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! 💪🏼

@RayKray me too first time! Like No, why would I do this? But tempo deadlifts focus the mind a bit 😬😖

@NeverDropYourMooncup I've seen shorter women at my gym using a yoga foam brick behind their back on machines. Might be worth a try?

@willingtolearn i tried a couple of things to improve grip strength and the thing I found most helpful is dead hangs! My grip strength was terrible to begin with but I can now hang for about 100 seconds or so.

positioning and width of the bars also makes a huge difference. The pull up machine at my gym has a neutral grip option which helps a lot.

ive been slacking at the gym a bit (busy time at work) but this morning I managed another 2 assisted pull ups at -7. I must be getting so close to an unassisted one, though it still feels a long way off! (I keep trying a failing).

I did manage have a bench press PR today (30kg) which made me smile😁

@GoTheFcukToSleep 100 seconds hang is impressive - I nearly got to 60 several years back when I was lifting before - now I'm dropping at just beyond 10 seconds. On a positive note though it means every second is progress.

Congratulations on your Bench press PR. In a few weeks (or days!) you'll be telling us about your first unassisted pull up.

Thanks for the suggestions @Work2live

@GoTheFcukToSleep I'm really looking forward to your first pull up!

I went to the gym today to get a new programme. And I also accidentally improved my chest press machine PB. I forgot what my previous was (30kg) so started at 35kg, and was able to do a set, so tried 40kg and managed to do 5! It was only after I realised it was 10kg rather than 5kg more than I've done before. Just shows what we're really capable of.

I've also eeked my push ups to a mighty 9! So close to double figures.

And I have found a way to access a squat rack (and other fancy stuff)! I am so delighted!

Every second is progress @willingtolearn! I started dead hangs with 30 seconds in may. So I’ve improved quite quickly. I’m light which helps, though grip strength is the main things holding me back!

@RayKray 40kg bench press is epic, well done!!!

Whooop @RayKray , that's really good! Where/what is the new place with fancy stuff?

@GoTheFcukToSleep 100 sec is really good! And I'm looking forward to your first unassisted pull too 😀.

I keep meaning to do more hangs and holds - deadhangs but also hollow body off bars, some with arms bent, and holds at the top of a scapular pull (can't remember their name).

@MsMartini 5 mins from my office 😃. It's not fancy by fancy standards but for me it is. Very excited!

Good for you @RayKray!!! My gym definitely isn’t fancy neither but I like that - it means it’s quiet and cheap and it has everything I need! Excited for you!

@RayKray makes all the difference to consistency if close and convenient I think!

I just did my boring long rest pull up sets and got 7.5 clean ones (well the half wasn't clean) on second set, that's a pb. They have felt so creaky and hard, and then today suddenly much better. Keep going everyone - it does happen!

I'm excited I can add in some extra shorter sessions in between others. I'm v lucky one gym is 5 mins from home and the other 5 mins from work. And v bizarrely for me it's overtraining that's more of a concern than motivation. I've not had to force myself once in 6 months. I've never felt like this about exercise before.

I went earlier today and had the place to myself! Did 30kg barbell squats and 75kg leg press. Plus some Bulgarian split squats to end. The smallest plates look to be 5kg on what I was using, so next step would have to be 40kg on the bar, which I think would be fine for lower reps (I usually do 4x10 but intend to drop the reps now I have a rack so can go heavier)

Can I ask a gym etiquette question please? At my usual gym we're given little towels to wipe everything with (covid hangover). I've been to a council gym where there was blue roll and spray. At the place today there was nothing like that. Am I meant to take my own to wipe things? Do I even wipe things, I hadn't left a mark on anything?

@RayKray most gyms don't have anything in my experience, I usually take a thin towel either to wipe things down, or if I'm dubious about who has used equipment before me and I want something to rest on! I find the sports towels from decathlon ideal for this (fold up compact, dry quickly)

I'm enjoying following all the progress in the thread still, I've been full of a cold so I think it's at least a week since I've done anything and I really miss it! Lucky that it isn't covid I guess (I did do a test) but I'm just feeling really tired from it and having naps as soon as I finish work. Little bit apprehensive about how to start back, I'm rarely so sedentary.

@RayKray yeah I agree with @Proteinpudding I would just take a couple of small towels, one for you and one for the equipment!

I’m having a strange time at the moment - I’m now the lightest I’ve ever weighed which is amazing (gone from 72kg in Jan to 62.5kg). But I’m generally feeling very demotivated this week due to lots of work and life stress that just doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon 😞

I keep trying to think to myself, if I can maintain at least some consistency now, I’ll have grown a lot as in the past I would’ve just sat on the sofa and comfort ate.

Wow @Work2live that’s a brilliant weight loss! I’m sure your motivation will return, sometimes we just need a rest!
@RayKray I’m enjoying the leg press too! I’m stuck at 70kg, the next step up is 80 on my machine which is too heavy for me! I’ve been trying out a higher foot placement which really works my glutes😁 🍑

Thanks for the etiquette clarifications.

