Ladies Gym Thread - Don't skip arm days.

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I love cardio and can do long-distance running, swimming, horse riding, etc all day long but weights have always just defeated me and sadly it seems that weight training is pretty important. Any recommendations for weight training for women who struggle to lift their own arms?

What's your goal? I assume it's not to become a tiktok thot, so you would probably be fine even with bodyweight exercises and calisthenics if you wanted.
Yes. BW and calisthenics are completely fine and it is AMAZING how far you can go strength wise before even thinking about picking up a weight. There is tons of shit on YouTube but I always like recommending HybridCalisthenics, super easy to digest content and he always offers variations for all levels of fitness and strength.

Even using 1-2kg dumbbells is perfectly okay. I have a set of 3kg dumbbells that I still frequently use near my desk so I can keep active during my day and take a 5 minute screen break from work with out exhausting myself.

Arms and upper body strength sucks for most ladies, but doing things like easy push up variations (wall push ups, etc) can really help build some strength over time.

But yeah it's really hard to recommend anything with out knowing what you actually wish to get out of lifting things.
 
I'm two days away from completing Caroline Gilvan's Iron series. She's magic. It's free training, but you'll be buying heavier weights every 6 weeks.
I'm skipping through a bunch of these videos to see what it's about, looks pretty interesting and I can always appreciate someone who just straight up delivers what they promise, looks like she doesn't pad her videos with bullshit.

How have you found the results to be after (almost) 30 days?
 
love this thread already :):feels:
i also weightlift and all i want is to look strong.
Personally, i really enjoy upper body training as well. the muscle makes you look so toned. Routine wise, i do 2 days of push and 2 days of pull (legs included, id never skip those!) but i plan on changing it soon. any suggestions?
also i started training abs and it totally payed off. do recommend.

what is you ladies fav excercise? mine is probably barbell squats even though theyre hell. or pull ups or dumbell pullovers. those hurt so good.
 
what is you ladies fav excercise? mine is probably barbell squats even though theyre hell. or pull ups or dumbell pullovers. those hurt so good.
I desperately want to be good at squats, turns out almost 20 years of sitting on my ass at a desk was not a great choice.

A lot of my exercises at the moment are variations of squats (BW, DB and BB) and shoulder presses, since those are the two areas I really struggle in. Seeing massive improvements recently so I will be changing things up soon/pushing myself harder since I'm not scared of breaking myself again now.

My favourite has to be tricep cable push downs, kinda weird I guess? I don't know why but my whole upper body goes crazy when I do them and I can see my muscles during the exercise which I normally don't get to! So that is fun for me. :)

Certainly more interested in upper body, like yourself. It's fun.
 
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I desperately want to be good at squats, turns out almost 20 years of sitting on my ass at a desk was not a great choice.

A lot of my exercises at the moment are variations of squats (BW, DB and BB) and shoulder presses, since those are the two areas I really struggle in. Seeing massive improvements recently so I will be changing things up soon/pushing myself harder since I'm not scared of breaking myself again now.

My favourite has to be tricep cable push downs, kinda weird I guess? I don't know why but my whole upper body goes crazy when I do them and I can see my muscles during the exercise which I normally don't get to! So that is fun for me. :)

Certainly more interested in upper body, like yourself. It's fun.
oh man i never really feel tricep cable pushdowns that much even with good form. theyre a great excercise though. i pair them with skullcrushers (which ive heard arent as "optimal", but they feel sooo nice...!).
 
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Just checkin' out the ladies gym....


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Well, might as well give my question a go.

The gist of the matter is that I'd like to hit the gym again so I'm curious what you ladies (and men too, fine, whatevs) suggest that a beginner should do.

I haven't been in the gym for years and I don't really have any goals in mind aside from "better fitness".
 
Well, might as well give my question a go.

The gist of the matter is that I'd like to hit the gym again so I'm curious what you ladies (and men too, fine, whatevs) suggest that a beginner should do.

I haven't been in the gym for years and I don't really have any goals in mind aside from "better fitness".
What are your current limitations? Let's start there then look at your fitness goals.
Do you have any broken bits (e.g. bad knees)? Are you fat? How's your sleep?
 
