Are you asking about how to encourage women to lift heavy, or lift in general? What I see is that a lot of women lift, but they're doing the light weight / high rep thing and can't fathom switching over to heavier weights / lower reps, and not understanding how these work differently and why lifting heavier would be beneficial to them. Personally, I had started lifting a bit heavier on my own for a few months and noticed I was having an easier time maintaining my weight, so I figured that might be due to having gained some muscle and due to increased calorie burn after lifting. Reading "New Rules" confirmed what I was thinking, gave me additional insight, and motivated me to follow a routine and really work on increasing my strength. Perhaps reading the book would give you some key points to teach your clients.
I just always wanted to lift weights. Nobody said anything to me.
+1
I've just never thought I was different from a guy other than the naughty bits and separate bathrooms. This whole concept of being scared of weights or meatheads or anything has never made sense to me. I can never understand how women think they'll "get bulky" from lifting 30# dumbbells when they'll cart around their kids all day every day, carry grocery bags, and have purses/diaper bags that most guys grunt at lifting.
Never been scared of weights - always lifted freeweights (along with selected machines) - never quite got the "afraid of weights" mindset - always interested in the science so never fell for the myths.
If you're talking to clients though - perhaps remind them of the weightlifting they already do - groceries, toddlers, laundry, dog food, firewood, whatever - none of those are 2 lb dbs.
I thought I was lifting heavy for years, but was under the impression that 3 sets of 15 reps was the proper way to do it. NROLW was the first time I ever tried low reps and high rest periods. Wow. I love it. I can't hardly make myself do 15 reps anymore.
What motivated me to seek out NROLW was a diagnosis of osteoporosis. Studies show heavy weights, especially squats and deadlifts, build bones. Non weight bearing exercises, like the leg press I did for years, have no effect on bone density. Light weight-lifting isn't enough to guard against osteoporosis. I wish I could shout this from the rooftops.
I never thought there was anything wrong with it, but I also never really thought it was necessary. Then I tried getting the body I wanted doing cardio and crunches and dieting, and realized it was getting me nowhere. So I figured it was time to try something different.
I always liked lifting weights, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago, when I was reading an article in a men's fitness magazine that talked about the benefits of lifting heavy with fewer reps, that I decided to give heavier lifting a try.
Then I read NROLW last year and that's when I really started to push myself and go even heavier.
So, to answer your question, I realised that it was "okay to lift heavier weights" when I read an article that seemed to make so much sense to me. I also really liked the thought of spending less time in the gym, and reaping more benefits than if I spent longer doing lower weights. So yeah, I guess it was something "someone said" (ie. the author of the article).
If you want to encourage your clients to lift heavier, let them know the benefits (which I assume you would know, if you are a trainer!). The previous posters mention some great points about the benefits, but for me, one of the biggest was the time factor and faster results.
Now, I just love being in the gym and lifting heavier than some of the guys around me. It's truly empowering! It's awesome being a strong chick!
I think that women have a general fear of heavy weights b/c they are told that light weight/more reps is the CORRECT way and that heavy weight lifting = bulking up like a man. So, they just need to be taught the right way by someone they trust (or a book they trust).
A few weeks into my NROL4W workouts, I started telling friends and family about what I was doing and what I had accomplished so far. Very few people were supportive. Even my nutrition-savvy friends suggested I was running the risk of "bulking up like a man". Only my parents and my dear friend CaraBeth saw value in what I was doing.
It was hard to move forward without support all-around. I think that was a bigger hurdle rather than a "fear" of heavy weights. It's scary to think that you are just following a fad and that you might be putting money/time/effort/bodily-strain into something that is the oppossite of everything you've been taught in the gym.
Women might be more motivated to start lifting haveir weights if they have tried (and failed) in the past doing massive amounts of cardio and light weight-lifting with more reps. I guess it's easier to trust in NROL4W if you're really looking for a change in strategy.
A couple of things got me interested in lifting heavy. I have been on Calorie Count website for a while trying to lose weight and get in shape. Some of the fitness people there promote heavy lifting as a good way to lose weight and get in shape. That got me interested and I started lifting, but really still didn't have the mindset of lifting heavy.
Then in Dec. 2007, I had rotator cuff surgery and my PT had me doing lots of things I had not done before. I started looking into NROLFW and was fascinated. Doing Stage 7 of NROLFW and I'm loving it.
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Karen -- Not going in circles anymore!
I thought I was lifting heavy for years, but was under the impression that 3 sets of 15 reps was the proper way to do it. NROLW was the first time I ever tried low reps and high rest periods.
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Originally Posted by danaofdoom
I tried getting the body I wanted doing cardio and crunches and dieting, and realized it was getting me nowhere. So I figured it was time to try something different.
I started off with mainly cardio, 12 years ago... I added lighter weights, then I thought I was lifting heavy but was still doing 12-15 rep sets most of the time... Now I feel like I'm gonna die if I have to do 8 reps!
