But I hate weight-lifting. I don't get the same high like I do from the elliptical or other forms of cardio; every time I do it I feel like it's a chore and I feel like everyone on the gym is staring at me and it makes me uncomfortable, and on top of it, I never know what is the right weight to choose. One weight feels too easy, the next one up is too hard, and it just ends up being a confusing, painful mess and I never end up with a good workout -- I mostly either slave through it or give up.

However, I know that in order to keep my muscles in check and to try to salvage my skin as much as possible, I need to do some sort of strength/resistance training. I can't for the life of me find something that I like to do, though. What are some alternatives to weight lifting that have the same effect but are more fun?

Push ups, planks, pull ups, yoga classes with lots of sun salutations and arm poses - anything that uses your body weight.

Does you gym have any classes such as body pump? You use lighter weight and more reps, but it is to music with other people, but they are not watching you, they are focusing on themselves. You also might want to invest in a session or two with a trainer to have them show you the proper technique. Great job on the weight loss!

FWIW, I HATED weight training when I first started. I tried it in high school and said "forget this" and didn't try again until I was almost done with college. Now I love it more than cardio!

What helped me was taking a weight training class and learning the right way to do the exercises. Like others said: see if there are classes or if you can learn the proper technique from a trainer. You might be doing things wrong or maybe just starting out with wrong weight.

And trust me, people aren't looking at you They're too focused on what they're doing to care what others are.

I'm with you and hating strength training when I'm solo. I do NOT like exercising by myself - period.

I know there's all sort of stuff about doing lighter weights with more reps isn't as effective as higher weights with less reps, but bodypump is kind of inbetween and I've gotten pretty darn strong doing it and since it's a class, I enjoy it - a lot.

I haven't been able to go for about a month first because of a shoulder injury and then switching to major gardening, but I miss it!!!! And will be back at it soon!

Weight lifting isn't just 'lifting weights', well ok maybe it is. But there are lots of things you can do. Power yoga is a great alternative and one thing I'm starting to get into.

I also love kettlebells and do kettlebell workouts.

I also recently bought a book called the You are your own gym (body weight book), it is kind of quirky and I haven't finished looking through it but it is giving me some ideas for tweaking my workout.

I second the suggestion of taking a body pump (or similar) class if your at a gym. I'm really bad about skipping the weights (especially arms). When I go to the class, I feel like a have to finish. No skipping out early after 20 bicep reps and calling that "arms."

To channel my girly side, TOTALLY!
I definitely felt/feel the same way. However, once you start getting better, you will get an even bigger confidence boost knowing you can lift heavier than the week (or two weeks) before! I usually go much earlier in the morning when most of the meat heads are still slobbering on their pillows, and the cardio slaves are minding their own business.

I would encourage you to find motivation to lift weights. So many women skip this, unaware that WEIGHT LOSS IS PROPELLED by lifting weight. However, if you need to start off with other types of exercises to gain strength before you have enough confidence to "hang with the boys," that's perfectly fine.

Eventually, you'll be able to lift heavy enough for the guys not to judge you because you just picked up 5 lb dumbbells (speaking from experience), but for now, who cares! Just focus on this: what you do today will make you stronger and leaner tomorrow!

You might be doing too many reps.

When you're ready to start a weight lifting program, stick for a range of 8-12 reps per exercise. If you cannot do 8 reps, you are lifting too heavy. If you can do more than 12 reps, you're lifting too light. This rep range is perfect to assess how heavy you should be lifting. You should be able to barely squeeze out your last rep with great effort. When you do this, you will build muscle (but remember-- you won't become a beast lifting this way-- WOMEN DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH TESTOSTERONE FOR THAT).

Also, plan out what you'll do ahead of time. You may need to consult someone that you know who is into weight lifting, otherwise, it will take a little more effort, and extra time to plan out your workouts.

You should be recording how much you can lift on each set, and then seeing gains next week (or the following week. This allows you to judge if you're making any progress, or just lifting weights to maintain muscle).

I do this split:
MON: Chest & Triceps (could switch biceps & triceps days around)
TUE: Back & Biceps
WED: Legs & Calves
THURS: Abs & Shoulders

When you're ready to weight train, you can take advice from an expert on strength training on bodybuilding.com, and the site also has pictures and videos of each exercise, and how to perform them with perfect form.

