Confused....

N

napolitano

0
Have only been weight training for 1 week. Trying to learn it on my own. I bought a womens weight lifting magazine today and now I am confused.

I am only doing one to two reps of each machine like I was told to do at the gym. I was also told not to over do it on the weight. Now I read if I want to achieve muscle definition I need to lift heavy and less reps.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks
 
u want big muscles get doing the freeweights - primarily squatting, deadlifting, benching. get about body weight (lbs) x1.5 of protein (grams)/day. lift heavy but with proper form and recover well to allow for growth and progression. protein can be supplemented and creatine is also good, drink plenty of water and maintain a balanced diet. if u dont want a lot of muscle mass swimming is great for toning.
 
I think Napolitano is a woman, otherwise why a woman’s mag? In that case, you probably don't want the bodybuilding formula. If you want muscle tone and definition you should shoot for low reps higher weight. Go for 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps and do not rep out to muscle failure. Use perfect form. If your form starts to deteriorate, end the set and start your rest interval. For a good tone try and get our rest intervals down to 30seconds. This will take a while. You will probably start at 1-2 minutes of rest between sets depending on how fit you are and what exercises you do. And easy guideline is to wait until you are not breathing hard to start your next set. As you progress and lower your rest interval, this will become more difficult so keep a log. Record your reps/sets/weight/rest interval/ and any notes. Notes would be.. too heavy, too light, just right, not enough rest, hard set, etc.... After a month you will see your trends and then be able to formulate a plan to overcome your weaknesses. For this, make sure your diet is up to par. Plenty of protein and a good ratio of carbs/fats to go with it. Drink tons of water. Your pee should always be clear unless your supplements color it, and in that case it should always be the same color.
Post any further questions, and have fun!
 
even if you dont want to get big muscles (if you do, thats great, more power to you, i just remember in a previous post you said you dont want to bulk up), weight training has many great benefits for women.

i have to say, i disagree with some of the things above. i would start with lower weight and higher reps. unless you are trying to develop 1 rep max strength, theres really no reason to do less than 5 reps per set. unless you're trying to build mass, theres really no reason to do less than 12 reps per set. if you want to build some muscle strength and bone strength 12-15 reps per set is a good range. choose a weight that you can do for 12-15 reps, but is difficult on your last rep. machines and free weights are both good for, what i gathered from your earlier post, are your purposes. no matter what you do, you will gain some benefits from weight training (unless you overtrain).

also, if you dont want to bulk up, you definately dont want to use creatine.

when you said that you were only told to do one to two reps of each machine, do you mean one to two sets?
 
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Johnny said:
No, low reps high weight is NOT a bulking program. This is a toning and strength regiment.
Click to expand...

right. it is not a bulking program. however, it is an absolute strength program. it will probably create some definition as well...however, higher reps will more effectively, with a lower risk of injury.
 
No, lowish reps (6-10) - you could maybe mix this up with 20 reps now and then and highish weight is best. However, you'll also need plenty good food - a balanced diet, water, protein etc. - this is especially critical if you have fast metabolism. Basically you should be getting a fair few more calories than you would normally get, I think the recommended amount is something like bodyweight in lbs x18 for bulking.
 
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