I was never afraid of getting too big or bulky, but I think many women are afraid of that. Also, it's hard to teach someone what it really means to push yourself to failure - especially with weights. They stop too soon, go too light. How many times do you see a woman do 20 rep chest presses with the 5# db's and then she says she couldn't lift any more - Bull!
I use myself as the best example - women say "I can't lift heavy" or "Gwyneth Paltrow's trainer said never lift more than 3#" and I ask them how big and bulky I am - right before I DL 200#...
I gave myself permission to "go for it" when I saw the results that my husband was getting with his NROL program. I enjoyed reading that book and ran to the bookstore when I learned about the women's plan.
I had minor previous experience with heavy lifting, but then got caught in a running phase.
I started to realize I had a much easier time maintaining my weigh when I was lifting, rather then doing cardio all the time... I had heard all these great things about New Rules on weight watchers boards, got the book and it confirmed all my suspicions about lifting all along.
I used to play competitive sports in college. When I got in my 30's I started doing exercise videos at home. That was OK, though not as much fun as sports. I did some weight-lifting videos too (low weight, high rep), and one day something clicked when I realized that lifting heavier weights was a really enjoyable challenge - like sports. I got NROLFW and the rest was history. Cardio (at least as I was doing it) was the same thing, over and over. With weight-lifting I feel like there is always a new challenge to take on, whether increasing weights, improving form, or learning new techniques. That keeps it interesting for me.
What was the moment you felt it was okay to lift heavier weights? Was it something someone said? What did they say?
I would love some help on this for female clients!
I never felt is was forbidden, or a bad idea. It hadn't occurred to me that I would enjoy serious lifting, so I hadn't tried it before now. My sweetie discovered NROL4W, and I loved the message - forget getting smaller, get stronger.
When a woman is paying a trainer, it's because she has some serious goals. Talk to her about her goals. Is it weight oriented? Health? Body image? You can weed out her prejudices about lifting heavy (if she has any) by talking to her. She's paying you for your advice, so I would think she'd be open to your suggestions.
Lifting is the easiest approach to fitness I've ever taken. It takes less time, I make progress faster, it works all of my muscles together, allowing my body to take the shape it was *meant* to take, rather than working twice as hard to manipulate the shape. This is how I explained it to my coworkers (one commented on my biceps today!)
I never really thought about lifting heavy until I was working with a trainer to get a 30-min weight training program that I could do over my lunch hour. Well, he had me in the free weight room doing squats and bench presses and often told me that I had great form and I could do push-ups better than some of the guys he trained. (the flattery really helped ) That was about 6 months ago - after finishing with him I found NROLW and I haven't looked back.
So basically, I guess it just took someone showing me I could do it and then the book telling me I should do it!
I just always wanted to lift weights. Nobody said anything to me.
This would be my answer as well. Even though I owned dumbbells before I started with a barbell, the lightest were 5-lbs each.
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Originally Posted by LisaS
If you're talking to clients though - perhaps remind them of the weightlifting they already do - groceries, toddlers, laundry, dog food, firewood, whatever - none of those are 2 lb dbs.
And those big honking boxes of kitty litter from Costco!
I used to only do the machines. I was afraid I'd hurt myself with free weights. Then I was doing Cathe Friedrich DVDs with dumbbells and barbells. Nothing super heavy, but enough to ease me into free weights. Then I bought a book from Shape that had lots of different free weight exercises showing which muscles were worked. I cobbled together a weight plan from that that hit all my muscles. That took a lot of time. I forgot where I read about NRoLfW, probably on the Weight Watchers boards. Now, I'm sold! I feel so strong and the results are much more visible than things I tried before.
So, for me it was a slow progression. I did hear pretty early on, though, that it was pretty hard for women to bulk up without chemical help, so that wasn't a worry of mine.
I've always liked the idea of being strong and was disappointed to find out that I wasn't as strong as I was when I was playing sport (squash) when I was younger.
The fitness board on Make Up Alley got me into using heavier weights and brought NROLFW to my attention.
Don't laugh, but I remember seeing Linda Hamilton in Terminator and Demi Moore in GI Jane and thinking how cool it was to be strong! I wanna be able to pick up heavy stuff!
I think for me it was when I started reading messages on the Weight Watchers board talking about The New Rules of Lifting for Women and I became curious so I started reading the reviews on Amazon.
I was doing Joyce Vedral and you can lift pretty heavy weights in her routines but she usually goes so fast that I never really got about 8 and 10 lbs dumbbells.
I've done enough reading where I knew if I did lift heavier I would not bulk up so I wasn't worried about that but I just wasn't sure where to start with a routine. I just started NROL this week so I've just done 1 Workout A and 1 Workout B but let me tell you I am feeling it a lot in my triceps, hamstrings, and glutes. I'm used to do doing a lot of isolation excercises so I'm really surprised by this.
I've got more weights on order, bought a pull-up/chin-up bar. Not sure how I'm going to handle the squat rack though since I do all my workouts from home.
And you're right - Linda Hamilton totally rocked in Terminator!
Question for the ladies
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