Does anyone else enjoy doing weights/kettle bells/trx training?

[rhondajean]

I'm just looking for a few people who love doing this type of training rather than just running/cycling/swimming.

I do A bit of martial arts too and I've got some friends who do that but I don't know a lot of women who like the weights and resistance bit and it would be nice to know some more.

It's circuits I do rather than powerlifting btw.

[bacon]

Kettlebells class' are fantastic great for strength and core. My teacher is great he goes around the class checking positioning and depth of swings etc (sadly lacking in many classes).

[BsshBossh]

Forgot to say, Wednesday's cardio session (the day after my first strength session) was terrific - I felt stronger and ploughed through the session. I can see how strength training will benefit my cardio.

[BsshBossh]

Had a good week:
Monday 45 mins cardio
Tuesday 20 mins weights
Wednesday 45 mins cardio
Thursday 20 mins weights
Tomorrow 45 mins cardio
Weekend Rest
Plan to follow this every week and keep calories at 1800.

The weights felt slightly more manageable today so will start increasing weight (kgs) next week.

[Sleepwhenidie]

hi Bssh how are you getting on?

I am aching too today, one my new year's fitness resolutions was to do at least one unassisted pull up so I practised yesterday on the assisted pull up machine at the gym, then at kickboxing this morning the sensei really went to town on the push ups.. my poor chest, shoulders and lats don't know what's hit them. Maybe a rest tomorrow.

[Needabitofsunshine]

Longdays, not sure if you´re still around...did you get your 100kg 1RM on your deadlift? Awesome if you did :)

Poor you Brighthair, DOMS suck.

Bssh, if you´re new to weight training, you should be able to add a ton of strength whilst still losing weight, but this will taper off. More importantly, you´ll notice lovely changes in your body shape and composition. Plus increased strength will help you do more running/cardio/circuits etc. Long term, I don´t believe you can lose weight consistently when only weight training. I´m a great fan of circuit & interval training and running too :) Have fun and enjoy experimenting!

[BsshBossh]

Thanks for the advice, Sleep.

Since I haven't picked up weights in years, I started yesterday with 3kg dumbbells and did 2x10 reps of:

Bicep curls
Shoulder press
Overhead triceps extension
Dumbbell chest press
Calf raise with dumbbells
Lunge with punching
Bent-over fly
Dumbbell side bend

I plan on doing this routine twice a week to begin with as I do (and enjoy) cardio three times a week (for fat loss).

I'll increase weight and reduce reps in a week or too and build up strength that way.

[brighthair]

Ow ow ow! Do not have 5 weeks off and then do a circuit

I'm trying to remember what we did now. Sprints, burpees, press up with feet in trx thing, kettle bell swings, shoulder press, medicine ball slam, lunges with weights, and pull ups
My abs are screaming and my thighs aren't much better!

Shoulder press was a 10kg bar I think, kettle bell 12kg, and lunges 6kg in each hand. 3 circuits, 50 sec on, 10 sec off

[Sleepwhenidie]

Hi Bssh, IMO it would be very difficult to lose weight doing strength training alone. In general, the usual advice is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to lose weight and build muscle at the same time. This is because muscles need calories (protein) to grow whereas to lose weight you obviously need a calorie defecit. As I understand, the exception to this, where both can happen, is when you are just beginning a programme and have excess weight to lose, perhaps the first 6 months?

FWIW I think the best approach is to take the focus off weight loss and instead take lots of measurements of your body, even photos of yourself in underwear/gym kit. Find out your body fat % (a PT with callipers if poss). Monitor your measurements every 2-4 weeks.

Adjust your diet so it has a high ratio of lean protein (to aid muscle growth) and lower carb and fat. Try keeping same calories, you certainly shouldn't need more.

To build muscle do the regular weight training but make sure you keep up the cardio to burn fat - interval training is the best for this. You may lose weight, but as you build muscle you may not....what should reduce is your measurements and your body fat % and you will look smaller, burn more calories at rest - and feel amazing!

[BsshBossh]

Hello. I'm new to strength training and I have a question. I still have weight to lose and would like some inspiration please: can you lose weight by doing majority weight training and have you? On paper it makes perfect sense (muscle burns more calories so you continue burning more even at rest compared to cardio) but would like to hear from anyone if they lost primarily through weights.

Also, I'm already losing weight (30lbs so far) on high-ish calories (1800 at 15% of my TDEE). Have you increased your food intake as you've progressed through your strength training programmes?

[longdays]

Hi Alanmoore, good to see this thread resurrected. Tbh that amount of food is a LOT less than I eat in a day. I am still BFing my daughter but I weight train x4 a week and only minimal cardio. I used to be an endurance runner and I look a lot better now. I am going for a new PB in my deadlift this week (100kg 1rm) and if I get it I will probably explode with excitement. How old is your baby?

[AlanMoore]

I found this linked from another thread, hope nobody minds me resuscitating it!

I'm planning to wean my baby off the breast in a few weeks and then make a serious effort to get fit. I need to lose 30lb just to get into healthy bmi range and my cheapo asda scales reckon my body fat to be 42% :(

What would you recommend as a start? Going to aim for 5k run 3x week, with hopefully a session of kickboxing and gym twice to do wt, how does eggs & an orange, oatcakes & banana, tuna salad and chicken & veg sound for a days food? TIA

[Needabitofsunshine]

Hi Longdays! Nice numbers, sound pretty similar to mine last time I checked. I know what you mean about trashed legs, rest & recover is soooo much more important when lifting heavy. I´ve been doing lighter and longer circuit training recently for my boot camp, so haven´t really been hitting the strength training - I miss it. Also been running more (on holidays) and I´ve been enjoying (!) that too (mostly...). Anyone else?

