How do you ladies do it?

L

LuckeeLaydee

Cathlete
Did it take a while for you ladies that lift heavy weights to work up to it?
I have only done MM before as I am pretty new to Cathe, and Monday night I did PUB for the first time. I struggled to complete the bicep portion with 8, 10 & 12 lb weights. Now I believe Cathe used 10, 15 & 20 or something like that. I also struggled a little (not quite as bad) with the same weight she used on shoulders, I think 3, 5, and 8 and she used 3, 5 & 10. I feel like a wuss. I have worked out with up to 10 lb dumbells before with no problems. Is pyramid just a tough thing because of all the reps?
Thanks for any input.


Paula
 
I'm probably not gonna be much help here. I made most of my muscle gains while I trained w/a college football player about 10 years ago. Not only was he very serious & knowledgable about weight training, he was also a great spotter. I could never have seriously increased my weights without his spotting.
 
Paula...gaining strength merely takes time and patience. Workout with the weights that you can use right now and still keep proper form. Form is the most important factor. Don't push yourself too soon to increase poundage or you'll sacrifice form and your body will start to 'cheat' in order to lift the weight.

The best method is to write down what weight you are doing for a specific exercise. Keep using that weight until you can do all the reps easily and you are no longer fatigueing the muscle. When that happens it's time to increase the weight.

Another thing is...the best upper body exercise is still push ups...done on your toes. Push ups are hard but they'll turn small boys into men every time. }(

I do a set of pushups daily no matter what my exercise routine is for the day. It is just something I have done since I was a teen...along with a set of crunches. Only takes a few minutes every morning but it's engrained in my body as something I just do.
 
It took me about two years before I could work up to the heavier weights I use now which are approximately what Cathe uses in her workouts. On some exercises, especially Power Hour, I go heavier.

I will probably never be up to what Laura or Aquajock use but that's okay with me. At one time I might have felt like I should continue to raise my weights but I'm satisfied with my definition now.
 
I picked up the heavy ones at 1st and had another pair there. I do as much as i can with the heavier ones. Then i drop down like from 20's to 15's.
Pyramids I can keep up with Cathe except for the bicep work. I try like heck and when i am shaking to failure i drop it down..
Pyramid shoulders and biceps is a tough one. I think those parts fail much faster.
I started out with 3,5 &8's with the firm. I am on 2 years now without stopping.
It takes time.
You are not a wuss.
Arnold was not built in a day!!!!!!
Anne
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=8227804&uid=3969941
 
Hi Paula. Just wanted to let you know the same thing happened to me when I did PUB for the first time. The other exercises before the biceps weren't bad and I was just lifting a little less than Cathe. When I got to the biceps I couldn't even do it with 8, 10, and 12 lb weights. I was making myself feel better by saying that I tired my poor biceps out during the other exercises, but I guess that we just need to keep working and someday we might catch up with Cathe. Good luck!

Karin
 
I think part of the reason the biceps are so hard in PUB is that Cathe saves them for last. Throughout the entire workout, you're using them in some other way, even if it's just a little bit, so they're already a little tired by that time.

I've always had fairly good upper body strength, so matching Cathe isn't usually hard for me. My biggest challenge was to engage the core, since pre-Cathe, I always did isolation moves. It makes a big difference!
 
Thanks for all the input ladies!!
I think I definitely need to go down a little on the bicep work because form was sorely lacking. I guess if I lack form I won't get good results, correct?
Anyway, your are all a great source of information and I appreciate each one of you.

Paula
 
Paula, you'll get there. It just takes time. When I first started doing weight training I could barely do anything. When I started PUB I couldn't lift the weight Cathe does either, but now I do the same weight she does and sometimes even heavier. Just continue with a weight that challenges you and then once it doesn't anymore, go up a weight. Slowly you'll realize that your strength is increasing. It takes some time though.

Katie
 
I have a hard time going up in weights with many of Cathe's workouts 'as-is', because of the lack of rest between sets. I put a longer break between sets and between body parts, until I recover more, then I can lift heavier.

The Pyramids have very little rest between sets, especially on lower body.
 
Keep in mind that X amount of weights does not equal X amount of muscle mass. There have been a few women here who expressed amazement that I do not lift as heavy as others. I know I couldn't lift like Charlotte (Toasty) or LauraMax but I am happy with the amount of tone I have.
 
Oh, exactly. Isn't it Lauramax who does tricep kickbacks with 25# handweights? I could never handle that weight! Actually, maybe I'll see just how far I can kickback with a 25...I'm thinking not even half way. I do that exercise with 8 & 10.
 
>Keep in mind that X amount of weights does not equal X amount
>of muscle mass.

How true.

Lifting for strength doesn't make one big most of the time. I can lift quite heavy vs. some other people who LOOK stronger than I do, but I would rather have the strength to be functional (and hoist 50# bags of bird seed and 70# televisions without injury) than look the part and not be able to lift as much.

Also, a lot of how much someone can lift depends on their muscle insertions as well as other individual anatomical features.

The best guide to what is heavy for you is to pick a rep range based on your goals and make sure the weight you use for it is hard to lift on the last 2-3 reps, and impossible to lift with good form for more reps.
 
Paula,
I think you are doing great!! You deserve to be proud:). I don't compare myself to others....heck, I would have to measure myself with three winter coats on to have biceps the size of Charlottes;). As Sarah and Kathryn mentioned, all our individual fitness goals are unique and different.

Robin :)
 
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