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Ever had a question about weights? Then ask here, and the fitness posters will respond to you! cuty xx
I wanted to add my favorite weights site Stumptuous http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php She has a lot of information for women wanting to do weights and some suggestions of routines. She even has no equipment or dumb bell only routines.
Went back to the gym after many months and used a new machine for arm curls and becuase I mis read my programme I lifted with great difficulty 15 sets at 20kg not 10kg. My arms were shaking later on in the evening and now 5 days on my arms are painful if i move them and I have no strength. I want to go back to the gym and try and work through the pain (have a hol booked in two weeks time) but the sensible part of my brain is saying no! wait longer. This is totally different from general muscle soreness i've never known it to go on this long.
If it was 48 hours after the workout I'd say that it was delayed onset muscle soreness which is totally normal when the muscles have been overloaded. However, I don't know of anything that would affect them up to 5 days later:confused: . I wouldn't go to the gym and work through the pain with weights but some gentle cardio and stretching will help with recovery as it increases bloodflow to the area. Maybe use the crosstrainer or rower very lightly and then stretch very well afterwards?
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If it was 48 hours after the workout I'd say that it was delayed onset muscle soreness which is totally normal when the muscles have been overloaded. However, I don't know of anything that would affect them up to 5 days later:confused: . I wouldn't go to the gym and work through the pain with weights but some gentle cardio and stretching will help with recovery as it increases bloodflow to the area. Maybe use the crosstrainer or rower very lightly and then stretch very well afterwards?
Hi I restarted body pump classes in January after about a 7 month break of doing no weights at all, just cardio (initially stopped due to injury, then just never got back into going to BP). Stupidly for my first class back I started off doing the squats at the same fairly heavy weight I'd been used to using all those months before. Went back to lighter weights than I'd been used to before for the rest of the class, but it was too late - my thighs were shaking so much after the class that I could hardly walk down the stairs! The muscle soreness in my thighs for the following days was horrendous, I was wincing every time I went to sit down (much to the amusement of my work colleagues!!), and the soreness didn't disappear fully until 6 whole days afterwards. I was fine after the class the follwing week however. I agree with blackjack's advice for gentle cardio and try to stretch as much as possible, and you'll be fine next week!
Chaps thanks for the sensible comments - maybe what i'll do is just stay in and get my Linda Barker yoga dvd out and do some gentle stretching. Least that way I will feel I've done something useful. dammitjanet - its horrbile isn't it you just feel oh come I can't still be aching.
My question is: Roughly how much time and how many times a week do I need to train with weights to increase my muscle? I used to go to the gym about 3-5 times a week but since having a baby last year it's been really difficult to get back into it and I've lost a lot of my fitness. I've started back at the gym again in the last 4 or 5 weeks but am only managing twice a week. In those sessions I've been doing 10 minutes on the rower or cross trainer, 30 minutes on the treadmill (slowly building up running by doing 3 mins jogging, 1 min walking) and then about 20 mins weights. So, is twice a week for 20 minutes enough? Or, can anyone help me to make the most of the small amount of time I have? I'm guessing someone's going to say it's impossible to tell because everyone's different.....
You need to aim for 3 times a week and to work your whole body so legs/bum, chest, back, shoulders, arms (back & front) and abs. You'll probably find that it will take you about 45 mins or so. Mr Nonsense posted some routines on here if you want to see which exercises you can do and in which order. Do 3 sets of 8-12 reps for each exercise with the weight that's so heavy that the last couple of weights are very hard to complete but without losing the correct form or control of the weight. So you might start with the weight were you cannot do more than 8 reps, build up the number of reps until you can do 10 or 12 and then up the weight starting the cycle again. Lift and lower the weight in a slow, controlled motion to ensure that you are working the muscle rather than relying on the momentum of swinging the weight about. Rest 30-60 seconds between each set. Don't do weights on consecutive days as recovery is essential for muscle growth.
Thanks Loony. Trouble is I don't think I can do three times a week. But do you think I should reduce the cv I do in my gym sessions and increase the length of time I spend on the weights? It's just that I'm really wanting to get into running as I feel like that's something I could just go out and do anytime for half an hour - without all the time taken of getting to and from the gym etc, so that's why I'm doing half an hour on the treadmill. I forgot to mention before that as well as the two gym sessions I'm trying to get into doing a regular run (about 3 miles, but I'm still building up to a continuous run) once a week but in reality I've only done it a few times in the last 6 weeks or so! But I'm confident that once holidays etc are over and the heat's died down a bit I'll find it easier to get motivated. Just thinking if I could do 2 runs a week, I could then spend more time on weights in the gym. I'm not particularly overweight, I'm sure I could shed 3 or 4 pounds but what I really want to do is get rid of some fat and gain some muscle!
Twice a week is better than nothing so yes, I would stick to doing weights at the gym and running outside. With running, do outside what you are doing on the treadmill atm i.e. the run/walk cycle and you'll find that you will progress very quickly. If the time is an issue then do you think you could squeeze in a half an hour or so session of weights at home? All you need is a couple of dumbells and maybe a bench or a fitness ball?
Yes I could do some stuff at home, Loony. I've got a fitness ball too and actually did some stuff on it last night!
Do you know of a good website or book that will tell me which exercises to do? I've got some dumbells too. ETA, it's ok I found the post from mr nonsense. Here's the link in case anyone else is interested: http://www.handbag.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=362622
Do you know of a good website or book that will tell me which exercises to do? I've got some dumbells too. ETA, it's ok I found the post from mr nonsense. Here's the link in case anyone else is interested: http://www.handbag.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=362622
As well as Stumptuous website and the links Mr N posted this http://diet.ivillage.com/workouts/wweight/topics/0,,4s5m,00.html is also quite good for some info on weight training for women, esp beginners.
I was wondering, why is 12 the magic number of reps? Is there any advantage to doing more or less reps? Is there any truth in doing low weight/high reps is for toning and high weight/low reps for strength? And is weight training still as useful if you don't find the last rep hard (i.e. you just do weights till you get tired or bored). Am just trying to clear up a long-standing argument with my bf 
I wouldn't say that 12 is a magic number, just a rough point you work towards. I persobally stop at 10 and up the weight if I can do that easily so my reps normally range between 6 and 10. If you can do more than 12 then it's generally assumed that the weight is not challenging enough. Thw whole low weights/high reps being good for 'toning' is a myth and the sooner it dies the better! It helps with muscle endurance but if you are doing weights to gerenally get smaller, look better and see results fast then you are better off sticking to high weights/low reps and working your muscle hard and to failure. Another advantage of doing high weights/low reps is that you don't need to be stuck at the gym for hours doing the endless reps
Thanks loony! He still insists that muscle building and toning are two different things though 
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Thw whole low weights/high reps being good for 'toning' is a myth and the sooner it dies the better! It helps with muscle endurance but if you are doing weights to gerenally get smaller, look better and see results fast then you are better off sticking to high weights/low reps and working your muscle hard and to failure. Another advantage of doing high weights/low reps is that you don't need to be stuck at the gym for hours doing the endless reps
That's what i thought... i told my bf that low weight/high reps was just a waste of my time He still insists that muscle building and toning are two different things though
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