Weightlifting people, here! Ongoing chat thread...

Welcome!

Hello weightlifters. I am a relative newbie. Started this time last year, as I needed to get fit & improve my strength for an expedition I was sponsored to do and agreed to in a moment of complete madness. Took a break over the summer, as I like swimming & being outdoors but I'm back in the gym again now. I go on my way to work every morning, so 5 days a week.

I am closer to 50 than 40 and am riddled with injuries, so I approach everything with a lot of caution. I'm hourglass shaped with slightly more fat on my bum/thighs than boobs. I'm carrying too much fat too. I don't weigh, as I hate the tyranny of the scales, but I'm 5ft 7 and a size 16 and I'd really like to be a size 14/12. I mostly use machines & cables as I'm nervous of free weights.

So glad I found this thread as I don't have any friends in RL who lift. I've just read all the way through it and it is great and will keep me inspired. I'm mostly on the hunt for tips and understanding what more experienced lifters do.

I started taking creatine and couple of weeks ago. I have a suspicion that it's already kicking in... Both of my lower body workouts this week were surprisingly "easy" and energetic. It's hard to say though because I am using a different gym (Peterborough this week) and everything is different, including the safety squat bar, so I don't know exactly how much anything weighs.

My upper body workout, which is often entirely dumbbells, feels no different.

It's a lovely gym!

Just it is the one I go to! Small world!

Findo - Thanks - I'm going to keep at it. The fact that they are so difficult means I have to do them even more, I suspect I just did a couple and weight is definitely not on the front of the foot, so there's a positive.

MrJohnson - weight should be over your midfoot really so you're balanced. But like you, I try to think about pushing through my heels too - the main thing is, you're avoiding the weight being over the ball/front of your foot.

MrJohnson it was my PT who told me to do it. Then a few months ago, we managed to do away with them

Tomorrow - I've been wanting to do that for ages, but had read that it was bad form (or something) but perhaps I should give it a go. At least some of the time - might give me more confidence.

Findo - ooh, that's interesting. So, where should my weight be distributed? I do try to push through my heels to hit the glutes whenever I remember.

I'm squatting mainly for my backside as it needs building up (it's a poor excuse for an arse). Not even squatting with weight yet as strength so poor.

pinkhorse it was fully pumped gym.

Last time I was in Norwich I went to Phoenix, which was pretty good but a bit disorganised.

Not at all, I'm still new to all this, and it helps my confidence if someone else thinks what I'm doing is correct

(sorry for repeating you by accident, Tomorrow - I had my answer minimised for ages, posting at work!)

MrJohnson My knees go over my toes when I squat too because of the way I'm built: I have comparatively long femurs. The main thing is where you feel your weight distributed in the squat - is it over the middle of your foot or up on the balls of your foot? If the former, you're protecting your knees. If the latter, perhaps your hips aren't hinging backwards enough.

If you google something like 'squat knees over toes' you'll see loads about this online so I won't regurgitate it.

Some people find ankle mobility a problem. If that's the case you might find it helpful to squat with your heels propped up ever so slightly (like on 1.25kg plates).

MrJohnson - I was a wee bit like that when I started squats - I was advised to put weights (plate size)under my heels. Not sure how it works, but I got my form right like that, and have moved on to not needing anything under my feet now.

Just which gym are you talking about? I'm in Norwich and go to one that sounds like the one you're talking about!

Ooooh can I join please! I'm a little bit addicted to weights!

Anyone have any advice about squats? Not quite sure how to describe the problems I have with them, but my body just doesn't seem to move that way.

Whenever I see someone squatting, it always looks so natural, as if they're just sitting. But I always feel that I'm going to topple backwards if I'm not careful. Consequently, my knees tend to travel over my knees a bit too much as, if I move backwards, that's when I'm likely to fall over

If I keep my knees in the right position (not travelling forwards over my toes) then my squat is not deep at all.

I can squat deeply if using a machine or if using cables, i.e. if I have something to stabilise me. What might I need to work on to enable me to keep my balance and squat properly without assistance?

Any advice gratefully received

Good work on your RDLS NC4now - I like straps for those too, though I've lost one of mine so I need new ones. I can't go heavy on RDLs without straps.

My hands are calloused too but I'm perversely proud of them! Though sometimes I do catch myself absentmindedly picking them at work and have to hope no-one else noticed.

This morning:

• Back squats: 5 x 75kg; 4 x 75kg; 3 x 75kg; 1 x 75kg
• Pin squats: 4 x 5 x 60kg (rest the barbell on the safety bar for a second at the bottom of the squat, before coming back up)

First set was good, could have been deeper, and overall these felt OK even if I had been a bit overambitious.

• Bulgarian split squats with 10 kg dumbells, 4 x 5 each side

• Seated d/b shoulder press (2x10x12kg dumbbells), incline chest press (2x10x14kg dumbbells), deeper incline chest press (2x 10x16kg dumbbells)
• A 6 way shoulder thing - this one:

• Lat pull downs: 4 x 10 x 40 kg, keeping it slow and controlled
• Bicep curls with a 10kg plate - 3 x 20

Speaking of shoulder press being exposing,I scared my PT a few weeks ago. I was pushing it and my right arm just gave up and rolled back, dumbbell and all. I nearly pulled my shoulder out of its socket.
That was a scary moment.
I've upped my Romanian deadlifts to 40kg this week. My hands are all calloused, so I've been using straps.
I like them. They seem to make a big difference on RD:s.
I might put some on my xmas list

Oh, that's one of my pet hates - when people don't put weights back where they're supposed to be - really get on my nerves. I posted a message on my gym's intranet about that. And I'm not at all OCD normally!!

It's too early to say on the creatine.

The gym was amazing. Huge, extensive (everything you can think of in terms of weight training) and extraordinarily tidy. Even the dumbbells were racked in order.

How was the Norwich gym, Just? I would love to train in a proper bodybuilding gym - there are a few in Edinburgh but none open early enough for me unfortunately. Though I could probably do a session on the weekend on a pay as you go basis.

Also meant to ask you how you've been getting on with the creatine - or is it too early to say?

This morning was mainly benching and deadlifting:

Bench press:
2 x 6 x 50kg
5 x 5 x 50kg
10 x 40kg
9 x 40kg (was supposed to be 10 but that last rep just wasn't happening)

Deadlift:
5 x 5 x 90kg
Form started to go a bit towards the end - could feel some lumbar rounding, but overall I was happy with these

RDL:
2 x 10 x 50kg

Lat pull down:
4 x 8 x 45 kg

Back extension
4 x 10 with 15kg plate

I usually travel every other week but this month I have to squeeze in an extra week because I'm going on holiday at the end of the month.

I really like to visit different gyms. Tomorrow I will pay to train at what looks like a really good proper bodybuilding gym in Norwich.

Just, a pool swim sounds just the ticket. Do you travel every week with work?

That sounds a fun session! I can't even begin to imagine how I'd manage a ring pull-up. I can barely do a single pull up on a bar.

I haven't calculated total weight - I've never done that. When I was following a programme before, the coach had it all on a nifty spreadsheet which calculated total volume and average intensity for each session and displayed those on a graph over the course of the month so you could see the interaction between the two.

That's a bit beyond my Excel abilities! But, calculating total weight would be easy enough and then I could track progress other than just noting maxes.