[longdays]

Hi all, I haven't been on here for ages. Anyway I have been carrying on with my lifting and have seen some big improvements for me. I managed to deadlift 90kg today for 3 reps. My back squat is up to 65kg, front squat 55kg, OH press 30kg but my bench is still down at 30kg all for 5 reps. I really am loving it now but it is leaving my legs trashed for my running, I guess I need to decide which I need to focus on more. Hope everyone else is well.

[Meglet]

yes, I think I will treat myself to the odd personal trainer session to make sure I get the most out of it. My gym used to have free sessions but they've changed it now so I'll have to save my pennies up for them.

One of the trainers at the gym said they were going to do TRX / Kettle bell / viper (?) masterclasses in the Autumn so I will try and get along to some of them.

[Needabitofsunshine]

Crikey, go for it! Always best to start with a trainer if you can. They can show you the ropes and ensure your form is tip top before you carry on yourself.

I started with a trainer, who was a friend and then we morphed into training partners. Nothing I loved more than those strength sessions with her in an otherwise empty CF gym. Good times, lifting heavy and chatting about everything under the sun. She has moved away now and I am still floundering without her :(

Going to start with another trainer soon (even though I am one myself). Would recommend the odd session every now and again to correct the bad habits that we all slip into...

[Meglet]

I've finally started on the TRX. It is so good. 10 painful minutes on that and I can feel it in all my muscles.

Suprisingly good for stretching too. My hips have been feeling tight for a couple of years but I think it's pulled them out a bit and they feel looser now.

[crikeyitshot]

May I ask for some help from you experienced peeps? I use dumbbells/kettlebells at home a lot and have definitely increased my strength and seen massive changes in my body over the last year.

As I'm thinking of re-joining a gym to access a wider range of weights I'd also like to start learning how to deadlift and use the Olympic bar in my workouts. How did you learn? Did you employ a personal trainer or similar to learn the best technique?

[dontpetthesweatythings]

Brilliant thread! I've only got in to exercise the past 3 years and have just started out weight/strength training.

I'm nothing like you gals yet I'm very weak on upper body but I'm getting there, doing weights most days and working on core.

The difference to my body in just 2 weeks is unbelievable, not just that but the strength in my arms and legs has improved noticeably. Wish everyone would do weights to see how good it can be!

[brighthair]

Sciatica still ongoing and waiting for hospital referral. Modified bootcamp still, and if it hurts I stop. Really missing spinning but apparently it's one of the worst things I can do?
Had a horse riding lesson today and clever horse was excellent and I was very sweaty
Have lost 3.5kg this week. Total off waist is from 115cm at biggest to 99.5cm last week

[Needabitofsunshine]

Oooh, thread's alive again!

Congrats on the pregnancy, super great to keep moving. Keep focus on form and enjoy!

I was messing around and thought I'd test my 1rm on my DL. Was secretly hoping to hit the big 100kg but couldn't manage it... Soon... I've been doing weight training for about 2 years. I haven't been doing too much recently but am going to follow a proper program when I get back to reality next week. Goals for the remainder of this year: drop about 5% body fat, master the ever elusive pull up, plus a few more.

Have been on holiday all month, so totally out of normal schedule, lots of body weight stuff and tons of running. I'm much more suited to sprinting, so running lots has been a REALLY tough slog, especially given the relentless hills here in Cornwall. Still, good for the soul.

Anyone else got any chat?

[Sandlewardle]

95kg is great!

[Sleepwhenidie]

brighthair how's the sciatica? better I hope.

sunshine - 95kg - wow. Very impressive. How long do you reckon it's taken you to get there?

[Sleepwhenidie]

Hi Claggis, welcome - and congratulations on your pregnancy!

this is a really interesting article on weight training during pregnancy, as the writer says, there's not a huge amount of encouraging advice out there. You sound like you are doing fine, not pushing yourself to the max, not risking injury (in the sense of getting hit at least) kickboxing and most importantly, listening to your body. The only thing I would be cautious about is any kettlebell exercises with a large range of movement IYKWIM, that you may overdo and risk injury,especially to your back, due to being more flexible than usual? Other than that, training to try and maintain your level of fitness, rather than improve it, Doing what you are already used to, or a modified version, for as long as you feel comfortable, is the way I went and think works

[Claggis]

Hi, have only just discovered this thread - was beginning to think there was no exercise section on mn, thank you for starting!

Wow 95kg? Sounds great :D I do kickboxing but took up kettlebells a couple of months ago, just to do at home which I'm enjoying. I used to run but had to stop for now due to ligament pain. Not pushing the kettlebells too hard though (and no contact in kickboxing, just hitting pads) as am 28 weeks pg. So far so good but really hard to get decent advice about what to do - they say if you exercised a lot before pregnancy that the worst thing you can do is stop, but equally I don't want to overdo things or risk straining anything. Any advice? Am just listening to my body and doing what feels ok, plus read an American book on research on pregnancy and exercise (which put my mind at rest about myths like keeping your heartrate under 140bpm).
Anyway sorry for long post - and great to see you many of you into weights! :-D

[Needabitofsunshine]

Woo hoo!!!! PR´d my deadlift today with 95kgs! Happy days :)

Anyone else still around?