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How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Vol. 1

How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Vol. 1

  • Downloads：5126
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-04 09:55:26
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Yabako Sandrovich
  • ISBN：1645052923
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

The manga that inspired the new anime: a series about beautiful girls getting buff！

Sakura is a teenage girl who loves to eat， but when she notices her waistline expanding， she decides to check out the local gym。 The gym is full of buff dudes。。。and Akemi， the student council president？！ When Akemi tries to convince Sakura to take up weight training， Sakura resists--until she meets pretty-boy trainer Machio。 Now， Sakura is willing to do whatever it takes to bulk up！

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Reviews

Dustin Raymond ，

Great exercise routines blended in with a somewhat comedic reading。

Michele ，

So as someone who lifts and loves working out I thought this would be fun。 While it has its funny moments， it’s really a waste to go over parts I know。 I also would be nervous for young teenage girls to read this and have body shaming。 Granted it does teach well about why eating and exercise is important hence the two stars

Emma Johnson ，

Didn’t finish。 I’ve been lifting weights since I was a teen and I was hoping this would be a fun， pro women weightlifting story。 But it’s all about fat shaming and telling women that they should work out to get men。 I know it’s a comic， but it’s also trying to educate about lifting and the anatomy is really bonkers。

Samantha ，

Note: This review is inspired by my feelings after having finished the second volume but I am choosing to post it here as all my issues with the series were present in volume one and I feel it'll be most useful for potential readers to know what they are getting into with the first volume。 My score has remained unchanged from my first reading。 I'll be the first to admit this series is more a guilty pleasure than something I think is good on its own merits and it is getting increasingly difficult Note: This review is inspired by my feelings after having finished the second volume but I am choosing to post it here as all my issues with the series were present in volume one and I feel it'll be most useful for potential readers to know what they are getting into with the first volume。 My score has remained unchanged from my first reading。 I'll be the first to admit this series is more a guilty pleasure than something I think is good on its own merits and it is getting increasingly difficult to squint past the downright gross elements of this series （we'll get to that in a second） to get to the parts I genuinely enjoy （the character dynamics， informational sections and the light workout motivation I find it provides。） So whats the downside？ Well the hypersexualization of teenage girls， made all the worse by the fact there is in fact an adult character that they could be using for those shots。 And frankly I don't blame anyone for writing the whole series off because of those panels， I'm pretty uncomfortable with the way the author/artist is more than happy to oogle up a high school child in their story too。 Enough so I'm probably done with the series at this point。 Which is a shame because like I mentioned when the audience isn't being made to look at a teenager's body like a juicy steak， the rest of the series is actually quite good。 There's also something to be said about the treatment of Hibiki's weight。 I understand that standards of weight can vary from country and cultures but Hibiki is not by any means fat， she's at best kinda chubby， but in a cute anime girl who we have to make sure is still appealing way。 One of my biggest pet peeves in Manga and anime is treating one character who is maybe 。1 percent more round than all her peers as "chubby" and talking about how they need to lose weight and while Hibiki is actually visibly bigger than her peers it's not in an unhealthy way。 （And understand that you CANNOT know someone's personal health from their weight。） She's a teenage girl with a healthy appetite and the manga constantly makes the fact she's not rail thin into a joke， and one of her friend's even makes occasional jokes about how Hibiki eating is like the biggest sin on the planet or something。 While regular activity and exercise is not inherently bad for teenagers there is more than enough scientific proof out there that weight loss can be potentially damaging to still developing bodies especially with women's weight being in flux well into their mid twenties。I will give the Manga one credit， with a caveat， they do in fact come down hard on diet culture and point out that eating healthy foods but not listening to fad diets and making sure you're eating enough to be full is important。 Especially in developing bodies where nutrients are incredibly important to both physical and mental development and the manga makes it clear that dieting at a young age IS dangerous。 That's why it's disappointing it doesn't do the same for the weight loss aspect with its underage characters。。。 again。。。 the adult woman is RIGHT THERE！ That said Hibiki and her friends feel like real teenage girls。。。 mostly。 Her relationships feel natural based on their circumstances and feel like a group of people who would in fact choose to hang out outside of plot contrivance。 Also it's a downright shame the adult character （a teacher at the girl's school） isn't featured more because she's genuinely funny and her motivation for working out mirrors my own。 If the dubious nature of sexualizing minors doesn't turn you off the series then。。。 I wish you luck but if you're an adult with an understanding of how it's bad actually I'd say skip this series。 。。。more

