Women and Weightlifting

Hi there! I am new to the forums and it seems like the majority of people are focused on cardio… I was wondering if there were any women out there who’s main focus was weightlifting at the gym? I am usually the only girl in the weight room (and definitely the tiniest)…just trying to find some other ladies out there like me!

I am 5’4" and hovering at around 135 lbs. I’m not looking to lose too much weight, but get toned and fit and strong! Grrrrr!

Hi there :)

I have recently got into weight-lifting and absolutely love it so I’m very pleased to see a like-minded female on here! I too am the only girl training in the weight room at my gym and at first it did make me feel a little self conscious as all the other women are stuck on the cardio equipment.

Being fairly new to weight training I’ve seen some great increases in my strength so far and now I find it hard to believe that when I first started I could barely lift the bar!!

My aim is to build some muscle mass, lose some fat and get stronger! :)

I absolutely love weight training and I’m addicted to it. I started training regularly three years ago to fill in some of my sagging skin after a significant weight loss but it has grown into a passion, a necessity and my zen.
I feel so empowered by the progress I’ve made and the strength and muscles I have developed.

There are so many benefits of resistance training for women; one that you may not know is that it helps to increase bone density. Keep that in mind the next time you step in the weight room too.

See you in the gym.

Hooray! It’s so good to hear there are other ladies are out there lifting some iron!
Jodes528 I didn’t know about the increase in bone density. How neat and thanks for the tidbit. :)
I am always looking to learn new exercises and techniques. Are there any favorites you all have?

My workouts are structured around Squat, Deadlift and Bench. Bench is probably my least favourite as it’s my weakest and I found Squat the hardest technique to perfect.

I also now include some conditoning work at the end of my workout, usually kettlebell swings, which are the hardest thing ever! Nothing like it for getting your heart rate up IMO.

You should both check out Jen Comas Keck on her webpage “a peace of jen” and she also writes her training log on elitefts. I have found her to be a real inspiration.

:)

Hello Ladies, I just recently joined a gym and hired a personal trainer to work with me on free weights. I’m looking to tone, get some definition, and lose a few pounds. Interesting read here as I also noticed no women in the weight room. Spinning and the exercise classes appear to be their exercise of choice. So glad I found a few others with the same mind set I have about getting fit. Looking forward to hearing more from all of you.

I think most women are afraid to lift weights, thinking it is a male activity and they don’t want to look masculine. I lifted weight about 7 years back when I lost over 100 lbs and I can tell you lifting weights = a sexy body. Nothing masculine about it. So good for your overall health too.

Kudos! TriceH for getting started (or back into it?)
FazzaManda I have to admit, I just got back into doing leg days yesterday (!) and I must admit I had some (ok.. a lot of) trouble getting the form and technique correct on those squats! I do <3 me some bench presses though and have made some major improvements in the last month. My goal is to get those big 25 lb weights on each end! Just stick with it and I’m sure you’ll get exited too!
tinavanhoexke Lifting weights DOES = sexy body! And congrats on the major weight loss!

I think what really helped me with my technique on squat was to use a box. I found it really hard just being told, remember to try and sit back so my trainer thought it would help if he put a box behind me (just lower than parallel) and got me to just touch it. This helped me so much and eventually I got to replicate without there being anything there. Obviously box squat is something different but to get that form right I would definitely recommend trying this.

Squat is probably the most technical thing, so much to remember, shoulders blades tight, chest out, head up, feet flat etc etc… and on top of all this sit back so you’re squatting between your knees not over them! I found all this too much to take in but as I say now I’m finally getting it near perfect every time! :)

I’d be interested to know actually how often you other ladies train and what your workouts look like? Do you do a mix of free weights and machine, or just free weights?

Thanks for the tip! I will definitely try box squats next week (assuming I can walk again by then!)
I am unfortunately not as consistent as I’d like to be with my split. Usually I get super sore/tired midweek and will take an unscheduled rest day. Weekends are especially hard to stay on track. In a perfect world I would do
Mon: Chest
Tues: Back
Wed: Ams
Thurs: Legs or Shoulders/Abs.
Fri: Rest
Sat: Shoulders/Abs or Legs (whichever I didn’t do before)
Sun: Rest
I would LOVE to figure out how to get some cardio in there at least two more times a week. I only manage about a 15 min. run after back day and can’t seem to fit it in anywhere else!
I like to mix free weights with machines. How each week goes is largely based on availablity. I prefer free weights over machines, but I’ve noticed that a couple of weeks on the machine instead of free weights definitely helps build strength!

jGreg, have you thought about splitting your workouts into upper and lower body days? For example, you could train chest, arms and shoulders on the same day? and then you have a spare day to do just cardio, if that’s what you want, or do some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) after your weighlifting workout or kettlebell swings etc.. – these are especially good if you’re short on time as you only need to do 10mins or so to get great results!

The majority of my workout is using free-weights. I do use some machines but do these at the end of my workout, such as lat-pulldowns, face-pulls or hamstring curls.
:)

FazzaManda, I have actually thought of doing upper and lower body splits! I go to the gym with boyfriend so it would be nice if I could get him on board with the soon-to-be-new schedule as well. :) I definitely like HIIT training and will try to tack that to the end of my workouts this week and will let you know how it goes!