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What are your current limitations? Let's start there then look at your fitness goals.
Do you have any broken bits (e.g. bad knees)? Are you fat? How's your sleep?
I have no broken bits. I could stand to lose a few pounds. As for my sleep, it's alright on my good days. Get around 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
 
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I have no broken bits. I could stand to lose a few pounds. As for my sleep, it's alright on my good days. Get around 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
Nice. Ok, if that's the case, I recommend you just start by exploring the gym.

For Cardio: Try a couple cardio machines over the course of a couple visits and find what feels best. Go at a brisk enough pace on them that you couldn't comfortably hold a conversation, but not so fast that you are actively panting and it's hard to catch your breath.

For Strength: Machines. Start with the machines. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but the machines are a great way to figure out which parts of you are weaker than others, or where you might just want to improve. Again, don't try them all in one day. Try dividing them out into chunks and then see how sore you are the next day from what you did.
Once you know more about where you are, you can start looking into better exercises for those muscle groups.

For flexibility: Find the cooldown/stretching/yoga room at the gym and start using it at the end of every visit, even if it's just for very basic stretches like these:
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This gets you in the habit of stretching and cooling down after your workouts.

Also, I asked about the sleep thing because it's actually super-important for health overall, not just recovery. Keep it up.
 
I hate these whores, I could appreciate the fact they are making an effort if they actually did anything besides standing in front of the mirror and taking photos of their ass and abusing angles and the nice gym lighting.

Let them hog all the mirrors they want as long as they stay away from the equipment.:shit-eating:

I do 4 days/week, 2 of which is focused on legs. Recently discovered the standing abductor and holy shit I've never been this butthurt.
 
I love cardio and can do long-distance running, swimming, horse riding, etc all day long but weights have always just defeated me and sadly it seems that weight training is pretty important. Any recommendations for weight training for women who struggle to lift their own arms?
Cut off your arms
 
I have no broken bits. I could stand to lose a few pounds. As for my sleep, it's alright on my good days. Get around 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
Also - exercise is not just in the gym. Find what you like. Any sub-optimal training is better than nothing.

More practical advice on machines / weight:

Start with at least 5-10 min warm up. This can be some light stretching or cardio.
Then pick a machine, start doing 1 set (aim for 10 repetitions) with very low weights. This should be just to practice the form, you should not be tired. If at any point you feel tired, lower the weight.
Then do 1 other set, with a bit more weight. You should feel it, but still be easy.

Then do 3-4 sets, about 10 repetitions with more weight. You should finish each set feeling like you can nearly not do any more repetitions.

Rest between sets should be between 30 secs - 2 mins. It depends how you feel.

The first time you go, just see how much weight gives you the required feeling; also see how you feel the next day (and the one after that).



Even more advice - but if it feels too much information, just don't worry

If you have no clue about the order for exercises. The general idea should be

You should start with the exercises where you want to improve the most. Do you want to do a pull up? Then do a back exercise (e.g. rows, assisted pull up, etc) first.

It is also a good idea to start with the more "full body" exercises (compound movements) such as squats, lunges, pull ups, chest presses. Then go to smaller exercises that involve fewer muscles.


As a beginner you can do full body exercises every time you train without any problem. Don't worry about doing the perfect thing, worry about doing the thing you enjoy.

10 reps is a general guide. You can do less, or more - but I find 10 is a nice round number

Edit 2 - While form is important, just do things. As long as you are not lifting heavy or doing hundreds of reps, bad form won't kill you. That being said, always try to improve your form.

:biggrin:


Edit 1
MOST IMPORTANT: don't be discouraged by how "badly" you are doing. If you are going back to the gym, you may have an idea in your head of what you should be able to do, which may not match what you can actually do. There is no shame in squatting with only the bar (or only bodyweight), and doing push up on your knees (or against a wall)
 
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I love cardio and can do long-distance running, swimming, horse riding, etc all day long but weights have always just defeated me and sadly it seems that weight training is pretty important. Any recommendations for weight training for women who struggle to lift their own arms?
Why do you struggle with lifting your arms? Er... is that an exaggeration or ..?

How much weight can you have for 5 repetitions of bicep curls? 1KG, 2, etc..

For push ups, can you do them on the wall? Knees? Standard form? and how many?
 
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