Derek Vukovic ，

Strange mix between infomercial for exercise and a comedy manga。Main character is driven by motivation to get fit （it makes a point that she is "overweight， out of shape"）， but she is one of the most fit， athletic characters even by manga standards。 。 。 Strange mix between infomercial for exercise and a comedy manga。Main character is driven by motivation to get fit （it makes a point that she is "overweight， out of shape"）， but she is one of the most fit， athletic characters even by manga standards。 。 。 。。。more

Stephani ，

I hope I can read more of this manga。 I enjoy the humor and the explanations of the gym equipment and exercises。 Hibiki is relatable。 I also need to get fit。

Kathleen ，

Inspirational！ In the same vein as "The Life Changing Manga of Tidying Up，" this book makes workouts seem so easy， you may want to start exercising before you even put it down！ Inspirational！ In the same vein as "The Life Changing Manga of Tidying Up，" this book makes workouts seem so easy， you may want to start exercising before you even put it down！ 。。。more

Jillian -always aspiring- ，

2020 Read #453I actually really enjoyed this！ Sure， there’s unnecessary fanservice， but this manga has some nice comedic moments as well as an informative style to the exercises shown in each chapter。

Kell ，

Educational， hilarious and somewhat inspirational。 It makes me miss lifting weights。

Tom Collins ，

I fell in love with this series！

Joe Crawford ，

This is a really tough one to rate。（The most problematic part is the treating of the main character like she has a weight problem。 Obviously she looks perfectly healthy。）The book itself is a mixture of ecchi comedy and exercise instruction。 Genuinely funny at times， I really did appreciate the useful exercise and diet tips。 （Now I get why I should have a cheat day and why planking is beneficial。） As a comedy， this is probably a 2， but the health tips make it a 3。5 for me。

Cara ，

Unexpectedly， this is a pretty good primer on beginner weightlifting。 Clear explanations and helpful diagrams all wrapped up in a silly， slice-of-life story -- just as useful as a standard weightlifting manual and honestly a lot more fun。

Violet ，

I'm seriously amped to start lifting now！ I'm seriously amped to start lifting now！ 。。。more

Hendrik Smet ，

funny yet informational

Michelle ，

Well， I'm not the audience for this manga。 There's not much plot except Hibiki wants to lose weight， so she joins a gym and finds another classmate there。 This manga is pretty much a basic how-to for weight lifting and exercise， but the manga has the bonus of having fanservice of the Hibiki and friends showing the muscles worked in panties and tops the show a lot of underboob。 It's really glaring when they are shown working out in shorts and a tank top and then for muscles worked they are now na Well， I'm not the audience for this manga。 There's not much plot except Hibiki wants to lose weight， so she joins a gym and finds another classmate there。 This manga is pretty much a basic how-to for weight lifting and exercise， but the manga has the bonus of having fanservice of the Hibiki and friends showing the muscles worked in panties and tops the show a lot of underboob。 It's really glaring when they are shown working out in shorts and a tank top and then for muscles worked they are now naked。 Sure， their trainer Machio often flexes and all his clothes except his underwear disappear but his nudity is comedic。 There are good gags like Lifts of The North Star being a popular series their cosplaying teacher doesn't know about， but Machio gets a ton of attention for cosplaying。The artist is very good。 The focus is on panty shots， tight clothes， and boobs， but he's adept at comic expressions on characters and clearly showing the exercise in good form。 This book also has its sources used in the back。 。。。more

