Weight For It

Hey all! Lovely Monday up in huuurrrr. I am rolling with the punches today, and am all about being productive, so let’s do this!

But first, check out my weekend posts…..

Why Zumba is amazing (and what is coming soon! Squeak!!) & What is Diet to YOU?

what a healthy diet means to me....

Good. Now you’re back

A.M. Workout:

• 15 mins weights (squats, lunges, chest flys)
• taught 1 hr Zumba Class <—–LOVE me some Zumba in the a.m.

Weight Selection

I get these questions a lot from readers and fitness participants in my classes: “What should my weight selection be?” “How much weight should I lift if I am a woman?” “I don’t want to bulk up, what do I do?”

source

First of all: Females SHOULD lift weights. Refer HERE as to why. But the most popular reason? Lifting weights helps us burn more calories during the other 23 hours of the day because those muscles get stronger, which revs up our metabolism, and thus uses up more energy (read:calories).

Second of all: Women will NOT bulk up and become huge (not enough Testosterone coursing through the body, like men have). Yes, a woman may gain weight ‘slightly’ in the beginning, but that is muscle weight, and with time, the overall body weight will decrease, and the woman will have an overall toned, fit look. Promise. (But body weight should not be the only reason a person does or doesn’t lift weights!!)

Thirdly: Each person (and woman) is different, so each muscle group will vary from person to person in terms of strength. However, the legs & back muscle groups are stronger than say the triceps & shoulders groups, so weight selection will vary from exercise to exercise and muscle group to muscle group.

Suggested BodyPUMP Weight Selection For Women

BodyPUMP is an incredible class that focuses on all the major muscle groups by using a barbell (Read more HERE if you want more info). I get asked quite frequently what a good selection would be for a woman who has lifted before, is comfortable with weights, but wants to get stronger/fitter/lose weight. (please note this is ONLY a suggestion, and should be varied according to each person’s ability and preference) :

• for warmup : between 14- 25 lbs
• for squats/legs : between 30-50 lbs
• for chest : between 25-45 lbs
• for back : between 30-45 lbs
• for triceps : between 18-35 lbs
• for biceps : between 15-30 lbs
• for lunges/glutes : between 30-45 lbs
• for shoulders : between 18-30 lbs
• for abdominals : between 5-10 lbs

Suggested Dumbbell Weight Selection for Women

Once again, this would vary from person to person, but a good starting point for someone who has lifted before but wants to increase strength/lose weight/get fit, etc., would be the following ranges (each ‘number’ in each hand) for each exercise <—pics- (targeting each muscle group that BodyPUMP targets):

• squats : 10-20 lb dumbbells
• chest flys : 5-15 lb dumbbells
• dead rows : 5-10 lb dumbbells
• triceps standing extensions : 10-15 lb dumbbells
• bicep curls : 8-15 lb dumbbells
• lunges : 10-20 lb dumbbells
• overhead press (shoulders) : 5-12 lb dumbbells
• abdominal crunch : 5-10 lb dumbbell (only 1)

Do each exercise for 8-12 repetitions, 2 sets EACH, with 30 seconds rest in between each set (for more info on what those words mean, go HERE). Some like to split the body on different days, some like doing it all on one day — do what works for YOU

Own it.

Weight For It

With all things that are important and worthwhile in life, work, patience, and diligence are needed in weight lifting as well. I promise that if you start lifting weights regularly, you will see amazing changes that transform your body into a leaner, fitter, stronger YOU. However, it does take time and patience, so be kind to yourself!

:)

Have a lovely day!

Which weight lifting exercise is YOUR favorite to do in the gym? Any new moves YOU’d like to share with me?!