Lifting support thread!

[Work2live]

Thought I’d start this thread as a few people thought it’d be a good idea.

It might be a nice place to support each other and talk about lifting in general, ask for tips and advice on workouts, how to get enough protein etc.

All levels very much welcome, from complete newbies to those who’ve been weightlifting for years! 💪🏼

Just to share my own lifting journey:

I’m 30. I first started lifting in 2018 but never really had a ‘plan’. My husband was my PT (😂) and showed me the ropes in terms of good form etc.

Got out of it completely during the pandemic (and gained a stone and lost most of my strength) and started weight training again last year. Started working with a coach in January of this year and it’s been life changing. I was always trying to ‘out-train a bad diet’ so their help with diet has been amazing.

I love weight training because I’ve always despised any form of cardio. I do however, try to walk 10000 steps a day, and I swim regularly.

Reposted from other thread...

'm meant to be eating 100-120g protein a day and it's so hard. I get 25g in at breakfast in yoghurt, 20 or so g lunchtime in tuna, another 20g meat or fish for dinner and a protein shake 22g. This is under 100mg - may get a bit from broccoli and I eat roasted endemame as a snack but it's not easy.
I can't get my head round eating in a surplus at all though

Aw thank you so much i love this!! Same hubby showed me the ropes, i actually love it but im 50 so progress is slow, i dont look different really, its the diet i struggle with, should i be maintenece, deficit!! How did you learn about diet?

Hi. Ive been strength training with my PT for over a year now and love it. I was a newbie so spent 3 months doing absolute basics to get firm and technique right, really glad I did.

Training for unassisted pull ups now and focusing on strength for: bench press, hip thrusts and deadlifts but with extra exercises to help those lifts.

Hey @withiceplease!

An average(ish) day for me would be:

120g 0% fat Skyr mixed with ~30g protein powder (vanilla or chocolate flavour normally). I’ll have this with around 20g granola and maybe some fruit. Usually works out around 40g of protein.

Lunch might be leftovers from the night before (chilli, bolognese or something) or I quite often have a bagel with reduced fat bacon medallions, lettuce and tomato, or bacon and eggs. This works out 25-30g protein.

Dinners I eat a lot are chilli or bolognese made with 5% fat beef mince - really high protein and not too high calorie. Around 170g of mince is +50g of protein and under 300 cals. Or I’ll have chicken fajitas, or a healthy chicken curry. I try to make sure my dinners are around 50-60g of protein.

Throughout the day I’ll sometimes snack on low fat Babybels (5g protein and 42 cals) or I’ll sometimes have a shake.

This gets me to ~120g protein most days! I hope that helps a bit. Sometimes it really is a case of altering your portion sizes - I used to eat loads of rice and a small amount of mince for example, now I do the opposite!

@Oorwulliesbucket first thing you’d want to do is use an online TDEE calculator to work out your maintenance calories and take it from there - I use MyFitnessPal for calorie and macro tracking, but I only really track my protein to be honest. I’m quite flexible with my carbs and fats as long as I’m within my cals!

I wouldn’t want to advise on whether you should be in a deficit or a surplus or at maintenance. I would definitely consult a decent coach. My initial feeling would be to work out your maintenance and eat at your maintenance. I think the rule for protein is 1.6- 2.2g of protein per kg of body weight, every day, so maybe you could try adhering to that for a few weeks first and see if you start to notice any difference?

I’d also definitely suggest taking progress photos if you aren’t already. We don’t always notice these changes in the mirror, but over the course of weeks or months, muscle growth is so much more noticeable in your progress pictures than in the mirror or on the scale.

Hello! I'm not sure if I'm a "proper" weights person. I used to do a lot of body pump and now I do Caroline Girvan on youtube as well as a lot of yoga as I love that too, and one cardio a week as I like how it makes me feel.
Sometimes this all goes in the bin as I have a condition that causes flares of fatigue.
Food wise I intermittent fast to keep my weight and appetite stable and focus on unprocessed food but I don't track protein so looking forward to learning more about that.

@Stellaris22 good luck with your pull ups!! Even at my fittest I could never quite manage one unassisted - although I did manage 2x unassisted chin ups at one point! I’d love to get myself back to that level of strength.

I LOVE benching it’s probably my favourite lift and makes me feel so powerful. My PR is 1x 55kg which I’m immensely proud of! (Oddly I love training upper more than lower).

@Scianel hey there’s no such thing as a ‘proper’ weights person! All are very much welcome 🙂

49 and in the process of rehabbing the latest bunch of Psoriatic Arthritis related tendinopathies with machines - as the last time I did a Goblet squat, I promptly tore my supraspinatus and jammed the AC joint so much, it's only started moving 9 months later.

Oh, and then there's a labral tear (which has probably healed by now) and all the glutes' tendinosis as well.

It's all rather inconvenient when I'm still Rocky in my head but nearer Mickey in age.

Oh gosh @NeverDropYourMooncup I hope you’re well on your way to recovery now!

Sounds like you’re doing the right thing using machines for now, they provide so much more stability.

And 49 is no age! You still have plenty of lifting years ahead of you! 💪🏼

Thanks so much for starting the thread.