Brandon ，

This was one of my favorite anime from 2019 （second to Boogiepop & Others， if that's important to anyone）， and it seemed to catch fire with all the memes and shit spawning from the brilliant reaction-faces within the series， so I was eagerly anticipating an American licensing to buy the manga physically （in a language I can read with no effort。。。）。 Here we are！The best thing about the anime was that it inspired me to do all the at-home exercises from each episode， and continue through the week u This was one of my favorite anime from 2019 （second to Boogiepop & Others， if that's important to anyone）， and it seemed to catch fire with all the memes and shit spawning from the brilliant reaction-faces within the series， so I was eagerly anticipating an American licensing to buy the manga physically （in a language I can read with no effort。。。）。 Here we are！The best thing about the anime was that it inspired me to do all the at-home exercises from each episode， and continue through the week until the next episode gave another exercise。 I predicted （and proved myself correct） that I would give up and drift back into laziness as soon as the season ended （which is indeed what happened）， but I'm interesting again with the manga。 We'll see how it continues， I guess。 The exercise。 The manga I'm sure will continue very well。A major difference between the anime and the original manga is a shift in art between media。 The anime irons out the wrinkles of MAAM's art， making it more palatable for animation， but at the cost of losing some of the eroticism。 Which isn't truly important， I guess， since this is firstly a comedy and secondly an instructional manga。 But god damn。 A major part of the series is that Machio or someone will interrupt the story with an instruction for a new workout。 These instructions take place halfway in a fantasy world， where whichever girl （at first， it's usually Akemi） is wearing far more revealing clothing than her usual fitness wear， and the focus on the steps of the workout will maybe highlight some sexualized poses before a money-shot of sorts in the form of a full-page panel of the girl in a very erotic position， often with clothing removed to show greater focus on whatever muscle group was being worked on （which is actually convenient for the purpose of instruction， but also doubles well for sexiness）。The anime has the aforementioned scenes， but in reading the manga one can see how toned down they were from this source。 On page 41， after illustrating how to do squats， I swear to fucking Christ you can see Akemi's clit poking out of her shorts。 Someone look it up and tell me I'm not hallucinating。 Now， yeah， okay， sure， I will admit I'm a pervert for having noticed instantly that you can see the bulge of her puffy vulva on page 39 when she's first squatting。 That's on me。 Somehow my eyes darted immediately to that spot， where you can see the contours of her lower body in such a way that， despite the stark black of her shorts， it's obvious what MAAM was going for。 I see you， MAAM。 You know what you did。Also， there's a panel on page 132 that's just Hibiki's fat butt jiggling from her dynamic stretches。 Her shoulder stretches。 Is there a point to this panel of her butt？ Yes。 In my head， I was about to say "no，" but， I mean， yeah， there's a point。 Again， MAAM， I see you。 Actually， that's the funny thing about the manga， and I guess maybe the anime too， that Hibiki is often complaining about her ass and thighs being too thicc， but then MAAM is like "I'm going to highlight these parts of her body for the coomers。" Bravo！This is quite superficial， but I get Asanagi vibes from some of the thiccness。This is also superficial， but Hibiki reminds me of Galko from Oshiete！ Galko-chan。 Akemi， in turn， reminds me of Ojou。 And I guess also another black-haired Akemi with bangs。And I respect how the monochrome coloring changes the aesthetic a bit。 I think I've taken Hibiki's gyaru appearance almost for granted with the anime。 Her brownness stands out so much more in black-and-white manga， and by contrast her hair is uncolored， left white， and it's just great。 I'm not even reviewing the actual manga at this point; I've handed the keyboard to my penis， I think。On this note， I like how the thigh-highs the girls wear for their school uniform are glossy for whatever reason。 Reminds me of porn。 That's a weird thing to say， but it just seems like a lot of ero-manga has glossy stockings。 Or， glossy everything， like everyone's just been coated in Vaseline。 Or cum。 Whatever。 Off the top of my head， I can't recall any other manga with glossy stockings。 Usually always very matte。 Which I usually prefer， but the shininess works wonders here。 Maybe because the shininess further contrasts Hibiki's brownness？ It works for Ayaka as well， but then Akemi is white as fuck， so who knows。Also， Tachibana-sensei！ It's always funny when there are "Christmas cake" characters in manga， and I'm like "I could get into this，" but then I realize I'm fuckin' 25 myself。 Frightens me。 I don't think I've grown at all since I started college。 Proof: I'm reviewing manga and talking about fanservice。 Anyway， I have another four years before it gets weird to find Tachibana hot， I guess。Also also， Lifts of the North Star is the funniest thing of all time。 Actually， on this note， it's true that a decent chunk of my experience with this manga was spent anticipating comedy bits I remembered from the anime。 Earlier， you have Machio talking about being at Hibiki's side while she bench-presses， and he keeps repeating "side。。。 side" before you turn the page and have the SIDE CHEST panel。 And so I spent too long staring at the bottom of page 29， giggling prematurely， for I knew what was coming。 And I laughed when I turned the page anyway。 This shit is just funny。 I can't wait for the tournament-arc parody later on。It's strange to review this because I normally read manga before watching the anime adaptation （or， I go for whichever was published first between media）， and I try to write my first impressions in a Volume 1 review with the intent of reevaluating by the time I get to the final volume。 With this series， I'm aware of the contents of the first three or four volumes， so it's a bit different。 I guess going forward I'm just going to keep saying perverted things about the art。。。。****Seriously， how the FUCK do I do planks？ I'm over here inclining my body， propped up on elbows at 90-degree angles， tensing my core， but I have no idea what is going on。 When do I breathe？ It's hard to do while keeping my back and legs straight。 What the fuck， how I am too stupid to follow a diagram drawn out with cute brown manga girls？ Squats are nothing。 Dynamic stretches aren't even worth talking about。 These planks though， are a fucking mystery。 This hardly has anything to do with the manga itself。There exists a pair of 20-lb dumbbells somewhere in my house， bought by my younger brother at some point in the past， either when he was looking for pussy in high school or when he was looking again in college （either way it's exercise and self-bettering for dishonest reasons， but whatever）， and it's funny because I think Machio is correct to say men often try too hard to start lifting with heavier dumbbells than necessary。 Following through， while I have no problem with the 20-lb ones aside from their annoying shape （without a barbell I have to squat with a dumbbell in each hand， resting on each shoulder， and it's just awkward） I do wish I had a slightly smaller size， but I don't want to get 10s or 15s at a store and look like a weakling lol。 And， more importantly， I want fucking kilograms instead of pounds。 。。。more

