Womens strength/resistance training

[Needsomesun12]

Hi all! Im keen to start incorporating some resistance/strength training into my weekly exercises. I am however overthinking (this is one of my specialities)
I've been reading online, about importance of rest and getting the correct form and I plan to start with 4-5 compound movements 3 times a week. I also seem to have a bit of a thing to include all muscle groups too, I would rather do a full body that targets all muscle groups per workout rather than focus on like shoulders and legs in one and then core and arms in another. (I believe this is also my overthinking) and then my overthinking kicks in again! So I understand that the last few reps should be really hard to do, and once they get easier then its time to increase weight or change sets. I get all of that.
But what happens if/when you keep getting stronger and the weights keep getting lighter, could you end up needing to do loads of reps to feel the burn or be using really heavy dumbells??
This is what I overthink!! I know different muscles will need different weights, so my biceps are lots stronger than my shoulders.
I plan on just working out at home and I am aware that needing to do too many sets or have too much weight will likely never be an issue as I will be strength/resistance training a couple of times a week, but im struggling to start because I dont know all the answers if that makes sense.
If anyone can shed some light that would be great.
Many thanks

I’m not 100% on your question, but when I first started this book was great at helping understand the principles

https://amzn.eu/d/7eWwqSm

i think sometimes the confusion comes from strength vs hypertrophy (getting bigger muscles). I train to be strong af so I do compounds (like squat, bench and deadlift) plus some accessories to help with that. So sometimes I do smaller movements to build muscle.

Some people just want to build muscle so then they focus on smaller movements and get very keen on doing bicep day, and tricep day, and put effort into how many times they work a muscle and how they split it down. I think that often dominates on social media so people think you have to do all that and it sounds very confusing.

Full body, 3 times a week, focused on compounds plus stuff you fancy will be grand.

It never feel lighter for me as I just make it harder again. But my goal is to be strong af. I do different reps at different points in training, more reps will be lower weight, less reps higher weight. I’m a powerlifter so all that is focused on where I am in relation to comp.

Honestly I’d read that book if you’re a book person, and get stuck in. Online this stuff gets massively over complicated. Just start, then change things further down the road. I have a coach and things will change as I make progress. Cos I’ll need a different thing then.

Hope that helps

I bought a plan from Stacy sims/ Hailey Babcock, Power happens 1. On reflection It’s been so very good to teach me the ins and outs of lifting, rest, sets etc plus cardio, and I’ve really noticed the difference. Has tonnes of nutritional advice included in the app and access to all their zooms whereby they answer member questions. It’s a one off buy but you can subscribe.

its 12 weeks with 5 sessions per week all designed for strength and bone density, plus cardio. One of the things they’re REALLY hot on is rest. And I found when I didn’t rest I did struggle. It has built in timers to hit after each exercise for the prescribed amount of rest for that set style. the app slowly introduces different types of sets during the 12 weeks. Towards the end of the blocks the introduce plyometrics, but it’s very gradual to reduce injury etc.

I’ve come to the end of the 12 weeks and am just repeating the days I love from the whole plan, before choosing the next package. Likely to be power happens beginner 2, with an add on for shoulders that was about 30-40 quid extra.

there’s a lot to study if you want to in the app. I don’t go to the gym and am using adjustable weights at home and a water rower. I’m using sofas for a bench but eventually will get one. Need bands, Pilates ball and long stretchy bands. I already did have all this though so it was an easy decision.

I’ve had shoulder and upper back pain and issues for years; it’s so very much better from following her plan.

I do pause the programme and skip days or stretch one week over two if I need to.

i started lifting and using the rower due to breast cancer two years ago, started this programme in march. I’m on tamoxifen so mindful of strength, bone density etc.

Good advice here. But I really would recommend upper and lower body splits. If you’re doing it well, you will be sore. You don’t want all of you to be sore at one time.

and to answer your question, I think, you just keep lifting heavier.

I don’t think you need to buy any plans or pay for any trainers. All the info is available online. Check for workouts and replicate. Good luck

I don’t think you need to buy any plans or pay for any trainers. All the info is available online. Check for workouts and replicate. Good luck

Yes you can get tonnes of stuff on line but I have monthly PT sessions at my local gym and this has been a game changer. Someone qualified who can assess YOU and check your technique. A could never afford weekly sessions but one a month works really well

At the risk of being that person @ProfessionalWhimsicalSkidaddler I’m gonna challenge the idea you should be sore, as it’s a myth that won’t die and it leads people to think they’re doing it wrong if they’re not sore. So then they can end up pushing too hard, not enjoy it and then not keep doing it.

