"Marsha" wrote in message
...
Steven C (Doktersteve) wrote:

Pardon me if this sounds ignorant, it isn't meant to, but these are the
questions that came to mind:

-What exercises are you doing

For the legs: Hip adduction and abduction (one leg at a
time), front and heel kick (one leg), leg curl, leg
extension, leg press (both).

For the upper body: lat pulldown, underhand lat pulldown,
bent row, shoulder shrug, standing curl, butterfly, bench press

-How many reps are you doing
-How many sets are you doing

For most, two sets of 10.

-How much weight are you doing.

The lowest for most, but I don't have the amount. It's the
smallest plate. Lifting it, it feels like about 10 lbs.
The rest are about 20-25. Some of them I can put the pin on
the second plate.

-What is the frequency you are working out

Every other day. Stretches and some aero bike first, about
10 minutes, weights about 30 minutes, then 5 more minutes on
aero bike.
-Are you feeling a "burn" when you are done the exercise, the day after?

I am now since I was told that I should be doing each
exercise with all the reps and then moving on to another one.


Well, some people in the gym get into a routine where they alternate between
exercises, and machines. They will do a set or two of leg extensions for ham
strings, then go do a seated leg press, then back to the extensions. It is
all about what works for you, as long as when you are done the sets you want
to do for each muscle group you feel a little rubbery, or looser and it
feels you have worked the muscle, you are fine.

i watched a woman today alternate between free weights and every leg machine
in the gym over a twenty minute period. She would do a set with the leg
machine of the moment, and then she would go and do a few sets of curls or
whatever with the free weights.
She was not resting long between sets, presumably she was circuit training
or something. I have no idea, she was too pretty and too "in the zone" for
me to approach.

Point is, do what is comfortable to you. Don't try and imitate what others
do right away, but dont under work yourself.
Read as much as you can from books (not magazines which are meant to sell
you things you dont need), the best source the public library :-)
Read even thirty minutes a day on how muscles work, and what are the best
exercises for a begginer, and before you know it you will be an intermediate
:-D
Just look for body building books for begginers. They have lots of info, it
seems they are tailor made for MEN, but womens muscle works the exact same
way as men. You just have 30-50x less testosterone, so you cant "bulk up"
like a man does as fast.
I am sure there are good books just for women, but i havent looked myself
:-P

-How long have you been at this?

About three weeks.

Three weeks is good. You should start to feel a need to increase your
weights around four to six weeks depending on how you are working. With only
two sets though, you may be looking at six weeks before you start to feel a
big boost in strength. More on that, see below.

If you are just starting out, I would check to make sure you are
performing
the motion of the exercise the same with both left and right sides. If
you
are "cheating" or are not isolating the muscles and controlling the
motion
properly when say your right left does the exercise, then it will be
easier
than when you use the other leg, assuming that you are isolating the
muscle
better when you do the left leg. You know what I am saying?

Yep, I'm doing them correctly. Nice smooth motions, no
jerking. Follow through and only move the part you're
supposed to move. Oh, and exhale on the exertion part.


Try and slow the motion down, you will feel a bigger burn, but it will
ensure that you are really working the muscle. If you want to see something
interesting, try and hold the last one you do for about ten seconds if you
can. Or lower the speed which you put the weight down.

You say you are at two sets? Usually you want to work three or four sets
(some people suggest even five sets) before you move to another type of
exercise. Don't worry right now about doing tons of weight over four
sets,
but just understand that you need to stimulate the muscle enough to
cause it
to break down, and rebuild after you work out. usually, this does not
happen
when you do only two sets.

Hey, I'm just a beginner : )

For sure, and good work.
Problem is, muscle's basically respond the same across the board to work,
and to grow they need a repeated stimulus which is greater than that which
they are already used to.
I am concerned you would be under training with only doing 2 sets of ten.
Depending on your fitness level, you should consider trying three sets, or
even four. At first, you dont need to worry about doing all the reps, just
do your best, and things will come in time. Within a few weeks, you will be
moving up to 20 lbs, then 40, and so on.


Btw. Great job working out. Good for you!
Don't get discouraged, keep at it.
You only get results when you stick with it, so give it a few weeks and
you
will notice a huge difference :-)

Thanks. I don't have to see the results, I feel better
since starting.

Marsha/Ohio