Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"Toning" simply means lowering your body fat percentage so that you increase muscle definition and lose the flab that covers your belly, arms etc.
Diet is by far the most important component. If a man can bench press 225 lbs doing 3 sets of 8 reps, he's not going to improve his strength or physique by choosing to do 3 sets of 15 at 100 lbs. Perhaps his muscular endurance improves, but his body (on the outside) won't really reflect that.
Repetitious movements over time WILL result in lasting incapacitating injuries and chronic problems.
For this statement to make any sense, you need further explanation. If you are describing someone who works on an assemply line for 30 years making the same repetitious movement for 8 hours a day, I agree with you. Would swimming the same stroke qualify as a repetitious movement if someone swims a mile a day for five years?
I don't think weightlifting qualifies if someone is doing a varied workout and changing their routine on a regular basis. There is no reason that a person should be making the same repetitive movement more than 30-35 times in one week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgn2013
"Light" and "heavy" are relative, depending on the individual.
If you are intimidated by lifting heavy, use bodyweight exercises like pull-ups, pushups, dips, lunges etc. Women (especially Asians and whites) have a tendency to develop osteoporosis as they age. Heavy lifting helps to strengthen bones, so these women should be especially mindful of the benefits of the free weight section.
I agree that light and heavy are relative depending on the individual. It probably doesn't make sense to tll many women to "lift heavy." They have a negative reaction to that phrase. Telling people they should work to failure on each set probably makes more sense.
I think for most people, pull-ups are heavy lifting. Only a small percentage of the male population can do 10 pull-ups, and most women can't do one. I rarely see people even attempt to do them at the gyms where I work out.
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
8,297 posts, read 14,169,902 times
Reputation: 8105
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pink90
If you are a woman who wants to have a lean, toned body(not overly muscular or big), which workout would be better?
I've been around for a while, and have observed this matter a lot.
Some women do indeed bulk up with heavy lifting, but those seem to be the same kind of body type that will put on bulk from just a busy schedule without even lifting at all. They have more "fast twitch" muscle tissue that lends strength and speed. Other women don't really bulk up much at all, even with heavy weights - they have "slow twitch" muscle fibers predominate. You can often get a general idea of where you stand by what your mother and grandmothers were like, and by whether you are an endurance type or a strength type.
Light weights with high reps will indeed help your body tone - your muscles will feel hard even when you haven't lifted for a while, and you won't bulk up (or increase strength much either). Any particular long-lasting workout will burn more calories during that session ...... but ...... short intense workouts can lead to a small amount of muscle growth, which burns more calories at all times, not just during the workout.
Basically, if you are an endurance type like most women, the way to get lean and toned is by diet and aerobic exercise more than by weightlifting. It will feel more natural to you to do aerobic and low weights (for me, it felt much more natural to do mostly intense heavy lifting with low reps, less than eight or even less than 6 on the heaviest set). However it would be good to balance that with a little heavy lifting.
Mainly it's down to fat loss through calorie restriction, and if you become too lazy to work out, you should do some brisk walking or even lots of activity during a normal day, always staying in motion. My ex did that, at the age of 54 she had the body of a 25 yo, apparently from staying in motion all day while sipping tea, and grazing or snacking rather than regular meals.
The weight does not need to be high, just the intensity. When I was lifting for track in college we did some absolutely crushing workouts where very little heavy weights were used. I vaguely remember one particular workout that involved a heavy jump rope, resistance bands, and many sets of 25 power cleans that turned my whole body to jelly so badly that even after my shower I had to get help to open a door with a round doorknob and I fell down when I stood up with a backpack.
Weights can be useful but they are not the only way to achieve a fit athletic physique. In fact, some gym guys who do nothing but lift heavy weights and neglect their cardio and coordination will often develop muscular but awkwardly proportioned bodies and lack athleticism. The real serious fitness types don't usually do this, but every gym seems to have a stereotypical curls and bench specialist with stick legs who can't run a quarter mile without keeling over, much less play 90 minutes of an athletically demanding sport like soccer or basketball.
It probably doesn't make sense to tll many women to "lift heavy." They have a negative reaction to that phrase. Telling people they should work to failure on each set probably makes more sense.
Well, that's their problem. I mean, if I were a trainer and my livelihood depended on it, then I'd probably be more sensitive about my wording and accommodate phrases like "work to failure". But they could work to failure with 1 lb dumbbells after 100 reps or whatever if they wanted to....and it wouldn't be as efficient as if they did it fewer times with a weight that felt heavier to them (which is why it doesn't matter that "light" and "heavy" is relative...they need to lift what's heavy FOR THEM).
While I agree with most here, (High weight/Low reps is best), the low weight/high rep combo DOES have it's importance... at the very beginning.
When you are starting out a new program or just lifting weights in general, one of the keys to reduce injury is to have proper form. I would HIGHLY advise people not to just jump in using strenuous weights, especially exercises such as deadlifts and squats. I have seen many times at the gym, people (both men and female) jump into a routine pushing as much as they can do for 6 reps and call it a success (never-mind what they are doing can be both dangerous to themselves, and a lot less beneficial in their goal.)
For the first couple of weeks (or until you have the proper form completely down) use lower weights. Perform many repetitions. Then moderately increase the weight resistance to where you can perform a complete set with proper form. A complete set should be 8 - 12 reps. If you can't finish the set with proper form, lower the resistance.
This will help prevent injury.
...Also, don't forget about cardio and, even more importantly, your diet.
"Toning" simply means lowering your body fat percentage so that you increase muscle definition and lose the flab that covers your belly, arms etc.
Diet is by far the most important component. If a man can bench press 225 lbs doing 3 sets of 8 reps, he's not going to improve his strength or physique by choosing to do 3 sets of 15 at 100 lbs. Perhaps his muscular endurance improves, but his body (on the outside) won't really reflect that.
All of this.
The more lean muscle mass you carry, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be, as well.
Personally, I like to mix it up between light, moderate and heavy compound lifts. I define light weight as roughly 50-60% of your 1 rep max.
Also this. "Heavy" and "light" are defined by how strong an individual is.
If my deadlift max is 550lbs, 300lbs is a pretty light deadlift for me. If my deadlift max is 325lbs, 300lbs is a pretty heavy deadlift for me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
