Which weight gives you the best results?

[Nelly G]

I am curious how much weight everyone uses to give the best results for their body.
Do you do low with with high reps or high weight and low reps.
Or do you mix that up because I read it is better. What do you think?
Which dvds do you use the most for weight training?
Or do you do use a kettlebell ( how much weight then)? Which dvdsyou use the most?
Or do you add/ mix it up with band workouts. Which workout do you use the most?

So me at the moment because of my shoulder:
3 lbs high reps.
Not mixing it up but I want in the future doing heavier weights using Cathe new STS 2.0
At the momemt Tracey Anderson. Jari Love and Ilaria Kickboxing using egg weights 3 lbs.
Kettlebell 4 kilograms is 8,8 lbs I think. At the moment no dvd but swings.
I do mix it up with band training. A band training for my but and legs and band training for my shoulders, No dvds at the moment but I want to switch to that too.

Please let me know what you are doing because I love to hear about it and learn.

[Negin]

Nelly, I can't wait to read everyone else's replies. What an interesting thread this is going to be. I'm loving weights more and more as I get older, and wish that I had started sooner. For me, it depends on the workout. Sometimes I go light, and other times heavy. I have a collection - anywhere from 3-15 pounds. I've read a few books on all this, Miriam Nelson's and some others. Here are some of my notes:

After the age of 50, don’t lift heavier than 18 Pounds.
No quick moves as I get older.
Not too many compound or combination exercises.
Don’t go above 20 pounds with ankle weights. My ankle weights are 2 pounds.
Miriam Nelson has a chart in one of her books. I'll include just a few.

Biceps Curl
Younger than 49 Years Old - 12-20 Pounds
50-69 Years Old - 10-15 Pounds
Over 70 Years Old - 8-12 Pounds

Overhead Press
Younger than 49 Years Old - 12-18 Pounds
50-69 Years Old - 10-15 Pounds
Over 70 Years Old - 6-10 Pounds

Side Arm Raise
Younger than 49 Years Old - 8-10 Pounds
50-69 Years Old - 5-8 Pounds
Over 70 Years Old - 3-5 Pounds

As far as workouts go, there are so many that I love.
Lift with Cee - although I could do without her silly removal of videos. That's unnecessary nonsense.
Olivia Lawson
Jessica Smith
Heather Robertson
Jari Love
KCM
Fitness Blender - I prefer their older stuff
Kathy Smith
Improved Health

[txhsmom]

Originally Posted by Negin

Nelly, I can't wait to read everyone else's replies. What an interesting thread this is going to be. I'm loving weights more and more as I get older, and wish that I had started sooner. For me, it depends on the workout. Sometimes I go light, and other times heavy. I have a collection - anywhere from 3-15 pounds. I've read a few books on all this, Miriam Nelson's and some others. Here are some of my notes:

After the age of 50, don’t lift heavier than 18 Pounds.
No quick moves as I get older.
Not too many compound or combination exercises.
Don’t go above 20 pounds with ankle weights. My ankle weights are 2 pounds.
Miriam Nelson has a chart in one of her books. I'll include just a few.

Biceps Curl
Younger than 49 Years Old - 12-20 Pounds
50-69 Years Old - 10-15 Pounds
Over 70 Years Old - 8-12 Pounds

Overhead Press
Younger than 49 Years Old - 12-18 Pounds
50-69 Years Old - 10-15 Pounds
Over 70 Years Old - 6-10 Pounds

Side Arm Raise
Younger than 49 Years Old - 8-10 Pounds
50-69 Years Old - 5-8 Pounds
Over 70 Years Old - 3-5 Pounds

...

Any idea which Miriam Nelson book this came from? I would be interested in reading it.

Carol

[Negin]

Carol, I believe that it's in "Strong Women Stay Young."

[cjayd]

So first of all what is heavy for one person compared to another person is relative. And as you build strength what was heavy at first obviously won’t be heavy later on.

I’m 46 for reference. I spent the last three years working out with Caroline Girvan (CG) as my main workout. I lift as heavy as she does for everything except shoulder press. I can do one round with her using 25lb but 20s are just better for me. I have never had the muscle that I currently have by doing any DVDs even Cathe. And it’s a gradual process with Caroline. I know people here don’t like that each one of her workouts aren’t balanced. That is because they work together as a group. They aren’t meant to be done individually or as a one off here and there. I believe muscle building requires regular lifting. I benefit from doing a certain type of workout for a period of time and then a couple weeks of recovery and then back into a program of workouts again. This is how Caroline set up her Epic programs at first. I just started with her in Epic 1 and took a break in between each one like she did because I was doing them as she made them.

She knows what she is doing. I was able to match her weight or be within 5 lbs of it from the beginning because that’s where I was in my fitness already. I have kept my muscle that I built with her. There were times where I was like I can’t lift that much weight for that but then I tried it and I could. Surprised myself.

