Weightlifting people, here! Ongoing chat thread...

Right guys I am back on it from now. Went to the gym for the first time in over a week and I've managed to secure myself a football trial with a local side tomorrow so hopefully things stay on track

Thanks.

Will have a looksee.

pippy eat train progress is quite a good Facebook group for both men and women. Some serious lifters on there but v welcoming and well moderated so doesnt turn into Fight Club

@itsallgravybaby good luck. Let us know how you get on!

Hey everyone, I'm just about to leave for my first PT session weightlifting - for weight loss/general strength and fitness. Wish me luck! :D

Ta, I'm just pissed because he's being a tad sexist about this. I've followed his stuff for years but he's now really only talking to men and it's annoyed me.

I'm genetically predisposed to muscle up, so no issues there. I defo don't fit his ideas for inspiration. :-)

@Pippylou training for men and women is exactly the same. Women produce less hgh so won't put on muscle like men but they can still get strong/lean/endurance .

Not sure this is quite the right place but I'm not having much luck finding my people in RL.

Having a row with a fitness dude from down under, who has a 40+ men's fitness group.

He says there's loads of resources for women and training.

I'm arguing that it's a bit sparse for actual training advice, as opposed to aesthetics for 40+ women. (He started wittering about bikini programmes & the woman out of Biggest Loser Oz, defo not me!)

No, I would bear that loss bravely too.

My one is only 7k, so mostly obstacles. But I have started running at the gym (find it very hard) anyway. The obstacles I found hardest/impossible were robe bridges and swings and pulling yourself up/through tunnels using ropes.

That sounds great- I am planning to do Spartan in HK this year but it's quite short (13k trail run with 28 obstacles as we just don't have space for long courses and definitely not for permanent ones). Also they cant get a permit for electrocution which I'm not too disappointed about

Im in UK for 5 weeks- doing what I can- bit of Pure Gym on a daily pass, couple of Crossfit classes and a bit of running. Just trying not to totally lose all my gains by August

No, it is a different one - Nuts Challenge - permanent course, 100-ish obstacles, many of which are mud-filled ditches! I struggled last year with upper body strength on some things so am hoping my chin up practice helps.

No motivation lol. Went swimming this morning though. Ah cool, you doing the Manchester one?

Why a nightmare, NT? I am doing a muddy race in September too!

Well done 👌🏻
Having a nightmare me, got tough mudder in September so I'm going to have to pull my finger out soon

How is everyone doing? I got my second chin-up so am pleased with that but haven't been able to do much lifting recently.

Welcome.

5x5 training is awesome. I do 3 weeks of 5 X 5 then 1 week of higher reps and it works a treat

Oh hello lifty people, I'd like to join in please.
I've been lifting for a few years but have just started following StrongLifts 5x5 as a way of keeping me consistent after a period of illness / injury.

I'm really enjoying it so far but I'm getting to the point where the lifts are a bit uneven - it felt like I came close to failing on my OHP yesterday at just 35kg (need to work on that!), whereas my deadlifts are only up to 60kg, so not really challenging yet as my 1RM was 130kg when I tested it last year.

I've invested in a belt which makes squats and deadlifts much more comfortable as I've had problems with lower back injuries in the past. I'm now thinking about wrist straps to help with deadlifts as my wrists are usually the first to go, even if everything else feels fine.

That's Great that you've managed to improve 👍
Too hot for me to do 1rm. I'm knackered from work lol

Well, the week of reckoning arrived. 1 rep max and other testing -

Benchpress (strict- no arch) 65kg up from 60kg in 8 weeks. Failed 66kg mid way.

Deadlift: 125kg up from 105kg. Original target was 130kg but that was probably a little ambitious and I decided not to attempt as form was breaking down at 125kg.

Strict press: 45kg (up from 44kg). Happy as hadn't trained it.

Push press: 55kg - hadn't tested/ trained this for 2 years but failed 55kg trained then, so happy to see the gains transferring.

Supinated pull ups : 10 to fail (from 6)
Pronated pull ups: 6 to fail (from 4)

Happy days- off home for 5 weeks now so will just do whatever I can, but happy end to the "year" (for some reason I always view this as the end of the year when the dc finish for summer).

Happy Summer Lifting to All. Don't forget to get your guns out for public admiration

NT, GO! I am fairly new to all this and in my 50s and have a training partner. Definitely enjoy sessions more and get more out of them.

So as I said in a PP I had not been going to the gym and I didn't enjoy it.
My training partner has returned from his holidays and tonight was the first time we'd trained and I must say I LOVED it.
It's so much better with someone at a somewhat even keel to yourself . Hopefully now I can kick on and continue the training and enjoying it.

Hope you've all been training hard and enjoying it 💪👌

@erinaceus Thank you so much for all your help! Never heard of payasugym before but looks like such a handy website, I travel quite a lot for work so it could be really useful for me.

I was actually looking at One Ldn today, it's double my budget but their classes look really good - if a little infrequent/awkwardly timed for me. They have a £20 introductory offer so I think I will sign up for that and hopefully make it to their beginners weightlifting class plus a few others. Ideally then I'd have more confident/knowledge to follow a programme or just wing it in one of the budget chains.

@bootstrapper I am a North of the river person so can't think of anywhere specific around Clapham Junction or Victoria - sorry not to be able to help. I have used the payasugym for temporary gym passes many times and I like it, or, yes as you say, one of the budget chains might work.

Sorry to hear about your coach

Another resource for advice on form is Starting Strength by Mark Rippletoe which goes into a lot of detail on each of the lifts. He's a bit dogmatic in his approach, but his instructions are clear enough.

Somehow managed to completely miss these replies, sorry! Thank you both for the advice.

My current coach has actually been away for a week or so as his mum just recently passed away so I don't like to harass him at the moment asking for help. I may text him in a few weeks to ask for his advice though, but really want to get started on my own.

CrossFit looks great but the membership fees are a bit too much for me unfortunately. I might go along to one that offers a free taster class just to see what it's like though.

@erinaceus - I'm going to be in Clapham Junction. I do intend on going in the morning before work - I may be being too optimistic there though! - so anywhere around Victoria/central London area would be okay too. If you have any recommendations for a gym, that would be hugely appreciated! The commercial ones (pure, easygym etc) seem like a good option to me, the memberships are cheap and flexible, plus I'm likely to be working unpredictable hours so 24/7 opening is a plus. I'm not sure if they'd be far too busy though. I'd be happy to go to any gym though, provided I don't get stuck into some long membership contract (only there for just over 3 months) and it's not going to break the bank, budget is probably £60/month tops. May splash out a bit more if there are any gyms you think are really worth the fees.

Again, huge thanks to you both for your help!

@bootstrapper Can you explain the situation to your current coach and ask them to talk you through setting up the squat rack for squatting and bench for press so that you feel a bit more confident? They might be willing to write a programme for you for the time you are not there, especially if you plan to return.

Many gyms have a squat rack, bench, and space for deadlifting these days. If I am going to a new gym and am I usually email ahead to check.

If you post where in London you are going to be I might be able to suggest a gym.