I've been using Jamie Eason's 12-week program (I prefer to be told what to do), and there are many more experts on the site with programs and advice that love sharing their secrets of success with us novices!

trust me, women should be weight lifting, we just need to walk into the "He-man woman haters club," and show them we want to see results too! :P

WHAT MODERATE WEIGHT LIFTING, EATING CLEAN, AND LIGHT CARDIO CAN DO FOR US WOMEN (Jamie Eason when she's not preparing for a fitness competition, and lifting moderately):

And yes, sontaikle is right. 95% of people are NOT looking at you, they are so focused on what they're doing. The other 5% are like, DAMN! A chick is here... SWEET! The psychological feeling that people are judging you is internal.

That will dissipate after you build confidence in your abilities.

GOOD LUCK CHICA!!

I would think that rock climbing would be a really good muscle workout for the arms and legs and perhaps core... maybe see if there are any rock wall places near you

I want to second this. The people in the weight room at my gym are either so focused on themselves they don't see you, or as reanbean says they're like "DAMN that chick is lifting?" I took a course at my local CC and someone recognized me from the gym. I was like really? And these big college football guys were all "Yeah, not that many chicks lift... whats your bench up to these days?" It was awesome.

Okaaayyy, just putting my feelings out here on weight lifting.

I have been observing many women in my gym who have been weight lifting. Why do I know they're lifting? Because of their body proportion, broad shoulders and very obvious muscles.

My conclusion is that the ONLY women who will look good in MY eyes as a woman are those who are of the slender body type, you know, the ectomorphs, I think, they're called. Otherwise, all the other ordinary women simply look very bulky.

I'm not an ectomorph nor am i able to be so disciplined to keep my BF% in my low teens so I've deliberately stopped my lifting with weights and focused on cardio instead. The only things I do with weights are in classes eg, MXT classes once a week. Other than that, it's all mostly strength training using only body weight during a cardio session, eg, in a Les Mills session such as bodyattack.

Again, this is my opinion and of course, those women wouldn't be fussed. For you, OP, you should try either bodypump or getting a personal trainer to show you the techniques, as others have suggested. Think about what you personally want with your body and go from there.

I'd just like to say that Sheldon's 'somatotypes' that you refer to (ectomorph, edomorph etc.) is a THEORY developed in the 1940's by a silly man, in order to associate body types with human temperament types. This theory is SERIOUSLY flawed, and existed in the times when we used to 'cure people' with electroshock therapy, and lobotomies. Why this sad excuse for typing people still exists is beyond me.

Furthermore, a good strength/muscle building regimen has TWO phases.
The first phase is meant to build strength and/or muscle while minimizing fat gain.
The second phase is meant for losing fat while maintaining strength and/or muscle mass.

SO IF YOU STOP LIFTING WEIGHTS, YOU WILL BURN LESS CALORIES, LOSE LESS WEIGHT, AND BECOME FRAIL AND UNHEALTHY!
Overweight persons are capable of achieving both goals (strength gains and fat loss) at the same time; however, they're the exception to the rule.

Don't base your exercise regimen on rusty theories based on no less than observations (that is, THIS THEORY IS NOT SCIENTIFICALLY BACKED).

I don't recommend that anyone take the somatotypes theory seriously, or advise people using this theory.

And alas, this is one of the reasons that women hold unrealistic goals for their bodies, and have a low self esteem.

Totally agree. I can't understand why anyone would aspire to a body so thin and flabby that it can't do anything AND which can exist only through chronic underfeeding. That ideal is a form of self-loathing, in my opinion. It rests on several forms of extreme self-denial.

What I love about weight lifting is that it gets me to focus on what my body CAN do rather than what it 'can't' or 'shouldn't' do, and it encourages me to think of myself as strong, independent, and powerful. It's self-affirming rather than self-denying. I love it.

I'm not about to sit here and say what I find attractive or whatever, but WE NEED TO STOP CRITICIZING WOMEN'S BODIES. Whether they are skinny, thin, fat, muscular, WHATEVER. It doesn't matter what YOU personally find attractive nor does it matter what the majority of men find attractive. Every woman deserves to feel good about her body.

You don't know what kind of women are reading what you're writing. This is supposed to be a supportive place and there are people here who are looking to be supported. They should not have to come on here and see: "I think this is unattractive."

Personally I'm a confident person and IDGAF what other people think of my body. Rewind back to when I was in high school and if I read some of the things here I might have been discouraged or turned off of weight training. I've come a long way but others are still working on their journey to self acceptance.


This so hard. Weight training has done so much more than make me look awesome—I feel awesome. I am confident, I am powerful, I am STRONG. It doesn't matter if someone insults me because I am a strong, powerful woman who can do these awesome things. When I meet people, talk to people, etc. I ooze confidence because of what I can do.

I certainly fail at times, but when I fall I get right back up sprinting.