Hey Endorphin Junky,
I read your very informative reply about how often one should lift weights and the importance of resting the muscles between sessions, but would you say that the same holds true for women who may just want to tone up rather than build bulk? The way I lift weights it could probably actually be considered part of my cardio workout, because I am lifting fairly light weights, many reps. In this case, should I be working each muscle group more frequently to stay toned? I am aiming for kind of a "long and lean" look. Thanks for any advice you may have!

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Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

Yeah, I'd say the same was true whether your training for size or for shape and tone, the reason being that by working the same muscle groups repeatedly without rest, you run the risk of overtraining. Symptoms of overtraingin are irritablility/redced performance when working out/appetite loss/depression/decrease in muscle mass/difficulty sleeping properly/increased resting heart rate (+10 from your usual rate first thing in the morning is a good indication). However, since you're only lifting light weights and aiming for shape rather than size, you shouldn't need more than 24 hrs rest between sessions on the same muscle group. Different people will have different recovery periods though so listen to your body. Alot of people fall into the trap of thinking that "some is good so more must be better" when it comes to resistance training, but this isn't true. Cardio sessions in between your resistance training workouts should be fine, but make sure you give yourself at least 1-2 complete days off per week.

Lifting light weights with many repetitions to achieve a "toned" look is a myth fed to women. Lifting light weights will do absolutely nothing for your muscles and is a waste of time and effort. It will not "tone" them, it is the same as lifting a pencil all day long. You cannot get something from nothing. Lifting heavy weights, on the other hand, will NOT make women bulky. That is another myth. It is very hard to get bulky in general (just ask male weightlifters how hard and long they need to work to achieve muscle gains) but for women it is almost impossible unless they are a VERY rare exception or take steroids. What lifting heavy will do is make women lean and trim and strong and give them the sexy, nicely defined look (provided there is not too much fat covering those muscles). The best looking women (shape-wise) in any gym are not those who do lots of cardio but those that lift (heavy) weights

Thanks, Endorphin Junky! Your reply is very helpful. I do find myself falling into the "more is better" trap sometime, and interestingly, those are the times when I have seen some of those symptoms of overtraining appear.

Rita, I believe you are right that most women will not get bulky from weight training. And I suppose each woman has her own definition of what "light" weights are. Generally, I'm lifting weights that are light enough for me to do 15 reps before I have to rest. I do 4-5 sets of 15 reps for each muscle group, 3 times per week. I don't know if that's what most women would consider "light," but I do know that I've lost major inches and 2 clothing sizes. Not a single pound lost, however! I weighed 140 when I was a size 10 and I still weigh 140 as a size 6. It doesn't bother me, but it does make me a little concerned about those BMI indexes that doctors are using to determine whether people are overweight! Obviously since I haven't lost any weight, mine hasn't changed, but I'm healthier and more fit now than I was before.

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Cheryl

cheryl:
If you feel you're over training, it's best to take a few days off. 3 days per week is fine though, as long as you take 24-48 hrs break between sessions, especially if you're doing an all over body workout rather than splitting your muscle groups.

rita:

You're right. But by light weight I assumed high reps in the range of 15-20 reps to failure per set to get heart rate higher, as was the case and which I think is fine. I could have been wrong though. Guess I should have asked really.

[This message has been edited by Endorphin Junky (edited 11-21-2002).]

If you can do 15 reps before getting tired it usually means that you are going too light for you. Your body is telling you that. High reps are normally used for hard to train muscles like the calves. The other muscles benefit from heavier weights and lower (6-8) reps.
Cheryl, if you lost 4 sizes you must be doing something right. I would guess that you do a lot of cardio and that has helped you lose the weight. By also doing weight training you preserved your muscle mass while losing the fat and since muscles weigh more than fat that's the reason you don't see any changes in the actual weight on the scale. We are all so conditioned to go by what the scale says that it can be discouraging to see "no change" or even an increase in weight when you are working out. But really, who cares what the scale says? What's important in determining your success is how you look and how your clothes fit. You might want to find out what your pecentage of body fat is and it will help you to see whether you need to do more (cardio and weight training).