Muscle requires heavy weights for me. I know someone on here mentioned that they felt CGs programs were more aerobic except for her Iron series. I didn’t understand what they meant. I’m not one to put stock in there only being one way to do things i.e. to build muscle you have to take a break for 1 to 2 minutes between sets. Bodybuilders might who are lifting like 200 lb squats maybe. I think they thought since CG’s breaks are more like 40 seconds it made it aerobic. It doesn’t to me. Aerobic weight stuff is like the Firm, light weights designed to elevate your heart rate. That won’t help you build muscle and it isn’t supposed to. CG does slow controlled lifting which allows me to lift as heavy as I safely can.

What I find special about CG is the way she designed her different series. Over the course of each one they slowly built my shoulder strength by doing multiple different exercises at different times. Same with my legs. I have a muscle now on the front of my calf if I flex my foot up. She is light on bicep work for me but biceps get worked while doing rows for your back etc. So biceps get worked more than I realize sometimes.

Her different series and the results I got from them were just a real eye opening experience for me. Something I never had achieved by anything I had ever done before and I’ve been around VF since 1999.

Anyway, you have to start with a weight that challenges you and use it till it’s easy and then move up. Don’t move up too quickly because that’s where injuries come from especially shoulders. One weight won’t work for everything. Legs and back are always stronger than shoulders. So having a variety of weights is the best. And be consistent. I do strength work as my main workout Mon, Tue, Wed and Fri. I add in a half hour cardio afterwards most days unless I go on a walk outside which will be an hour or more. And stretching too. I don’t have to work anymore so I have a lot of time now. That was an interesting guide of weight amounts per age, but that’s just one opinion. If you’re comfortable lifting more than that I don’t see why you would need to limit your weight amount just because someone says over 50 don’t lift over 20lbs.

Too much cardio will eat your muscle too. I have been doing KCM workouts this last month as I just finished Epic 3 for the second time. I have not lost any or my strength even though Kelly really moves quick and I can’t lift as heavy as I would normally because of her speed and combination of moves. It’s a nice change of pace though. The muscles get used to the same old thing all the time. I’m sure I would maintain my strength using Cathe as well I’m just not doing that at the moment. That’s my 2 cents FWIW.

[tlchello]

Darn it....now I want to give Caroline another try...

I am so fickle about programs and then I read about one and BAM...that's what I want to do.

My only experience with CG so far was workout #1 of Iron. I don't know why but I felt nauseous about halfway through and for the rest of the day and never tried her again. Logically, I know it probably had more to do with my eating that day than her workout.

Hmmmmm.....

[prettyinpink]

[QUOTE[/I]] So first of all what is heavy for one person compared to another person is relative. And as you build strength what was heavy at first obviously won’t be heavy later on. [/QUOTE]

Yes.

I am in my 50’s. I do paper workouts both in and out of the gym. I plan to do a round of STS 2.0 when it comes out. I use a barbell and sometimes a trap bar or Smith machine for lower body, as well as dumbbells and sometimes, machines.
I use mainly dumbbells or kettlebells for upper body.

I lift mostly moderate to heavy- for me. Some sets are a little lighter with higher reps. That is built into the programs I use. My weight numbers will not look like exactly like the next person.

I used to do a lot of barre and Pilates with lighter weights and I felt great doing that, too. But I am a big believer in going heavier now, for mental and physical benefits, including bone health.

After the age of 50, don’t lift heavier than 18 Pounds.

With all due respect to the book author, because of what I wrote above, I take statements like this with a giant grain of salt. This sounds like what Tracy Anderson said, but with a higher number. I can see a more general statement like, use caution with heavier shoulder presses after age 50, but 50 and 18 are just numbers, and many people much older than 50 should be able to deadlift and squat with weights a lot higher than 18 pounds.

[wendug]

I agree with cjayd- I've seen better results with lifting heavy. I'm 50 and just got a set of 35 pound dumbbells as I needed something heavier. Although I don't follow rotations, I make sure to work upper body (sometimes a push/pull split), lower body, and some cardio each week. For lifting there are several YT instructors workouts I like to do- CG, Daniel PT Fitness, Chris & Edi, and Tiff & Dan. As another YT instructor Michelle Briehler says, "If you want to change the shape of your body you need to lift HEAVY!" Since discovering bulgarian lunges my legs have never looked better. But if lifting heavy isn't your thing I completely understand. Do what works for you.

tlchello- Give CG another try. Maybe start with lower weights and build up. Her workouts looked way too advanced for me a year ago; now I regularly throw in some of her workouts. I'm not as strong as her, but I've definitely gained strength by pushing myself.

[janice]

Thank you so much for your experience of Caroline G.
Have been meaning to start and be consistent - fingers crossed this time!
Thanks again!

[Jane P.]

Originally Posted by tlchello

Darn it....now I want to give Caroline another try...

I am so fickle about programs and then I read about one and BAM...that's what I want to do.

My only experience with CG so far was workout #1 of Iron. I don't know why but I felt nauseous about halfway through and for the rest of the day and never tried her again. Logically, I know it probably had more to do with my eating that day than her workout.

Hmmmmm.....

The first workout was a lower body workout. They are always tricky at first because you're using body weight in addition to any weight you lift. I would say start cautiously with only body weight. Don't feel you have to do everything she does the very first day.

You might move on to her upper body stuff where there is more variation in the weights you can use.

I think it was a good thing that you quit when you felt nauseous.