? about weight lifting

You're a girl, you don't have enough testosterone to build muscle. Keep increasing the weight. In all honesty I would recommend you cut out the "isolation" exercises like the kickbacks and the curls and just do compound exercises such as military press, bench press, squats, deadlifts, chinups and dips. You'll find you'll get better results as you will be burning more calories while working multiple muscle groups and you will spend less time in the gym, but that's my two cents.


On another note:

Don't be that girl

Dumbelina

Dumbellina is the epitome of what women shouldn't be doing in the gym.

Her entire workout revolves around those tiny cast iron dumbbells that wouldn't give a toddler a good workout. I'm not sure what's she's doing with them, but it looks like her goal is to one day flap her arms and take to the sky.

One of these days, I expect to see her gracefully soaring over the parking lot. The good thing is, I'm sure those nasty itty bitty weights won't make her too big.

nthngis4vr& alwyzisalie wrote: »

lol @ dumbellina. I'm def. not that girl. I'm the typical cardio/abs/legs kinda girl so I've never really touched the weights or done any upper-body workouts at the gym.

I decided to get into the weights for a change. But I workout at home and don't have access to those kind of machines. I don't even have a bench at this point.

You dont think isolation workouts are good for a beginner? What would you suggest?

Isolation exercises are a waste of time in my opinion. I would consider myself an intermediate to advanced lifter and I typically only do compounds, I do a few isolations but have never found them to be that necessary for size or strength.

It depends on your goals, what are your goals exactly?

The exercises I suggested will give you far better results in way less time and I guarantee you will get a better workout. You don't really need that much equipment for those, just a few weights, a door pull up bar and a straight bar, bench if you have money to buy a cheap one off of craigslist, all this stuff shouldn't cost you more than $30 it's always cheap on craigslist probably even cheaper for you since you are a girl and you won't be able to handle that much weight. You can use chairs for dips or even the end of a bed and a chair for your feet. You can do squats with dumbbells or do walking lunges with dumbbells. Your best bet is to buy adjustable ones, and then just get some individual weights, you really won't need to buy too many weights.

If you do the exercises I told you, you will tone up faster and get stronger very fast.

Military press

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/BBMilitaryPress.html

Deadlift

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ErectorSpinae/BBDeadlift.html


Still not convinced:

Which Is Better - Compound or Isolation Exercises?
Strength training multiple muscle groups at once provides better results

By Elizabeth Quinn, About.com Guide

Updated: October 28, 2008

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board

What Are Compound Exercises?
Today's fitness programs tend to focus on functional fitness, which refers to exercise that simulates real-life activities and uses a wide variety of movements through a wide range of motion. At the heart of these routines are a variety of compound exercises. Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that work several muscles or muscle groups at one time. A great example of a compound exercise is the squat exercise, which engages many muscles in the lower body and core, including the quadriceps, the hamstrings, the calves, the glutes, the lower back and the core.

What Are Isolation Exercises?
Isolation exercises work only one muscle or muscle group and only one joint at a time. Examples of isolation exercises include the biceps curl or the quadriceps extension. These exercises are often performed with the commercial weight machines found in health clubs. The idea is to isolate one muscle group and move from from one machine to the next until you "work" your whole body. Isolation exercises are frequently used in physical therapy clinics and rehab centers in order to correct a specific muscle weakness or imbalance that often occurs after injury, illness, surgery or certain diseases.

Why Use Compound Exercises?
For healthy athletes who are trying to get the most out of a training program, compound exercises are generally preferred and recommended. There are many reasons to use compound exercises during your workout, including the following:

Using more muscle groups. . .

* means more calories burned during exercise.
* simulates real-world exercises and activities.
* allows you to get a full body workout faster.
* improves coordination, reaction time and balance.
* improves joint stability and improves muscle balance across a joint.
* decreases the risk of injury during sports.
* keeps your heart rate up and provides cardiovascular benefits.
* allows you to exercise longer with less muscle fatigue.
* allows you to lift heavier loads and build more strength.

Examples of Compound Exercises

* Squat
* Lunge
* Lunge with a Twist
* One-Leg Squat-and-Reach
* Deadlift
* Kettlebell Swings (PDF)
* Shoulder Press
* Pull Down
* Pull Ups
* Push Ups
* Chest Press
* Dips
* Jumping Rope

Why Use Isolation Exercises?
Isolation exercises are often recommended to correct muscle imbalance or weakness that often occurs after an injury. Isolating a specific muscle is sometimes necessary to get it to activate and increase it's strength. Often, after an injury, a muscle becomes weak and other muscles compensate for that weakness. If you never retrain the injured muscles to fire properly again, it may set up a biomechanical imbalance that is difficult to correct.

Even if your weakness isn't noticeable because other muscles are compensating, imagine how much stronger you would be if all the muscles were firing at maximum contraction. That alone is a good reason to occasionally do isolation exercises.

Another reason to perform specific isolated exercises is to increase the size or bulk of a specific muscle group. If you want big biceps for your spring break beach vacation, you'll probably want to add some bicep isolation work to your regular exercise routine.

Most healthy athletes will use compound exercises for the majority of a training program and use isolation exercises to complement that program as needed.

Examples of Isolation Exercises

* bicep curls
* tricep kickbacks
* lateral raises
* front raises
* rope pull-downs
* leg extensions
* hamstring curls
* calf raises

The Bottom Line
If you are interested in getting a complete, efficient and functional workout, doing predominantly compound exercises during your training is ideal. But there are times when isolating a specific muscle, muscle group or joint is necessary and recommended. If you aren't sure what is best for you, a personal trainer or athletic trainer can help locate any muscle imbalance or weakness you may have and design a program to fit your needs.

If your toning, do more reps with light weights. If your building muscle, increase weight.