Boys

[Aaroneet]

I've been using free weights for some time, and have tried heavy weights, but hurt my back. My brother has never lifted weights in his life until yesterday. He joined a nearby Rex Center, and used the weight room with his friends. When he came back, my mom asked him what he did. He said he used "light weights"-55 lbs. for the chest, 20 lbs. for biceps, and 100 lbs. for the leg press, he claimed, because he didn't know how to add weight on the machine.

Seeing my brother start an exercise program gave me a mix of excitement and jealousy. I'm happy to see him active, but I'm also annoyed that he can use such heavy weights. It's a little bit of sibling rivalry, as foolish as it seems. This makes me want to give it another go with heavier weights. I know that he's a sixteen year old boy, and he's probably always going to be stronger than I am, but I want to at least be in able to keep up. I know how ridiculous it sounds; we should really be in competition with ourselves, but I don't think I can help the urge to compete. Even if I can't keep up, I'd like the satisfaction of knowing that I tried again.

 

[spyrosmom]

Heavy is a relative term, but it still gets under your skin, doesn't it?. In general, males are stronger than females, so you are kinda doing apples and oranges. My DH never formally works out, but he is stronger than me Also, he is using good form, or is he yanking up the weights and using momentum to get them up? I can yank up a lot more weight than I can safely, properly lift, but that'll only cause injury in the long run. I don't know what he was doing for chest work, but a 55lb bench press isn't that much for a guy, nor is a 20lb bicep curl. So yeah, those are probably lighter weights for him, or he was showing off. Male ego, ya know? I wouldn't worry about it. If you used heavy weights and hurt yourself, then you used weights that are too heavy. My 10lb wts used to be the heavy ones, now they are not. Heavy is relative. Don't sweat it.

Nan

 

[kathryn]

A lot of times, when guys get together to lift weights, they use a lot of momentum and questionable form, just to be able to lift heavier. Since this was a group of friends working out together, and not a supervised session (at least that's what it seems), I'd guess there was quite a bit of iffy form going on.

Did he use a barbell or dumbbells?
I agree with Nan, a 55# barbell isn't heavy for an untrained guy. And 20# dumbbells are doable. I'll bet if you tried the leg press machine (different from a squat), you could lift close to #100 as well.

I 'graduated' to 20# dumbbells for bicep curls earlier this year (but it depends on what workout, the number of reps, etc) but I made my way up to it over the course of years, starting with 5#.

 

[Aaroneet]

Sorry I didn't check this earlier. Those are relatively light weights for a guy. I'm not sure what kind of form he was using, but I do know that he was using many machines. He was actually asking me questions about weight training, so I guess I should be flattered.