Women and free weights

[roguerower]

*shrug* The closest I come to weight lifting is pull-ups and push-ups with a textbook or two in a backpack. Not going to make me a world-class lifter by any means, but it keeps my core strong enough to keep me satisfied for the most part. Not everyone's got a long-term goal of deadlifting 500+ lbs, some of us are just doing general maintenance/physical fitness. In that case the machines are fine IMO. Think being good at Halo or Super Smash vs being good at World of Warcraft or Eve.

I agree with this. Right now I'm still working hard to get back in shape for rowing which means that I'm using a rowing machine close to 100% of the time. I'm trying to diversify a little now but it's still cardio work, just focused on different areas.

In my case a "machine" is the perfect solution, however a Concept2 erg is not the same as most other machines. My goal isn't to get bigger, it's to get lighter.

 

[Whisper]

*shrug* The closest I come to weight lifting is pull-ups and push-ups with a textbook or two in a backpack. Not going to make me a world-class lifter by any means, but it keeps my core strong enough to keep me satisfied for the most part. Not everyone's got a long-term goal of deadlifting 500+ lbs, some of us are just doing general maintenance/physical fitness. In that case the machines are fine IMO. Think being good at Halo or Super Smash vs being good at World of Warcraft or Eve.

I believe what brikis is saying is that you could likely realize even better results by spending that same amount of time working with heavier weights and lower reps. Not everyone has to go for 500+ lbs deadlifts, no, but if you have the choice between spending 30 minutes doing large numbers of bodyweight reps or 30 minutes doing 3x5's or 5x5's with heavier weight, most people would notice significantly greater overall gains with the latter.

Even if your goal were to get "lean," you'd probably be much happier with the overall aesthetic gains you'd see lifting heavy vs. lifting light. I prefer to remain relatively lean myself, and although I've been working out with heavy sets for the past decade, at 5' 10.5" I've never weighed above 176 lbs. A large part of all this is dictated by what, when, and how much you eat.

 

[Terzo]

@Terzo -- I can understand that, but still would you go so far as to actively discourage them?[/QUOTE]

Nope.

 

[brikis98]

I believe what brikis is saying is that you could likely realize even better results by spending that same amount of time working with heavier weights and lower reps. Not everyone has to go for 500+ lbs deadlifts, no, but if you have the choice between spending 30 minutes doing large numbers of bodyweight reps or 30 minutes doing 3x5's or 5x5's with heavier weight, most people would notice significantly greater overall gains with the latter.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Many types of exercise will have a positive effect if you do them consistently, but some things work better/faster than others. Most of us have a finite amount of time to spend at the gym, so I prefer to stick with what's most efficient, and when it comes to weight training, that's typically free weights + heavy weight/low reps.

 

[TallBill]

I believe what brikis is saying is that you could likely realize even better results by spending that same amount of time working with heavier weights and lower reps. Not everyone has to go for 500+ lbs deadlifts, no, but if you have the choice between spending 30 minutes doing large numbers of bodyweight reps or 30 minutes doing 3x5's or 5x5's with heavier weight, most people would notice significantly greater overall gains with the latter.

Even if your goal were to get "lean," you'd probably be much happier with the overall aesthetic gains you'd see lifting heavy vs. lifting light. I prefer to remain relatively lean myself, and although I've been working out with heavy sets for the past decade, at 5' 10.5" I've never weighed above 176 lbs. A large part of all this is dictated by what, when, and how much you eat.

You hit it right on the head.

 

[Redfraggle]

I agree with this. Right now I'm still working hard to get back in shape for rowing which means that I'm using a rowing machine close to 100% of the time. I'm trying to diversify a little now but it's still cardio work, just focused on different areas.

In my case a "machine" is the perfect solution, however a Concept2 erg is not the same as most other machines. My goal isn't to get bigger, it's to get lighter.

Yes, a rowing machine is not at all like a weight machine. The ergos at the gym and I have been spending a lot of "quality" time together. I can only stand running their tiny track for so long (but it's good practice to train my brain for the boredom of distance running again), and I don't like the other cardio machines. Rowing in an excellent full body workout.

I have definitely noticed that the weight training I've been doing is also improving my rowing.

How I missed exercise. :wub:

 

[TallBill]

Yes, a rowing machine is not at all like a weight machine. The ergos at the gym and I have been spending a lot of "quality" time together. I can only stand running their tiny track for so long (but it's good practice to train my brain for the boredom of distance running again), and I don't like the other cardio machines. Rowing in an excellent full body workout.

I have definitely noticed that the weight training I've been doing is also improving my rowing.

How I missed exercise. :wub:

Do a 4 minute tabata on the rowing machine and you'll be ready for death. I haven't done one in a long while, perhaps I should try it again this weekend.

 

[Redfraggle]

Do a 4 minute tabata on the rowing machine and you'll be ready for death. I haven't done one in a long while, perhaps I should try it again this weekend.