DOMs (delayed onset muscle soreness) is not an indication of whether you did a good workout or not. It is very rare I have DOMs and I train very hard. I might get DOMs briefly if I do something new. But even then it’s never so sore it bothers me or inhibits anything. I do prioritise rest, hydration, nutrition etc to ensure I recover from one session to the next.

If I was getting DOMs all the time and it was stopping me from being able to train as I was too sore to use parts of my body again my coach would be changing what I’m doing.

Invest in a barbell with weights. It can easily be put away. As you get stronger you can do harder workouts and compound movements. Also one legged movements.
During lockdown I bought a 14kg kettlebell and a barbell that goes up to 50kg with different plates.

Hi @RayKrayyes, agree. I mean as a beginner for OP. When I started or have come back from a break, i very much had DOMs but not once my body is used to it.

Alternatively ask chat gtp. It’s really good for this sort of thing

Another vote for Hailey Happens - she has a Learn to Lift programme which is free and covers the basics. I love her foundation and agility programmes and there's always a Black Friday sale.

In answer to your question, mostly you can just keep increasing weight at your desired rep range as you get stronger, though grip strength can become more of a challenge as you increase weights. Plus beyond a certain weight a barbell is easier to manage than a pair of dumbbells. Finally there are lots of benefits from low rep work but you can get injured if your technique isn't right, so it's good to start in higher rep ranges until you have it nailed down, and never push to the point when your form is failing.

I wondered if that was free as I’ve been thinking of recommending the app to friends.

for me it (beginner power happens 1) did what it said on the tin; prime my menopausal tendons to move on and lift heavier / do more plyo, focussing on bone density, introducing sit.

as I said upthread the surprise was importance of resting, both between sets and on some days of the week.

I do full body every time, I don’t do leg day etc.
Yes you’ll keep moving up the weight, but I’ve found that now I’m mid 50’s, what I used to do was too much. I’ve now got a rotator cuff Injury, so I’m dropping down for a while.

Get some adjustable weights. I have some from ebay. There are four of them and they are 32kg total. So could have 2 x 16kg. Which would see you good for quite a while. I they were about £65. But you just need any non adjustable set to get started, as you may hate it or decide that you need to do it in a gym.

Someone else mentioned a barbell with weights. That's another adjustable option.

I don't think you are overthinking @Needsomesun12 - you've got a good plan to focus on compound movements a few times a week!

A few things I'd say:

-training back can be an issue at home. You can get dumbbells heavy enough for biceps, ditto tris or you can use a bench/sofa for dips, chest you can use your bodyweight (press ups, hands elevated if you need to). But for back you outgrow the normal sort of home dumbbells. Have you space for a pull up bar? Then you can use negatives, holds and bands to train vertical back. And maybe a table for horizontal rows. Or see if a local park has some calisthenics bars/railings/anything you can use.

-legs also need heavy weights but if you do single leg training that is a way round it.

-doing loads of reps with weights that are not challenging (to feel the burn) is cardio and muscular endurance - it won't build strength or muscle in the same way.

I do a mixture of calisthenics, free weights and machines weights now, rep range 1-10 usually, higher for core sometimes. As you get stronger you make the progressions harder and can use bodyweight more. For example, diamond press ups are really hard and work triceps, feet elevated push ups.....It isn't usually linear though!

I agree with @SpainToday. Checking in with a PT periodically is a game-changer. It doesn’t have to be frequent. Maybe once a month or even every couple of months, but it's invaluable for having a professional analyze your form on those 4-5 key movements you plan to do. This can prevent subtle issues that can cause problems down the line.

I was following online videos and thought my form was fine, but when I went to my first PT appointment, he spotted that something was off. He tested my grip strength and found that my left hand was 16% weaker than my right! We worked on it, and correcting that imbalance has made all my lifts feel stronger and more stable.

It's an example of something I never would have diagnosed myself from a YouTube video. If you are curious about testing grip strength by yourself, my PT used a professional device that connects to his smartphone (DEXDIA Grip Explorer), but for home use, I think you can get one of the affordable ones on Amazon that do the job perfectly well, like this one: Vive-Precision-Grip-Strength-Tester.

Knowing I have someone to spot-check my progress gives me so much more confidence to train on my own the rest of the time. If an in-person session is tricky, many PTs now do video call form-checks, which is also a great option.

I'm also an expert at overthinking and the expert feedback and assessment I get every once in a while helps quiet my overthinking and focus on the training itself.