Weight Lifting

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Miko134

Miko134

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I am female, 5ft and weigh just under 8 Stone. I'm trying to build muscles on my arms (they are insanely weak!) So I have purchased a pair of 4kg weights. I am trying to do 10 sets of 12 reps on each arm daily if I have the time.

Is this a good amount? How long do you think it will be until I see results?

I am trying to eat a lot of protein, and always have a good amount half an hour beforehand.

Any more tips would be welcome :)
 
Protein needs to be adequate for your individual needs, eating more than needed is just adding extra calories, when protein intake is adequate overall the timing of the intake is not important.

Doing 10 sets of something is not helping unless it is part of a specifically designed program eg. GVT with the appropriate weight selection and rest periods.

You make no mention of what exercise you are doing or which muscle you are targeting.

What is the most weight you can lift for 1 rep on each exercise ?
What is your bodyweight and bodyfat % to work out how much protein is required ?
 
76g is the adequate amount of protein apparently, according to a few fitness apps. I am just under that - about 60g each day.

I can lift up to 6kg, but really struggle, so I am starting with 4kg. Doing 12 lifts per arm, 10 times with each. I am fine for the first 5, then they get harder but I can just about manage 12.

My arms are starting to feel more tensed and are a little more bulky than usual, but I can only tell by touching them so far - hardly any difference visually.
 
You are not going to gain muscle while you are in calorie deficit and under eating protein. You are not lifting enough. 80% of your 1 rm (6 kg) is 4.8 so you need to be lifting at least 5kg in sets of no more than 10 and no more than 5 sets. with 40 seconds to 1 minute rest between sets.

you still did not say what exercise you are doing or which muscle you are targeting. And I can only base protein intake on bodyweight because you do not say what your bodyfat % is.

so only working one unspecified muscle is a recipe for injury in the long run due to muscle imbalances which lead to joint injuries and soft tissue injuries in the neglected muscles.
 
I'm just lifting them standing, sadly I doubt I could lift a 5kg weight more than three times, my arms are incredibly weak. I've gained some good muscle definition on my stomach without a problem, just from 60g protein per day and about 20 minutes stomach exercises. It's been 2 weeks and it's already looking much better, so I think it must be possible for my arms if I know the right techniques.
 
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As the previous person mentioned, work out your body fat %. This can be done by measurements and there are many sources online which will help you with the calculations.

As a base rule of thumb I have always taught that the weights you choose should be manageable for half of your reps - the remaining half you will struggle with. 4kg seems good for you at this time as you have stated they become harder after the first 5.

There are many techniques for weight lifting - I would recommend finding a routine in the form of a video and dedication a portion of your day 3 times per week to following one. Or design a routine for yourself which suits you. If you find it too difficult, there is no shame in switching to 3kg weights midway through. You can and will gain muscle from lighter weights and higher reps, it will just take longer.

Well done on toning your stomach in such a short amount of time. However please do not stop progressing with the exercises. It is very easy to lose definition - trust me.
 
Thank you! Yeah my bro's instructor said that you will burn muscles just as effectively with lighter dumbbells and more reps. I've been following some work out videos and finding them really hard - I can do them in parts, but not in one go. It's not that it's so painful I give up, I work through the pain. But then my arm just stops responding. Like I'm trying to get it to lift and it just wont! And my right arm is far stronger than the left.

Going to work out bodyfat % tonight, finally bought a tape measure!

Thanks I won't stop doing ab workouts, was surprised how quickly the muscle definition started to appear and plan to keep going :)
 
Congratulation on the ab definition however it is not from your 20 minutes of ab work for only two weeks but your diet, Definition comes from lowering body-fat levels.

I see it every day at gyms, ladies doing endless reps with light weights (less than a heavy bag of groceries) and wondering why they are making no progress, either strength or size (both with and without trainers). trainers telling ladies to use light weights is an easy sell, it keeps them coming back to buy more training sessions in the hope they will reach their goals but never do.

so you have the choice of relying on fat loss to give the impression of muscle gain or learn how to improve your training to make progress other than just fat loss.
 
Thanks but I think if your arms get to the stage where they are no longer in your control and you cannot lift your weight even a cm, it is probably best to continue the workout with a lighter one than just give up. (The work-out is an hour, I can manage about 4 minutes so far lol)

I had no idea you could get abs without exercise... that's pretty interesting so thank you. If it's working then I'll continue with it and see what's going on.

My Bodyfat % is apparently 24% by the way. Think that's pretty bad...
 
Mika, abs is mostly about having a low body fat percentage, with a sprinkling of toning the muscles underneath.

You should listen to Tru about the weights. Building strength isn't about lifting for the longest amount of time. The program I'm doing right now is well regarded as a really great way to build strength efficiently and quickly. The most reps I ever am supposed to do is 5. It takes about 30 seconds to do that. If you want to build strength, lift heavier for lower reps/less time. In fact, this "the workout is an hour" thing is kind of....contraindicated with strength training. With a few exceptions, effective strength training isn't something you time for do for a specific amount of time. That's what you do for cardio. The only time my muscles have ever been so tired I couldn't control them was when I took a Crossfit class one time. I immediately decided that their training method made so sense and then didn't do it anymore. The weight I was using there (BW) was way lighter than ANYTHING I've done since I picked up a barbell and started to run a power lifting program.
 
Thanks for all of your help! I've got some 5kg dumbbells now, managed to lift the one with my right arm a few times, but my left arm struggles so much and I definitely cannot lift two both at the same time! My arms are crazy weak, especially the left.

I've managed a small 10 minute work out session with my 4kg weights, taking regular breaks between each different exercise. I can lift one 4kg weight fine with my right arm, but my left really struggles and I end up having to twist my body to lift that one even once. When I find myself able to lift the 4kg weight with my left arm like I do the right, I will attempt to lift the 5kg one again.
 
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