WEIGHT LIFTING STATISTICS SINCE 11/02/2012
low back: 135lbs
leg extension: 70lbs
leg curl: 75lbs
seated row: 50lbs
chest press: 45-50 lbs
shoulder lateral raise: 45-50lbs
arm-becep: probably can do til 25lbs, I dont really train this
arm-tricep: probably can do til 25lbs, I dont really train this
abdominal: 50lbs

i'm really proud of myself for being able to lift this much
also I notice that when I get to the gym I weigh around 146lbs when I'm about to go home after my cardio and weightlifting which is usually around 1.5 hours I weigh like 3lbs more! LOL.

Will I become slim from doing this? I dont want to be bulky!
by the way i do this 5 days a week consistently, the only break I give my body is on the weekends.

and is this much training healthy?? I don't find it too excessive on a personal note, but in the gym all other women lift weights at like 20-30lbs and do only 20 mins of running from what I have noticed.

You won't bulk unless you start shooting up 'roids and eating a VERY specific diet. Don't do that .

I lift and I lift HEAVY. I've only gotten smaller. Our bodies are built to have compact muscle mass. Lifting heavy will only do good things for you.

My only suggestion, give yourself more of a break. You don't want to overtrain and exhaust your body. Alternate muscle groups. I lift 4 days a week. Upper body, lower body alternating. I've seeing massive results doing this.

You weigh more after you lift because your muscles retain water when you work them out. It's not permanent.

Have fun and if you haven't read it already "The New Rules of Lifting For Women" is a wonderful resource.

thank you
wow you look amazing!!!! you dont even look like you are 175lbs!! you look like you are 120 or something.

what do you think of weight loss supplements?? like oxyelite pro or something?? did you use any supplements for your training?

Thank you! You're too sweet! I'm pretty tall so I have a lot of room to carry all that weight.

I'm anti-suppliments. You'll see me ranting on them elsewhere, I'm sure . I take a multivitamin with Omega's and protein powder on occasion. You should be able to get all you need from the food you eat, otherwise. I don't enjoy feeling like I'm on speed... the rest of that stuff is not necessary.

To second what Val sad, weight lifting will make you smaller, it's almost impossible to get bulky unless you are training to do that. When I started lifting weights about halfway through my weight loss is when my body started looking good, not just smaller (though it made me shrink quicker too!)

The reason you see women at the gym lifting dinky amounts of weights or not pushing themselves when it comes to lifting is a lot of them think they will get bulky. It's a common misconception.

I also suggest getting New Rules of Lifting for Women, it's a great book and has a routine in it. I did it back when I lost a ton of weight and need to get back into it because I just had a baby

I've recently joined a gym, but haven't been using the weight room because I have no idea how much to lift and how many sets I should be doing.

I was hoping I could try what you're doing, Needle. Would you mind telling me how many sets of each excercise you're doing??

i do 13 reps for each machine.
you should start from 20-30lbs first for each, if its too easy then move to higher weight. Goood way to know is if you can do over 13 reps for a given weight easily then you should increase the weight by 5lbs.. keep doing it until you get an idea how much you can lift ;D

Increase your weights and decrease your reps .

This

And you might want to consider starting to sub out some of those machines for free weight exercises: squats and lunges instead of the leg extension machines, eg. Presses with dumbbells rather than the machine.

The free weights and movement based exercises are better and more beneficial for your body.

A million times yes!! You use those stabilizing muscles too when you lift free weights. I've recently gotten over my fear of the free weight room and it's made a ton of difference!

Can I chime in here? I would continue to do what you're doing but like OP said, cut down on the days to give your body a chance to properly recover. I'm in stage 5 of the NROL4W and only workout three days a week because it's a total body program and I've seen phenomonal results, seriously. I only exercise like four hours a week and that's it. People tell me I look better at 40 than I did at 30...and I've had two kids. Don't give into those bulking myths, it's all hogwash.