Weightlifting people, here! Ongoing chat thread...

[MaidOfStars]

We are a bit cut off in the designated forum so here's a shiny new thread to populate.

Hello to anyone that hasn't ventured over to The Weights Room but is lifting/resistance training.

Never, well done, you must be so chuffed. That is fantastic.

I am 51, pretty new to weightlifting and don't have a PT or go heavy that often but I have been so pleased with my progress (I have never been good at much physical before!) and how I feel. I am squatting and deadlifting (Romanians) 80kg now (I weigh 70) and it motivates me to do plenty of core and other strength work.

Raging, do you get stiff and sore all over?

just getting I tend to do that but the other way round due to our seasons in Asia - I do more gym work in the summer and then more running in the winter which is when the trail season is here (not many races MJJAS as it's too hot).

Never I'm slightly tempted to do a powerlifting competition once I can actually do a decent squat again (don't talk about the squat- so many different mobility problems to address!) but my issue is I'm smack bang between weight classes. Not sure I can cut below 63 but I'd be puny in the 72 class. Do people run around in plastic bags to make weight like in boxing? Are there load of roid fiends? Tell me everything!!

I've been a bit quiet as I'm dogged with injuries and it's making me feel shit.

My knee has flared up again (although some gentle work on that today has actually helped), and I injured my arm/shoulder about 2 months ago. I actually think it's a pinched nerve because if ever my husband rubs my shoulders, it makes it worse. I don't know what to do about it but I'm struggling with every lift. I've spent weeks just focussing on lower body (which hasn't helped my knee!)

I don't know what to do. Sorry for the vent, it's just so frustrating to see body fat % increase and muscle mass decrease because I've had to completely pull back on what I'm doing.

Johnny I definitely wouldn't recommend losing much weight, especially for your first comp.

If the federation you compete in has a 2h weigh-in then it's best to avoid doing any crazy with bin bags, because then you only have 2h to rehydrate and eat before you start lifting. If it's a 24h weigh-in then you can probably get away with it.

I would recommend just registering for the category you naturally fall in, then you don't have to worry about making weight on the day!

Regarding steroids, again it depends on the federation. The IPF uses drug testing, and as a result it is fairly clean, but other feds are rife with PED users.

I would really recommend trying it when you are able to, it is a lot of fun!!

Thanks never. There's going to be one at the end of this year where I live so I may enter that for the experience, and as you say, not stress about weight class (tbh, 72kg weight class is going to be pretty thinly populated in Asia ).

oogle where is the pinch exactly? It may be pinched nerve but if it's not continuous it could be the joint not moving smoothly when you lift. Can you afford to see a physio or go to GP and try to get a referral?

Johnny you might even be the only one in the category! (in which case you will definitely get a medal )

It’s in my shoulder blade. Without wanting to tempt fate, it’s much better today. I’ve managed to do some pull ups and lat pull downs which I couldn’t do 3 weeks ago.

My cure? I was sat on the floor in front of my toddler and he was bouncing his foot on my shoulder for a good 5 mins. It felt gooooood. No pain since!
A heck of a lot cheaper than the osteo I saw a month ago too!

Oogle, that is hilarious - and good news.

I got in 6 reps squatting 80kg tonight ( weigh about 70 and really struggled with 3 reps about a month ago which was my last session). Am a happy bunny.

ha ha oogle. That's hilarious, yet awesome that it's fixed. I once had a trapped something in my scap for weeks. Saw 2 different physios. Massages, mobility, exercises. Couldnt fix it. Then one day I had a spare hour in town and I got a real cheap massage and it totally fixed it. That woman had very pointy elbows!

I am currently focused on my deadlift, strict press and bench

This week

3 x 8 @47.2kg bench
4 x 6 @85kg deadlift
3x8@ 30kg strict press

Also finally managed to "skin the cat" on the ring and got 5 pronated pull ups with a finger tip grip.

Good week!

I'm starting to get back into it now. Back on deadlifts - only 50kg but lifting without issue after 6 months of not doing them so pretty pleased with that!

I'm doing pull ups on the total gym. Have had to drop the incline down whilst my shoulder recovers but at least I'm back doing them! Everything else is low weights whilst I recover but it feels good to be properly back into it. In the gym tomorrow, Monday and then back with PT on Weds. Have promised to concentrate on cardio tomorrow as I'm so lax on it (because I hate it) but I might do weights tomorrow and go for a quick run on Sunday now the weather is a bit warmer!

Yeah, I've had to face the fact that a cursory 20 minutes on the eliptical 3 times a week is not going to sort out my current lack of cardio fitness, so getting back into running, albeit its depressing because my times are so pathetic compared to where I was pre-op. I'm also about 4kg heavier- dont want to say "4kg overweight" as I don't feel particularly "fat"- I just feel like there's a lot of me to move.

Chest day today

-3 x 10 explosive press-up (i.e. hands jump off the floor as you push up)

• 4 x 8 bench press (suicide grip) at 47kg alternating with 4 x 10 barbell bent over row at 30kg.
• 3 x AMRAP incline bench press at 25kg (managed 26,18,17)

-3 x 12 bar dips (broken down as 6,4,2) alternating with sets of 6 supinated pull ups

• Limped home

I have started doing more upper body work (with a gym buddy). Inverted rows, shrugs, negative chin ups, dips.....am very achey in my arms, shoulders, armpits, elbows....tell me it gets easier .