😱 I forgot about tabata training, thanks for reminding me (I think)! 😀

 

[roguerower]

Erging is nice because of the wide variety of workouts that can be done which will absolutely destroy you, I.e.:

-Standard 2k test - not long enough to be a real endurance piece, but not short enough to be a sprint. Your body should be on fire at the end of it
-250m pyramid - go up, go down, try to keep the same pace as the distances increase
-Erg golf - a nice relaxing 18 holes of hell
-Hour of power
-Case of fun - 24 x 250m/500m
-The monster - try and stay out front of the monster for as long as possible.

ill have to try out the tabata workout. Is it a one time deal or do you do it once, break, again, break, etc.?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Erging is nice because of the wide variety of workouts that can be done which will absolutely destroy you, I.e.:

-Standard 2k test - not long enough to be a real endurance piece, but not short enough to be a sprint. Your body should be on fire at the end of it
-250m pyramid - go up, go down, try to keep the same pace as the distances increase
-Erg golf - a nice relaxing 18 holes of hell
-Hour of power
-Case of fun - 24 x 250m/500m
-The monster - try and stay out front of the monster for as long as possible.

ill have to try out the tabata workout. Is it a one time deal or do you do it once, break, again, break, etc.?

Tabata rowing entails 8 rounds of 20s of maximal sprint-rowing, and 10s of rest. That's 30s per round, 8 rounds total. It should only take 4 minutes and if you do it right, you should be dead at the end.

 

[roguerower]

Tabata rowing entails 8 rounds of 20s of maximal sprint-rowing, and 10s of rest. That's 30s per round, 8 rounds total. It should only take 4 minutes and if you do it right, you should be dead at the end.

I understand the workout itself, I'm just having a hard time seeing how 4 minutes is able to increase your aerobic stamina. How does 4 minutes of high intensity work replace 30+ minutes of aerobic exercise?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I understand the workout itself, I'm just having a hard time seeing how 4 minutes is able to increase your aerobic stamina. How does 4 minutes of high intensity work replace 30+ minutes of aerobic exercise?

It doesn't replace aerobic exercise. Endurance workouts are still necessary to achieve the necessary form efficiency, cardiac hypertrophy, etc. However, Tabatas will increase glycolytic and oxidative abilities, as well as mental toughness. They're important because they increase the lactate threshold and the nervous system's resistance to fatigue mechanisms. You shouldn't do them for all of your workouts, but they've shown to help compared to sprinting or endurance training alone. I've read about professional athletes getting out of plateaus via Tabatas before.

 

[roguerower]

It doesn't replace aerobic exercise. Endurance workouts are still necessary to achieve the necessary form efficiency, cardiac hypertrophy, etc. However, Tabatas will increase glycolytic and oxidative abilities, as well as mental toughness. They're important because they increase the lactate threshold and the nervous system's resistance to fatigue mechanisms. You shouldn't do them for all of your workouts, but they've shown to help compared to sprinting or endurance training alone. I've read about professional athletes getting out of plateaus via Tabatas before.

I see. So it's less about replacing your existing workouts and more about "shaking things up" so that you don't plateau (or at least reduce your chances of doing so)?

In my case then, my usual workout schedule is:

M - Multiple pieces, high intensity, usually adding up to 4k (8x500m, 4x1k, 250m pyramid)
T - Distance cardio/aerobic work, no less than 8k
W - Longer high intensity pieces, usually adding up to 6-8k (4/5x1500m, 3/4x2k, etc)
R - Distance cardio/aerobic work, no less than 8k
F - Hard distance, either 5k or 6k
S - Distance cardio/aerobic work, no less than 8k
Sun - Rest

Would replacing one of the distance pieces with Tabatas be more beneficial? And you're saying you only do 1 per day?

Sorry Red, didn't mean to derail the thread.

EDIT: Holy shit! Instead of my distance work this evening I did the tabate workout. 4min warmup, 4 min, then 2 min cool down. One of the hardest things I've ever done. I will def. be incorporating this into my routine.

 

[Redfraggle]

Nah, it's ok, I'd like to hear more about it anyway. 🙂

I've done it before, and yeah, it kicks your ass.

On a random note, it just dawned on me that way back (like 10+ years ago) when I rowed, one of my coaches was a rower from VT.

 

[roguerower]

That's because we get around 🙂

I was taking a Construction Quality Management course today with the Corps of Engineers, and one of the scenarios had a VT grad in it.

Hopefully the next place I move has an actual club so I can get on the water again rather than having to dream about it.

 

[spamsk8r]

Do a 4 minute tabata on the rowing machine and you'll be ready for death. I haven't done one in a long while, perhaps I should try it again this weekend.

One of the few times I've puked in the gym was from 2 minutes of Tabata. I didn't even make it to 4 minutes on that day. Granted I was out of shape then, but man, nothing like trying to catch your breath while projectile vomiting into a trash can.

 

[Redfraggle]

My legs are *still* sore from the tabata I did over the weekend, lol. However, my chiro (a female) wants to try a tabata now because she's as disgustingly self-punishing as I am. I laughed.

 

[TallBill]

My legs are *still* sore from the tabata I did over the weekend, lol. However, my chiro (a female) wants to try a tabata now because she's as disgustingly self-punishing as I am. I laughed.

Yeah I couldn't bring myself to do one last week. Maybe on friday lol.