@GoTheFcukToSleep the gaps on my leg oress are big too - 52, 63, 75. Don't recall the next.

@Work2live I've heard people suggest for motivation just committing to the warm up, then you can go home if you're not feeling it. Then usually people stay. But maybe if you're not feeling it that's ok too and you need a rest? Was it you who was cutting and your PT had said it would be miserable?

So I managed my first weights session in 8 days, very short and gentle to ease myself back into it.

Was intrigued about the grip/deadhang talk so tried it at the start of my workout and managed 31 seconds, so some room for improvement! Though my back needed stretching out so bad after a week of sitting on the sofa, will be interested to try again when everything isn't as creaky! The bar in my gym is part of my squat rack/cage and is quite thick. I suspect there would be a big difference if I tried on my doorframe pull up bar which is thinner and much more comfortable to grip.

Did some bodyweight work and then some light deadlifts. I seem to have lost the form for DLs and they're stuck at a proportionally low weight given my other lifts, so im going back to basics and practising the form for a while. I seem to either squat too low, or seem to mess up the coordination between upper and lower body. Neither are efficient!

Really beginning to feel the benefits outside the gym now - mad week at work and despite doing 15 hours on Thursday, my only complaints were that my ankles were a bit puffy and it took some effort to get off the sofa after an hour.

Went to the gym yesterday after work and concentrated on chest/back with the exception of the usual rowing warm up and finishing off on leg press - 4/10/100kg. DP said he'd gone on it after me and couldn't budge it at that weight.

I did go to bed early last night, though. Slept far more than usual - nine whole hours instead of 4-5 - and I've got some aching in the side of my peroneus longus, so I think I'll shift focus to abs and adductor/abductors this afternoon.

Still not lost an ounce recently. Hopefully that means I'm recomping and the loss will start soon, but there's still an element of 'oh.' when the scales don't change despite all the bloody hard work.

Dont focus on the scales @NeverDropYourMooncup! You’re probably gaining muscle and most importantly you’re starting to feel the benefits!
I’ve actually gained about 4kg since I’ve started lifting but I feel and look so much stronger!

My weight fluctuates within a range, but I know I am building muscle which is heavier than fat so that's all good. I totally agree with going with how you feel and look rather than weight, I can tell I have lost fat. I also gained when I started taking creatine which I know is a thing due to water retention. The diet industry have really done a number on us with the weight thing.

And in breaking news, I did it! - I got my 10 push ups!!! It's now at the start of my session when I'm not fatigued. Here's to the next 10!

@Proteinpudding I'm off deadlifts at the moment, but doing other things that use the same hip hinge movement. I'm hoping this will nail the movement in my brain/muscle memory

@RayKray
Congratulations on your push ups!
With deadlifts something that seemed to make it easier for me was focusing much more on pushing the weight through my feet into the floor rather than 'pulling' on the bar - don't know why, but it seems to make the bar just 'lift'.
I've had a weird week - was feeling rubbish so instead of full push/pull days did 4
half days instead and worked a bit more on mobility.
I don't know if it's part of the menopausal hormone rollercoaster but some days I feel like Xenia warrior princess and others I'm more Kermit the frog.

@RayKray what type of things are you doing? I've started doing non weighted 'good mornings' (using a broom handle) in my warm up for one.

@willingtolearn I'm not sure how I lost coordination for them! I used to push through the floor fine, and have the feeling you describe. But at some point I started lowering my hips too much (maybe as my squat mobility got better?) Which meant my upper body was sort of lagging behind in the movement. So then I focused on keeping my hips high, and seemed to be accidentally forgetting about my legs and almost rowing the bar.
I did 25x10x3 this morning just to try and get the muscle memory. I filmed some and though the angle wasn't great I think I'm getting it!

Congratulations @RayKray ! 10 push-ups is fantastic.

Absolutely don’t beat yourself up about off days @willingtolearn - it’s so important to listen to your body and anyway Mobility is important! It’s not like you were sitting on your arse eating wotsits 😅

Re weight I am normally the first to scoff when people say ‘Are you sure it’s not muscle?’ But with weight training it’s a real thing. I’ve put on 3lb since starting 3 years ago (not a lot I know) and it is definitely muscle. My body composition and shape have changed loads. As long as my BMI stays under 20 I am relaxed about it.

It feels a bit different when your BMI is still well over 30... 😞

I know there's a lot more muscle compared to fat - there's hardly any squish anywhere on me apart from my lower abdomen. And I did lose a load of weight initially, but I've been doing this to some extent for two years from a post-covid 'Oh God, I've walked a whole 63 steps to the bathroom from the sofa and back today, I'm exhausted and feel like my heart is going to burst' to a 'yeah, did 100kg leg presses yesterday and could have probably managed a run after every other after work gym session in the last fortnight and the rest days'; sometimes I do think it would be nice if it wasn't so slow.

But I'm not about to start strongly restricting; that way (for me) madness lies. I can't risk cutting, not yet.