Blind_guardian ，

While there's very little plot to speak of （though plenty of "plot"）， this is a cute little manga with lots of fanservice sprinkled among goofy humor and fitness tips。 Good for if you're looking to get into shape or just want to look at nicely drawn pictures of sweaty anime girls。 Hibiki is also a gyaru （gal）， if you're into that sort of thing。 While there's very little plot to speak of （though plenty of "plot"）， this is a cute little manga with lots of fanservice sprinkled among goofy humor and fitness tips。 Good for if you're looking to get into shape or just want to look at nicely drawn pictures of sweaty anime girls。 Hibiki is also a gyaru （gal）， if you're into that sort of thing。 。。。more

Jenny ，

This was a lot more fun than I thought it would be！ I wanted to give it a shot before watching the anime， and it was quirky and fun to read。 The artwork is strong and the story is simple enough with some amusing characters and engaging character interactions。 The inclusion of health tidbits and exercise instructions was nice， but sometimes they broke the story's flow。 Also， sometimes the exercise info dumps would go on a little too long and it would break my immersion。 That being said， this was This was a lot more fun than I thought it would be！ I wanted to give it a shot before watching the anime， and it was quirky and fun to read。 The artwork is strong and the story is simple enough with some amusing characters and engaging character interactions。 The inclusion of health tidbits and exercise instructions was nice， but sometimes they broke the story's flow。 Also， sometimes the exercise info dumps would go on a little too long and it would break my immersion。 That being said， this was a lot of fun to read and I do recommend people checking it out。 I wouldn't say it was a stand-out manga， but it's worth a read if you want some simple entertainment。 。。。more

poet ，

They made it just for me。 It's silly but cute and has good advice。 They made it just for me。 It's silly but cute and has good advice。 。。。more

Sarah ，

This book is fantastic！ It is a quick， fun read with laughter and a relatable main character。 This book gives excellent tips on working out and dieting。 I wouldn't say it gives the message of bad body image， it just promotes you to be healthy。 This book is fantastic！ It is a quick， fun read with laughter and a relatable main character。 This book gives excellent tips on working out and dieting。 I wouldn't say it gives the message of bad body image， it just promotes you to be healthy。 。。。more

Beni ，

Hibiki is great and I like the work out explanation were helpful cant wait for the next one

Kate （Looking Glass Reads） ，

Review to come

Rebecca ，

My major problem with this largely stems from the fact that several members of my extended family have eating disorders， and the constant caloric labeling and presenting Hibiki as overweight would be very harmful to a reader in their situation。 Good intentions are fine， but this doesn't quite do all the needed research。 My major problem with this largely stems from the fact that several members of my extended family have eating disorders， and the constant caloric labeling and presenting Hibiki as overweight would be very harmful to a reader in their situation。 Good intentions are fine， but this doesn't quite do all the needed research。 。。。more