I’m a relative newby, just turned 40 and only started strength training about two months ago with an amazing trainer - lots of focus on technique to start with but now starting to ramp up the weights and I’m amazed at how much stronger I am already. I’ve done Body Pump on and off for years but always “maxed out” quite quickly (am very tall and naturally strong and athletic) so it stopped being a challenge. I had been focused on cardio (running/spin) for so long with not all that much to show for it (aside from cardio fitness) but am loving my new focus on weights, clean eating, lots of protein and occasional runs/yoga (both of which have improved as I am getting stronger - weirdly strength training seems to be really helping with my flexibility when I assumed the opposite would happen!). I’m not doing it for my looks but have started to notice some real definition creeping in to my arms/legs/bum which is a nice bonus.

I’m loving reading about so many women who are enjoying the same journey (and lifting some very impressive weights) - inspirational!

@WombleOfWimbledon2022 I think the newbie gains are what makes lifting so addictive! You can make such a huge amount of progress in a short space of time.

I too was amazed at how lifting seemed to help with other forms of exercise. I rarely run, but I noticed a huge improvement in my ability to run longer distances once I started weight training.

Bench is my fav too, best iv done is 1 x40kg but at the moment iv hurt my shoulder so dh is making me do more reps at a lighter weight, dont enjoy this so much i like the challenge of higher weight 😂

Hi.
So I'm 50 live with EDS hypermobility, and am also ASD and ADHD just to make me even more fun.
I got in to strength training a couple of months in to my 10stone weight loss journey and was hooked.
I was really lucky, I joined my small local gym and the owner took me under his wing, teaching me the big 5 along with accessory lifts. But at the time I started I was literally the only female in the free weight section.
As I'm also a runner, I've cycled between concentrating on my lifting or my running depending on if I have a marathon coming up. So I've never hit massive numbers.
My favourite lift is the deadlift, there's something very satisfying about lifting something very heavy. But I'm not bad at squats and bench, overhead press is my weakest lift and I really dislike rows (still do them but don't worry about weight).
I can't recommend stronglifts 5x5 enough for beginners, you may quuck progress but start light enough to work on form. Also would recommend paying a PT to teach you the correct form.
I got back into the lifting mid April after Brighton Marathon, started with 5x5 and the bar and have now moved on to Wendler 5/3/1. Am about to start my 2nd cycle tomorrow.
Current est 1rpm are (with pr in brackets)
Bench: 47kg (56kg)
Squat: 55kg (75kg)
Deadlift: 74kg (99kg)
Shoulder press: 29kg (33kg)

I also do a lot of crossfit style workouts, both on my own and with my PT. Which involves lighter weights and lots and lots of reps. Favourite atm is DT, which I'm doing with 25kg
5 rounds for time of
12deadlifts
9hang cleans
6push presses

Oh and for anyone that thinks they're gonna get bulky easily, it's super hard work. It's taken me 5years to get where I am. 6 years of training shoulders at least 1hr a week and at times up to 3 hours. But I love the results. Top pick was when I hit my goal weight and starting working on recomping and building muscle, bottom was last week.

I'm working on pull ups too. My trainer has given me a workout to do 2xweek, and I'm seeing some progress but still nowhere near that first unassisted pull up.

You wonderful bunch of people! Just the thread I need!!

Like @Scianel I've started through Caroline Grivan. I'm doing the iron series which is the best one IMO. Addictive managing to lift heavier weights. I've tripled what I can lift in most exercises (admittedly I started out very low 😂)

Been toying with the idea of going to a gym with a PT to improve more, I don't think I'll make much more progress without it. But also training up in my running again after a long break so decided to go through some plans for that (huge speed and distance gains since lifting 😁) and will consider PT in winter. Planning on using CG workouts for the next few months.

Im 43, haven't tested my 1RM but deadlift 20kg, hip thrust 30kg and shoulder press 11kg in my sessions. Still can't do a single full push up so pull ups remain a long term goal!!!

Watching this with interest and for inspiration!!

@milkfromthesleepycow yay, another CG-er! I also absolutely loved the Iron series, was definitely the best one yet, and I do a couple of her abs workouts as a regular thing a few times a week as well.

Did you buy the heavier weights for home? They're some price, aren't they, once you get above the light ranges.
I'm so impressed at your hip thrust weight! That area is really weak for me still.

I've done a little bit before.
Im having gynae surgery tomorrow and worried if I can ever lift again.. Any body worked through this?

I'm really lucky that DH is into lifting and so we have a good set up at home (partly the reason I'm a little reluctant to shell out for a gym!) but I had to buy some adjustables for me to start off with as his lightest plate was 2.5kg and I couldn't start on 5kg dumbbells!!

Mine go up to 11kg which I only use for squats but I use a barbell for deadlifts and hip thrusts. Strangely I find hip thrusts the easiest, not sure if it's the running that helps with that? My form is much better for deadlifts with a barbell, it's the exercise I've worried about most in terms of potential injury. Definitely worth an investment!

Can you do a proper push up? I feel like I've really progressed with lifting but I can't even do one- it's SO frustrating

@Rollerbird not quite the same as I've only had 2 csections and am a total beginner (see above) but it should totally be possible! I'm sure a good PT could get you back to form (after a period of recovery)

@Rollerbird I've got a very complex gynae history with a lot of surgeries.? I started lifting last year once I had the chronic pain managed. I started on isolated upper body only. I can now do most things except deadlifts and whilst I'm strong enough for full press ups I do them on my knees due to it triggering pain

My biggest achivment is at the start of this i could only do press ups with my knees down, now i can do around 10 full press ups so i know im defo getting stronger!!

Id love my arms to look like this!!!!