fact vs fiction

S

Smalling

0
OK, so I've been working out since October, and am seeing some progress AND having fun.

I'm 40, 5'4" and was up to over 150 :eek: I go to the gym most weeknights and sometimes on the weekend. I do a lot of variety - different cardio machines, different classes, and weight training usually 3 times a week and steadily increasing the weight.

My near term goal is to lose weight, and I know if I did better on diet it'd be faster, but I figure it's a process, so eliminating burgers and coffee, and starting to eat breakfast is a start. I'm fine with the progress. Long term, I just wanna be healthy.

Weight training is where my questions are - I was doing 3 sets of 10 reps, with the end of each set being really hard. Once I could do all 3 sets "easily" I up the weight. Now, the trainer is telling me, oh no, if you do that, you'll get big. You should be able to do 15 reps, that's for toning.

I was floored. I've been reading lots of stuff, like this board, and lifted when I was a teen - this does not compute! She also told me don't do the adductor/abductor machines cuz they'll make your thighs big.

Mostly she's given me good info over the months but this latest is contrary to all I've read.

Please, what is the deal with 10 reps vs 15? Should I really use lower weight with more reps? Should I really avoid those thigh machines? (the bottom half of me needs more work than the top)
 
When you say "really hard" do you mean you go to failure? 10-12 is fine, but if you’re going to failure on every set at 10, i would drop weight so you can hit 12-15. And yes, if you keep increasing weight, your gonna build muscle. Basically what im saying is that i would avoid going to failure at 10 reps or less (and going up in weight) IF your not trying to build muscle.

Maybe your trainer meant you should be able to hit 15 before you reach failure...JMO
 
8-12 is a good range. Abductor/adductor machines don't make your legs big either! I don't do them though because I get enough of a full leg workout from squats and lunges.
 
All I can say is WOW. As a personal trainer I am sometimes astounded by the things that other people in my line of work say.

Please consider finding a new trainer. You cannot get big and bulky. You're a woman and lack the testosterone. Lifting heavy weights will be nothing but beneficial for your health and your fat loss goals. Clearly I don't know the details of this trainer, maybe he or she is very helpful to you, but you should have one who explains things thoroughly and really helps you toward YOUR goals.

You can build some muscle when you go heavier and heavier in weights, but it's typically quite hard for women to build muscle. Muscle is built from excess calories, and if your goal is fat loss, I doubt you are eating excess calories...

And if you do build a bit of muscle it's a good thing! It will make you stronger and give you a firm, fit look. We all naturally lose muscle mass as we age, so gaining a bit is helpful. Good for the metabolism, too.

Hope that was helpful.

Sarah
 
Good golly gee. Unless I am missing something... you should lift in the 8-12 range. And when you can lift to 1 with perfect form and feel as though you could do more... uo the weight.

You will NOT get bulky and big. If it was only that easy to build muscle :D

Lifting to 15 reps is okay for some people. For example if you simply want to maintain your current weight then I wouldn't mind lifting TO 15 reps max. Or if you are endurance training then there is a need for going above 12 reps as well.

But if your goal is fat loss, then staying in the 8-12 range is better in my opinion.
 
Thanks Everyone!!

I just knew that testosterone was the "secret ingredient" for building mass, OR, steroids or other alien chemicals! I really was shocked, because so much other info she has given me over the months has panned out (meaning, I haven't found contradictions here or elsewhere).

It's interesting because another trainer there, very young, gave me a free session so she could practice working with people. She's the one that went with 10th rep as "can barely do it" while the FitLinx machines have 12 as the magic number. So I kinda combined info from the two of them, and now, the one that gave me the bum steer moved to Michigan, so I don't have to risk, "Hey, Lower that weight and give me 15!" or look both ways before heading to the add/abductor machines (I do need to strengthen my hips and tone my thighs and have only recently started using those - lunges bother my tailbone).

I do want to get stronger/build muscle as I haven't been what you'd call a hardbody since my athlete days long, LONG ago. Plus, more lean muscle burns more calories when I'm not working out, so it does compute in the goal. I'm not that much overweight - I'm at 142 lbs now and am 5'4" so I've lost 10 pounds already. I want to get under 130 and stay there, but I'm not as concerned with the number as I am dropping at least one more pants size - I'm now down to a 10, American, while 8 was normal for me before I quit smoking. If I can go to a 6, well, whoopee, look at me! Far happier scenario than buying bigger pants.

So another question - is it more beneficial to do "the circuit" 3 times or to stay at each machine and do all 3 reps? I've started doing one set and moving on, alternately upper and lower body. This way, if I get too fatigued, at least when I quit for the night I've worked most muscles, plus, I feel I can do more when the target muscles get a rest after each set. I also fit more in because I don't have to kill time with a rest break - I do stretch between machines, tho.

If circuit is good, please help with this potential myth: leg curls and leg extensions should be done consecutively; also biceps/tripceps. I get the concept of work the front, work the back, but, is it of great significance that they are done right after each other?

This board is SO HELPFUL!!!
 
Smalling said:
She also told me don't do the adductor/abductor machines cuz they'll make your thighs big.

Should I really avoid those thigh machines? (the bottom half of me needs more work than the top)
Click to expand...
This is the bit I am interested in. Ive also heard to stay away from them as they make your inner thighs bigger, but I really need to reduce mine. :eek:
 
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