Ruthsic ，

What the heck did I just read？ This felt more like a fitness guide than a story！ The plot is about a high school girl who joins the gym to lose weight， but gets attracted to the idea of toning her body。 Now， I would like to affirm that yes， it talks about exercise more in the 'get fit and make your body strong' way instead of 'lose weight' way。 In fact， it goes further to dispel a lot of myths regarding the same - like diet culture， and how it is more harmful than beneficial， how to build muscle What the heck did I just read？ This felt more like a fitness guide than a story！ The plot is about a high school girl who joins the gym to lose weight， but gets attracted to the idea of toning her body。 Now， I would like to affirm that yes， it talks about exercise more in the 'get fit and make your body strong' way instead of 'lose weight' way。 In fact， it goes further to dispel a lot of myths regarding the same - like diet culture， and how it is more harmful than beneficial， how to build muscles instead of just losing fat， and even suggests that girls don't need to be think of having muscles as not feminine。 There's even sources cited！ But on the other hand， this barely has any plot。 There's only their otaku teacher who is trying to hide her cosplay hobby from her students， and Sakura learning more about her friends。 Also， it has some erotic 'diagrams' to show the muscles being targeted for each lesson， and it doesn't help the manga that for some reason the girls are suddenly having less clothing than in the scene before。 Lampshading it isn't exactly helping here - these are still underage girls being shown in skimpy scenes for the purpose of fanservice （I know the cover is a huge clue but come on！） The comedy is not up to the mark， either - the biggest gag is only that the slim-looking trainer has a penchant for suddenly taking off his clothes and showing off his extremely buff body。 I mean， it was funny the first few times， but it got tiring by the time the book ended。 Verdict: informative， but is it really a story？ also， why is there so much fanservice？！Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Seven Seas， via Edelweiss。 。。。more

Andrew ，

This manga actually shows some valid tips and tricks to exercise techniques， but I skimmed a lot of it， not really any plot。

Zainab Elm ，

The best manga I have read in so long。 Workout motivator

Thenamenerd ，

Hot girls convincing me to GET SWOLE？？？ HELL YEAH 7/10

Elizabeth （Elzburg） ，

2。5 StarsHey you！ Do you like hot girls？ Do you like weightlifting/bodybuilding/fitness？ Do you like fanservice/ecchi comedies？ Do you want scientifically accurate info on how to become SWOLE！？ Then this manga might be for you！ But then again it also might not。I said YES to every one of those questions， but this manga still ended up being a bit of a disappointment。 It has all those promised things， but that's literally it。 The characters have no personalities beyond their one defining character 2。5 StarsHey you！ Do you like hot girls？ Do you like weightlifting/bodybuilding/fitness？ Do you like fanservice/ecchi comedies？ Do you want scientifically accurate info on how to become SWOLE！？ Then this manga might be for you！ But then again it also might not。I said YES to every one of those questions， but this manga still ended up being a bit of a disappointment。 It has all those promised things， but that's literally it。 The characters have no personalities beyond their one defining character trait （muscle fetish， fat and stupid， and I don't even know what to say about the third girl）， so you bet there's no character development。 There's also very nearly no plot besides the main girl's broad goal of "getting a hot body to gain the attention of all the boys at the beach"。Every chapter features the girls going back to the gym and learning a new exercise。 The movement is introduced and then there's a scientific explanation on how to perform it and which muscles are activated。 The model of the movement is always very erotically drawn and just as scantily clad， so there's your dose of fanservice for ya。 Repeat this over and over again for every single chapter。 The way this manga is set up kind of makes it feel like a commercial。 Pretty characters to draw you in， but lacking any real personality。 A novice character to substitute for the audience， and knowledgeable characters to show them the way of the BUFF。 It's hard to explain but I hope you get what I'm trying to say。 They're not actually selling anything though。 Except， like， fitness。All this being said， in it's own weird way this series is actually kind of addictive。 It makes me want to just keep reading and I have no idea why。 I see from online discussion that other people feel the same way， and that the bodybuilding， fanservice， and hot girls are more than enough to make them enjoy this manga。 Other people even actually find it funny， which is good for them because the jokes were so far from landing on me that I didn't even know it was supposed to be funny until I saw it mentioned。 Basically， if you like what the first paragraph promises and are okay with receiving those and ONLY those things， you're on your way to having a good time。 Click to read all my Reviews in this series:Volume 1* Volume 2*Current review 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Vol. 1

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Vol. 1&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Vol. 1&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0