It does get easier!

Thanks . Think I haven't been using my back enough.

Have any of you bought a hip thruster pad? If so where did you get it? Am in the uk, thanks!

OK, so I'm popping in here to post my verrrry slooooow progress. I deadlifted 75kg last week with my PT, but failed at 85kg to get the bar ore than a couple of cm up. My previous best was 70kg.

My PT keeps encouraging me to do at least one session mirroring the torture session he does with me (last week was tough - sometimes I felt nauseous!)

So I'm going to have to get up my courage to do weights without my PT - I realise I'm going to have to pretend I know how to set stuff up & so on. It's when I wish there were a women-only hour in the free weights area of the gym. I'd feel less of an idiot, although I KNOW that no-one's looking at me!

But I see all the cool proper lifters (including some amazing women) and I just go back to running - I can do treadmills.

Meant to say - been working on this with a weekly PT since mid-January, & I'm 59. So I'm happy to go slowly as I don't like being injured. I'm what the physio calls hypermobile but somehow I manage to pull my hamstrings too often - I have a whole lot of glute strengthening exercises to do before I hop on the treadmill. (But I have my splits back!)

What I'm really noticing is the change to the shape of my body - I need to lose about 10kg, but I know I've dropped a good dress size, and it's as if the outlines of my body have tightened up.

For example, my inner thighs are still a bit flabby, but the outline of my quads on the outer sides of my thighs is really strong & neat. Ditto the line of my shoulders, and my abs are starting to appear: I have that deep line from the sternum to navel.

raging girl You can bet your life most of the other lifters have form flaws too. Don't worry about them. Dead lift is a good one to get started with on your own as there's not much that can go wrong with set up. Just put the bar on the floor and add the weights with the heaviest ones furthest in (just remember to put the collars on ). I also take photos/ videos of the set up when I'm with my PT so I can remember what height to have stuff at etc.

Good PT session today. Still working on my body weight (67kg) 1 rep bench which is my target for end of june. Managed 4x6 @50kg today. Might have been able to go a tiny bit heavier but not much.

Also started work on muscle up which is my dream basically (yeah I know- never let it be said I overfocus on trivial shit, hey?)I can do the pull but need to pull higher and also stablise my ring dips a LOT.

Then did some progressions for toes to bar but I'm a way off being able to do those- need stronger hip flexors and better hip mobility.

Wow, Johnny a muscle up! That would be amazing. I am still working n my chin-ups - can do several in a session now but not consecutively and think will start trying negative pull ups.

RagingGirl - I have found the men at my gym helpful. There are some awesome women lifters but they tend to be so focussed on what they are doing they don't notice anyone else (which is completely fine). I think after the first couple of times of setting up on your own (which in my case included loading the bar, collars on, then realising bar at wrong height completely and having to unrack and start over), you get more confident. I don't go heavy when on my own - focus on form but think even setting up by myself has helped my confidence.

Regarding collars: I really struggle with the bent wire clips. The ones that are plastic and snap on are so much easier! I found some on Amazon. Some gyms already have them.

Yeah I hate the wire ones. They're usually really tight on the bar and you have to shuffle them on. The plastic cuffs are way better- my gym has those.

I CONSTANTLY get the height wrong too. I now take photos on my iPhone as a reminder.

msmartini I want to make it clear that I didn't get a MU. I'm just working towards it. I feel it's going to be a journey.

Johnny - I know, still in awe of your ambition! Keep us posted.

Hate collars - putting them on makes me feel small and weak before I start, not the right spirit

RagingGirl - in my experience, the blokes in the free weights section are nothing but helpful (and the women, but there aren't as many). I'm short and fat, but the only comments I get are encouraging

Just st found this thread and was hoping to get some advice. I do Crossfit so do a bit of Oly lifting - not massive numbers but OK. I found out I was pregnant last week and went to my first class since finding out on Monday. We were doing sets of back squats, supposedly at about 75% of our 1rm but I couldn’t get anywhere near that. Up until I found out I was pregnant, I was also doing a bit of calorie counting, trying to lose a few pounds, which I’ve obviously knocked on the head now, but I think the two things contributed to me not being that strong.
After finishing the class (which included some horrible cardio later on) I was spotting (only mildly) but it worried me a bit. I didn’t do WL or Crossfit during my previous pregnancies and I’m not far enough along to want to talk to anyone at the gym for a few weeks yet so I was wondering if anyone else had any experience of doing it while pregnant and if you can offer me any advice?

I dont think anyone can give you a definitive answer (because apart from anything else the evidence base just isn't there to support an objective conclusion) but my personal perspective would be that the conditioning piece is more problematic than the lifting because the conditioning piece of a Crossfit class is close to HIIT and gets your HR quite high. I haven't Crossfitted whilst pregnant but I train at a box with a couple of women who are regional competitors and both of them continued to train throughout, but dialled it back a lot, especially with regard to the stuff that really gets your HR up.