Women Weight Lifters, Unite! Q&A
By ctinabina
@ctinabina (386)
United States
February 6, 2007 4:03pm CST
I am a great proponent of weight lifting as exercise for women. It pains me to see so many women wailing away on cardio machines and then totally skip the free weights!
I've heard- and am living proof- that lifting weights is a great way to improve posture, lose weight, and stay healthy all around.
So let's talk weights! Post your work outs, your progress, your questions and your answers here!
3 responses
@freak369 (5113)
• United States
7 Feb 07
AWESOME!!!!!
I am one of FIVE women that lift weights at my gym. Needless to say, I get the strange looks from new members. I'm almost six foot tall and deadlift a solid 460. I was stuck at 440x4 for the longest time but managed to break through with the help of some very dedicated meatnecks at the gym. I am not one of those ultra buff striated chicks, more American Gladiator looking than ready to step on a stage and pose.
I was a fat kid. No, I was obese. It was with the help of a friend that I lost weight by lifting weights. After that I got hooked on it. I still do cardio but there is no feeling like the rush yu get when you increase your weights and beat your own personal best. You'd think that me and the other four girls would get hit on all the time at the gym, it's the exact opposite. We have their respect but - oddly enough - it seems like they are all into those bony little waif looking girls. Weird LOL.
Well, my routine is pretty basic; monday legs and cardio, tuesday arms and cardio, wen cardio and running, thur back and chest, fri circuit training, saturday cardio, sunday off.
1 person likes this
@ctinabina (386)
• United States
7 Feb 07
Cool. I'm also not muscle-competition ready or anything, but I like weight lifting. I'm relatively new to it, but I've been getting a lot of good tips and ideas from this website: http://www.stumptuous.com
The woman to runs that website is a lifter herself, and she has some very down to earth advice, usually delivered with wit too!
About getting hit on by men at the gym, that doesn't usually happen to me as I go to a more family oriented rec center. BUT, I definitely see that I get admiring looks as I'm usually the only chick pumping iron.
And, hey, Congrats on the 460! That's awesome!
1 person likes this
@ctinabina (386)
• United States
8 Feb 07
I hope you like the broccoli thread. It just always seems like I end up with a boatload of broccoli and nothing to do with it. Anyway, thanks for the response and keep lifin'!
@thecaitycat (267)
• United States
8 Feb 07
I like hand weights *so* much more than cardio machines! I get all of my cardio exercise by walking.
My weight-lifting routine is something really simple I learned from my aunt back in high school. All you need are handweights and a chair.
1) Sit in the chair. Stand up slowly to the count of four, sit back down to the count of four. 2 reps of 4.
2) Bicep curls - up to the count of four, down to the count of four. 2 reps of 4.
3) Stand up. Stand up on your toes to the count of four, then go back down to the count of four. 2 reps of 4.
4) Standing up with a weight in each hand, raise your hands straight above your shoulders to the count of four, then back down to the count of four. 2 reps of four.
There are a couple of others that I can't figure out how to describe. As I said, it's simple, but it works. Three times a week. For a while I even used cans of soup.
1 person likes this
@ctinabina (386)
• United States
8 Feb 07
The "sit on a chair" ones sound a lot like a modified squat.
These counts that you do, is that to make sure you don't use momentum to lift or is it something like "ultraslow" lifting? Ultraslow is this technique- somewhat controversial actually- that allegedly gets you better results faster by slowing down the pushing and pulling motions in weight lifting. I've never done it myself, but I've been curious....
I usually do squats (with a light barbell- I'm not too good yet, ahem!), calf raises, shoulder press (that's where you lift a barbell over your head while standing- harder than it seems and it really works out your back muscles too), that one where you pull a barbell up so it's almost like you're doing the chicken- good for shoulders, bicep curls, modified lunges (take barbells of desired weight and step up on a bench doing 10 on each leg), and of course various types of crunches.
@ctinabina (386)
• United States
9 Feb 07
I love plie squats. I'm sort of torn about using the Smith machine. I feel that the forced stability of the Smith jeopardizes the ability to work out all of those core muscles you need to balance. That's just MHO, and I use the Smith machine too-- to do push ups/pull ups!
I also usually do my crunches at the end of the work out, just so they're not as fatigued while I'm doing other weights. I also love swiss ball crunches or crunches on an angeled plank- they're so much more intense then flying around on the ground. Or a fun one is to do what i call "bridge ups" but sometimes called barbell rolls. Start with a barbell by your feet. Then make like your touching your toes, but grab on to the barbell and roll it out so that you're in a plank/push up position. Hold. Roll back. Repeat.
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
9 Feb 07
I must agree with what you said. However, I have gotten so lazy latly, and do nothing but sit. At one time, before I hurt my foot, I lifted up to 10 pounds, and I took a 45 minute walk holding the weights. Posture did get better, but lost no weight. Just got more solid. Blessings, M&M
@ctinabina (386)
• United States
9 Feb 07
Maybe you could start up again with activities that don't involve standing or walking? I see people pedaling a bike with their hands, for example. And there's a lot of weight training you can do without standing. I hope you feel better soon!
