Am new to lifting and I know that WW isn't the best program for it but I CAN'T and WON'T do BFL, Body Rx or modified Atkins...have tried to do this style of eating and I can't do it.
I like WW because it gives you the flexibility to eat anything in moderation.
Has someone out there been successful in WW while trying to gain muscle strength?
Despite an overwhelming amount of information and evidence to the contrary, many women are still afraid that strength training will give them big muscles. Worrying about this makes as much sense as worry about becoming too happy, healthy, beautiful and rich. The female body just isn’t programmed to grow “manly” muscles. Genetics, hormones, body fat, and body type all prevent that. Even if you want to grow big muscles, you’ll soon discover that without dangerous steroids it’s virtually impossible.
HOW MOTHER NATURE GROWS MUSCLE ON WOMEN
Women’s muscles get leaner, not bigger, with an average increase in size of a quarter to half inch, even after years of training. Although women can get stronger indefinitely, muscles respond by getting denser, not bigger. Many women notice their waists, hips, thighs and buttocks get smaller as they get stronger. Shoulders may appear a bit larger and squarer (sometimes merely the result of improved posture) and arms may get more defined as less fat hangs off the underarm.
But stronger muscles weigh more. Because muscle weighs more than fat, some women notice that training makes them gain weight (and this is a though psychological barrier to break). A body-fat test is a more accurate measure of progress than a scale.
· Women with 15-20 percent body fat may notice an immediate weight gain after a few weeks of training.
· Women with a 20-30 percent body fat may maintain a steady weight for a while but notice their waistlines shrinking.
· Women with more than 30 percent body fat may experience an immediate weight loss.
Also remember: Lean muscles look bigger. AS body fat drops to between 15 and 20 percent, muscles start to peek out from under the protective glaze of body fat.
Some women still get bigger than they’d like, especially if they have an endomorphic or mesomorphic body type. A body-fat test can confirm if this size increase is muscle or fat.
· To shrink muscle, simply ease up on training for a while.
· To shrink fat, strength train more intensely, two or three days a week. Make cardio workouts longer and moderate (45-60 minutes) or more vigorous for 30 minutes so you expend more total calories.
WHY WOMEN CAN’T BUILD BIG MUSCLES
For a woman to succeed at building big muscles, without the help of anabolic steroids, she literally has to be a genetic freak. The chances of this happening are about one in a million.
· Most women have short muscles and long tendons. This makes it very tough to build large, curvaceous muscles, since too much of the limb is made of flat connective tissue. Very few mortals have long, full muscles and short tendons.
· Women don’t have enough testosterone. Although women’s bodies natural produce this male growth-inspiring hormone (just as men’s bodies produce female hormones), men have about 100 times more of it. Some women produce more testosterone than others. But that’s still not enough to give women a natural anabolic edge.
· Women have more body fat. Most women have between 20 and 30 percent body fat. Fat hides muscle. It also means that women possess a smaller ratio of lean muscle to fat, so less muscle mass is available for use (although women are as strong as men when compared, according to this percentage of lean muscle).
REST BETWEEN STRENGTH WORKOUTS
When you strength train, you create microscopic tears in muscle fibers, which take at least two days to heal. That’s why you shouldn’t train the same muscles two days in a row.
If you train too hard, you may need to take four or five days off (if muscles are very sore, gentle limbering moves and stretches can ease your pain). A good rule of thumb is to wait until soreness goes away before doing another intense workout. If your workouts aren’t that hard and you don’t get sore, you can come back sooner (or you might want to reevaluate your workouts and increase the intensity if appropriate).
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends strength training the whole body every other day, three times a week.
RESTING BETWEEN SETS
How long you rest between sets is usually based on how hard you’re working. The traditional belief about rest time is:
· 15 to 20 reps of light weight (muscle endurance), rest for 20 to 30 seconds;
· 8 to 12 reps of moderate weight (for building strength and size), rest for 30 seconds to a minute;
· 1 to 6 reps of heavy weight (for building strength and power), rest for up to 5 minutes.
THE POWER OF REST
Progress is cyclical, not linear. Nobody can maintain high energy all the time and no one keeps getting stronger indefinitely. Strength curves, like learning curves, follow a natural rhythm. Sometimes we grow in spurts and learn quickly, other times we just have to process the information, rest and adapt.
Here’s how to tap the power of rest:
· If you’re making gradual strength gains over a long period of time, then you’re getting enough rest. Keep it up.
· If you’re stuck on a strength plateau, try building in an extra day or two of rest and increase the weight, at least for 8 reps.
· If you’re in a growth spurt, making big strength gains, don’t assume it’ll last forever. Pull back before you hit a burnout. Don’t go for more than three weeks of all-out intensity without taking at least a week or two of rest.
I've used my Total Gym all through the WW program and continue to do so on maintenance. I did not notice any adverse effects whatsoever, but I enjoy being stronger and more toned.
Wow, I don't have time to read that big article right now, but I did want to add my 2 cents!
The first time I did WW I started lifting when I was about 10lbs from goal. It didn't slow my progress down on the scale, and definitely made me much more streamlined! I am around the same weight now, but don't have the opportunity to go the gym, and find I am a bigger size in clothing because of it!
I can't wait until I am able to return to the gym!!
Good luck with your lifting!
I just restarted weight watchers and have been doing Joyce Vedrals weight training tapes for a few weeks. For me weights are the only thing that changes my body. Weightloss on the scale for me is has always been slow but I do notice other changes in my body.
Last edited by its_my_life; 06-01-2003 at 11:20 AM.
I quit WW because I am opposed to their weighing methods, -- they don't care about body composition. I lowered my body fat %, my waist is smaller, but my weight has gone up slightly. You have to go to a doctor to get your goal weight adjusted. I ain't paying a $25.00 copay for that.
However, if you lift, the Body Rx or BFL plans are really going to make a difference. WW allows you to eat any crap, as long as you stay within points. I do like their emphasis on fiber though. When you workout intensely, you may need more points than WW allows, and you will need more protein. Try to cut out the junk like Skinny Cows (no nutrition - just food for pleasure) and focus on sports nutrition - you can fit it into WWs if you're smart.
I found this quote I like:
Free yourself from the prison of trying to squeeze in as much garbage with the least calories [points], and find out what health and vitality are all about.
I do Body Rx (allows more fruit than most bodybuilder plans, and I worry about cancer). It got me off a plateau. It's also a great life plan for carb sensitive people.
Eating 5 times a day is a good idea, and cutting out processed food is a GREAT idea. I find now that I don't even want bread or pasta - oatmeal and Fiber One are the only cereals I crave. It's tough at first, but your body will thank you.
Female
5'10"
220/167/170 (without taking steroids)
Chyna is 5'10" and weighs 170 and looks HOT
Hi..I just wanted to say that you can do both. WW and lift weights. I am doing both. I have lost 136 pounds on WW..took me 19 months to do it and I have maintained for a year now. During this time I started to lift weights.....I do it 4 to 5 days a week..alternating my days of upper body..arms and such and legs . I am gaining strength and building body muscle. From losing the weight alone I went from a size 24 jeans to a size 8 jeans. But from working out I went from a size 8 jeans to a size 4 jeans. I have'nt lost anymore weight..just lost inches. I also walk 3 miles a day every day. I love the energy I have now...it makes all the difference in the world. I live in a small town and there is no "gym" to go to but the local senior citizens has a small weight room with some nice equipment in it and that is where I go.
Good luck with WW...for me..it's the only boat afloat!!!
WW and Weight Lifting...
