My legs are Strong! :D - I think
 

My arms are weak D:

Thanks to a bunch of people I'm slowly working out what I think I need to do to get where I want to.

A nice instructor at my local gym showed me a technique for using the machines. A
Lifting the heaviest I possibly can for at least 8 reps and not being able to surpass 12 for 3 sets. Also slower movements and pausing for a moment at each end of the movement(wrong term?)

Well I've been pleased that on the 'Leg press' I can do 3 sets at 70kg (why on earth was I wasting my time with 30kg!) I can to 15 reps each, so I should rly be attemping 80kg.
Adductor and Abductor are 30kg each.

Gosh my arms are so weak.. arm curl, I struggle with 7.5kg :( chest press kills at 15kg etc :(
I guess I should improve, right?


when did people notice they could lift heavier?

I'm always trying to press my luck so to speak with weights so I do try to lift as heavy as possible.

My overall advice though would be skip the machines and work on exercises such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc. You'll find that adding weight is a bit difficult if you are using your own body weight because you'll also have to engage your core as well :)

Upper body strength does take a bit for women to develop but its possible. Again, focus on free weights and body weight exercises. Modified pushups (on an incline such as wall, countertop, stairs) are good starters and tricep dips are good as well. Dumbbells can also be used for various exercises to help build up the upper body strength.

YOu can skip these - you could do them all day long and not make a huge difference. :)

Nelie has the right idea - move to free weights and body weight exercises. THere are several "stickied" threads above that talk about why free weights are better, and also about functional exercises (ones that improve the muscles you use for "activities of daily living" (as my DH says) ) But great job getting into lifting...

Hiya Nelie!
From what I could see, there isn't much provision at my leisure centre for fre weights, not that I'd know how to use them rly :(
WELL---I just called the leisure centre, they have a weights area, Im so silly, I know I can't do a accurate squat as is, but I'm going to book a re-focus and ask the guy(the one who helped previously) to show me the technique without falling on my ***, I've seen pics, but I still can't seem to replicate it- same with deadlifts, I haven't tried that.

I'm also hoping he will have a clue to what weight exercises combine will give me a full body workout, I've just been using the pics on the machines as a guide.

Cheers WaterRat! altho I do 'feel' my inner and outer leg after using them. *shrugs* all new and confusing things!

angel, just because you can feel your legs after using them, doesn't mean they are an overall effective workout :)

I would recommend reading through some of our stickies:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28891
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60005
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=136376

Also a couple books that are useful are Body for Life and The New Rules of Lifting for Women.

Getting help/advice from a personal trainer is preferable when you are first starting out. I've had my form checked out by personal trainers as well as a sports physical therapist that I see.

Welcome to being female! Our upper bodies are much more difficult to develop :mad: I find that I started lifting heavier when I moved away from machines. I do Crossfit which utilizes Olympic lifts and HIIT cardio.

And after you can master the full body pushup there are futher variations. Oh the fun never stops. :devil:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/214133...onal_exercise/

One thing to note from the video, the guy could go a little deeper between the balls and it is also a bonus if you can pause at the bottom of the movement for two counts, come up for four counts hand at the top for two counts and then go back down again. Slow...controlled...great stuff.

Good luck with your strength training!

Wow, thanks everyone!

hehe, I have a vain moment last nyt before bed, after cleaning my face a raised my arms to flex, I do this from time to time just to be silly, but now there was some definition(very small but still!) I showed my mum, she noticed it too, then said 'well you don't wanna get all musclely' :P

yay