I'm the only girl I know who lifts weights

Nice deadlift weights!
I can squat 50kg, bench press 40kg, deadlift 60kg and love a good 20kg dumbbell skull crusher along with all the other bits and bobs in my training plan.
I am strength training for Tough Mudder in June but will continue doing so after that as I love it! I have been out for the last two weeks after pulling something in my back doing deadlifts (distracted and not paying full attention to form sadly but I will learn and stick to doing them on quiet days not busy Saturday mornings), 3 sets of 10 at 60kg and my back goes on the 7th of the 4th set, not good!

My one caveat would be that I once did a weights session with lots and lots of really deep squats with 40kgs on my shoulders (I weigh 55kgs) and literally ripped my bum, like a hernia. I bled for days and days.

I lift weights too. Always feel proud of myself when I can lift more than a bloke

I've started with the heavy - ish weights too.
I got some funny looks off some blokes for doing squats with x2 8kg dumbbells and for doing sets of 12 tricep dips rather than one or two and slacking off.
I can do full press ups now which is super exciting and got commented on in my gym class :)

There was a lady wafting around the machines at my gym the other day doing really light lifts. I wanted to tell her to stop doing so many reps and up the weights a bit. But I bit my tongue.

Strong, good point, the type of gym does make some difference.

Re weight training and fat loss, I've found it depends on food intake, and cardio if I train heavy and eat enough food to support muscle growth I tend to not lose fat (then again I've never not exercised so never been in a position of having much fat to lose)

Currently I want to stay as lean as possible so I train heavy, eat carefully and do some cardio, my strength is still pretty good but if I force fed myself a bit I'd be stronger...but with more 'padding'

Ah yes. I remember that kind of thing from when I went to fitness first.

At my current gym, everybody squats & DLs . It's great

But most people don't do serious, below parallel, heavy squats. Mostly fairly light and not that deep. Def better than 1kg bicep curls though!

Cardio for me this morning, of the lift weights faster type: KB swings, front squats, cleans. Light weights, lots of reps, short breaks.

well sure I see other women using 'weights' but never in a manner which suggests that they may want to actually get stronger

They tend to stay around the edges on stability balls with the littlest dumbbells and occasionally venture into a few triceps extensions
anything over 5 or 10 kgs may as well be kryptonite as far as most women are concerned, and olympic bars coated with some sort of women specific arsenic.

It is a very small niche

Strength training def has cardio benefits too. My resting heart rate fell from 72bpm to 62 over a year of training in which I did virtually no specific cardio.

Agree that it can help weight loss. It doesn't guarantee it though . But I find I eat much better when I'm training hard because I feel really rough if I don't have the right nutrition for training and recovery. Lots of veg, lots of protein, enough carbs. Enough calories overall, in fact.

I'm rambling now. I'll shut up

Thanks Suzanne

There are quite a lot of woman at my gym who use weights (although not many of them really heavy- that is a bit of a niche pursuit!) The gym specialises in PT and they get almost all their clients strength training. Most of the blokes are used to it now, but it's fun when a new bloke clocks what I've got on the bar and does a double take

OP - what are your goals with training? Your program should be tailored to your goals.

you can actually lose weight without the pain of cardio doing weights. I do weights I prefer it over cardio, I hate the treadmill. I use a cycle and cross trainer, and mainly do weights all at home.

I refer to the bodyforlife website, I think it's brilliant. It's american but a lot of people enter the challenge to lose weight using their advice and exercise regime and give before and after photos. I've not entered but I use the resources, mainly on exercise. In library section you should find active diagrams that show you how to do weight exercises correctly, and they give you number of repetitions to follow too. Start with fewer repetitions and increase slowly.

I sometimes refer to youtube, for physical demo too just for reassurance I'm not doing it wrong.

I have used diet suggestions but I don't think it's doable long term, short term yes, can lose weight, tried and tested.

Oooh I love lifting weights. I haven't been able to lift for almost a year though because of broken ribs and then pregnancy, but as soon as this baby is out, I'm getting right back into it!
Best form of exercise IMO. I lost 29 inches in my first 3 weeks of weight training! I just had dh as my "personal trainer". He's very geeky about weights and muscle stuff. I'll ask him for some recommended reading for you later.

Brilliant lifts strong! :o

I'm more body building oriented but I've been lifting for over 20 years.

In all that time I've almost always been the only 'girl' in the weights room.

I'm just used to it now, and to the bewildered looks from the men :o

Squats (5x5 @110kg) and bench (progressing up to 5 @ 57.5kg) this morning .

Feeling fantastic. There is nothing like heavy squats/DLs to generate a good hit of endorphins to start the day.

Sally Moss of Strength Ambassadors and Gubernatrix is really good. If I had the time, money and proximity to London, I'd love to do one of her courses.

All the people I know that do crossfit love it. Hopefully they will have grown up a bit since school, so if it appeals, do give it ago.

Agree with drowning that most gym PTs don't know anything about strength training :(

Are you happy with your current gym?

Bits you need CrossFit. Google your nearest CrossFit affiliate gym (or tell me where you are and I'll tell you where your nearest box is). For your sake, find a trainer who can teach you to lift safely and welcome a body you never thought you could have! It's awesome. Unfortunately most globo gym personal trainers are clueless about strength training, and even more clueless about Olympic lifts. Seriously, CrossFit (DL 120kg, clean and jerk 60kg, size 10

Love weights, must get back into it.

Have you looked on Instagram? Hashtag girls that lift and ig fitness there's an abundance of info out there

You could ask the gym staff to help you with a routine, but there's also lots of info out there on the net, strength training forums, you tube etc

I did until pregnancy, I was just saying tonight that I really miss lifting. I would recommend a few sessions with a PT too, and the New Rules of Lifting book that others have mentioned.

Food wise I eat lots of protein, I avoid wheat as a rule anyway so lots of rice, quinoa etc, and bananas, peanut butter, rice cakes and seafood are real staples. Well at least they were until my body decided that toffee, satsumas and croissants are all this baby wants!! Can't wait to get back to normal

You are all awesome. Thank you for the links.

I'm trying to eat heather, lots of protein and minimal processed carbs. life would be bleak without pizza. I won'tgive them all up!

What do you all eat?

Yeay! A body weight DL in 3 months is excellent!

For weight training a well structured progressive program will really help. New rules and Strong lifts 5x5 both fit the bill and their are loads of others.
has some good stuff has one, for example.

I love Stumptuous and the associated FB group.

I absolutely love strength training. It has totally changed how I feel about my body (for the better!). I'm aiming for. 2x body weight DL, but progress is slow! I've just hit a 1.5x bw squat, which I am thrilled with :)