

Of course I want to tone and build some muscle, but I don't want to look over-done.

i've never really heard about 25-30 reps, that seems extremely high.  if you're going to be doing several exercises for one muscle group at a time i would shoot for 8-12 reps.

As a beginner the previous post was pretty much right on. Dont get caught up in lifting too heavy will make you too "overdone" as you say.

Original Post by ching12:

As a beginner the previous post was pretty much right on. Dont get caught up in lifting too heavy will make you too "overdone" as you say.

 UGH!! Lifting heavy won't make you "over done"

Building muscle is a gradual process that takes a combination of lifting weights and eating more food than you need.

"Toning" is the process of stripping fat of your already existing muscle so you can see it hence looking more "toned" 

firstly you have to decide which to do first if you have good muscle already you might be able to get right to the dieting so you can strip of the fat, however if your sort of skinny fat or don't have much muscle then you might want to start with gaining alittle muscle.

Best way to do this as a begining is to start with something in the 6-12 rep range but lift HEAVY lift as HEAVY as you possibly can.

Building muscle is gradual, if it were an over night thing i've look like arnie... you lift as heavy as you can, then when you have gained "enough" muscle to suit your needs you then cut your calories back to maintainence to prevent you gaining more.

Muscles don't blow up over night, body builders, figure athletes train for YEARS to get the muscle they have got, as a woman genetic's are against you anyway as we don't gain muscle quickly.

building enough muscle to look toned and fit is a gradual thing, just build up till your happy with what you have then make sure you cut back your food intake so you don't gain more and keep lifting the same weights to maintain it. 

You want to lift heavy but not too heavy that you hurt yourself.

http://www.shelterpub.com/_fitness/_office_fi tness_clinic/OFC_how_to_lift.html

http://exercise.about.com/od/exerciseworkouts /a/liftingheavy.htm

http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle. php?aid=43

http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightlifting/a/ bestexercises.htm

If you want to tone you should stick to a weight that will allow you to do about 2 sets with 10-12 reps.  That said, it should still be difficult to get that last one done.  To build muscle you are supposed to do higher weights with fewer reps (again, still difficult to get that last one). 

Or at least thats what I've been told

I think Leiela is right but with one exception.  I would not start out with weights you can lift only 6-12 times.  Take a more gradual approach to train your muscles and get them ready for lifting, especially if you haven't done any weights or aren't too physically active.  Starting to quickly will lead to a lot of pain and possible injury. 

I'd start with weights you can lift 10-15 times.   Do just that one day.  If you are not sore next day, you are ready to step it up.   The following day, lift that same weight, and if it's available, lift another about 60-70% of the first one right after, without a break, 10-15 times.  If you have another that's say 50%, repeat with that one.  That's three sets of 10-15, one after the other, with increasingly light weights.   Check again the next day.  If you are not sore, you're good to go.

The following day, increase your first weight to the 8-12 level and repeat this process.  Depending on your current condition, it could take 2-3 weeks to get to the point of lifting your max 8 rep weight.  Be patient, it's much better than getting hurt, believe me.  I know from experience...lol.

I have found that the set of three to four different weights, each successively smaller, done in succession, is ideal for building strength and endurance, without gaining huge bulk.  After a month of two of curling say 20-15-10 lbs, your arms will be very firm, without a large increase in mass.  If you don't want to gain mass, just don't increase your max weight too far, and increase your number of reps and speed.  

i guess i wasnt clear ....but my point was that if you lift heavy, you will not get overdone

Original Post by johnnypenso:

I think Leiela is right but with one exception.  I would not start out with weights you can lift only 6-12 times.  Take a more gradual approach to train your muscles and get them ready for lifting, especially if you haven't done any weights or aren't too physically active.  Starting to quickly will lead to a lot of pain and possible injury. 

I'd start with weights you can lift 10-15 times.   Do just that one day.  If you are not sore next day, you are ready to step it up.   The following day, lift that same weight, and if it's available, lift another about 60-70% of the first one right after, without a break, 10-15 times.  If you have another that's say 50%, repeat with that one.  That's three sets of 10-15, one after the other, with increasingly light weights.   Check again the next day.  If you are not sore, you're good to go.

The following day, increase your first weight to the 8-12 level and repeat this process.  Depending on your current condition, it could take 2-3 weeks to get to the point of lifting your max 8 rep weight.  Be patient, it's much better than getting hurt, believe me.  I know from experience...lol.

I have found that the set of three to four different weights, each successively smaller, done in succession, is ideal for building strength and endurance, without gaining huge bulk.  After a month of two of curling say 20-15-10 lbs, your arms will be very firm, without a large increase in mass.  If you don't want to gain mass, just don't increase your max weight too far, and increase your number of reps and speed.  

Err, those are commonly known as drop sets and are an advanced intensification technique, commonly employed by bodybuilders looking to gain mass fast. The increasingly light weights means you're gaining a lot of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy in addition to the myofibrillar hypertrophy of lifting heavy, or a non-functional gain in muscle size without strength since you're pumping up the muscle cell volume (the sarcoplasm) instead of the muscle fibre (the myofibrils).

 Wouldn't do that if you're after strength without mass gains - lifting in the 1-5 rep range of 85-90% of your 1RM is almost pure neurological strength gain without either sarcoplasmic or myofibrillar hypertrophy, it's how little 97lbs Suzanna  can lift 2.5 times her bodyweight. Her mass-to-strength ratio is phenomenal and it's all done with lifting singles and doubles.

 8-12 is a good compromise range for anyone looking to build a bit of size and strength, but the lower the rep range the more you're training the neural component of strength by increasing the rate coding of your motor neurons and increasing the coordination of your motor units. Which means you can grow significantly stronger without increasing muscle mass, because you're training your nervous system to get more out of what you've already got.

"Toning" is the process of stripping fat of your already existing muscle so you can see it hence looking more "toned" 

firstly you have to decide which to do first if you have good muscle already you might be able to get right to the dieting so you can strip of the fat, however if your sort of skinny fat or don't have much muscle then you might want to start with gaining alittle muscle.

Is this true!?!

Sorry to hijack the thread....

I am not afraid to look overdone -- I'd like it....but I was going at it differently (and maybe wrong?).  I have not lost all my weight and still have some thigh and belly flabbiness.....I am not over eating that much but I do eat more on my lifting days......if I want to lose that flabbiness I should cut calories WHILE continuing the weight lifting program?  I had thought that, after having lost 50 lbs....started lifting with increasing seriousness and have not gained nor lost a single pound in a year....but look better and have a better shape...I had thought that this was due to the lifting.  Can I just carry on in this manner?

What happens, physiologically, when I continue to strive to lift heavier and heavier (as has been my goal), but do not eat more than my recommended daily intake based on the BMI and weight loss goals I have?

Melkor?  I like your highly scientific style of answers.